Welcome to Miss Fit Academy's blog! MFA is Nashville's leading pole dance studio and aerial boutique! Visit our official website or call us at (615) 891-3910.

Sunday, September 28, 2014

5 Commandments of Pole Dancing

hot bodThe pole dancing community is close knit and ever expanding.  Areal acrobatics are fun, challenging, addictive, and a great way to get in shape! Miss Fit Academy is a low pressure, fun environment where dancers can come together and hone their pole, lyra, and silk skills.  Pole dancing is offered in four levels and students advance at their own pace. You'll have fun and tone your body in the process!  If you're thinking of joining our (mostly) pole dance sisterhood there are some things you should know...

  • Thou Shalt Be Ashy
No lotions for at least six hours before class, please! Slippery hands are lethal to pole dancing. If you cannot hold onto the pole there is really very little you can do. This is especially true when you get into the upper echelon of classes, but by then everybody knows this commandment and respects it as Gospel.

  •  Thou Shalt be Scantily Clad
This commandment becomes more important with advanced tricks. Wearing only necessary clothes isn't for titillation, either. Skin sticks to the pole and makes most pole tricks possible. Beginner students are invited to wear workout clothes as the only part of your body that needs to be exposed are your hands.

  • Thou Shalt Remove All Rings, Watches, and Bracelets
Anything metal that touches the pole will damage the pole. Leave your jewelry at home, even for parties. But what about wedding rings? Wedding rings, too. A powerful grip plus a wedding ring will gouge any pole's finish, making it jagged for the next student.

  • Thou Shalt Listen to Thy Body
Start slow. Everybody starts as a beginner and works their way up. All dancers should respect their limits on the path to gravity defying greatness. Take it slow and develop muscle the healthy and long lasting way, and you'll be swinging from the rafters in no time!

  • Thou Shalt Develop Bruises
We all know this, right? Contact with the pole in certain places of the body is gonna be… uncomfortable at times. Your reward for trying new and improved tricks will be stippling-like bruises dotting your affronted skin. Thankfully, bruises are only temporary and your new awesome trick that you worked so hard for will last forever!


- written by JLK

Sunday, September 21, 2014

A Short History of Pole Dance

Pole dancing boasts a decidedly international origin. It began independently in several countries around the world centuries ago. Pole dancing originated firstly in 12th century India as "mallakhamb" and apparently is so popular in the culture that it has its own theme song. A "mallakhamb" is a wooden, roughly eight foot high pole that is slightly larger around the circumference of the base. Suddenly, at the top, a table leg! For grip, we guess? Mallakhamb was intended as a training regimen for wrestlers before the people of India decided that said training produced dynamic and animated routines.

Secondly, in China, pole dancing resonated within the ancient art of acrobatics. Chinese pole is usually performed with two poles and is bite-your-fingernails-all-the-way-off-exciting! Acrobats would wear mostly silk (yikes!) and flip death defyingly between poles. Many of the most impressive pole tricks have been plucked from the Chinese tradition. In the United States, pole dancing began in the circus. During the Great Depression, roving troupes would entertain the unemployed masses with side show acts that included girls in tents dancing suggestively on a stage. The dancers soon made use of the tent poles and there was no turning back!
Hey Sailor
Hey, sailor.

Modern pole dancing is an amalgamation of all three cultures. The gravity defying tricks are borrowed from both Indian and Chinese roots. The footwear and sex appeal adds an American flavor. Many countries have since put their own signature on pole dancing, deepening the creative gene pool that is seen on YouTube. Thus, a mobius strip of ever inspiring greatness will crisscross the globe with every new generation of pole dancers.

Now that you know the history, come try a new spin on Pole Dancing! Our shiny new Spin Pole class adds a new dimension to pole dancing for our students.  Recent California transplant, Sherry, guides our girls on choosing the right tricks for spin pole, proper technique to slow down or speed up, and how to avoid getting dizzy. We hope to see you there!

Spin Pole class: Wednesdays 6:15 pm - 7:15 pm
At Miss Fit Academy: 265 Hermitage Avenue, Nashville, TN 37210
Sign Up Today!

Spin Pole at Miss Fit Academy with Sherry

- written by JLK

Sunday, September 14, 2014

An Exhaustive and Important List of the Greatest Pole Dancers Ever

Welcome to Miss Fit Academy's exhaustive and important list of the greatest pole dancers ever! "Greatest" is, of course, subjective. Some pole competitions rate athletic ability on a large scale while others value creativity. But those of us lucky enough to call ourselves a part of this, mostly, sisterhood, know a rad pole dancer when we see one. Feel free to add comments with your own top five pole dancers and make yourself part of this exhaustive and important list of the greatest pole dancers ever. Lets jump right in with our top five:

Felicity Logan
Felicity does what any good Scottish lass does; she kicks ass. She could probably kick her own ass, and not figuratively, either. She can literally touch the top of her foot to her own booty. At times her extreme flexibility makes her appear inhuman. Just like a wet spaghetti noodle dancing up your spoon!
Logan is presently Miss Pole Dance UK runner-up and winner of "best tricks," and it's not hard to see why. It's amazing to see. She came in second place this year to the artistry of Lorna Thomas and the year before that to the iron-clad body named Sarah Scott, but that is not to take away from the creativity of Felicity's acrobatics.

Jenyne Butterfly
butterflyType "Best pole dancer ever" into YouTube and the first six videos that pop up for your consumption are starring the great Jenyne Butterfly. An Exhaustive and Important List of the Greatest Pole Dancers Ever wouldn't be complete without a visit from the pole dancing monarch, Jenyne. She posted up as champion of the very first USPDF and runner-up in the world back in 2009, and has since been traveling the world giving workshops and appearing in movies. She is co-founder of Mariposa Entertainment Artists and she's currently busy as new mom to little Angel and dancing as dirty Diana in the cirque du soleil show, MJ One.

Anastasia Sokolova
Ana made it to the final round on Ukraine's Got Talent. She transcended the puritanical link in our minds between pole dancing and stripping and had people calling their kids in from the other room to see a girl on a pole during prime time. She was robbed by some peppy polka band. A large woman with a mole and her rag-tag band of moms dressed in jewelry by Hobby Lobby and Leiderhosen rejects made off with one million USD and the pride of a nation. I guess it's hard to recognize good entertainment when you have Russian tanks in your front yard. You'll have to excuse us, we're a tad disappointed with Ukraine right now...

Natasha Wang
wangIf American audiences ever hope to see a pole dancer on TV during the evening, our best hope is Natasha Wang. She's artistic, creative, strong, controlled, and her stage presence is kinda' bonkers. My, god. Somebody put Natasha Wang on So You Think You Can Dance, already! We're actually thinking of writing them a letter on behalf of anyone with eyes.
Dear SYTYCD,
HOW ARE YOU MISSING OUT ON ALL THIS!?!?
Sincerely,
A.W. Eyes

Felix Cane
Felix Cane showed up out of nowhere in 2006 at the Miss Pole Dance Australia National Championship. She had begun taking pole dancing lessons several months prior and wanted to participate in something that she obviously loved intensely. This beotch proceeded to win every competition she ever entered, EVER, in her career as a competing pole dancer. Dang, girl! By 2010, she was reigning World Champion with nine titles under her sparkly belt and has since been snatched up by two Cirque De Soleil shows. Her extension is insane, her lines are perfection, her stage presence unparalleled, and her moves adopted as cannon in the pole dancing world. See her first performance after recovering from severe injuries suffered in a car crash in 2011:




- written by JLK

Sunday, September 7, 2014

Five Exciting Bachelorette Party Themes

Often a Bachelorette party theme is the impending wedding itself; "Last Fling Before the Ring" or "Last Walk On The Wild Side For The Bride." But the theme of your BFF's bachelorette party is only as limited as your imagination!  Here are a few fool-proof ideas for a shindig that you will all be talking about for years.  Every other subsequent bachelorette party will have your benchmark to live up to!

Sleep Over
A nostalgic way to celebrate your friend's single days, a sleep over is the perfect combination of fun and debauchery. The possibilities are endless: Play tipsy twister all night or watch chick flicks with any number of drinking games. Paint each others' nails, conduct makeovers, make prank phone calls*, or have a pillow fight. A classic, naughty game is Truth or Dare - always a great way to find out who's the girl with 17 piercings, who lost their virginity first, or who is actually a closet brunette. Sleeping bags optional.
*Miss Fit Academy in no way endorses illegal activity and is not responsible for any embarrassment that may result from a prank call to, saaaaay, the brides high school crush.
Kiss Party Theme

"Kiss" The Bachelorette Goodbye
You wanna Rock N Roll all night?  Or party every day? …why not both!? Have some shirts made to read "KISS the Bachelorette Goodbye", get creative with the black make up, tease your hair up to high heaven and dig up your most outrageous glam-rock shoes and your leather jacket and hit the town. You'll look so good people will think that Heavens On Fire!  Lick Up all the attention, just be sure your Love Gun is aimed responsibly ;)


Camping NAY "Glamping"
Is the bride more of an outdoorsy girl?  Ramp up the outdoors a notch and take everyone Glamping. There are places all over the world that will see to all your glamping needs. No roughing it here, ladies! Find a pet-friendly site or a luxurious cabana. Stay in a deluxe Tipi in the wide open spaces of Yellowstone, Montana or swing from the tree tops in a magical tree house in Santa Cruz, Califorina.  Bring your girls to a jungle lodge in the Amazon Rainforest for only $30 a night! #TakeUsWithYou!


Vintage Tea Party
When searching for an exciting bachelorette party theme, don't rule out that which is classy. Break out the good china or buy some plates and cups that just look like good china, complete with redundant silverware.  Lace everywhere, petti fours and watercress sandwiches to nosh on and don't forget to find out the bachelorette's favorite kind of tea. The best part of a tea party theme is the costumes. Feel free to get as Downton Abby as you can stand: floppy, frilly hats, bustles, satin gloves, high collar dresses, and even lace up boots can all be improvised or rented for an afternoon. Be sure to take pictures!


Pole Dance Party
Pole Dance Party
Let us get your party started!  Miss Fit Academy boasts an uber feminine atmosphere where a professional instructor will teach you the art of dancing with your inner sex goddess. We offer several party packages depending on whether you want to learn a skill you can use while you stay in (pole dance, chair dance), or go out (coyote cabaret, aerial hoop party).  Most parties include a complimentary champagne toast and some include cupcakes and gift bags as well.

- written by JLK