Meet our PBA Family

Hello! I started poling in March of 2018 when looking for a new way to start exercising after a bad bout of depression had me dropping out of my fourth year of school. I had danced and done (light) gymnastics all through high school and missed that connectivity with myself through movement. Pole dancing gave me a new outlet for expressing emotion through movement while also challenging my relationship with sensuality and giving me a passion for strength. It has only been within the last year that I've really been able to flourish in new ways. It was December, 2020 where I learned my first Ayesha and in April, 2020, I placed third in my first competition in Championship Level 4. I have found a passion in performing and creating my own movement and style that has helped foster a new relationship with liking myself and newfound confidence. I really look forward to teaching classes that share my journey of movement and help others find themselves in their journey. 

IG: @anamandabean

Hi, I’m Audrey! I’ve always been involved in some type of dance ever since I was little and fell in love with pole dancing November 2017. I always admired the grace and strength that pole dancers showcased when performing, so that’s what drove me to my first class. Truth be told, I hated my first class because I was terrible at it but it quickly became an addiction when I started seeing progress. Over the past two years, it’s become a form of therapy of me that I want to share with everyone! Pole dancing also brought me back to my love of flexibility training. I’ve come to incorporate it into my daily practice for about a year now. I love stretching and seeing different ways that my body can bend and feel. I feel like stretching is something that people always shy away from but I know that we all have a inner bendy goddess within us. 

IG: @theaudpolerrrr

Hali has been in the pole industry since 2013 and is one of the highest level pole dancers in the south east! She considers herself a bit of a pole chameleon with her floor flow and power pole styles. She’s competed and won multiple competitions and earned her professional level status in 2017.

IG: @POLEMAMA_HALI

 My name is Arica but my dance/pole name is Trouble! I started my pole journey in March of 2021. In the same year I decided to perform in my very first showcase. While getting ideas for my performance, I saw a lot of moves that I wanted to include in my piece but I didn’t see a lot of bodies that look like mine executing those moves. Out of that frustration I decided to become the representation that I wanted to see. All bodies are pole bodies and move beautifully. But when mine moves….it’s Trouble!  

IG: @troubleisshe_

My aerial journey started with a love and passion for the circus arts. Starting from the summer of 2015, I have trained in various acts including trick hula hooping, aerial hoop, balance acts, flying trapeze, floor acrobatics and of course clowning. Late 2018, I followed a calling to try pole dancing and was instantly hooked with the familiarity of physics play by using myself and my actions as a bearing force of motion to create free flow and dance. The power I felt after my first spin was unmatched! With a new vision and such needed body autonomy, I finally felt like my full self. I believe intentional movement is medicine and currently have found space to explore this with teaching kemetic pole yoga, intuitive exotic movement, chair acrobatics, deep breathing meditation, pole dance and aerial hoop. I am currently training to build clinical bodywork certifications in Flexology, Myofascial Therapy and Assisted Stretching to better assist and heal dancers of all walks of life. My first initiative is to always provide safe and representational space as a QTPOC. 

IG: @zoyathedestroya_

Working with children and dance have always been a passion of mine. I started dancing at the age of four and was hooked ever since. I have been trained in many styles of dance such as ballet, tap, jazz, modern, hip-hop, pointe, clogging, and competitive dance. When I went to college, I was able to still take a few dance classes such as ballet and West African. I then stumbled upon the world of pole a couple of years after graduating, strictly out of curiosity and the fact that I really missed dancing. When I started pole dancing, I once again was immediately hooked. It was amazing that I could still use my dance background and learn new skills. I am lucky enough that I am able to teach at an elementary school and still pursue a career in dance. It's almost as if I have the best of both worlds.

IG: @courtloves_you

Alexis Hall is from Charlotte, NC, and has been dancing for more than 20 years. She began dancing in Fayetteville, NC, where she trained, traveled, and competed in multiple dance competitions. She then moved to Charlotte to receive formal ballet, jazz, and modern dance training at Charlotte Ballet Academy. She has also attended summer intensives at Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and performed Panorama with Martha Graham Dance Company.  Alexis is also a ballet, jazz, contemporary, and certified yoga teacher at Fuzion Force Entertainment Academy where she teaches all ages. She enjoys sharing her passion in dance with those around her, encouraging others to use dance as an escape and release from day to day stressors, and creating an environment where people can move freely with no expectations other than to enjoy themselves. 

IG: @balynnce

 Hiii! Dance has always found itself in my life in various ways, but I was never very athletic growing up (video game nerd), and going to the gym never worked for me because I was so unmotivated. I fell in love with pole in 2018 after taking my first intro class at a studio in Chicago, and it significantly impacted the way I view myself and others. I found that I was able to consistently express myself through movement and correct what years of bad posture had done to my back and neck. I found myself accepting and even appreciating certain aspects of my body and ways my mind works that I had previously disliked. I started understanding and resonating with people from many different walks of life, unified through the love of pole dancing. Pole has become a core passion in my life and was the missing link I needed to focus on learning to fully love who I am. There’s no amount of pole burn, muscle soreness, or frustration that could ever keep me from it. I am super excited to share that passion with you and guide you through your pole journey. I am honored to be a part of the PBA instructor family. 

IG: @lexicalitythemuse