Within six months of being pregnant, Carolanne Kreiser began noticing unusual symptoms like high blood pressure, excessive water retention, weight gain and abdomen pain. She was diagnosed with preeclampsia, a pregnancy complication that can be fatal if left untreated.
“I was not active at all, which does not mean that I would have preeclampsia but it was definitely a factor,” Kreiser tells The Wren by phone. “So once I did get preeclampsia, my doctor really wanted me to be active.”
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Physical activity can mitigate the risks of preeclampsia by 35 per cent, according to the National Library of Medicine.
“They didn’t want me on bed rest,” Kreiser says with a chuckle. “They wanted to make sure that I wasn’t taking on too much weight, and I wasn’t gonna pack more pounds on.”
At seven months pregnant, Kreiser began to focus on physical fitness to manage symptoms, but she found it difficult to stay motivated.
“I started going to the pool to swim and then going on walks, but it wasn’t exciting,” Kreiser says. “Then when I tried pole (dancing), I just thought it was really, really fun and different. It kind of made me keep going back.”
At that time, she attended pole dancing classes twice weekly at Tantra Fitness in Vancouver and found the focus on learning new moves more appealing than focusing on weight loss.
Beginner pole moves may involve upright swings while more advanced combinations may involve flipping upside down, hand balances and hovering parts of the body away from the pole.
According to Tantra Fitness founder Tammy Morris, a beginner can expect to burn between 290 and 400 calories an hour while an advanced pole-dancing student could burn up to 700 calories.
“At my heaviest, I was 230 pounds and I am 160 pounds now,” Kreiser says.
And just three months after a Cesarean, in late October of 2023, Kreiser was back at pole dancing classes — this time in her own studio.
The 28-year-old now juggles being a parent to two small children – a three-year-old and a nine-month-old — with the demands of studying in a graduate program while running Fly Aerial Fitness Studio.
As a pole dancing instructor and new business owner, she has forfeited her right to maternity leave, citing the desire to train and maintain a healthy weight while having fun, socializing and empowering others.
Fly Fitness Aerial Studio‘s pole dancing classes ‘a community’ for everyone
While weight loss may have been the driver for Kreiser to take up pole dancing, many students report feeling a growth in confidence and a reduction in stress through their participation, no matter their background, age, gender or fitness level.
“We have people that walk through a door that are chronically ill or obese. We do not require anything of anybody before walking in the door, and we will adjust the class so that everybody has a win,” she says. “We also see a lot of support with mental health too.”
A typical class at Fly Fitness Aerial Studio has about nine students and the course content has been structured to feel inclusive and safe for all bodies and gender identities with students aged 18 to mid-50s.
“It is a community,” Kreiser said of the class participants. “When you go to class, we’ll all chat and ask you how your day is going and what are you working on… it’s a very friendly environment.”
It’s the social aspect that draws many of her studio participants.
“I think some of us usually think a lot about the gym where you go and you put your headphones on, and you don’t chat to anybody,” says Kreiser. “Pole is the complete opposite. Everybody’s gonna look at you try, and move, and are gonna yell your name and cheer you on.”
Empowerment for sex workers and 2SLGBTQIA+ community
In spite of having a family, being a student and showcasing a business plan, the stigma of opening up a pole dancing studio proved to be difficult in Kamloops, according to Kreiser.
“Some of the landlords (here) just had the image that we were strippers,” says Kreiser. “And we’ve been told, like, ‘No strippers here.’”
Her goal became to find a location where this form of physical fitness wouldn’t be stigmatized so that sex workers and other minorities felt safe to attend their classes.
“We ended up finding a landlord who was super open-minded and it’s been great,” says Kreiser.
“Pole fitness comes from sex workers and we also acknowledge that, and are welcoming and also reach out to that community.”
While many Fly Fitness students are beginners to the art and sport, some come with a background in professional exotic dancing. The Wren spoke to a participant who earns a living and identifies as an exotic dancer while attending pole classes regularly at Fly Fitness as both an instructor and participant. She asked to go by her stage name, Lily, for personal safety but spoke candidly about the inclusiveness of the studio.
“It’s very empowering,” Lily says by phone. “I feel incredibly confident when I’m Lily. It helps you get in touch with an inner duality that you wouldn’t otherwise get to be a part of.”
She adds that pole dancing has served as a creative outlet and a form of employment.
“The creativity isn’t something I felt like I had before pole dancing,” Lily says. “It wasn’t something I could tap into until I tried pole. I think it’s just because it’s so individualised and so expressive. There isn’t anything wrong per se with how you move.”
Ireland Miller added that the Fly Fitness pole dancing studio has been an ally that continuously supports 2SLGBTQIA+ inclusion.
“The new studio is sex-positive and sex work positive,” says Miller, 21. “The reason I progressed so fast is because it’s such a welcoming environment.”
Miller began pole dancing classes roughly two years ago, and found the environment to be a “confidence booster.”
When Fly Fitness began offering classes, Miller started teaching part-time while completing a psychiatric nursing program at Stenberg College.
“Caro has listened to a lot of my ideas about supporting Kamloops Pride. LGBTQ+ only classes,” Miller adds. “She knows that our community isn’t very supported here. She is an ally and you can just tell. It’s something I really appreciate as a member of the community.”
Miller spends about eight hours at the studio on a weekly basis, both taking and teaching pole dancing classes.
“We each have our own journeys with pole, but they’re all similar in that we all have this lightbulb moment about how pole makes them feel about their body,” says Miller. “It’s a physical change and it’s really, really nice to see.”
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