How Do You Decorate Your Dance Space?
An interesting tweet
My cool tweep, Angee514, emailed me a few weeks back with thoughts on how we pole dancers decorate our dance rooms. She writes:
My pole is in my basement and it gets really chilly in the fall & winter months. I have to turn on the space heater 10 minutes before going down to the basement to practice. I did put some pictures up that feature all styles of dance and some fake plants to make it look nice and my focus wheel of weekly dance moves to work on. I’m curious to learn how the other dancers decorate their dance spaces.
I thought this was a really cool thing. I mean, we are all so different, how do we all decorate our spaces?
My dance room
A few years ago, I finished my basement and made that into my pole room. It has lovely blue carpet (my feet don’t do well with hardwood), two big mirrors I’ve found at the local recycling center, and – until recently – a stainless steel Lil Mynx pole, right in the center of the room. I also used to have a big folding table piled with music, a stereo (yes, it is so archaic, I know), workout notes, alcohol spray, paper towels, and belly dance costumes.
But, ever since moving in with the man, I’ve had to alter my workout space a bit. It’s still the same room – the mirrors and pole are in the same place – but now there’s a lot of other stuff down there, too. Like a full guest bedroom with bookshelves and a TV. And my man’s beloved treadmill. Plus my office. And inventory.
Happily, we did a good job arranging things so that I still have plenty of dance space, and we painted it a lovely blue, so it’s much warmer and more pleasant.
Oddly, though, I’ve never much thought of how I decorate the space for the ambiance of my dancing. I mean, I’ve thought of it in terms of arranging things so I have room to pole or space for floorwork, or the mirrors in the right place. But I never thought of the importance of a beautiful space in which to pole.
Which is why I love that Angee514 put up pictures of dancing and a couple of pseudo-plants to brighten that creative spark.
The next phase
While I await my lovely new X-Pole, I am now trying to figure out – again – how I want to lay out the space. I had been planning to move the slippery steel pole upstairs, and leave the titanium gold downstairs, to put the most grip where I do the bulk of my workouts. But when we were marking out the studs on the ceiling, I started thinking how cool it would be to have TWO poles downstairs. Then I could do those fun double-pole dances!
Of course, then I’d have to move the treadmill and a mirror. And maybe the inventory (yes, my inventory is all stacked here, next to my computer. Thank god shorts and tanks don’t take up much space!). But, despite the hassle, that’s what I’m leaning towards. I think it will wind up being the most fun!
The main thing, though, is how to set it up so I can get a decent visual for videos. I am the first to admit I suck at videography, but I do know enough to try for a background that isn’t busy. Not that I can always provide that, with everything in my pole room now, but I figure it’s good to have goals. 
What’s your dance space like?
So, my fabulous pole dancing buddies, what’s up with your dance room?
Can’t wait to hear what you all do – I’m hoping it’ll give me some inspiration!
[...] all want a space to pole where we can have fun and let loose. I know I’ve been trying to tweak little things here and there to make my space exactly [...]
@Lyne – Thank you for remembering my beastie boy!
Though I get better workouts when he’s not in the pole room!
Jennifer,
You forgot to mention your gorgeous G.S. boy! Who also happens to co-star in quite a few of your videos. I would say that he definitely adds to your room ambiance.
Well gee, now I don’t feel quite so bad about my pole space. Mine is also down in my 87 year old Minnesota basement. It is cold down there in the winter, but in the summer it is a very nice location. My biggest challenges are the furnace, which my fantastic hubby taped off all of the rough corners on, and my cinder block walls. They are each close enough that I cannot dance in any type of heel. Lucky for me, I must have Toes of Steel (from all those years of being up on my toes belly dancing)and the couple of times I have hit the wall, I did not end up in the emergency room. I have part of the block wall covered with a mirror, but still need to find a couple more. I have a TV & DVD player that I can watch tapes on, and a nice sound system that I have my Ipod docked in. But it sure beats having to drive 25 miles to the closest Pole Studio. As for other decorations, I usually have a few clothes hanging up to dry that I don’t want to put in the dryer, our other exercise equipment, and usually a box or two of herbs or herbal medicines (my office storage space).
I have to admit, that I think I got extra special attention when the guy came out this fall to service our furnace. He was quite chatty and didn’t seem to be in any rush to move on to his next job. He never did ask me about the pole, but made quite a few comments about all of our other exercise equipment.
@Sissybuns – Sounds like we shop for mirrors in the same places! I got my second one off Craigslist, too.
And the recycling center.
@Heidi – Your parties must be a lot of fun!
I live in an apartment so I don’t have a garage or a basement. Instead my pole is right smack in the middle of my living room. So I didn’t have to decorate my pole room. I only have to move my coffee table to have plenty of space and since my ceiling is 10 feet and 4 inches it’s great for climbing practice. The room as such is more along the lines of an old-style library with a big bookcase, 2 sofas, reading lamps by the sofas, 3 framed pictures with erotic art, a big old wooden chest to keep blankets in and a big wooden coffee table (well and also a big TV that doesn’t really fit the style of the room, but then neither does the pole
I have a laptop with all my music on and I can connect that to the amplifier under the TV so I can listen to really loud music while I dance.
My pole used to be in my bedroom but there wasn’t enough space around it to do more the climbs and simple inverts. So I moved it and since then it has been up all the time. I was a bit nervous about reactions from guests (and family) to begin with but everybody has been either really curious and supportive or they’ve just ignored the big shiny metal thing in the middle of the room. And it’s turned out to be great at parties. Someone (usually guys) are always willing to try something and thus provide free entertainment.
My current pole space is the spare bedroom all that’s in there is my pole and a TV on a small stand. I have a couple of big mirrors (closet doors) and some other nice sized ones found on Craigslist and a couple of others I lucked out and found by the dumpster LOL. My room is nice and gets the job done but my feet always kick my mirrors (which is dangerous)and I can’t fully extend my legs in all directions so I’m working on converting my garage into a pole/fitness studio where I can pole and the hubs can lift weights. I’m really excited about getting it up and running for the spring.
@Kira – Ahhh, city apartments …
I so badly wish I could share in this discussion. Us NYC girls often don’t possess the luxury of space. And, if you live in a studio apartment like me, your pole room is also your bedroom and living room. LOL.
Wow! It is so cool to hear what you’re all doing with your dance space.
@Dick – get some coffee! And lay off the goats.
@Anna – That dark purple-mauve color sounds so lovely. And I love that your daycare space is right by the pole room!
@Lori – I bet your neighbors are totally jealous – they want a pink room, too!
@Ange – You know, when I designed lingerie, I toyed with the idea of making sexy stuff out of flannel. I never did it – though Trashy.com does. But, hey, pole dancing thermals is something I can totally relate to!
@Angel1201 – I love the motivational use of photos. Hope you get one of Karol soon!
@Lipsy – The kitty litter thing makes me laugh. My problem is our cat, who just wants to rub up against me when I’m warming up or standing at the pole – which means I can’t do any spins, since I’ll wind up kicking her. Then I have to lock her upstairs, and she always looks so lonely. Why can’t she learn to stay out of range – that’s all I ask.
Yay to Angee for the cool topic suggestion.
Indeed, I’m much like her in that my pole is in my cold, carpeted basement. Unfortunately, it’s also the best place to keep my kitty litter, so I’ve got to make sure it’s clean and smelling fresh in order to be inspired to hop on. I don’t have much room to launch big spins and the ceiling’s only 8ft high, so I primarily just use the home studio to practice new tricks that don’t need to be so aerodynamic. I leave the free-flowing pole improv dancework for the class, where there’s more space to move around and feel free.
My hope is to get the carpeting removed soon so that I can have something more smooth to dance on (darn rug burns!). Also, I need to drape off the kitty litter portion with some kind of inspirational patterned fabric to really get me worked up. I find that the pale blue pain in the room helps soothe me when I get frustrated at silly little moves I can’t quite master.
All in good fun!
Great blog article!
I’ve got the mirrors, I’ve got the poles. Colors are neutral. Room is cozy and only for pole. My favorite thing though, which is why I’m writing, is my pictures. I have glossy beautiful pictures of some of my favorite pole dancers in their signature poses. I even have a few autographs. They are the highlight of my room and they give me inspiration! Thanks Janyne, Felix, Jamilla, Bobbi, Amber, Michaela, and Pantera. Karol – you said you’d send me one girl, I’m waiting!!!
oh…an idea for a full length mirrors, my husband bought 5 behind the door type mirrors, the kind without edges, frames, or bevels. Mounted them SIDEWAYS onto a plywood sheet with industrial mirror adhesive, mounted that to the wall and put baseboard wood edging around it. Now my mirror space is over 4 feet WIDE and nearly 6 feet TALL. Not quite floor to ceiling but close enough for floor work and pole tricks. you see the lines that go between the mirrors, but after awhile, you never notice them, and because they aren’t beveled edges there is no distortion. Total cost around $75.00 as opposed to the hundreds we were looking at, no professional installation and removable if need be, with only 4 molly screw holes in the drywall.
Jennifer,
Thanks for posting the article. @Anna, I am missing mirrors. Your dance space sounds awesome. I have a standing mirror upstairs in my den where I practice my Belly Dance drills. @Lori, WOW, your dance space sounds great and art deco for sure. @Dick my basement is big so I have a lots of space. It’s just chilly in the fall & winter months. Yeah, I know the feeling of needing coffee on Monday’s:) @poleskivvies, hey cutie what about designing some thermal tops and shorts for those of us who might be a little chilly in the colder months of the year. IM just saying.
Ange
Twitter.com/Angee514
I am very lucky to have a home office with a small cut out for my desk so I have pretty much the rest of the room for my pole. I have pink LED Christmas lights lining the entire room on the carpet. And I have two desk lamps that can be directed anywhere I want with purple bulbs. I also have two black leather chairs, although I still haven’t let my man watch me.
Soon. 
Not sure what the neighbors think when the “pink room” goes on, but I love it!
My pole room is our converted 2 1/2 car garage, with hardwood floors and a big no skid room rug in front of a full size couch that sits in front of the pole (which is removable, but I leave up). We have painted the walls a dark purple-mauve color and on the mirrored wall have textered gold paint on it. We hung curtains up with cafe rods to HIDE the mirrors when we aren’t using it as the pole room. The other half of our room is my in-home daycare play area. We have a metal wire across the top of the ceiling and have hung black king size sheets from the wire to make a room divider, which I can close off the daycare space and hide it all when I want the pole environment. It makes it quite cozy in the pole space when in use. Easier to heat too in the winter months. We have standing light poles that I put colored light bulbs in for filming and for ambience, and one hanging flashing colored light fixture from the ceiling. It truly becomes my dancing area and takes minutes to convert.
Monday’s hard. First time I read this I saw “It’s good to have goats.”
I was wondering how large that basement really was.
Need more coffee.