Saudi Arabian yoga instructor Nada and another woman exercise by pole dancing at a local gym in Riyadh, on October 1, 2022. – When Nada started dancing lessons column, the backlash in deeply conservative Saudi Arabia was both harsh and swift, and she has struggled to weather the setback ever since. Pole dancing as a form of exercise has been tainted by its association with strip clubs and stately homes often depicted in Hollywood movies. (Photo by Fayez NURELDINE / AFP)
When yoga instructor Nada started pole dancing, the backlash in deeply conservative Saudi Arabia was both harsh and swift, and she’s struggled to get over the setback ever since.
Family and friends in the capital Riyadh tell her that grueling exercise — a test of strength and coordination involving acrobatic movements on a vertical pole — is “too wrong”.
Pole dancing as a form of exercise has been tainted by its association with strip clubs and stately homes often depicted in Hollywood movies.
Undeterred, Nada stuck to the course she signed up for a few years ago at a local gym, in part to remove that stigma.
The 28-year-old believes she has improved, at least within her own circle of friends.
“At first they said this was inappropriate and a mistake,” she told AFP. “Now they say ‘We want to try it’.”
But Nada’s insistence on being identified by her name only shows that she and the other Saudi pole dancers still have some work to do.
Promote wider participation
For years, notorious restrictions on what Saudi women could wear and where they could work also limited their physical recreation options.
However, the recent promotion of women’s sports is part of a broader effort to open up Saudi society and build a softer image to the outside world, despite persistent repression. persistent towards activists and dissidents against women.
Last month saw the Saudi Arabia women’s national football team play its first home matches against Bhutan, and a women’s premier league is now underway.
Officials are also working towards more women’s participation in golf, a traditionally male sport that is growing in popularity in the country.
In this changing landscape, at least three gyms in Saudi Arabia have opened their doors and started offering pole dancing courses.
May al-Youssef, who owns one such gym in Riyadh, said: “I feel like pole dancing has gotten more attention, because it’s something new and girls love to try it out. it.
– ‘It feels good on my skin’ –
Pole dancing enthusiasts argue that because alcohol is banned in Saudi Arabia, and there are no strip clubs, the lousy raps of the activity must have come from abroad.
A pole dancing student in Riyadh claimed she was “not embarrassed at all” when she tried it.
“It’s my character, I would say. I am not ashamed to accept my sensuality, my femininity. I’m not ashamed of anything, as long as I don’t hurt others,” she said.
But she admits that not everyone will be comfortable with it and agrees to only describe her experience if she can remain anonymous.
The only reason she stopped, she said, was because pole dancing turned out to be very physically demanding – a lot harder than it looks on the screen.
“I realized it wasn’t my thing,” she said. “It takes a lot of muscle, a lot of strength to be able to do it.”
Gym manager Youssef said she hopes the physical demands of pole dancing will be reflected in the photos and videos she posts on Instagram.
She believes that compelling evidence can be found of its benefits in converting her customers.
“Over time, they seem to like their bodies more,” she says. “They say to themselves: ‘I’m feeling good in my skin’.”
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