On top of the sounds of a booming bass and skin sliding down the pole, it’s hard to ignore the sounds of laughter and joy that resound from the pole studio when Britney Bass is in charge! Britney is one of the many beloved pole teachers at Arkansas Pole Arts, and has recently taken on a new position as the coordinator of the pole program. For Britney, this is all a dream come true, and something she never would have considered when she first started pole.
Britney began her pole journey in North Carolina. Being a part of a military family and a new mother to twins, Britney felt the need for a creative outlet to keep her body active and healthy while making friends in an unfamiliar place. “It took me several months to get up the courage to go,” Britney reflects. “No one would go with me because of the stigma attached to pole, so I went by myself. My first class was terrible, but I was hooked!”
In her husband’s military travels, Britney has been able to train at studios across the country including Fayetteville, North Carolina; Louisville, Kentucky; and Arkansas where she began working at AR Pole Arts in 2019.
“When I was first learning how to pole dance, there was not a lot of plus size representation. It was very hard for me to learn from other instructors who didn’t know how to adjust for my difference in size. I eventually finally did have an instructor who was plus-sized, and she looked amazing on the pole. Her name was Roxanne. She inspired me to keep doing what I was doing, even though as a plus sized person, pole was very hard to learn at first.”
Britney knew early on in her pole journey that she eventually wanted to teach, and specifically she wanted to teach plus-sized people how to pole.
Britney created and teaches the PoleBODY+ workshop: a monthly class designed specifically for plus sized people interested in learning to pole dance.
“As larger bodied people, we have more weight to pull up the pole,” Britney explains. “It’s physics. We have to condition ourselves to get our muscles where they need to be in order to pull us up. In PoleBODY+, the timing is slower. I’m not pushing you into moves that your body isn’t quite ready for. The information comes in bit-sized pieces, and I condition you over time to get into certain moves.”
Britney also offers her students encouragement and empathy as they begin their pole journeys. Britney is known for being nurturing to her students. “I would like to see more plus sized individuals at the studio,” Britney says. “My ultimate goal for my students is to make them better pole dancers than me.”
Britney teaches multiple classes and workshops throughout the week. Check out our schedule to take a class with her!
