By Brooke Reynolds
Angelique, a pole and dance instructor since February at Chrome Fitness, embodies confidence and sass when she’s in her zone at the studio. She aims to teach her students to channel their inner vixen, too. To do that, she doesn’t have to say much, as she already leads by example when she’s prancing across the studio’s wooden floor, booty squeezed under her favorite sparkly, scaly mermaid pole shorts.
After all, a Chrome Fitness instructor who repeatedly uses the Instagram hashtag #sundaybumday has got to be fun and cheeky, right?! (No pun intended!)
“One aspect I love most about Angelique is that she is able to dance to literally any genre of song,” Chrome Fitness owner Marcy says. “Her experience in dance gives her such freedom of expression that she often sees new ways to move around the pole and floor that others don’t see.”
Angelique, or Ang for short, has danced since the age of 3. In high school, she did ballet, tap, jazz, tumbling, cheerleading and musical theater. Later on, she graduated from Ball State in 2005 with a BA in General Studies with a focus in Dance and Performance. While there, she added more styles to her repertoire, including modern dance, ethnic dances and ballroom. After college, she continued to take adult ballet classes and taught children’s dance classes for seven years. In 2014, her cousin took her to a pole-dancing class, and Angelique immediately fell in love with pole. She found Chrome Fitness in 2015, took an Intro to Chrome class and never left.
“My favorite form of dance is pole because it is a free and open dance form,” Ang says. “You can make pole dancing work with your strengths and fit your movement and music style. I also love how this openness makes pole accessible to all sizes, ages and genders.”
Angelique’s favorite classes to teach at Chrome are the series classes (101, chrome 200, climb, etc.) because she gets to work more one-on-one with students, help them build confidence and strength, and share in their journey and achievements.
Angelique’s favorite class to take at Chrome is Chrome Choreo because she loves low flow and floorwork. She appreciates that Chrome Choreo is taught by different teachers every month, so participants are always learning a different style and different take on movements. It helps keep creativity flowing.
“I am kind of a chicken when it comes to most pole tricks and anything high,” Ang says. “But I love to just dance, spin, roll, express and flow through movements, which is what a choreo class is all about.”
Angelique’s best advice for a new pole student: Don’t compare yourself or your pole journey to anyone else.
“Each pole dancer has their own reasons why they dance, their own goals they are trying to achieve, and they will each progress and reach them in their own time,” Ang says. “As soon as you start comparing yourself to someone else, you or the other person will start to feel discouraged and disappointed in their own achievements.”