Well-Heeled Girls Are Having a Stab at Stiletto Dancing

By Linda Summerhayes

THERE are some crazes that Americans go mad for that we British just don’t get – like baseball, or the Dukes of Hazzard, or voting for George Bush.

But it remains to be seen whether the Stateside’s latest, slightly bizarre fitness fashion will take off over here.

There are those who believe it will, and that’s the reason on a Thursday evening I’m torn between wearing my turquoise heels or my sequined stilettos.

The sequined shoes give me a good two inches more height than the turquoise pair, but are difficult to walk in, never mind go through an entire workout.

Neither goes with my outfit for the evening – a tennis vest and knee-length hiking shorts. Not what I’d normally pick to go with any pair of high heels, but then normally I’m not heading off to stiletto-fit – a women-only exercise class which has taken America by storm.

It is now being trialled in the UK by instructors from Polestars, the fitness company renowned for its pole dance and striptease lessons – both of which have taken off in recent years among women seeking trim thighs rather than titillation.

“You’ll be surprised how hard it works your body,” insists Edinburgh instructor Jill Anderson.

The 28-year-old explains that by squeezing feet into my most vertiginous heels, I will not only end up with calves of steel, I will have strong ankles, knees and hips as well.

As instructed, I arrive at the class venue – the Edinburgh nightspot Ego – wearing my gym kit but just so that I do at least make it to the class without breaking an ankle before I start, my stilettos are in my bag.

At the door of the club, I am greeted by a formidable bouncer who eyes me suspiciously when I announce I have arrived for a fitness class.

Once he has established there is indeed a workout about to commence, I am directed to the downstairs bar where I meet the instructor, 30-year-old Anne Goswell.

Usually, Ego on a Thursday night is the venue for pole dance classes, and several of the regulars to that class, who’ve come along to try this taster session, are hanging and twirling from the poles.

They’re willowy, tall, and are wearing shorts and five-inch stilettos. This is when I remember the only time I move anywhere in stilettos without at least four vodka tonics inside me is from my front door into the taxi on the way out.

Luckily, Stiletto-fit doesn’t involve star jumps and lunges like a regular aerobics class. Our instructor calls us to order and announces we are going to learn a dance routine that will make us look like stars. The idea is the routine will give us the aerobic workout while the stilettos will do the toning bit – and learning the steps will make it fun.

While she demonstrates by effortlessly lunging and twirling through the opening bars of Lady Marmalade, I tap my two left feet together in nervous agitation.

The routine consists of strutting forward to the beat while raising your arms like Nicole Kidman in an opening scene from the film Moulin Rouge.

So far so good, but then things get much quicker and, while the routine only lasts a few minutes, it incorporates a wide range of movement that involves stretching your arms from the floor to ceiling. This undoubtedly stretches the legs, the waist, back, stomach and arms, and involves such co-ordination you forget entirely about your footwear and concentrate completely on the moves in hand.

“You look great,” Anne tells the group enthusiastically. “If you learn how to do just some moves and learn how to do them well, it can look just as effective as learning pirouettes and complicated jumps.” Hmm.

The concept of Stiletto-fit originated six months ago in Manhattan at Crunch, one of America’s best-known gyms.

While this session is a one-off taster, enthusiasm develops among the participants for more regular classes.

Natalie Jiricny, who towers above me, perched on six-inch heels, describes the class as “great fun”. The 24-year-old student – a self- confessed tomboy – was inspired to first attend pole dancing classes after being given her high heels by her sister as a joke.

“I think exercise should be fun,” she beams. “Here, you can hop around to the music in your heels and it doesn’t need to be elegant – you can be silly with it as well.”

Marina Jamieson, of Leith, feels that attending the Stiletto-fit class will help her get fit and shake off the stresses of her day job as a debt collector.

“I wanted to come for my fitness and get rid of my flabby thighs,” says the 20-year-old – who has a total absence of flabby bits.

“I’ve been pole dancing for the last six weeks and am enjoying feeling fitter,” she adds.

“I don’t like doing aerobics and going to the gym, but I really enjoy doing this.”

Rachel Sandison, who is experiencing her first workout in heels, shows me her purple courts and giggles as she admits they were once her work shoes.

The 28-year-old explains she has a real aversion to attending the gym, but that when she started to put on weight she was forced to take action.

“I haven’t been to the gym since I was a teenager, and apart from doing belly dancing a few times and walking to my car, I haven’t been getting any exercise at all,” says Rachel, of Leith Walk.

“Six months ago, I was a size 12 and now I am a bad size 14, so I really needed to find some kind of exercise I liked doing.

“I think I am going to try pole dancing as well, which I think I might like better because you don’t have to worry about keeping up with a choreographed routine.”

As for me, well I did enjoy it. It didn’t feel like a good aerobics workout – maybe because it was too new to get into the swing of it. At least I didn’t fall over, although I had several wobbly moments – and actually concentrating on keeping your balance at points made the workout harder.

Strangely, the following day I did feel stiff and aching more down my shoulders and my back than my legs, but I did feel like I’d worked out.

So do I share the enthusiasm of the others for yet another American import? Well let’s put it this way, I’ve packed my stilettos up and put them firmly to the back of the cupboard again, so judge for yourself.

TONING AND STRENGTHENING LEGS AND ANKLES IS REGIME’S STRONG POINT

AS with many workouts, the Stiletto-fit programme is designed to create strong, toned muscles and get the heart pumping.

But unlike other exercise routines, strutting in stilettos while following choreographed dance moves strengthens the muscles that allow heel-wearers to maintain poise while they are negotiating cobbles or running for the bus.

The organisers, Polestars, say that Stiletto-fit exercises will also strengthen and tone calves, thighs and ankles while increasing suppleness in joints.

Taster-sessions have now been held in venues throughout the country and once feedback has been analysed, Polestars will determine whether to introduce regular programmes.

More information about the Stiletto-fit sessions can be found at www.polestars.net

(c) 2007 Evening News; Edinburgh (UK). Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.