Miss May 2012: Lauren
Occupation: Business / IT Consultant – I help clients organize their data. Super exciting.
Your motto: Laughing makes everything better. So does Macaroni and Cheese.
How long have you been pole dancing at Divine? 1 year
Did you have any previous dance or fitness training before starting pole? I’ve always loved to dance but was too scared to try anything formally. My friends always make fun of me because I’m way more into the music at clubs than everyone else. Apparently the hair flip is my signature move. It can get a little awkward. As for previous fitness training, I’ve lifted weights since high school and have perfected the art of pretending to do cardio.
What made you decide to take pole dancing classes? I had just moved to Seattle and looking to try something new when I saw the Groupon for the 1-day Pole Workshop. I thought it’d be a good way to be a part of a welcoming, friendly community that also loves to dance!
Favorite class? (spins, inversions, or boudoir), and why? I’m a boudoir bunny all the way. I love learning new spins to use in my dancing but ultimately I just end up writhing on the floor. One of the instructors told me I had “an excellent sense of public solitude.” I don’t know if that’s a good thing or a bad thing but I know that when I’m dancing in boudoir I feel like my mind steps away for a second and lets my body and my heart lead, which NEVER happens in every day life. This is why I always feel so disoriented and self-conscious when a song ends; it’s like I can’t remember what just happened in the last 4 minutes.
What is it that you LOVE about pole dancing at Divine? I’ve spent a lot of time being grouchy in life and dancing at Divine makes me HAPPY. It’s such a supportive environment and I love watching my fellow dancers grow and push their limits. Seeing what some of the women are able to do in class, motivates me to work harder both in and out of the studio. Also, that rush of adrenaline that you don’t realize is pulsing through you until after finishing a song is so addicting that I don’t think I’ll ever be able to stop dancing at Divine.
Platforms or legwarmers? Legwarmers – when I remember to put them on. I’m usually about half way through a song when I realize sliding across the floor would be much less painful if I had remembered to put on my legwarmers.
What are you currently working on technically? Strength, strength, strength. Also flexibility. There are so many spins that would like much more polished if only my abs or arms were a little stronger or my legs could stretch a little straighter. I’m still working on building all of those core muscle groups that are integral in pole.
What are you working on artistically? Maintaining that sense of public solitude while not hurting myself. Sometimes I get so detached that I lose track of where I am or what my body is capable of. It’s a miracle I haven’t given myself a concussion or pulled a muscle yet.
Do you have a favorite song to pole dance to? I’ve been on this bizarre country music kick. I love songs that go between slow and fast so I can sneak attack myself with different speeds. I guess I’ve found a lot of country songs that do that. Jake Owen’s ‘Alone with You’ is great for that, also Eric Church’s ‘Springsteen’.
We LOVE music at Divine. What 3 songs would be featured on the soundtrack to YOUR life?
1. Wilco - Jesus, Etc
2. Neil Young – Don’t let it bring you down
3. Old Crow Medicine Show – Wagon Wheel
(4. Modest Mouse – Missed the Boat 5. Hugo – 99 Problems 6. Any song played in Dirty Dancing)
Guilty pleasure: Junk food. And pictures of baby animals. And shoes.
Final Question:
Any inspirational advice you would like to share with new polers? Don’t ever compare yourself to anyone else in the studio. This is your own personal journey and everyone is at a different place, going a different pace. Wherever you are, however fast you’re going, is perfectly right for you.









