Exercise, dancing are poles apart

It's now the favored gym equipment for a group of women who gather in Scottdale after work on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Saturdays. They're not private dancers; they don't dance for money. It's a fitness class, like aerobics, say, but with attitude.

The women spin around the pole to strengthen their quads, deltoids, triceps and most of all, their abs.

Ruth Howarth, 57, of Buckhead, a health care consultant, was persuaded by a co-worker to take the class.

"And, now, I'm addicted, " said the British native, sporting loose black pants, a sleeveless top and ivory-colored heels.

The classes are run by two fitness enthusiasts with prim and proper daytime jobs. Angela Edwards, 29, a registered nurse, and Jennifer Dearman, 23, who is in supply sales, call their business, Polelateaz.

Their clients run the gamut from businesswomen to recent mothers who want their pre-pregnancy waist back.

Pole dancing as exercise has caught the attention of the media, including Oprah, who did a show on it.

The Polelateaz class meets at two DeKalb locations, including Aphrodite's Toy Box, a year-old shop that sells lingerie, glass stilettos and other "sensuality" items on North Decatur Road.

The dozen students at a recent session ranged from a grandmother to a recent college graduate. The women seemed at ease, often praising each other's moves.

The class began with yogalike stretches and songs by Sade, but soon the workout got intense. The women hopped onto the poles and held on, bodies hanging in the air like cicadas on oaks, for as long as they could.

The exercise quickens the heartbeat, the blood rushes.

Enid Ortega-Goggins, a grandmother of two, was apprehensive about the class 10 weeks ago. No more.

"I lost 5 pounds, and people are noticing the changes, " said Ortega-Goggins, a supervisor at a victims' advocacy and domestic violence nonprofit agency.

Tracy Douchy, 36, a stay-at-home mom raising two boys, saw the risque exercise on TV. She consulted her husband, Charles, 41, a dermatologist, about learning pole dancing.

A new career? he asked. No, she answered.

Soon, a pole was installed in their Alpharetta basement. She works out on it an hour a day, three times a week.

"You don't even know you're exercising because you're having so much fun, " Tracy Douchy said.

There's a bonus, her husband said.

"It keeps a little excitement in our life as well, " he said.

The polelateaz class is $18 a class. For more information, call 404-806- 4397 or go to www.polelateaz.com.