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Atlanta Mommy & Me pole dancing class goes viral
An Atlanta's pole dancing studio's "Mommy and Me" class is at the center of a social media controversy.
ATLANTA - An Atlanta dance studio has found itself at the center of online controversy after a video showing young children learning pole techniques went viral on social media.
The video that’s been viewed thousands of times was a recap of a newly launched "Mommy & Me" pole class offered at Pink Poles Studio. FOX 5 reporter Joi Dukes spoke with the coordinator of the program who says despite public perception, they don’t believe there was anything inappropriate about it.
"Most people hear pole and think ‘exotic dancing,’ but the kids aren’t doing anything like that," Royalle Lazard said. "Moms and the kids work together to do double tricks, double spins. Everyone was fully clothed."
Moms and their children between the ages of 4 and 14 are welcome to participate. Program coordinator Royalle Lazard said the class sold out quickly.
"It was such a bonding experience between the moms and the kids," Lazard said.
Lazard says she was stunned at the backlash that followed.
"The next day, when I started seeing some of the backlash and even seeing some of the things that we were being called, it was a little gut-wrenching," she admitted.
Accusations of sexualizing young girls could be seen throughout the comments.
The program coordinator tells FOX 5 she believes those negative comments were rooted in a lack of awareness about pole dancing, which is considered a sport in 36 other countries.
"There’s also an International Pole Sports Federation that’s working to get pole sport in the Olympics, and that’s how our program started here," Lazard said.
Lazard says even though the studio offers exotic pole dance classes to adults, the classes for kids are solely focused on training for what could become an Olympic sport.
"It kind of merges acrobatics, gymnastics … It takes strength, endurance, flexibility. They’re doing spins, tricks, they’re conditioning, they’re working on flexibility," she said.
She tells FOX 5 she hopes more people will do research before judging.
Despite the backlash, Lazard says they will continue to hold classes for kids at Pink Poles Studio with the next one scheduled for February.