OUR INSTRUCTORS

  • Body & Pole Instructors Group Performance:
    Kyra Johannesen, Marlo Fisken, Rebecca Starr, Michelle Stanek and Steven Retchless
  • Kyra Johannesen
    Partner / Manager / Pole Fitness Instructor / Pole Parties / X-Pert Master Trainer
    In 2005 Kyra discovered pole dancing. She quickly embraced this new form of dance and, shortly after, was asked to develop the pole dancing program for Crunch Gym. Since then, Kyra has appeared on national television, and numerous media outlets, to show and discuss her style of pole dancing. She has been invited to teach in Europe and is excited to bring her style of pole dancing to Body & Pole. For Kyra, dancing is living life. She delivers in every moment, both on and off the stage.Kyra has recently put together and choreographed a dance performance, Out Through Her, combining pole dance, aerial silks and contemporary dance in the Galapagos Art Centerin Brooklyn, NY.In Oct 2009 Kyra competed in Virginia, in the East Coast US Pole Dance Championship as one of the top 12 pole dancers on the East Coast.Kyra placed 3rd place in the Polarity Competition in Virginia in September of 2010 as well as 3rd place in the American Pole Fitness Championship (Female Division) in October 2010 in NYC.Kyra is one of the top pole dancers in the nation, and has an amazing future ahead of her.Kyra is Group Fitness Certified.Watch Kyra on YouTube
    kyra@bodyandpole.com
  • Lian Tal
    Owner / Manager / Pole Fitness Instructor / Pole Parties
    Body & Pole was founded in 2007 by Lian Tal.Lian’s expertise is in the art of pole dance and she brings a celebrity-value to the studio with her growing online popularity on YouTube. Her pole dance videos receive over 3,500 hits a month and she has over 1000 subscribers to her pole dance performance videos.In February 2009, Lian was selected to compete as one of the top 12 finalists for the 2009 US Pole Dance Championship held in New York City.As a finalist, she received the recognition and exposure to put her on the map as one of the top pole dancers in the nation.Lian is a Board Member of the Pole Fitness Association(PFA), the leading representative for the pole fitness community worldwide.Lian is also the East Coast Event Ambassador and is on the Terminology and Olympic Committees for the PFA.Watch Lian on YouTube
    lian@bodyandpole.com
  • Marlo Fisken
    Pole Fitness Instructor / Pole Parties / Flexibility Training / X-Pert Master Trainer
    2010 American Pole Fitness Champion (Female Division)
    2011 Aerial Pole International Champion

    Marlo, as 23 years of dance training, and is a Wilhelmina Fitness model. Her credits include commercials for Nike, L’oreal, and Sobe Adreniline Rush. She has performed with artists such as Diddy, Nelly, Pharell, Kid Rock, Wyclef Jean  and Fabulous on MTV and VH1. For the past 10 years, Marlo has been leading group exercise classes for major health clubs and presenting at fitness conventions such as IDEA, The South Beach International Festival, and Festival de Fitness in Rome. She is certified many times over (ACE, AFAA, AAAI, NSCA, KANE) and has extensive knowledge of alignment, anatomy, strength and flexibility training.
    Marlo started pole dancing about five years ago out of curiosity, and developed a style that draws from contemporary dance, yoga, hip-hop, dancehall, and acrobatics. Her pole skills have taken her around the world, and landed her a full page spread in The New York Times, appearances on America’s Got Talent, Law&Order, 30 Rock, and and role in the feature film “Rock of Ages” starring Tom Cruise, choreographed by Mia Michaels.
    When she is not performing or teaching internationally, Marlo trains and lives in New York City. She teaches at Body&Pole, contributes to Self, Vertical, and Fitness magazines and is a Master Trainer for the X-pole X-pert certification program

    Watch Marlo on YouTube

  • Steven Retchless
    Pole Fitness Instructor / Pole Parties
    2010 American Pole Fitness Champion (Male Division)
    Appeared on Americas’ Got Talent 2011.An entertainer, Steven was appropriately born in Las Vegas, Nevada. Discovering he loved the stage at age 7 performing at UNLV, Artemus Ham Theatre tap dancing his way into the hearts of the audience. An honored student of the “Las Vegas Academy of the performing Arts” studying dance during his high school years, he was subsequently accepted as a student at the “California Institute of Performing Arts” in Los Angeles, California studying for a Bachelors Degree in Fine Art majoring in Dance. Steven has a respected amount of training in ballet, modern, jazz, hip-hop, aerial silks, gymnastics and pole fitness. His style fuses the lightness of the air with the power of being rooted to the ground. He has a flare that is exposed through the sensual fluidity of his movements. Whether dancing in the sky or twirling on the floor, Steven “Princeton” Retchless has an extraordinary talent for Dance.Watch Steven on YouTube
  • Rebecca Starr
    Pole Fitness Instructor / Pole Parties / Flexibility Training
    2010 US Pole Dance Federation East Coast Champion
    Rebecca comes from a background in Circus Arts and Gymnastics. For the past 10 years she has been performing professionally as a Contortionist, Aerialist and Acrobat in Cirque style productions around the world. She currently performs regularly as part of an Aerial Duo known as Lyralicious, renown for their unique displays of artistry and ingenuity.In early 2010 Rebecca discovered pole dancing and fell in love. She began training seriously with Kyra Johannesen and after only 6 months competed in the East Meets West Trixpert competition, taking 2nd place. Less than a month later she became the US Pole Dance Federation East Coast Champion for 2010.Rebecca is excited to be a part of the world of pole dance and is thrilled to be joining the amazing team at Body & Pole. She looks forward to helping change the public’s perception of pole dancing and promote it as not only a sport, but an athletic form of art.Watch Rebecca’s Polarity Performance
    Watch Rebecca at the Aerial Pole International in Berne 2011
  • Michelle Stanek
    Pole Fitness Instructor / Pole Parties / X-Pert Master Trainer
    2010 Polarity Competition Drama Division Winner
    2011 US Pole Dance Federation Amateur Division Champion
    Michelle Stanek fell for with pole dancing when she realized it was the perfect culmination of her important life skills: Classical and modern dance training + an inherent sassiness + fun. Michelle earned first place in the PFA’s East Meets West “Pole Drama” competition in September 2010 and also Polesque in January 2010.Following her “Pole Drama” win, she moved to Stockholm, Sweden as the lead instructor of the Dancing Queen studio, teaching pole dance, fluidity, strength, flexibility and style. Michelle had the privilege of starring in Royal Republic’s music video for their hit single, “Underwear,” shot and directed by Bingo. She was also a judge and performer for the 2010 Danish Pole Dance Championships and helped to organize the 2011 Battle of the Pole competition in Stockholm. She also taught “Strip Chair” at Balance Gyms to maximum-capacity class attendance.For four years, Michelle has taught pole dance as a group fitness class to everyone from the 17 year old dancer to the 70 year old retiree and everyone in between. She has given countless bachelorette and birthday parties at several studios in New York City. From showgirl and live music gigs to performance art pieces on bendy fiberglass poles that create sound and modern dance shows, Michelle cherishes every opportunity to perform.Watch Michelle on YouTube
  • Kelly Mclaughlin
    Pole Fitness Instructor / Pole Parties
    Kelly McLaughlin has more than 15 years of dance training in ballet, lyrical, modern, jazz, tap and hip-hop. She discovered her love for pole dancing at Crunch Gym in 2007, where she was an instructor and has been featured in print campaigns, TV specials and events for Crunch Gyms. Kelly believes that pole dance provides a unique opportunity to explore fitness, body awareness, movement and sexuality, and will utilize her experience instructing a wide range of ages and cultural backgrounds to provide a supportive and encouraging environment where her students exceed their own expectations.Watch Kelly on YouTube
  • Lauren Goldstein
    Pole Fitness Instructor / Pole Parties
    2010 US Pole Dance Federation East Cost Regional 2nd Place
    Lauren Goldstein first discovered pole dancing when she was invited to a bachelorette party, and it was love at first swing! She has been teaching for five years, starting at Xpose Fitness in Baltimore, and then moving onto New York Pole Dancing. She has competed in the USPDF nationals twice, and took second place in the USPDF East Coast Regionals in 2009. She has also performed with Pole Superstar, has served on the advisory board of the APFA, and has judged Miss Xpose. She is thrilled to bring her down and dirty, sassy style to Body & Pole! Watch Lauren on YouTube
  • Roland Brown
    Pole Fitness Instructor
    Roland has been training in the art of pole fitness for over 3 years.
    He has been teaching the “Turning Tricks” advanced pole fitness class at Crunch since 2009 and is now bringing his powerful moves to Body & Pole.Roland specializes in powerful pole moves and has created a class based on strength training and techniques that help take your pole strength to the next level, Pole Power. This class is perfect for our male students, who want to work on their upper body strength as well as the women who need to work on the more extreme moves and get even stronger.
    Roland performed in Out Through Her, by Kyra Johannesen, as the only male pole performer.Roland is a Group Fitness Certified Instructor and is also an X-Pert Certified Trainer.
  • Meritza Chang
    Pole Fitness Instructor / Pole Parties
    Meritza discovered pole dancing in 2008. She has been an entertainer since the age of 7 singing, dancing and acting whenever she had the chance. She is inspired everyday by the endless challenges pole has to offer. She currently teaches at Crunch Gym and Body & Pole ranging for beginner to advanced classes. She is AAFA certified in Group Fitness and X-Pert Pole Fitness certified. No stranger to the stage, Meritza has competed in Polesque and has performed in varies venues, and loves being on stage sharing her love of dance.Meritza is an X-Pert Certified Trainer.
  • Jen James
    Aerial Dance, Aerial Fabric, Aerial Hoop
    Originally from Arizona, Jen James moved to NYC after graduating from Washington University in St. Louis with a B.A. in psychology and marketing. Her credits span all areas of the entertainment industry and she has danced and choreographed for recording artists, fashion shows, videos, commercials, TV and film in addition to Off-Broadway, stage and club performances all over the US. In 2006 she started MIXT Dance, a dance-based entertainment company that provides customized choreography, dancers and specialty performers for special events and productions. Jen’s recent endeavors involve the integration of aerial techniques with contemporary dance and she believes she has found her niche. With Kyra Johannesen, Kyle McBeth and Ya-Roo Yang, she founded AERA, a non-profit aerial dance company, with which they seek to create and share ground breaking projects combining aerial dance and multimedia installations.
  • Eleina Royter
    Aerial Dance, Aerial Fabric, Aerial Hoop
    Elaina is a professional aerialist who has performed throughout the US and internationally for a number of years. Her background is in Rhythmic Gymnastics where she has over a decade of experience both competing and coaching. She is proud to be a part of Phoenix Entertainment NYC and the nonprofit aerial dance company AERA. She also loves cheese, hugs and old people.
  • Brookelyn Suddel
    Pole Fitness Instructor / Pole Parties
    Brookelyn is a classically trained ballerina and has performed with companies such as the American Academy of Ballet, Ballet Hispanico and the Martha Graham Company. Brookelyn started pole dancing about three years ago and fell in love with it; she has trained and taught with Body & Pole, Crunch Gyms and recently had worked in training the disabled in pole fitness, in addition to performing in various pole dancing performances and competitions. She has also performed for Pole Superstar, PoleRiders, and even brought pole dancing to Couture Fashion Week. Brookelyn is a performer and teacher that never stops and always wants more. Recently, Brookelyn graduated Marymount Manhattan College with a degree in business management with concentrations in marketing and entrepreneurship, and plans to use her new found freedom to explore deeper into the world of pole fitness.Brookelyn is X-Pert Certified, Group Fitness Certified and is also an Anti Gravity Yoga Certified Instructor.
  • Tiffany Chanelle
    Pole Fitness Instructor / Pole Parties
    Tiffany first discovered pole dancing when she was invited to a birthday party, and it was love at first booty pop! She fell in love with the movement, fitness, body awareness, and sexual confidence it provided her. She couldn’t stop taking classes and advancing her skills even further…it became an addiction. Her love for fitness and pole became so great she decided to become certified.She has a love for teaching beginners and to break things down for each person so that they can understand the motion and the move. Tiffany: “It is always a joy to watch a student grow and learn and accomplish things they never thought they could. I hope to challenge my students to push themselves beyond what they ever thought they could do in pole and in LIFE.”Tiffany is an X-Pert Certified Trainer as well as Group Fitness Certified.
  • Tracee Kafer
    Pole Fitness Instructor / Pole Parties
    2011 Polesque Champion
    Dance was a first love for Tracee Kafer, who started at the innocent age of 3. Many moons later, and with over 25 years of tap, ballet, jazz, lyrical, musical theater, and modern in her repertoire, she has now turned feverishly to pole dancing to reach new heights (…literally) and it has only deepened her attachment to dance as a means of artistic expression. She believes that dance can create a deeper knowledge of self, of life’s experiences, and of the connections we have to one another.Tracee has diverse background in pole dance training, and was most recently X-Pert Pole Fitness Certified. Tracee was selected to compete in Polesque in May 2011, where she was awarded Top 3 placement along with Body & Pole instructor Lauren Goldstein. Then in December of 2011, she won A Very Merry Polesque. Tracee is also actively involved in Give Her A Voice, an organization that aims to heal the trauma of abuse through art and creative expression. She recently performed in the first Give Her A Voice production, The Telling, choreographed by Lara Luzim, which raised thousands of dollars for the Brookwood Home For Girls. Tracee also pursues a career in creative design and marketing and works in the health & beauty industry in New York City; but at night, she teaches, studies, and performs the art that makes her feel her most alive. Tracee is X-Pert Pole Fitness Certified. Watch Tracee on YouTube
  • Rica De Ocampo
    Pole Parties
    Rica has always been an artistic, creative person and a performer. She is a classically trained soprano, a black belt in Tae Kwon Do and is studying acting at the William Esper Studio. As a singer, she has performed all over the world and was a guest of honor at the White House for proclamation of black music month in the summer of 2001. Rica studied at the University of Michigan for voice and has a BA in film and video studies.Shortly after moving to New York, she discovered the world of pole dancing and was instantly hooked. In October of 2010, Rica won first place in Polesque, a pole-burlesque competition at the Galapagos Art Space in Brooklyn.For her, pole dancing is the perfect combination of fitness and artistic expression because it requires a balance of strength, flexibility, grace and most importantly personality and style.
  • Olga Karmansky
    Flexibility / Contortion Training
    USA Rhythmic Gymnast 2005 US National Champion and 4-time US championships silver medalist, Olga’s flexibility skills are inspirational, and she is thrilled to share her talent with the students of Body & Pole.Visit her website at www.olgak.com.
  • Isaac Pena
    Flexibility / Contortion Training
    Isaac began practicing martial arts at the age of seven and was introduced to zen meditation at the age of nine. Zen Meditation was his first experience with something deeper than the physical body. He began his yoga practice in the mid-nineties taking daily classes from a wide variety of teachers.In continuing to expand his knowledge of the bodies potential he has trained for several years in Contortion with Jonathan Nosan and personally trains other contortionist and circus performers. Through his experiences as a body worker he is more able to meet people at their level and take them beyond their previous level of conditioning.He is the co-owner of the former Sankalpah Yoga.

  • Nerijus Bagdonas
    P3 – Performance, Power, Physique
    Nerijus Bagdonas is a strength coach, personal trainer, fitness model and the creator of P3 Training Method. Both a former competitive martial artist in Tang Soo Do Karate and NPC Bodybuilder, Nerijus has been officially coaching people of various ages and athletic abilities for over thirteen years. However, his desire to be a coach was evident when at 9 years old he used to wake up kids in his native Lithuania to do high intensity workouts that included sprints, agility drills and splits. *Since then he has attained a B.S. in Kinesiology from Penn State University (2002) where he also worked with many sports teams. He has received numerous personal training certifications including ACE (1998), NASM (2002), and ACSM (2002). Also Performance Coaching certifications from NASE (2009), USAW (2009, 2011) and NSCA CSCS (2011). In 2010 in his first attempt at modeling he won the Wilhelmina Hot Body Model Search and since has appeared in numerous commercials and is a regular in Men’s Fitness and other fitness publications. He believes that improving athletic performance is both hugely empowering, and the key to a well-shaped physique; “In order to look like an athlete you must become one.” With this premise, he developed the P3 – Performance, Power, Physique training system. It is a method of turning regular people into athletes and how he helps his professional athletes, dancers and gymnasts, stay injury free and perform better at their respective sports. As a coach, Nerijus prides himself on his work to help clients enjoy movement and feel comfortable with their bodies. “My goal for my clients is that they look their best but most importantly feel great!” He continues to seek education in athletic performance and practices different training forms including gymnastics, acro-balance, and aerial apparatus.

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