Pound Kakar opens first professional pole dancing studio in Hyderabad
Hyderabad: From hating her body to feeling confident in her own skin, Pound Kakar has navigated through the dark lanes of self-doubt. Thankfully, she found her solace in pole dancing and Hyderabad now has its first professional pole dancing studio. What started off as a physical activity to distract her from a strained relationship is […]
Hyderabad: From hating her body to feeling confident in her own skin, Pound Kakar has navigated through the dark lanes of self-doubt. Thankfully, she found her solace in pole dancing and Hyderabad now has its first professional pole dancing studio.
What started off as a physical activity to distract her from a strained relationship is now a functional business and a career that gives her joy every day.
Moving to Hyderabad from Mumbai at a young age was tough for Pound. To add to that, she fell prey to school bullies. She was made fun of for being skinny. All this pushed her away from physical activities for 10 years as she believed that would make her skinnier.
In 2018, owing to distress in her personal life, Pound was desperately looking for an escape. That is when she took up pole dancing. “I don’t really know. I felt it just came to me. I hated my body for the longest time. But when I was able to get on the pole and do the Chopper move, I realised what my body can do for me,” she says.
Pound Kakar. Photo: Anand Dharmana
Pound grew up in a broadminded family with an identical twin sister and supportive parents who are doctors.
When Pound decided to foray into pole dancing, there was not one dance studio in Hyderabad and she learnt it on her own from the internet. She initially enrolled and attended two classes in Mumbai but ended up returning and mastering moves on her own. She would work all day and practise all evening. This is also when she decided that she would be the one to bring pole dancing to the city.
And in January this year, she did that by opening ‘Pole Fit, Bold Fit’ in Kondapur. The studio has all professional equipment required to learn pole dancing and provides a groovy vibe with good music and lighting. She takes six classes per week and offers two different monthly packages to anyone interested to try their hand at the pole. People of any age or gender are welcome.
“Pole dancing can be learnt by anyone who is interested. There is nothing like a perfect body type or gender that facilitates this. All body types are good to learn this art form,” she says.
Also, anybody with any fitness level can start learning. “I started with zero arm strength and somewhat okay core strength. Now I can do chin-ups really well. Pole dancing is a full-body workout. It conditions you to become stronger and builds your strength and makes you more flexible. It’s a form of fitness and is not only for people who are fit,” she adds.
Many think pole dancing is an erotic dance form performed in exotic gentlemen’s clubs.
“My journey was confined to a few people as most of it was also in lockdown. However, one of my reels on Instagram went viral and there were a few comments that were very sexual in nature. But people had my back and I just ignored it,” she says, emphasising that pole dancing should be perceived as an art form that has the ability to make you love your own body.
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