ahead of our club night with pole dolls, we sit down with pole dolls founder Ella arrozal to talk all things pole
Founded in 2023, Pole Dolls is a donation-based pole class for trans women and trans femmes. The class is based at Kelechnekoff studio, a black-owned studio that has grown into a necessary community space. Akin to the ethos of the studio it’s based in, Pole Dolls creates a much-needed safe space for trans women to exercise, train and learn pole together, founded by pole dancer Ella Arrozal.
Oestrogeneration is super excited to be partnering with Pole Dolls for our next club night at The Yard Theatre. On May 10th, we invite you for a night of dancing and pole performance with a line-up filled with otherworldly trans feminine talent. It is a celebration of the dolls that we can’t wait for you to be a part of. Make sure you get a ticket to attend the doll domination.
Ahead of our party, we sat down with Ella Arrozal, fresh from her incredible performance at the Blackstage showcase, to discuss why Pole Dolls is important for our community, what to expect at our night on May 10th and more!
How did you get into Pole Dancing?
I started attending my first pole dance classes back in 2019 in my forever hometown, Manila. One of my closest friends, Duds, is a pole dancing pioneer in the Philippines and I’ve seen him grow over so many years and he’s always inspired me! I always saw pole dancing as a really beautiful art form that is so sensual, sexual, graceful and full of strength all at the same time and I really connected with that.
What inspired teaching the Pole Doll classes?
So when I started pole dancing, I really was surprised that there weren’t too many trans women in the scene. I thought that I’d find a lot of dolls because this art form is so doll-coded in all the beautiful ways. The pole dancing community, especially the one I was in, was so open-minded, loving and just wonderful and I was a bit saddened that I didn’t find more of the dolls in there. I remember when I was rehearsing for my first major pole showcase, I struggled with decisions about whether I should tuck or not for my performance, or if I tuck, what tucking method should I use to make it more secure yet comfortable. And in the pole dance community I was in, there was no one I could really talk to who would really understand where I’m coming from as a trans woman on things that seem small yet are actually very important.
When I began teaching at Kelechnekoff Studio, I had so many doll friends who were so excited for me and really wanted to attend my classes but couldn’t afford it because of the cost of living crisis. It was such a shame because it was really a safe space and pole dancing (besides being a wonderful art form) is an excellent fitness activity and we as trans people know how difficult it can be to navigate traditional fitness spaces. So because of these reasons, I thought why not create a space where dolls can attend pole classes and just pay what they can and that’s basically how Pole Dolls began! In my heart, I was just like I want to see more of my sisters doing pole dancing too.
You recently performed as part of the Blackstage showcase at the Clapham Grand, how was that experience and what inspired your performance?
Blackstage was such an incredible experience. It was the biggest stage I’ve performed in and I got to share the stage with such amazing artists that I look up to. It definitely gave me a bit of imposter syndrome throughout many points leading up to the show but the whole Blackstage team and the other performers were just amazing, supportive and loving people and it felt really like a family.
So for my performance, I really was torn at the onset on whether I should perform a Filipino song that celebrates my roots or go for a more global pop number. Then I realized you know what, Filipino culture is actually all those things. We have a rich indigenous culture but due to centuries of colonialism, our local culture can also feel like it’s Western-influenced too. I’m like why not celebrate all of that so I had this idea of dancing to Anak ng Pasig by Geneva Cruz, which is a Filipino pop song with indigenous beats that I grew up listening to and then to Water by Tyla. Anak ng Pasig is a song about an important river in the Philippines and so I felt like it really interlaced nicely with Water by Tyla which is of course a worldwide sensation, but what people outside the Philippines maybe don’t know is that last year, that song was a massive hit in my country especially after this group of young queer dancers did fabulous choreography to the song under a waterfalls that even Tyla herself reposted! I implore everyone to search “Water Tyla Philippines” in tiktok to see the video because it’s just too glorious.
What advice would you give to trans women wanting to try pole dancing who are nervous?
My advice would be to just try it and have fun pole dancing. Don’t worry so much about how much core strength or overall body strength you have as there’s so many different levels and styles that would suit you. I recently just discovered a pole dancer in her 70’s on social media and it’s truly so inspiring to me.
What can we expect from the Pole Dolls at our night on May 10th?
Expect pure trans femme excellence! We have a gorgeous lineup of majority BPOC performers who are also representing varying styles and artistic backgrounds. We have someone from ballroom, someone from the drag scene, the techno scene and also the contemporary dance scene among others. I’m so excited with this lineup of performers really!
book your tickets for Pole dolls x oestrogeneration at the yard here
