Taking pole dance course online – What you should know
Are you considering subscribing to an online pole dance course? I have done that. Here I want to share with you key advantages and disadvantages of an online course and review the courses I have taken.
Advantages:
You get to learn many tricks and combos from different instructors
Signature tricks from pole dance superstars, as well as their training tips
Learn at your own pace and freedom to choose your workout and schedule
Disadvantages:
Online course requires discipline in order to progress – It is easy to lose track and motivation when you do not have an instructor standing next to you or a pole buddy
Some tricks are difficult and require a spotter
Risk of injury if you are not doing things correctly
I have tried courses on both Pole and Aerial and OpenDance Academy. I know Pole in Style is an affiliate of OpenDance Academy, but here is my honest and neutral review of both platforms:
1. Pole and Aerial
This is probably one of the first pole dance online course platform out there. The lessons are split into different levels and you get warm up exercises with and without pole. You can create your favorite list and save videos in your list to view later. You can also search videos by instructors, genres (pole, hoop, tissue, etc) and levels (from beginner to extreme). Thanks to instruction from Marlo Fisken, I was able to get a nice straight chopsticks :).
An annual subscription at Pole and Aerial costs you 199 USD and is automatically renewed after one year unless you cancel it.
A drawback from this platform is to get in touch with customer services. I tried to contact them several times without receiving any responses back. Also it gets costly after a while, in my opinion, as the subscription is recurring.
2. OpenDance Academy
A newer platform that has been launched recently. After struggling with trick ’The Thinker’, I was able to nail it straight away following instructions by Evgeny :).
OpenDance Academy structures their courses differently – you can take Beginner course, Intermediate/Advanced course, Exotic course or pay for Platinum access to all courses. What I like about it is that you pay for each course once and have lifetime access. An individual Beginner course costs 199 USD and Platinum course costs 350 USD. And their customer services are friendly and helpful.
The level at OpenDance Academy is more difficult than at Pole and Aerial in my opinion. While at Pole and Aerial you will see a more classic fireman spin and body wave for beginner level, you will find inverted straddle and layback for this level at OpenDance Academy. I think OpenDance Academy fits well for those who have had some pole dance experience from before but not for a complete beginner.
A drawback from this platform is that you cannot save your favorite videos for later, or filter videos from only a particular instructor.
Let me know if you have tried online courses at either platform and what you think about them. Additionally, do you have any reviews of pole dance online courses out there? Share your thoughts at poleinstyle@gmail.com.
Photo by Maciej Ciara
About Mai:
Mai Phan is the owner of Pole in Style. She also works as a personal trainer in Oslo, Norway and is a certified pole fitness instructor. Mai has been doing pole dance since 2012 and loves how it has given her self confidence and belief in herself.
Follow her personal blog: maiphan.com
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