Explore every episode of the podcast The Pole Dance Performer
| Title | Pub. Date | Duration | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 27. The Adult Dance Class Rant: Why Ballet, Jazz, and Contemporary Classes Leave You Feeling Behind | 08 Oct 2026 | 00:10:03 | |
Resources mentioned: https://www.poledancefoundations.com/FlowCodes --- You did the responsible thing. You signed up for an adult ballet, jazz, or contemporary class to build the foundation under your pole dancing. And you walked out feeling like the slowest person in the room. In this episode I break down the curse of knowledge. It is the reason instructors who grew up dancing skip the basics and leave you filling in blanks nobody gave you. I call out my own industry too. Pole teachers do it as well. Then I decode four elements of stage presence people call magic and show you the mechanics underneath: circles, pivots, angles, and pit-stops. What you'll learn:
Note: Pole dance was created by skrippers and sex workers. Full stop. They built this art form from the ground up, the studios, the moves, the culture, all of it. I would not be here without them. I honor that history and I stand in solidarity with sex workers and their rights. Always. | |||
| 26. The Stew and the Meat and Potatoes: Why You Don't Feel Like a Dancer Yet | 01 Oct 2026 | 00:07:21 | |
Resources mentioned: 💃 Pole Dance Foundations Membership: https://www.poledancefoundations.com/polefromhome 💃 See EVERYTHING: https://www.poledancefoundations.com/everything You have the tricks. Inversions, a layback, a couple of drops that make people gasp at open pole. So why does a full song still feel clunky? Trick, awkward pause, walk, trick. Sergia breaks down the difference between your trick vocabulary and your grounded movement, and why the second one is what actually makes a routine read as dancing. It is also your safety net for the moment your brain blanks on stage. Note: Pole dance was created by skrippers and sex workers. Full stop. They built this art form from the ground up — the studios, the moves, the culture, all of it. I would not be here without them. I honor that history and I stand in solidarity with sex workers and their rights. Always. | |||
| 25. Why the Beginners Look Like the Strongest People in the Room | 24 Sep 2026 | 00:15:41 | |
Resources mentioned: 🎟️ Free Pole Performer Summit (Sept 23-26): https://www.poledancefoundations.com/PolePerformerSummit 💃 Pole Dance Foundations Membership: https://www.poledancefoundations.com/polefromhome Watch any pole studio and you'll see it. Beginners look like the strongest people in the room, veins popping, muscling through every move. The advanced dancers in the corner look like they're floating through the same moves. That's not because they got stronger. It's because they stopped paying full price for their movement. The gap between a beginner and an advanced dancer isn't strength. It's efficiency, and efficiency is a skill you can learn. In this episode I break down two foundational concepts, Orbiting on static pole and perpendicular pressure, that explain why some dancers work so hard for so little and others get the same movement for a fraction of the cost. I also get into why this matters beyond survival, because every bit of effort you save through efficiency is effort you get to spend on your face, your intention, and your performance. What You'll Learn:
--- Note: Pole dance was created by skrippers and sex workers. Full stop. They built this art form from the ground up — the studios, the moves, the culture, all of it. I would not be here without them. I honor that history and I stand in solidarity with sex workers and their rights. Always. | |||
| 24. You Don't Lack Strength. You Lack a Diagnosis. | 17 Sep 2026 | 00:10:55 | |
Resources mentioned: 🎟️ Free Pole Performer Summit (Sept 23-26): https://www.poledancefoundations.com/PolePerformerSummit 💃 Pole Dance Foundations Membership: https://www.poledancefoundations.com/polefromhome You Don't Lack Strength. You Lack a Diagnosis. There's a move you keep cutting from your routines. You drilled it for weeks, then swapped it out ten days before your show and told yourself the choreography flowed better without it. It didn't. This episode is about why that move is still stuck, and it's not the reason you think. Every dancer has a nemesis move, the one that gets cut right before it counts. Most of us respond by drilling harder, watching more tutorials, and deciding we don't have what it takes. I built the Three-Steps-Back Test to prove that's the wrong diagnosis almost every time. In this episode I break down why "get stronger" has become the default answer to every stuck move, and when the real gap sits three steps back in a foundation nobody checked. What You'll Learn:
| |||
| 23. Why Your Saved Tutorials Never Make It to the Stage | 27 Aug 2026 | 00:10:31 | |
Resources mentioned: 🎟️ Free Pole Performer Summit (Sept 23-26): https://www.poledancefoundations.com/PolePerformerSummit 💃 Pole Dance Foundations Membership: https://www.poledancefoundations.com/polefromhome Why Your Saved Tutorials Never Make It to the Stage: You have 400 saved pole tutorials on Instagram. You watch them on your lunch break. You drill them at open pole. So why does none of it connect when a full song comes on? In this episode I introduce you to Winging It Wanda, the pole dancer who builds her whole education out of 60 second tutorials and ends up with a pile of trick morsels instead of a dance. I break down why demonstration is not instruction, what is actually happening under the waterline of every trick you have ever watched online, and why an audience does not applaud positions, they feel moments. What you'll learn:
skrippers solidarity 🔥 | |||
| 22. From Concept to Stage 4/4: REFINE | 13 Aug 2026 | 00:06:57 | |
LINKS MENTIONED: Free Masterclass: Compelling Pole Routines poledancefoundations.com/compellingroutines Free Training: The Choreography Code poledancefoundations.com/poleartistmentorship Create Your Routine with Sergia 1:1 poledancefoundations.com/routinemap | |||
| 21. From Concept to Stage 3/4: EMBODY | 06 Aug 2026 | 00:13:49 | |
LINKS MENTIONED: Free Masterclass: Compelling Pole Routines poledancefoundations.com/compellingroutines Free Training: The Choreography Code poledancefoundations.com/poleartistmentorship Create Your Routine with Sergia 1:1 poledancefoundations.com/routinemap | |||
| 20. From Concept to Stage 2/4: MAP | 30 Jul 2026 | 00:14:22 | |
LINKS MENTIONED: Free Masterclass: Compelling Pole Routines poledancefoundations.com/compellingroutines Free Training: The Choreography Code poledancefoundations.com/poleartistmentorship Create Your Routine with Sergia 1:1 poledancefoundations.com/routinemap | |||
| 19. From Concept to Stage 1/4: DEFINE | 23 Jul 2026 | 00:07:22 | |
LINKS MENTIONED: Free Masterclass: Compelling Pole Routines poledancefoundations.com/compellingroutines Free Training: The Choreography Code poledancefoundations.com/poleartistmentorship Create Your Routine with Sergia 1:1 poledancefoundations.com/routinemap | |||
| 18. Your Entrance and Your Bow Are Part of the Routine. The Stage Presence Series — Part 4 | 16 Jul 2026 | 00:12:33 | |
LINKS MENTIONED: Free Masterclass: Compelling Pole Routines poledancefoundations.com/compellingroutines Free Training: The Choreography Code poledancefoundations.com/poleartistmentorship Create Your Routine with Sergia 1:1 poledancefoundations.com/routinemap Follow Sergia: @sergialouise on Instagram --- The Routine Starts Before the Music Does. This is the final episode of the Stage Presence Series, and I saved my favorite for last. Most dancers treat their entrance as the walk to the pole before the real thing starts. And the bow? Something to get through after it ends. Both of those assumptions are costing you. Your audience starts forming an opinion the second you step into the light. Before the first note plays. Before your first move. And that opinion? It shapes how they receive everything that follows. If you walk out without intention, you've already made a choice. You've just made it accidentally. The same is true for the bow. What your character does after the last note fades is still part of the performance. Don't let the routine bleed out awkwardly. Today I get specific on how to choreograph both, how to stay in character from wing to wing, and why the moments everyone forgets are often the ones that hit hardest. | |||
| 17. Write a Script for Your Routine (No One Else Has to See It)" The Stage Presence Series — Part 3 | 09 Jul 2026 | 00:07:56 | |
LINKS MENTIONED: Free Masterclass: Compelling Pole Routines poledancefoundations.com/compellingroutines Free Training: The Choreography Code poledancefoundations.com/poleartistmentorship Create Your Routine with Sergia 1:1 poledancefoundations.com/routinemap Follow Sergia: @sergialouise on Instagram --- Your Character Is Always Saying Something. Do You Know What It Is? Here's a thing I want you to try: write a script for your routine. Not choreography notes. Not a song map. An actual script — what your character is saying in every single moment, even though the audience will never hear a word of it. I know. It sounds a little ridiculous. Stay with me. This comes from actor training, and it's one of the most powerful performance tools I know. You cannot play an emotion on command. But you can play an action. And when your character has something specific to say in each moment, your body figures out the rest automatically. Your face knows what to do. Your eyes know where to go. Your gestures get specific instead of decorative. I walk you through how to actually write the script, share a real example from a student's assassin routine (yes, it sounds absurd, yes it works), and explain why nobody has to see this document except you. | |||
| 16. Don't Worry About Stage Presence. Choreograph It In. The Stage Presence Series — Part 2 | 02 Jul 2026 | 00:06:16 | |
LINKS MENTIONED: Free Masterclass: Compelling Pole Routines poledancefoundations.com/compellingroutines Free Training: The Choreography Code poledancefoundations.com/poleartistmentorship Create Your Routine with Sergia 1:1 poledancefoundations.com/routinemap Follow Sergia: @sergialouise on Instagram --- Stage Presence Isn't Something You Feel. It's Something You Build. In Part 1, I went on a rant about the note "you need better stage presence" and why it's one of the most useless pieces of feedback in pole. Today I'm giving you the actual answer. Don't try to conjure up stage presence before you walk onstage. Don't dial up your intensity or make bigger eye contact. Instead: choreograph it in. Stage presence is the result of specific decisions made during the choreographic process, not in the performance moment. And the most foundational of those decisions is focus. Not vague, general, out-into-the-audience focus. Specific, intentional, character-driven focus. In every moment of your routine, where are your eyes? What is your character looking at? Why? Most dancers haven't answered those questions. And that unanswered question is what an audience perceives as lack of presence. We also talk about subtext, actions, and what's actually happening when a routine feels magnetic versus hollow. --- | |||
| 15. Stage Presence Isn't a Vibe. It's Built in Moments (Stage Presence Series 1/4) | 25 Jun 2026 | 00:10:13 | |
LINKS MENTIONED: Free Masterclass: Compelling Pole Routinespoledancefoundations.com/compellingroutines Free Training: The Choreography Codepoledancefoundations.com/poleartistmentorship Create Your Routine with Sergia 1:1poledancefoundations.com/routinemap Follow Sergia: @sergialouise on Instagram --- In this episode Sergia breaks down why "you need better stage presence" is one of the most useless notes in pole — and what stage presence actually is and how to build it. You'll walk away with:Why stage presence is not a general feeling you dial up — it's built in specific momentsWhat subtext and action mean in pole performance and how to find them in your own routineWhy smiling more and making bigger eye contact might actually be working against you —Note: Pole dance was created by skrippers and sex workers. Full stop. They built this art form from the ground up — the studios, the moves, the culture, all of it. I would not be here without them. I honor that history and I stand in solidarity with sex workers and their rights. Always. | |||
| 14. Two Exercises That Will Change How You Choreograph to Music (Musicality Series 4/4) | 18 Jun 2026 | 00:12:14 | |
Join me June 24-27 for the Free Choreo Cookout Challenge: Heels Edition | |||
| 13. Music Has Layers. Here's How to Use Them. (Musicality Series 3/4) | 11 Jun 2026 | 00:10:04 | |
Join me for the Chore Cookout Heels Edition Free Challenge June 24-27 | |||
| 12. If You Hear It, It Exists (Musicality Series 2/4) | 04 Jun 2026 | 00:08:07 | |
Join me for the Free Choreo Cookout: Heels Edition Challenge June 24-28 Register here | |||
| 11. Musicality Isn't What You Think It Is (Musicality Series 1/4) | 28 May 2026 | 00:08:47 | |
Join me for the Free Choreo Cookout: Heels Edition Challenge June 24-28 Register here | |||
| 10. The Quote That Changed Everything for Me | 21 May 2026 | 00:11:59 | |
LINKS MENTIONED: Free Masterclass: Compelling Pole Routines poledancefoundations.com/compellingroutines Free Training: The Choreography Code poledancefoundations.com/poleartistmentorship Create Your Routine with Sergia 1:1 poledancefoundations.com/routinemap Follow Sergia: @sergialouise on Instagram --- In this episode Sergia shares the Martha Graham quote she taped to her bedroom wall at sixteen — and why it might be exactly what you need to hear right now. You'll walk away with:-Why comparing your work to someone else's is not just painful — it's beside the point-How performing for approval keeps you from making work that's actually yours-Why you don't have to feel ready or confident to keep the channel open —Note: Pole dance was created by skrippers and sex workers. Full stop. They built this art form from the ground up — the studios, the moves, the culture, all of it. I would not be here without them. I honor that history and I stand in solidarity with sex workers and their rights. Always. | |||
| 9. Your Spinning Pole Is a Storytelling Tool (Here's How to Use It) | 14 May 2026 | 00:07:07 | |
LINKS MENTIONED:
--- In this episode Sergia breaks down why your spinning pole is one of the most powerful storytelling tools you have — and how to use it intentionally. You'll walk away with: -Why where you put your spin pass is a storytelling decision, not just a technical one-The difference between what belongs on static versus spin — and why it matters-How to make sure your spin pass is earned so the escalation actually lands —Note: Pole dance was created by skrippers and sex workers. Full stop. They built this art form from the ground up — the studios, the moves, the culture, all of it. I would not be here without them. I honor that history and I stand in solidarity with sex workers and their rights. Always. | |||
| 8. Stage Fright Is Lying to You | 07 May 2026 | 00:06:00 | |
LINKS MENTIONED:
poledancefoundations.com/compellingroutines
poledancefoundations.com/poleartistmentorship
poledancefoundations.com/routinemap Follow Sergia: @sergialouise on Instagram --- In this episode Sergia breaks down what's actually happening in your body on performance day — and why the voice telling you to run is lying. You'll walk away with:
—Note: Pole dance was created by skrippers and sex workers. Full stop. They built this art form from the ground up — the studios, the moves, the culture, all of it. I would not be here without them. I honor that history and I stand in solidarity with sex workers and their rights. Always.— | |||
| 7. Props: When to Use Them, When to Ditch Them | 30 Apr 2026 | 00:05:10 | |
LINKS MENTIONED:
poledancefoundations.com/compellingroutines
poledancefoundations.com/poleartistmentorship
poledancefoundations.com/routinemap Follow Sergia: @sergialouise on Instagram --- In this episode Sergia breaks down exactly when a prop earns its place on stage — and when it's just a distraction. You'll walk away with: The one question to ask before you ever bring a prop to a performance The four rules every prop must follow to actually serve your routine How to know if your prop is helping your story or splitting your focus — Note: Pole dance was created by skrippers and sex workers. Full stop. They built this art form from the ground up — the studios, the moves, the culture, all of it. I would not be here without them. I honor that history and I stand in solidarity with sex workers and their rights. Always. | |||
| 6. The One Thing That Makes or Breaks a Pole Performance (That Has Nothing to Do With Pole) | 23 Apr 2026 | 00:06:23 | |
LINKS MENTIONED:
poledancefoundations.com/compellingroutines
poledancefoundations.com/poleartistmentorship
poledancefoundations.com/routinemap Follow Sergia: @sergialouise on Instagram --- In this episode, Sergia breaks down why concept is the single most important ingredient in any pole performance — and what's actually missing when a routine doesn't land. You'll walk away with:
--- Note: Pole dance was created by skrippers and sex workers. Full stop. They built this art form from the ground up — the studios, the moves, the culture, all of it. I would not be here without them. I honor that history and I stand in solidarity with sex workers and their rights. Always. | |||
| 5. Why You Freeze When You Try to Choreograph (And What to Do Instead) | 16 Apr 2026 | 00:06:04 | |
LINKS MENTIONED:
poledancefoundations.com/compellingroutines
poledancefoundations.com/poleartistmentorship
poledancefoundations.com/routinemap Follow Sergia: @sergialouise on Instagram --- In this episode, Sergia breaks down why choreographer's freeze has nothing to do with creativity — and the simple systems fix that gets you moving again. You'll walk away with:
--- Note: Pole dance was created by skrippers and sex workers. Full stop. They built this art form from the ground up — the studios, the moves, the culture, all of it. I would not be here without them. I honor that history and I stand in solidarity with sex workers and their rights. Always. | |||
| 4. The Tiny Gestures That Make an Audience Feel Everything | 09 Apr 2026 | 00:04:48 | |
LINKS MENTIONED:
poledancefoundations.com/compellingroutines
poledancefoundations.com/poleartistmentorship
poledancefoundations.com/routinemap Follow Sergia: @sergialouise on Instagram -- In this episode, Sergia breaks down why small, intentional gestures are one of the most powerful performance tools you're probably not using. You'll walk away with:
--- Note: Pole dance was created by skrippers and sex workers. Full stop. They built this art form from the ground up — the studios, the moves, the culture, all of it. I would not be here without them. I honor that history and I stand in solidarity with sex workers and their rights. Always. | |||
| 3. Who Really Built Pole Dance | 02 Apr 2026 | 00:18:34 | |
In this episode Sergia shares the history of where pole dance actually comes from — and why honoring that history is every pole dancer's responsibility. You'll walk away with: A mini history lesson on the real origins of pole dance — from carnival tents to strip clubs to the first pole studios The names of the pioneers who built this art form and deserve to be remembered What whorephobia is, why hashtag NotAStripper caused and causes real harm, and what to do instead LINKS MENTIONED: Yes, A Stripper Podcast / YAS Podcast The Black Sex Worker Collective | |||
| 2. How to Map Your Music Before You Choreograph a Single Move | 02 Apr 2026 | 00:05:13 | |
LINKS MENTIONED:
poledancefoundations.com/compellingroutines
poledancefoundations.com/poleartistmentorship
poledancefoundations.com/routinemap Follow Sergia: @sergialouise on Instagram --- In this episode, Sergia breaks down the one step most dancers skip that makes choreography feel chaotic — and how fixing it changes everything. You'll walk away with:
--- Note: Pole dance was created by skrippers and sex workers. Full stop. They built this art form from the ground up — the studios, the moves, the culture, all of it. I would not be here without them. I honor that history and I stand in solidarity with sex workers and their rights. Always. | |||
| 1. Why Your Routine Isn't Landing (And It Has Nothing To Do With Your Tricks) | 26 Mar 2026 | 00:05:30 | |
Why Your Routine Isn't Landing (And It Has Nothing To Do With Your Tricks) If you've ever walked offstage feeling like something didn't land — or you keep freezing every time you sit down to choreograph — this episode is for you. The hard truth? It's not your tricks. It was never your tricks. A routine that moves people isn't built on what you can do. It's built on why you're doing it. That's the concept. And without one, even the most technically impressive routine can feel like a laundry list of moves. In this episode Sergia breaks down the 4-step framework behind every compelling pole performance: Clarity — defining your concept, the heartbeat of your routineStructure — mapping your music so you stop guessing what goes whereConfidence — building anchors and character moments that hold your piece togetherCohesion — assembling, refining, and polishing into something that actually lives and breathes Your routine doesn't stand out because you're dancing better, stronger, harder, and faster than everyone else. It stands out because you've done the homework. --- Note: Pole dance was created by skrippers and sex workers. Full stop. They built this art form from the ground up — the studios, the moves, the culture, all of it. I would not be here without them. I honor that history and I stand in solidarity with sex workers and their rights. Always. --- LINKS MENTIONED:
poledancefoundations.com/compellingroutines
poledancefoundations.com/poleartistmentorship
poledancefoundations.com/routinemap | |||