HELLO! It’s been exactly a month since I last blogged, and I’ve been pretty busy lately so I haven’t had the time to actually sit my ass down and write about my recent trip to Sydney which I went on earlier this month. I’ve berated myself enough for procrastinating so here goes!

I love to arrange pole drop-ins when I travel. The experiences I get overseas under the tutelage of other instructors are always different and refreshing. I’m all about ambience too so it’s interesting to see how each studio feels from the one I’m currently training at. Check out my updated list HERE!

I booked a return ticket to Sydney on a whim last month. It took me less than a day to decide to go on this solo trip. Since I would have completed 3 work projects by the date of my trip, it was a good (albeit short) escape to pursue something that I really love, POLE! And I’ve also always wanted to travel solo and earn my big girl panties. My only regret is that I should have extended my trip by another few days. I was only there for 8 days. Soooo, to answer many people who’ve asked, yes, I seriously went to Sydney to visit pole dancing studios! You can view my Sydney’n’Pole Facebook photo album HERE!

Before I left for my trip, I made a list of places I wanted to visit when I was in Sydney – tourist attractions and pole studios alike. The only actual planning I did was the book-ins for my pole drop-in classes. I made bookings at 3 pole studios but went to 4. Other than those, I practically did whatever I felt like doing, impromptu. That was pretty liberating!

Bobbi’s Pole Studio, Sydney (Elizabeth St)

Bobbi informed me over email that they were actually having workshops the week I was there so I can’t do any drop-ins. So I chose Jedda’s Video Vixen as it was the only workshop that didn’t clash with my other pole classes. I also wanted to take Roxy’s Slap workshop to *ahem* try out some sexy lap dancing for fun, but it was fully booked.

Anyway, Jedda’s class turned out to be hip hop instead of pole, so I had to borrow slacks from the studio. Got in some pole time before class too. I must admit, I was never a hip hop dancer kind of person, but I had so much fun doing something I wasn’t used to! Got bruised knees from all the floorwork to prove it too. We danced to Ride by Ciara. Can you imagine me doing the stuff in the Youtube video? Hahahaha. Anyway Jedda herself is really cool!Jamilla Deville Pole Studio

The studio is reeeeeally pretty! I forgot to bring my pole shorts so I had to buy a pair…of Jamilla Deville pole shorts with diamante studs! Here, I booked 2 classes – Elle’s Hardcore & Booty and Dallas’ Advanced Pole. I must say, Hardcore & Booty was REALLY hardcore. Some of the girls were lying on the floor in pain by the end of the first half! And I like how Dallas made everyone freestyle for a couple of minutes after warm-up and before starting the Advanced lesson proper. I was a little rusty with my freestyle so I was quite clumsy, oops! Made me realise not to take any of my freestyle sessions for granted. You can only get better and more comfortable moving with your body.

Had a chat with the instructors and found out we were all going to be at the West Australian Pole Camp next year! Jamilla Deville herself used to teach my instructors in Singapore! Too bad she was travelling if not I’d have met her there too. Photo: Dallas, me, Elle, Robyn.Studio Verve Dance Fitness

Technically, I didn’t do a drop-in here. It was my Singaporean pole friend’s studio which was having an Open Night that Friday so we thought to just go for it. Melissa and Kiyia are both from the same pole studio as me in Singapore. They’re both currently in Sydney for work/study. Photo: Melissa, me, Kiyia.There were performances by students and instructors. I found that the style of the performances were more of the sporty kind, and emphasized more on the fitness aspect of pole. Felt pretty comfortable here because the studio I’m at in Singapore has the same approach as Studio Verve. I love how creative they are with their performances, down to their costumes. Acropole is becoming increasingly popular and some of the instructors actually incorporated that into their routines.

They served everyone champagne after the show! You can also watch me trying out their poles for fun HERE or below!

Pole Dance Academy (Bondi Junction)

This has got to be my favourite pole stop! PDA combines both the REALLY sexy (and I do mean smoking hot sexy) and the fitness aspects of pole, and I find that lately, my style tends to gravitate towards their approach. I’m still quite awkward adjusting to that style because I was always more of the, I don’t know…contemporary kind of pole dancer? I guess I’m somewhere in-between, and I’d like to keep it that way, so I know I can do both styles in future.

Anyway, PDA was nearing the end of the term so everyone was polishing up on their routines for performance week. Yvette and Maddie were really nice and ran through the routines with me so I’d catch the choreography, which were really fun! I signed up for High Intermediate (Yvette) and Pre-Advanced (Maddie). Photos: High Int routine, Yvette, Maddie.

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So that wraps up my Sydney’n’Pole experience! If I had more time I would have visited other studios like Suzie Q Pole Studio. Well, I’ll definitely be going back to Australia again for more pole because Aussie pole dancers are awesome! I also realised that pole dancing in winter is pretty tough because it takes me a lot longer to get warm! You see dancers with UGGs, leg warmers and slacks doing their warm-ups. I didn’t manage to street pole because it was too bloody cold! My fingers were sometimes too numb to type on my phone. But I managed to do the following… If you’re ever in Sydney, please try Hurricane’s Grill. Please do. I had steak every single day but the one at Hurricane’s blew me away. Full rack of pork ribs? 750g of ribeye steak? YUM. Best.dinner.ever.I shall end off with a typical tourist shot in front of the Sydney Opera House. Thank you for reading! 🙂