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Pole dancing my way out of trouble….

8th October 2008 by Helena 17 Comments  

John D Rockefeller said “I have tried to turn every disaster into an opportunity.” So I tried yesterday to overcome the disaster of losing our dream apartment by buying a car.

“Wouldn’t a dress do the trick?” suggested the charming man who is going to rent our house in France.

Not compared with a red convertible Porsche with leather seats. Sadly the fantasy lasted about five minutes. I can just about get away with a four-seater (it’s mainly just me or just me and the children I drive around) but the only Porsches I can afford have only two seats. And although I am willing to squeeze the five of us into a two-bedroom apartment if I need to, three children in one car seat is probably pushing it, even if it is leather.

The only type of pole dancing we were allowed to show...

So instead of Porsche-buying I went Pole dancing. Yes, Abu Dhabi may seem like an unlikely place to learn to gyrate around a metal pole, but there are classes here (diplomatically called Vertical Flex) and as it is something I have always wanted to try (don’t pretend you haven’t as well, if you’re female that is) I went along.

It was great. Once I got the hang (pardon the pun) of actually swinging around the pole without falling off I totally loved it and am going back for more next week. Assuming I can move that is. One of the reasons people swear by pole dancing is that it is such good exercise. I can vouch for that. Today my arms are a shaking shadow of their former selves. I could barely lift them to brush my teeth this morning. But at least the pain has taken my mind off the lack of housing. And I didn’t even need to buy a Porsche.

I can now save that for when the next flat falls through. If the global meltdown continues, they’ll be even cheaper by then.

Copyright: Helena Frith Powell 2008


Filed Under: Abu Dhabi, Life, blog --> Tagged With: dancing, trouble

17 thoughts on Pole dancing my way out of trouble....

  • sharyn g says:
    8th October 2008 at 9:11 pm

    Helena

    I went to one of the last schools in this country to actually celebrate May Day with a may pole danced by the equivalent of a May Queen and her court. It was always my favorite thing to see. Since I was not popular nor much of a dancer I never got to do it. We had different craft stands and teas. It was a very old-fashioned thing to do but the community supported it and came every year. It isn’t done any more which seems a shame as my great-niece will never see a may pole or an all girls school for that matter.

    Sharyn G

  • GHCH says:
    9th October 2008 at 9:47 am

    Dear Helena.

    Of course, you know that pole dancing is only one step (pun) away from table dancing and that is only a bump and grind away from lap dancing. Is this how you plan to pay for the Porsche?
    G

  • Miller says:
    9th October 2008 at 9:51 am

    Do NOT buy a Porsche. This is a MAD idea. It will only make you happy when you finally sell it.

  • Miko says:
    9th October 2008 at 5:36 pm

    Helena, don’t listen to Miller. But wait until you have a flat. What a nightmare, but you are right there might be many empty flats coming on the market soon. At least you are not in Iceland! Fingers crossed for you.

  • Miller says:
    10th October 2008 at 7:41 am

    Iceland is good. You will soon be able to buy the entire country for the price of a Porsche. Look, speaking from knowledge, a Porsche is vulgar. If you want transport for the new depression I suggest you invest in a horse. (I have several I can sell you.) Here in England, we are preparing for the new economy by growing our own veg.

  • Jules Ritter says:
    10th October 2008 at 1:16 pm

    I agree with Miller. The only really classy way to drive a sports car is to invest in a vintage, I have a 1975 VW beetle convertible and okay it has the same engine as a sewing machine, is not very good uphill and dislikes the rain but it is not an F*** You car. I think a horse will be really classy in Abu Dhabi or failing that a camel, plenty of those around no?

    Jules Ritter.com

  • Miko says:
    10th October 2008 at 3:19 pm

    She needs a camel not a horse!

  • snusmormor says:
    11th October 2008 at 5:48 pm

    Well, as the Chinese also say: every disaster IS an opportunity and I can recommend Små Grodorna as a good excercise around a pole too! A friend of mine showed the dance to a group of Tibetans in the Himalaya and they were fascinated.

  • Chevial says:
    19th October 2008 at 11:42 pm

    Hi ther,im living here in abu dhabi as well n im very interested in taking up pole dancing..may i ask for details on where to learn it?many tks

  • elaine says:
    5th February 2009 at 12:11 am

    No way! Are there *really* pole classes in Abu Dhabi?! I was there on hol over chsristmas / NY and assumed there was no way it could ever happen there as the culture seems quite strict (compared to say Dubai).

    Fantastic!

    Glad you’re enjoying the pole dancing. I’m an instructor / dancer in UK, love it.

  • helena says:
    10th February 2009 at 5:09 am

    Yes, I promise! I go every week with three girlfriends and we all love it. Come and join us if you come back here.
    Hx

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  • foof says:
    30th March 2010 at 9:18 am

    is there a pole dancing class in dubai? if so can i have details please!!! thanks

  • Louisa says:
    10th October 2010 at 5:30 am

    Hi everyone,
    Was wondering where in Abu Dhabi pole dance classes were held and if there was lessons in Dubai,
    Thanks for your help,
    Louisa

  • Louisa says:
    13th October 2010 at 9:17 pm

    Hi Helena,

    Thanks for your very quick answer!

    Too bad about Dubai, maybe someday, have fun ladies,

    Louisa

  • pookie says:
    18th October 2010 at 3:05 am

    Hi google FOONCH for pole classes in dubai

  • Vlada says:
    13th September 2012 at 5:41 am

    Pole dancing is a way out of trouble for me on a daily basis))) It relieves stress, improves mood and helps me keep fit! Brand new studio ‘Capella Club’ opens in Dubai Marina in October 2012 and will be offering lots of classes including pole dancing.

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Helena Frith Powell was born in Sweden to a Swedish mother and Italian father, but grew up mainly in England. She is the author of eleven books, translated into several languages including Chinese and Russian. She wrote the French Mistress column The Sunday Times about life in France for several years. She is a regular contributor to the Daily Mail, Mail on Sunday, The Times, Daily Telegraph, Tatler Magazine and Harper’s Bazaar.

Helena has been the editor of four magazines, including M Magazine, a supplement for the Abu Dhabi-based National Newspaper and FIVE, a high-end fashion glossy, also published in Abu Dhabi. Helena was also editor-in-chief of 360 Life, a quarterly glossy magazine published with the Sports 360 Newspaper in Dubai, part of the Chalhoub Group.

Helena contributes regularly to UK-based newspapers and magazines and holds a Masters in Creative Writing from the University of Cambridge. She is working on a thriller set in Sweden as well as a novel about the relationship between Virginia Woolf and Katherine Mansfield called Sense of an Echo.

In 2022 her short story The Japanese Gardener came second in the Fish Publishing Short Story Prize. One of her stories was also shortlisted for the Bridport Short Story Prize. When she’s not writing, she works as a headhunter for the media and entertainment industry for the Sucherman Group. 

Helena, who was educated at Durham University, lives in the Languedoc region of France with her husband Rupert and their three children.

Bibliography

More France Please, we’re British; Gibson Square 2004

Two Lipsticks and a Lover 2005; Gibson Square (hardback)

All You Need to be Impossibly French; (US version of above) Penguin 2006

Two Lipsticks and a Lover; Arrow Books (paperback) 2007

Ciao Bella Gibson Square; (hardback) 2006

Ciao Bella Gibson Square; (paperback) 2007

So Chic! (French version of Two Lipsticks) Leduc Editions 2008 (also translated into Chinese, Russian and Thai)

More, More France; Gibson Square 2009

To Hell in High Heels; Arrow Books 2009 (also translated into Polish)

The Viva Mayr Diet; Harper Collins 2009

Love in a Warm Climate; Gibson Square 2011

The Ex-Factor; Gibson Square 2013

Smart Women Don’t Get Wrinkles; Gibson Square 2016

The Arnolfini Marriage; Amazon Kindle December 2016

Smart Women Don’t Get Wrinkles (paperback); Gibson Square spring 2018

The Longest Night; Gibson Square spring 2019

 

 

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