Hanging Tough in Heels: Washington's Greatest Poling Director Knows How to Spin It

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WHEN JESSALYNN MEDAIRY — clad in a sports bra, booty shorts and sparkly silver heels — demonstrates how she can suspend herself upside down from a pole by somehow tapping into the strength of her inner thighs, there are many adjectives that come to mind to describe her. "Shy" is not one of them. But Medairy, 23, swears that if she hadn't started strutting in 5 3/4-inch stilettos four years ago, she'd still be shaking in her boots.

"I had this horrible case of anxiety. I was out of my mind about it," says Medairy, who seems to have been completely cured. How else would she have competed last Sunday in Charlottesville, Va., at the Eastern Regionals for the U.S. Pole Dancing Federation?

Her two routines — for a compulsory fitness round with set tricks (such as splits, spins and holds) and a freestyle dance that allowed her to show off her expressive style to a Michael Buble tune — placed fourth and earned her "pro status," which means she'll be one of 15 women at the first Professional Pole Championship in New York in 2010.

But the real proof that she's shaken off her timid past is that Medairy ditched a job at Lockheed Martin to try out full-time pole work under the brand name Pole Pressure. In addition to competitions and tours (she's performed regularly in the U.K. and elsewhere abroad), she now has a month-old pole studio with 11 poles at Balance Gym's Thomas Circle location (1111 14th St. NW). And this week, she's also starting to lead upper-level courses at Chic Physique in Bethesda (4931 St. Elmo Ave.).

"When you're hanging on a pole, it makes you feel beautiful. The moment you leave class, you feel different," says Medairy, who says her transformation went far beyond state of mind. Within months of starting training, she dropped 25 pounds and saw her entire body tone up. "I'm built the way I am now because of the pole," she adds.

Her newly devoted students at Balance believe it. When Alex Nica, 23, took an intro class, she sweated and had a good time. "Then I went home and my butt hurt," she says. That's because the hip circles, bumps and "tush-ups" are designed to be more than merely seductive. They're a workout — and even more of one if you're donning proper footwear. Those sparkly shoes Medairy wears? "These aren't stripper shoes. They're rubber-soled, so they're very comfy. But because you have to find your balance, they make the workout so much harder," she explains.

Constantly caressing the pole and grabbing it to spin your body around tires out the arms pretty quickly. And doing the sorts of tricks Medairy makes look so simple requires mucho muscles. But her distraction techniques — such as calls to fog up the pole with your breath, pretend your sports bra straps are suspenders and simulate grabbing dollar bills with your teeth — keep students going.

There's no doubt pole dancing embraces eroticism, but it requires just as much silliness as sexiness. Success comes from being comfortable with yourself, which is why Medairy thinks older women tend to enjoy the classes most: "Spanking their butt is totally OK with them."

It helps that she closes the curtains during class to promote the feeling of privacy and, most of the time, the room is off-limits to guys — the Monday night mixer is co-ed but focuses more on aerial tricks and strength instead of sultry swivels.

After all, no one there is actually training to become a stripper, especially not Medairy, who had to convince her parents that her hobby wasn't going to lead to topless clubs. But as Medairy proves, a spin around a pole may take you to places you never expected.

Photos courtesy Jessalyn Medairy