Senior Citizens Accidentally Sign Up for Pole Dancing Classes: ‘A Disaster’
- Posted on November 12, 2010 at 11:58am by
Jonathon M. Seidl
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Pole-dancing instructors Kelcie Midson-Lee (L) and Sarah Muir (R). (Photo: Kim Eiszele, The Mercury)
“Would-be boot scooters were in for a shock when they turned up for their Adult Ed line-dancing class in Hobart this week the instructors were intending to teach them the altogether more raunchy art of pole dancing.”
That’s how the Australian newspaper The Mercury starts its story on a senior citizen mix-up that is almost too unbelievable to, well, believe.
The Mercury explains how line dancing became pole dancing, including an explanation from instructor Sarah Muir:
The confusion arose after the course was listed in the Adult Ed program as “Line Dancing Urban Cowboys”.
“It was meant to be Hobart’s urban cowboys polzotic dance, a special combination of pole and exotic dancing,” said Ms Muir.
“When I sent the information to Adult Education they presumed it was line dancing.”
And that’s exactly what the dozen or so class participants, mainly women, were expecting.
After realizing the mistake, Muir tried to correct it. “I put together a combination of line, pole and exotic dancing to add a bit of yee-ha and a bit of burlesque so they could enjoy themselves,” she said. But that turned into “a disaster.”
A real line dancing instructor will teach the remaining classes, and the manager of the program is offering a refund.
“I tried to see the funny side of it,” Muir said, “but I felt sorry for the ladies.”
(H/T: Fark; read more from The Mercury)
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Comments (50)
...............R..U..Kidding...Me
Posted on November 13, 2010 at 1:43amI think it is a great way for older couples to stay in shape and put back some sparkel and pazzaze.
Report Post »MiketheTrucker
Posted on November 12, 2010 at 11:25pmGit it granny, really love your peaches want to shake your tree.
I‘ve always heard there’s a lot more going on in those retirement homes than we know. I wonder who’s smuggling the little blue pills in?
Report Post »charles48
Posted on November 12, 2010 at 10:28pmJust the headline on this story along is enough to make me in tears laughing oh the horriable image of people my parents age pole dancing i wont be sleeping tonight lol
Report Post »Slobaphobe
Posted on November 12, 2010 at 10:18pmDaddy Was a Preacher and Mama Was a Go-Go-Girl. Really. This is a real CW song. Now I can’t get it out of my head. DAMITOL!
Report Post »Sledgehammer
Posted on November 12, 2010 at 7:57pmThis just too funny, I met last summer an rocket (From before the 1950′s is all she would admit) Still had a nice set of gams, (legs for you young uns). I say go for it, if it’s in private. Have some fun.
Report Post »odysseus
Posted on November 12, 2010 at 7:05pmBefore the election, my dear wife wondered if I wanted to take a course for poll watchers… maybe I got that wrong and it was really pole watchers… what did I miss? I didn’t know there would be dancing…
Report Post »snickersmom
Posted on November 12, 2010 at 6:32pmHow is that a couple of you took an embarrassing/funny story and made it into my Human Sexuality Class back in college?
Report Post »JohnnyJT
Posted on November 12, 2010 at 5:39pmWoW.
Report Post »MrButcher
Posted on November 12, 2010 at 5:28pmthere is nothing i can say here that GhostofJefferson hasn’t already.
damn.
Report Post »catndahat
Posted on November 12, 2010 at 4:19pmGOJ,
I can’t make you surf the big wave, but I still think you should consider the self-help book angle–(was meant as compliment in my backhand way)…
Report Post »catndahat
Posted on November 12, 2010 at 3:00pmGOJ,
“I‘m going to wager that you’re Catholic. :) ” -definitely not :)
“Distorted is a matter of context on this issue. While I’m not particularly fond of situational ethics, I do understand that some subjects are a matter of personal interpretation.” –True, but would this situation have happened, say, in your ‘sexually loaded’ Victorian times? I’m speaking of a societal distortion, not a personal interpretation.
“Just “showing up” in the bedroom may sound great to some, but no matter how pure the heart and intents, if you just do that for forty years of marriage you’re essentially inviting your husband to say “well, how about not tonight dear” .–it sounds like you have a self-help book in the making; could this be a blurb from the jacket?
“I do think there is a level where distorted comes into play, but this clearly is not even close to that. Exotic and sexual dancing has been in the repertoire of women since time unwritten.” –in the right context, perhaps, yes. This is my point–how did this event occur without our culture becoming mega-sexualized and distorted because of pervasive sexualized images/beliefs/systems in every aspect of our lives? Again, could this error, or ‘misinterpretation’ have happened in a culture that did not overly sexualize everything, including adul ed dance/exercise classes?
“The class in question was behind closed doors, and the accident with the seniors was an honest mistake. There is nothing here to suggest to me that this is the sign of something unhealthy or deviant” –sorry, but just the fact that this ‘honest mistake’ suggests something has gone awry in the way sexuality is presented/used in our culture. The fact that the class was ‘pole-dancing’ and was offered as part of an adult ed learning curriculum should speak volumes to my point. Pole dancing might rightly be a useful skill to some and an entertaining one to others, but considering that many people find the activity (and its associations) questionable in itself indicates a loss of proper context is in play. What’s next, ‘Streetwalking for Fun and Profit?’
Report Post »GhostOfJefferson
Posted on November 12, 2010 at 3:15pm**“I‘m going to wager that you’re Catholic. :) ” -definitely not :)**
Oh, my mistaken the, I apologize. :)
**–True, but would this situation have happened, say, in your ‘sexually loaded’ Victorian times? I’m speaking of a societal distortion, not a personal interpretation.**
Well, it’s not distortion, again. And it’s not my sexually charged Victorian society, it was Victorian society as it existed. And yes, quite clearly it would have happened, and did. Do you think exotic dancing is re-invented every generation? No, it is passed down through the ages, from woman to woman.
**.–it sounds like you have a self-help book in the making; could this be a blurb from the jacket?**
Please, don’t take us to that level. It was a simple statement of fact. If all you do is the same thing year in and year out, your hubby is going to openly lose interest, or he’s going to not say anything but still lose interest. That’s human nature, and it applies to everything, not just sex. Eat Frosted Flakes every day of your life and eventually that cereal you loved so much turns into boredom, turns into drudgery. It is silly to expect to be able to turn up in the bedroom year after year in the same nighty and doing nothing different than you did on your wedding night and still keep his interest. This is precisely why women invented and engage in exotic type dancing and have for millennium.
**This is my point–how did this event occur without our culture becoming mega-sexualized and distorted because of pervasive sexualized images/beliefs/systems in every aspect of our lives? **
Sure it could. There is always room for massive error when it comes to this kind of thing. It was behind closed doors, in a classroom environment. That’s not really different than how belly dancers taught other women to belly dance a thousand years ago, and it’s not beyond the pale to think that some old ladies on their way to Sphinx Carving 101 might stumble into a belly dancing class in ancient Egypt.
**Again, could this error, or ‘misinterpretation’ have happened in a culture that did not overly sexualize everything, including adul ed dance/exercise classes?**
Again, yes. These aren‘t the only classes offered as far as I’m aware, and many places (in fact most) don’t offer them. I think you’re making a mountain out of a mole hill.
**sorry, but just the fact that this ‘honest mistake’ suggests something has gone awry in the way sexuality is presented/used in our culture. **
No, it doesn’t. It might to you, but it’s not something that many normal non-deviant people would look at and see as a sign of some kind of impending cataclysmic over-sexualization. What next, Chaucer’s Tales taken as a sign of a culture of prostitutes and whores in middle English England?
**Pole dancing might rightly be a useful skill to some and an entertaining one to others, but considering that many people find the activity (and its associations) questionable in itself indicates a loss of proper context is in play.**
There is no Aristotelian universal “necessarily” as you seem to think in this particular case. Sorry.
Report Post »catndahat
Posted on November 12, 2010 at 2:06pmGOJ
I am familiar with how sexuality flourished in other places and times, but I think all in all it was kept within context of the larger culture of society. For most of human history sexuality remained tied to the practical needs of procreation. My point is that sexuality today has been disseminated (sorry!) into (almost) every aspect of the larger culture (unfettered from practical ends), thereby distorting both, and not to the benefit of either, ultimately.
I‘m not sure what you mean by ’keep the urge healthy’; sex is a biologically based instinct and the ‘urge’ will always be healthy as long as it isn’t distorted. Once the instinct has been distorted, then yes, it will become something one must ‘keep up’, i.e., pole dancing, pornography, viagra, etc.
Report Post »GhostOfJefferson
Posted on November 12, 2010 at 2:24pm@CATNDAHAT
I‘m going to wager that you’re Catholic. :) Could be wrong, might well be, but I’ve heard precisely that argument almost to the word before from countless Catholic friends.
Distorted is a matter of context on this issue. While I’m not particularly fond of situational ethics, I do understand that some subjects are a matter of personal interpretation. Women taking classes to find an exciting way to entice their husbands (or boyfriends) to me isn’t distorted at all. We should all ensure that we’re trying to keep our partners, and ourselves, happy. No matter how much you love somebody, you can always try to do more to please them. Just “showing up” in the bedroom may sound great to some, but no matter how pure the heart and intents, if you just do that for forty years of marriage you’re essentially inviting your husband to say “well, how about not tonight dear”.
I do think there is a level where distorted comes into play, but this clearly is not even close to that. Exotic and sexual dancing has been in the repertoire of women since time unwritten. Sexuality is not just a pro-creative function, it also serves a unitary function and brings man and woman closer to each other spiritually, if you will. The class in question was behind closed doors, and the accident with the seniors was an honest mistake. There is nothing here to suggest to me that this is the sign of something unhealthy or deviant.
Report Post »Amerigo Vespucci
Posted on November 12, 2010 at 1:39pmDid they teach “Reverse Cowgirl”? I love watching that dance.
Report Post »catndahat
Posted on November 12, 2010 at 1:07pmLaughs aside, it goes to show how insidious and pervasive the Sex Culture has become in society–there are very few places left it hasn’t invaded.
Report Post »GhostOfJefferson
Posted on November 12, 2010 at 1:48pmWe’ve always had a “sex culture”. Even during the height of the puritanical Victorian era there was an absolute truckload of “sex culture” that most everybody participated in at some level or another, I collect antique paper ephemera, the things that people did back then would shock your socks off. Sex is integral to our nature. It’s good to keep the urge healthy and within the confines of decency without question, but this is not a case of 20 year old chicks running down the street naked, it was a simple misunderstanding of a class being conducted behind closed doors. Not something I’m going to get all hyped up about, it was not something in the public park after all. If women want to learn to pole dance/exotic dance to entire their husbands or boyfriends, then that‘s a net positive and I’m all for it. :)
If you ever want to be shocked, study the sexual culture of ancient Egypt, a society that lasted for thousands of years.
Report Post »GhostOfJefferson
Posted on November 12, 2010 at 1:55pm“entire” = entice. Ooops. :)
Report Post »Slevdog1
Posted on November 12, 2010 at 1:07pmTo heck with the grannies, how about the instructors. Bring it on!
Report Post »Country
Posted on November 12, 2010 at 12:56pmWhat do they do with the whip?
Report Post »GhostOfJefferson
Posted on November 12, 2010 at 1:05pm@Country
They use it to beat the rugs they have hanging on the clothesline I’d wager.
Report Post »snowleopard3200 {mix art}
Posted on November 12, 2010 at 1:16pm@Ghost
Bet some of those Grannies know how to fight with a whip, and bloody effectively as well.
Report Post »Country
Posted on November 12, 2010 at 1:32pmLOL, I thought maybe they used them to keep back the dirty ol’ men.
Report Post »GhostOfJefferson
Posted on November 12, 2010 at 2:25pm@ snowleopard3200
Yeah, it’s them wimmin folk from Wyoming that would have me plumb scared if the question of a whip came into the conversation! :)
Report Post »teddrunk
Posted on November 12, 2010 at 12:27pmWell, Palin is a grandma now so maybe…LOL…neveermind.
Report Post »DrBeatle
Posted on November 12, 2010 at 12:22pmwho knows, maybe a new cottage industry could spring out of that mistake. Granny night at the local pub? ahh well probably not.
Report Post »teddrunk
Posted on November 12, 2010 at 12:21pmMaybe grandma could of picked up a few bucks in tips. Well at least it wasn’t a table dance or a lap dance.
Report Post »Rowgue
Posted on November 12, 2010 at 12:14pmReal hard to see how this mix up could have happened isn’t it? People naturally assume that schools aren’t in the business of teaching girls how to be strippers idiot. The only mix up was the school employing dance instructors that can’t teach anything but stripping.
Report Post »OK3Wire
Posted on November 12, 2010 at 12:46pmYeah, really hard to understand how a class entitled “Line Dancing Urban Cowboys” could possibly be mistaken for a line dancing class. Huh? :-)
Bet the old guys in the class wouldn’t have minded a bit …
Report Post »HouseNegro
Posted on November 12, 2010 at 12:11pmYou Go Granny……
Report Post »snowleopard3200 {mix art}
Posted on November 12, 2010 at 12:26pmI Imagine Grandpa would not mind.
Report Post »Ruler4You
Posted on November 12, 2010 at 12:10pmIt “IS” a line… a vertical line.
Report Post »GhostOfJefferson
Posted on November 12, 2010 at 12:09pmComedy gold! :)
Report Post »Joseff
Posted on November 12, 2010 at 12:05pmOoops!
Report Post »seanpatriot
Posted on November 12, 2010 at 12:03pmThey should have taken the class anyway, it would have been a much watched youtube moment
Report Post »snowleopard3200 {mix art}
Posted on November 12, 2010 at 12:25pmYeah, Youtube and Funniest Home Videos combined. For some reason stuff like this happening in California or DC I could see, but this is just too funny.
Report Post »NeoFan
Posted on November 12, 2010 at 12:43pmOk I just threw up a little bit in my mouth.
Report Post »untameable-kate
Posted on November 12, 2010 at 1:31pmWatch it boys, some of us middle aged girls are still pretty easy on the eye, and lately even grammas are keeping themselves looking good. You might not know what you’re missing!
Report Post »DimmuBorgir
Posted on November 12, 2010 at 1:36pm@ KATE
i think i need to meet you ;)
Report Post »untameable-kate
Posted on November 12, 2010 at 2:06pmaw, shucks.
Report Post »Okpulot Taha
Posted on November 12, 2010 at 2:06pmUNTAMEABLE KATE wiggles, jiggles and giggles, “Watch it boys, some of us middle aged girls are still pretty easy on the eye….”
Ha! Those young fat bellied airhead girls have nothing on us! If you boys only knew what sits behind some of this text on your screen….
Kate, we should share measurements just to drive the boys to imaginative madness.
36 – 28 – 38 with overflowing D cups here. Still perky, firm and I have something you boys do not have. I have heavy calluses on my hands from hard work. I don’t pole dance often but I can belly dance like all get out.
How many of you old boys have beer bellies?
Okpulot Taha
Report Post »Choctaw Nation
GhostOfJefferson
Posted on November 12, 2010 at 2:18pm@Okpulot Taha
Wow, those are some impressive measurements!
I won’t bother to list my measurements, that would be vain and vanity in men is unbecoming. I doubt seriously however that you’d mistake my 43 year old “old boy” body to be that of a 43 year old guy.
And guys, for the record, there is no such thing as a “beer belly”. There is however the belly you get from eating loads of crap food while drinking beer. Ah-nold, actually, was a huge proponent of drinking beer (”milk is for babies, real men drink beer”), and I doubt you’d have found an ounce of fat on him when he made that quote.
Report Post »untameable-kate
Posted on November 12, 2010 at 2:30pmI like beer bellies and big burly men, a guy has to be able to whip me arm wrestling. Did I mention I was raised ranching and farming? Look out boys.
Report Post »GhostOfJefferson
Posted on November 12, 2010 at 2:50pm@Kate
Rest assured, I’d beat you at arm wrestling. Not because you’re a girl either.
Ranching and farming eh? Interesting. Lots of farm girls around these parts (central Ohio) but we’re kinda scarce on ranches. How far out west are you anyway, if I can ask?
I’ve heard some girls mention that they like beer bellies. The few times in my life I let myself get a little bit of a gut though, they seemed to recede into the woodwork. heh
Report Post »kickedoutofengland
Posted on November 12, 2010 at 3:01pmHey Edna, me ‘n Rosemary’s goin’ to the pole daince shindig, ya wanna come too?
Report Post »Independent Tess
Posted on November 12, 2010 at 3:13pmMy best laugh of the day! Thanks for the mental images this conjured up.
Report Post »untameable-kate
Posted on November 12, 2010 at 3:23pmGOJ, I’m in Arizona.
Report Post »Luckywon
Posted on November 12, 2010 at 6:20pmLOL, whoever said the Right was all uptight and preachy didn’t know what they were talking about!
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