Pole Dance Instructors

Instructor Bio: Angi Carlston

My name is Angi Cardwell, owner and lead instructor at Divine Movement. I am the mother of 2 beautiful girls and the wife of my best friend, John. My life is busy and full of challenges that keep me inspired. I am a certified Pilates instructor who stumbled upon this emerging new fitness trend in 2005.

I had no idea I would own my own pole dancing business when I first started out. I did know that I had a heart for teaching. Hearing about pole dancing on the Oprah show while I was home folding laundry and taking care of my babies, I was excited to see that pole dancing was a means to get fit and have fun!
I knew right away that I had to try it myself.

As a former Pilates instructor and dance major I had been very fit before I had my girls, but being a stay at home mom I found that I couldn’t lose the weight! Several years of no sleep, peanut butter and jelly and Goldfish crackers and I was stuck and tired! I was still carrying 20-25 pounds of extra weight.
I started pole dancing in 2005 and enjoyed it so much I didn’t even think of it as exercise.
I instantly began to feel beautiful inside my body, which motivated me to keep dancing. I started to feel like a woman again. It was amazing.

A busy year quickly went by, but, though I was amazed at how great I felt, I was still not as fit as I’d hoped to be and my progress into the more advanced moves on the pole was very slow to non existent. I still had 15-20 pounds of baby fat. Finally, in 2007 I began to incorporate some of my dance and pilates training into my warm up and workout and immediately noticed a change! My body began to quickly get stronger and more lean. Movements I thought I would never be able to do on the pole suddenly became possible. It is now my mission to share what I’ve learned with other women.

I am madly in love with and passionate about pole dancing and teaching it to every woman I can get my hands on. It is so much fun! I have learned so much, through my experience as a student and teacher, that I want to share. I encourage you to come and join this growing community of women as we dance our way into fitness and beauty!