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Meet our March 2023 Teacher Feature: Pole instructor Gina Alm and Aerial instructor Abigail Williams-Joseph. We hope you get to know a little bit more about them and their respective dance backgrounds. But best of all, take any of their classes for $25 ALL MONTH LONG!!

Take class with Gina: Use code BPGINA

Take class with Abby: Use code BPABIGAIL

**PLEASE NOTE: instructor discount codes are only valid for classes with Gina and Abigail. Using the codes for any other instructor will result in early cancellation or a $45 single class purchase. No exceptions. 

MEET GINA ALM 

Which apparatus do you teach?

POLE!! I take a lot of aerial classes to hone my aerial technique, but it’s pole dance all the way for me.

What is your training and background in pole dance?

My movement background is in Tae-Kwon-Do and Track & Field. But, I fell in love with pole when I saw a YouTube video of Anastasia Skukhtorova pole dancing to Hallelujah by K.D. Lang on Greece Got Talent in 2015. So I asked my parents for a pole for my 16th birthday, and they got me one!!! I returned to pole after college, dove in deep and made it a focus in my life. I’ve been training seriously for around 4 years now.

How did you transition from student to teacher?

I wasn’t sure I would be capable of teaching, but I really gave it my all during Work-Study and everything came together with the support and guidance of so many amazing people. The list of people I have to thank for this awesome job is very long!!!

Are there any teachers that impacted your pole journey, and if so, what gift did they give you? 

Too many to name here. I will give a shoutout here to my mentors during Work-Study: Alex the Pole Twink and Samantha Star. They gave me the gift of time and attention, and they really nurtured my growth as an artist and as a teacher.

What makes your classes unique? 

I do my best to create a space that’s as democratic as possible, where ideally, we are all learning from each other.

How do you motivate students when you walk into a class with low energy? 

Music is a great tool for lifting the energy of the room!

How do you motivate yourself? 

Becoming a teacher has become incredibly motivating and generative for me.

What’s your favorite playlist to jam to? 

I collect songs as I hear them out in the world.

What is the best advice you can give to someone starting out in pole dance? 

Treat your practice not as a means to an end but as an end in and of itself.

What was the most embarrassing thing that happened to you in class (as a student or a teacher)? 

I am fortunate enough to be surrounded by really supportive people at this studio, so even when things go wrong, or I mess up, I feel ok 🙂

What future projects are you working on? 

I’m working with the Student Showcase this month on March 18 at Drom!! I’m so excited for my students to perform. You can find more details and get tickets here:

Show 1

Show 2

See Gina’s schedule here.

Follow Gina on Instagram @omginaaaaa

MEET ABIGAIL WILLIAMS-JOSEPH 


Which apparatus do you teach? 

My favorite apparatus to teach and to work with is Lyra/Aerial Hoop. Since it’s a bar apparatus, it makes translating skills that you learn on the hoop easily translatable to other appartuses.

What is your training and background in aerial dance? 

I’ve been a dancer and theatrical performer since childhood. I continued performance study through high school and college. When I moved to NYC, I took classes at all major dance studios (BDC, Ailey, Brickhouse, Peridance, Gibney, Mark Morris, etc). Eventually, I found my way to aerial dance through Body & Pole.

How did you transition from student to teacher? 

Unfortunately, there wasn’t a singular pivotal “a-ha” moment that I could speak of. There were lots of small moments that lead up to me getting to this place. Much of it was the experience from classes with different coaches and choreographers that formed the type of teacher I wanted to be. Eventually, a combined effort between many at Body & Pole (mainly Brenna, Summer, Roz, Dalijah, Lian and Kyra) got me to this place.

Are there any teachers that deeply impacted your journey, and if so, what gift did they give you?

There are definitely too many to name, but my mains are Summer Lacy, Alex Grime, Jen James, Brenna Bradbury, Sam Marsh, Sylvanna Tapia, Kyla Ernst-Alper, Susan Voyticky, and Roz “The Diva” Mays

What makes your classes unique? 

I would equate my classes to a nightclub: great music, sexy lights, sweaty bodies, a good time, and an exclusive that you must get onto in advance (much love to my waitlist peeps 😛 )

How do you motivate students when you walk into a class with low energy? 

I always start by setting the mood to something relaxing. I try to read the room of my students and adjust accordingly. I also ask them how they’re doing.

How do you motivate yourself? 

Mostly, I do lots of mindful meditation and motivating music. If I need to, I limit the media I consume which may make me feel inadequate. Lastly, I always say this song to myself as an affirmation:

I am healthy, I am wealthy

I am rich, I am that bitch (Yeah)

I am gonna go get that bag

And I am not gonna take your shit (Uh)

I am protected, well respected

I’m a queen, I’m a dream (Yeah)

I do what I wanna do

And I’m who I wanna be

‘Cause I am me

I Am by Baby Tate Feat. Flo Milli 

On that note, what’s your favorite playlist to jam to? 

You can find my encouragement playlist here. Sadly, it’s only available on Apple Music.

What is the best advice you can give someone starting out in aerial dance? 

Ain’t nothing to it but to do it.

What was the most embarrassing thing that ever happened to you in class? 

OMG, what hasn’t happened? I’m very clumsy, so I’m always falling or tripping over something. My students can attest to that.

What future projects are you working on? 

Well, I’m finishing my last semester of grad school classes and will be working on writing my thesis, so stay tuned!

See Abigail’s schedule here.

Follow Abigail on Instagram at @superflybrowngirl