There was a time when young women around the city practiced the old-fashioned art of belly dancing in their bid to have a beautiful, toned and flexible body.

Yossy, a professional pole-dance trainer from Japan, performs some moves at California Fitness & Yoga Center in District 5 - Photo: Kieu Giang

But these days in their fight for the perfect figure they have turned their attention to pole dancing.

When you bring up pole dancing, most people imagine a scantily-clad girl performing some sexy moves to appease the many men paying money to see the show in a sordid nightclub.

Apparently, though, that’s just one style of pole dancing called exotic. Not many people know this but there are two other styles called empowerment and pole fitness that are both used as an aerobic workout for strength and toning.

The fact is pole dancing is a form of performing art, a combination of dancing and gymnastics. It incorporates gymnastics, ballet and modern dance movements around a polished pole.

It provides emotional benefits such as an increased feeling of self confidence and well being, increased energy, a higher level of body awareness and increased self-esteem. It can make you feel stronger, taller and more confident. Moreover, the dance helps increasing flexibility, improves learners’ posture and overall fitness.

Pole dancing is suitable for women of all shapes, sizes, ages or fitness levels. Learners will find an amazing increase in upper body strength. The pole dance teacher will instruct students to do spins and moves which will benefit their upper body and also their core part – the legs.

The best part about pole dancing is that while enjoying the moves, participants barely know they are exercising.

The earliest recorded pole dance was in 1968 with a performance by Belle Jangles at Mugwump in Oregon. On Friday’s pole dancing craze is believed to have started in Canada in the 1980s in exotic table dancing and dance clubs where one of the world first pole dancing champions Fawnia Mondey came from.

Pole dancing quickly spread to the U.S. followed by the rest of the world. It is now a worldwide phenomenon.

If you want to give it a go there are pole dance classes now available at California Fitness & Yoga Center at 28-30-32 Le Lai Street in District 1, 126 Hung Vuong in District 5 or 88 Lang Ha Street, Hanoi. You can call (08) 2222 0355 for more information.