RO’YALE: Pole dancing has definitely made me feel a lot sexier about myself.
RO’YALE: Before I started pole dancing,
I thought it was going to be super easy, you just come in and swing around. But I didn’t
realise that it took a lot of strength and that it took a lot of control of your body.
I decided to give it a go because I was coming across a major milestone, I was turning 30,
I had a recent separation from my husband, and I didn’t really know who I was anymore,
so I wanted to do something fun.
COMM: Ro’Yale, also known as Da Queen Of Curves
is a plus size pole dancer, who has made it her mission to promote body positivity.
RO’YALE: My view of pole dancing before
I started performing was mostly something that people look that as strippers did, but
I came to find out that the women that I was taking pole dance classes with were like everyday
women, they were doctors, they were professionals.
FIYA STARTA: I met Ro’Yale in 2010, wow,
it’s been like seven years. She actually was a client at Vertical Joe’s, she came
in to do classes and she was just one of those magnetic type clients, so I was instantly
drawn to her.
FIYA STARTA: When we first met her, you know,
she was kind of like in a shell. She was always very concerned about her clothes, always,
you know, covering up, pulling her shirt down, pulling her shorts down, it’s like, “Girl,
just let them thighs hang out, let them thighs hang out - you got to use them.” We’ve
seen such a transition and it’s a beautiful thing.
COMM: After gaining a passion for pole dancing,
Ro’Yale suggested her studio start classes specifically for curvier women.
COMM: But it was a surprise for her when she
was asked to teach.
RO’YALE: I remember getting that e-mail
when I was offered the position as an instructor and I just remember screaming. I was very
excited. I was actually shocked. They saw that I was passionate about wanting to bring
something different to the studio that they didn’t already have.
FIYA STARTA: She is like, ‘Hey, well, if
we approach it this way, then it’ll make it easier for people with my body type to
get into this.’ And she laid out an entire curriculum and I remember it and we were like,
“We shall call it Vertically Voluptuous.” Ping! And it just went off and when we put
that information out into the streets, it was just an overflow of love and the curvy
girls definitely wanted to learn from another curvy woman. Someone they could relate to,
someone who had the same body type, someone who could say that they went through the same
struggles. And I tell you she is sexy in a way that no one can teach her, it just comes
from inside of her. She always takes any pole trick and she adds her own personal style
to it, and that’s what I like about her, because some things can’t be taught, some
things you just have and she has it.
COMM: Since starting pole dancing, she has
reconciled with her husband, but he doesn’t share her enthusiasm.
RO’YALE: My husband did not react to it
very well. He wanted to know why would that be something you want to do and he didn’t
feel comfortable with his wife being out there like that in front of other people.
RAHIEM: Couple’s Lap Dance, we’ve never done that.
RO’YALE: I know, I tried to bring you three
times but it never works out, does it?
RAHIEM: When Ro’Yale first told me about
her pole dancing, the first thing I thought was that she has went over to the dark side.
It was pretty bad. She has become, I would say more confident, there is negative that
comes with confidence. Confidence leads to being more outspoken in a way you shouldn’t
be, meaning she is vulgar.
RO’YALE: I believe he realises it’s more
than a hobby now, because I’ve been doing it for a long time. He is still not comfortable
with it, but he understands that it’s something that I’m going to do.
RAHIEM: Do you think I can get a T-shirt that
says, ‘My wife is a pole fitness instructor’ or something?
RO’YALE: Absolutely.
RAHIEM: I did see Ro’Yale perform two times.
I must say I was impressed. It was better than what I expected.
COMM: Even if she hasn’t quite won her husband
round, Ro’Yale has no shortage of fans.
STALLION: To have a pole dancing class for
curvy girls makes you feel that you too can look just as sexy and sassy, even with a lot
of hips, and butt and belly.
BRIDGETT: I have gotten stronger, more physically
able, I’ve dropped hella weight and i just feel so much better about myself. Pole dancing
makes me feel powerful.
RO’YALE: My specific goals as a pole dancer
is to compete more on the competition scene to represent the curvier girls and hopefully
that will inspire other ladies to also pole and get into competitions also.
BRIDGETT: Even if we aren’t feeling the
sexiest, everybody else is uplifting and helps us really feel as though we can. And that’s
essentially what Ro’Yale stands for - it’s truly women empowerment.