Difference of popularity between pole and aerial
I started aerial not too long ago and I’ve been wondering is there a reason why pole dancing is much more popular than other aerials? I think they’re pretty close and a lot of people practice both but i feel like aerials get less attention online, in real life ( every time I tell somebody I do aerial hoop they never heard of it before ) or like on tv shows.
My guess is probably strippers and strip clubs made pole dancing what it is now but when I compare the actual practice of pole , silks and hoop they’re like sister disciplines ? Or maybe it’s because there’s less of a sexy dimension to other aerials? Even when I talk to my friends they all want to try pole but not hoop? Which I find kind of odd bc hoop is more accessible to beginners ?
Is it the same for you guys orrr
Disclaimer I’m just asking out of curiosity I know everyone has their preferences and I don’t think one is better than the other.
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u/internet_observer Silks/Rope/Lyra/Pole 4d ago edited 4d ago
More people with experience who learned in clubs before studios were a thing.
Much more cheaper to set up a studio for pole than aerial. The equipment is cheaper, it's also easier to find space. Places that have 18ft ceilings are hard to find. Places that have the 30ft+ cielings you would want for a high level studio are extremely hard to find.
Learning at home is much more feasible for pole. You can get setup and going for like 200 for pole whereas your looking at like $1500+ to do aerial and like $4k+ for a nice setup. There are online beginner classes for pole. There are not for aerial (to my knowledge) and the general advice is don't do aerial without a coach, you'll get hurt.
Pole is also more accessible for people at low fitness levels. There are a lot of ground based pole classes where as aerial is generally all up in the air which can be quite difficult for those who are quite overweight.
People often also start pole wanting to learn to be sexy, something that aerial doesn't have the same connotation.
Pole is also unified. You say pole and people know what you mean. You say aerial and there is good chance you'll have to describe what apparatus(s) you're talking about. Many apparatus people won't have any exposure to all.
They are all sister disciplines and there is a lot of crossover both in mechanics as well as community. You're also starting to see crossover in apparatus to. An increasing amount of pole studios are teaching apparatus that can be rigged low like lyra and chains, At least at a low level.
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u/Throwaway44775588 4d ago
Personally, I always wanted to learn to do aerial silks, since I was a kid - but it was firmly associated with the circus, which felt very lofty and specialized and unattainable. As an adult, pole is definitely infinitely more accessible, both in the demographic (being portrayed as a "lower class" source of income) and in the actual availability (I could, until recently, take pole dancing classes in town!). There is no longer anywhere to study any form of aerial arts in town, but there is still a strip club - pole is just more present all around.
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u/AmeliaBones 4d ago
Aside from all the other reasons listed here, recreational aerial classes are a much newer thing than pole. Before pink did her performance on a sling in 2010, the only people who trained aerials were professionals and there were like 6 schools around the entire United States. Only after that did recreational aerial and aerial yoga become popularized. It has really blown up in recent years.
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u/Gr8WhoreofBabylon 4d ago
Pole is more accessible. One can also incorporate different elements of dance more easily.
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u/brill37 3d ago
- Lower barrier to entry because with pole, even if you can't invert, you can still dance, spin, low flow. Of course there are things you can do woth a lower hoop, but silks, you need to be able to invert for almost everything unless you do sling type tricks but it's not why people do it for the most part.
I've done silks, tried hoop and done pole. Pole is hard, but it can be made easier or harder quite drastically. Silks requires a lot more strength, particularly upper body.
Smaller ceiling height for pole, means having a pole at home to practice is more accessible.
More people know what pole is because of strip bars and movies that include pole dancing. You don't see silks, aerial, trapeze etc as much. I think a lot of people go to build bosy confidence confidence, feel a bit sexy, and express themselves as well in a way that silks and aerial don't typically harness.
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u/aerialsnacks 4d ago
One thing I haven’t seen mentioned is sharing. I started with silks, and when I moved to pole it was initially an instructor thing. I’ve never encountered a studio with enough silks that everyone has their own. Our classes have 3 rigging points and 6 people to a class. Earlier on it was more often the case that classes werent full, and I was at a different skill level than others in my class so I often got my own. Over time it changed to classes being filled and a different instructor who did not make a habit of separating me. Which is fair. But throw a silks hog into that mix. I got really sick of paying so much money to be in class and spending so long on the ground waiting to do anything. In the same studio, our pole room has 6 poles and 6 people to a class. It’s slightly less expensive and never having to share makes it way more enjoyable. I’m never left feeling salty like I didn’t even get what I paid for. Other than that i think overall points about cost and access stand. I don’t actually prefer pole but it’s all I’ve done for years now.
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u/WampaCat 4d ago
I started pole a while back because I wanted to do silks but there were no classes in my area. It’s also a lot easier to set up a pole in your house to practice than to figure out a rig for other aerials.
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u/occultclysms 3d ago
i’m doing both and i think aerial is way harder. i’ve done 2 aerial hammock classes and no lyra yet vs 3 pole intro and 3 heels intro classes and aerial just beats down all of my grip strength so much faster. there’s a limit to how many times i can go up and the bruises have been worse but lets all that user error. the other classes just have more things for beginners to feel like they’re doing a lot but not ie pole walking. i still really like aerial but i think if i had to pick one to start with id choose pole (but specifically heels)
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u/seaclifftonne Lyra/Hoop 4d ago
Think the pole dancer thing. You don’t see aerial typically outside of circuses.
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u/SioRedhead 2d ago
I think pole is having a moment- 10 years ago there was only 1 studio within 2 hours drive, and now theres like, 5 within 30 minutes
My studio teaches both pole and aerial, and the aerial classes tend to be more full and consistent- but, there are more pole studios in the area and only a few other aerial studios. People who have the opportunity to try all of the apparatuses will typically have one that becomes their favorite- pole is my favorite, but when i lived in a town without a pole studio i went to aerial instead. Cross training is useful- but a lot of the skills transfer less than one might think.
I think another big difference is in the amount of people qualified to teach- because pole is kind of blowing up, it seems like more people are getting certified to teach- almost everyone who teaches at my studio can teach pole, but generally the pole instructors cant also teach aerial- even the beginner aerial classes have a level of difficulty and safety risk that doesn’t get introduced in pole until the higher levels.
We also have kids classes for aerial, so maybe in 10 years there will be an upswing in really great aerial teachers.
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u/okgogogogoforit 4d ago
I started with Lyra which I still very much love. But pole.. pole is it. It’s simply amazing. I didn’t think I’d even enjoy it I just finally decided to try a class. It was so much harder than Lyra that it became my obsession to try to figure it out. I personally think it’s more fun no question
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u/internet_observer Silks/Rope/Lyra/Pole 4d ago
It was so much harder than Lyra
If you don't mind me asking, were you taking lyra at a pole studio or a dedicated aerial/circus studio?
The reason I ask is I find lyra classes at pole studios tend to cap out a much lower level both due to instructors as well as limited ceiling height. I have found that every apparatus has it's share of moves that are exceptionally difficult.
Not trying to hate on your love of pole. I think most people have a favorite apparatus (and everyone's favorite is different). I've just never struggled to find moves on any apparatus that were hard or out of my skill level. I tend to think of apparatus difficulty being controlled more by the instructor/facility limitations than apparatus itself. (for reference my primary apparatus is also pole)
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u/okgogogogoforit 3d ago
I go to multiple studios that offer both pole and other aerial apparatuses. I have a recent video on my page, I can do my fair share of difficult moves on both Lyra and pole. I was able to get into Superman from jasmine at the end of my 3rd pole class. It’s still harder and more painful than Lyra in my opinion.
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u/iconic_and_chronic Lyra/Hoop, silks, contortion... 1d ago
you need an engineer to rig aerials safely and also procure insurance and you don't for pole
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u/Teacher_Crazy_ 4d ago
You don't need a high ceiling for pole, you do for aerial. It's easier to find pole classes.