The students are timid at first. A few girls stand with their hands on their hips as they watch Dolby, 22 years old, spin around the pole with such grace and ease she would look like a Russian ballerina — if it weren’t for the Pussycat Dolls song playing from the stereo in the corner of the room. But after a bit of stretching and chatting, the girls twirl themselves around the poles, hair breezing and toes pointed.

“People are kind of self-conscious a bit, so you have to break out,” she said. “By the end of the class, people transform.”

Far from the stereotype

Although Dolby has had only two years of pole dancing experience, it seems she can do virtually every move possible. Originally from Beverly Hills, Mich., she was never an exotic dancer. But Dolby said she is familiar with that atmosphere.

“I never danced on stages,” she said. “I thought about it, but I started dating someone and he wasn’t comfortable with it. I’m still with the same guy, and I respect our private relationship.”

Although Dolby has never taken her clothes off on stage, she’s taught dancers in the area. Her class doesn’t involve any nudity.

“We’re not stripping,” Dolby said. “It’s not negative or dirty. There’s no negative connotation of what we’re doing.”

In fact, Dolby is far from liberal.

“I’m a really conservative person,” she said. “I have high morals, high standards. I even vote conservative.”

To promote Pin-Up Pole Dancing, Dolby passed out flyers across campus that sometimes resulted in curious phone calls from recipients.

“Some girls were calling to ask if it was a joke,” Dolby said. “One ended up signing up, but I can’t believe people would think I’d go to such lengths to fake them.”

“People want to see a show”

Pole dancing isn’t just about working out or being sexy, Dolby said. It’s about the two merging to create a brave, bold art form.

“It’s fun, it’s physical,” she said. “(The students) are working and I like that. They’re actually getting to do something. It’s a release.”

Dolby started her college career at the University of Delaware before transferring to MSU. She soon discovered East Lansing had very few activities oriented especially to females.

“A lot of the activities here are male-oriented,” she said. “Football, beer pong, the bar, eating a lot. I wanted girls to have somewhere to go to embrace their sexuality. It’s unfortunate that there’s not a lot to do for just us girls that’s good for us.”

Dolby’s two years of classes taught her the knowledge she sprinkles upon her pupils. The elements that go into pole dancing are beyond the obvious.

“You’re an entertainer, a performer, and people want to see a show,” Dolby said. “You’re exuding sexuality.”

Her favorite moves are the “lotus” and “fallen angel.” In about two seconds, Dolby twists herself upside down around the pole, managing to keep her face from showing any strain. But she wasn’t always so talented. She once attempted to perform an upside-down trick, before collapsing onto her forehead.

“I bruised my forehead and it was not sexy,” Dolby said. “It was the antisexy.”

Introducing moves like the “squatting thrust,” “princess,” “fireman” and “back bend,” Dolby doesn’t go easy on her beginner class.

“I primarily think it’s a mental thing,” she said. “The most difficult part is believing that you’re not getting hurt.”

It’s sexy, but it hurts

Psychology junior Kim Paselk and her roommate, hospitality business junior Corrina Serra, attended one of Dolby’s beginner classes.

“We really wanted to get in shape because we didn’t much last semester,” Paselk said. “We don’t like traditional exercise, and this is a fun way to get some shape and some tone.”

The girls didn’t anticipate just how intense the classes would actually be. The next day, Paselk’s body was extremely sore.

“I couldn’t even move my arms the next day,” she said. “I was in horrible pain.”

Fortunately, the pain was worth it for Paselk who said she feels significantly sexier after two classes and often showcases her moves at the bar after a bit of “liquid courage.”

“There’s, like, support beams at Rick’s (American Café) that I’ve substituted for a pole,” Paselk laughed.