Theme Big: Disney Princess Pole Class!

I’ll be teaching a weekly themed pole dance class on Wednesdays at 6 pm EST over zoom- message me for a link or sign up here! If you’ve never taken a themed class with me, below will give you a good idea of what to expect. This is a 60-minute pole class plan for students who are not yet inverting (beginner/intermediate).

There are just way too many pole moves that correspond to Disney. As an ex-princess, I narrowed it down to a Disney Princess theme. Stay tuned for a future Disney Villains class!

General instructions:

  • Dress up! Totally optional, but imho dressing up is half the fun. In the past, I’ve done pole versions of a Muse from Hercules, the Kakomora from Moana, Li Shang, and Cinderella.

  • Free playlist! I have created this playlist for a 60-minute class. If you have longer classes, there are tons of other songs you can easily add!

  • Both sides! As a physical therapy student, I cannot stress enough how many injuries are caused by muscle imbalances. Do yourself a huge favor and always do both sides, even if one side is terrible.

  • How to scale the class to your level: If you are a beginner, I suggest doing moves from the floor without climbing up the pole, or only doing from one climb up. If you are an advanced student, challenge yourself by putting your pole on spin mode or by focusing on your non-dominant side (ideally everyone is doing both sides).

Warm-up:

If you are following my 60 min playlist, the first 3 songs are for warm-up and conditioning. Possible things to include:

  • Tick Tock legs (Cinderella)- the move Twisted Princess requires a very active internal rotation, so this move is the perfect way to warm up for it.

  • Clock Strikes 12 legs (Cinderella)- like the tik tok clock challenge, but using the pole for balance.

  • Frog leg pole tucks (Tiana)- a basic pole tuck, but turning the legs out, bring the legs up like you are trying to tap your shoulders with your knee, and then straighten the legs and circle them down back to the ground.

  • Climb to top of pole (Mulan)- envisioning you are climbing to pull out the arrow! This is a good conditioning move for after you are already warmed up. You can do any variation, but for a Mulan-vibe, I like Basic Climb for beginners and Chinese Climb or Arms-Only Climb for intermediate/advanced students.

Pole Combos: 

I like to do 2 combos for class, with only 2-3 new moves total (the rest are ones my students will have already learned or are simple to pick up).

The Perfect Daughter Combo is a beginner floor and spin combo (done on static pole). You can see this full combo here on my instagram.

The New and a Bit Alarming Combo is trick-based with beginner and intermediate options.

  • Pretty Climb (Snow White)- a pretty climb (at my studio) is a forearm climb with toes pointed on both feet the whole time.

  • Figure Skater (Belle)

  • Twisted Princess (Rapunzel) for intermediate students. Beginners will replace the Twisted Princess with a basic pole sit (you can pretend you are holding and reading a book to channel Belle)

  • Be Our Guest Descent (Belle)- this is the Titanic descent, but I always think of ‘be our guest’ while doing it because the movement to initiate the descent is like you are serving a huge platter in a very showy way.

  • Princess Grip Slide (Megara- I know she’s not technically a princess, but I love her!)- once you end your Be Our Guest Descent your arms will already be in a princess grip with your back against the pole, so continue the movement by sliding down to the floor.

Final Freestyle: I Won’t Say (I’m in Love)

I like to end class with a final freestyle/jam. The goal is to have fun and do whatever you want. Below are a few prompts to play with in your freestyle.

  • Play with different levels- a lot of the lyrics mention levels, so have them experiment with base and pole work. Lyric inspiration:

    • He’s the earth and heaven to you

    • Hon we saw you hit the ceiling

    • You’re way off base

  • Contract/release- this song is great for this because it’s so melodramatic. Embrace your inner Martha Graham and cycle between "contraction" and subsequent "release", which she used as a stylized representation of breathing.

    • Try to keep it hidden, honey, we can see right through ya (Oh nooo)
      Girl, you can't conceal it, we know how you feel and who you're thinking of

  • You're doin' flips- incorporate some flips, whether that is the barrel roll from class or a more advanced trick!

There are a ton of fantastic Disney-inspired pole performances! Below is one of my favorites: Rebeca Sanchez’s silver medal competition piece in the 2018 PSO Liberty Pole Championships. Would love to see any videos or photos if you try it at home or in your studio. Tag @valpolephant so I can see them!

Val Oliphant1 Comment