Pole dance club founder on 10 years of empowering women and keeping them fit
- Hong Kong’s Aerial Arts Academy offers pole dance and aerial acrobatics with silks and hoops
- Co-founder Vee Lea talks about overcoming social attitudes to pole dance
Vee Lea smiles as she recalls opening her Aerial Arts Academy (AAA) 10 years ago this month. Then, pole dance and aerial acrobatics with the aid of silk swathes of fabric and hanging hoops were more novel, associated more with strip clubs than gyms. But her efforts to overcome barriers and gain acceptance paid off and the academy now has three outlets – in Central, Causeway Bay and Wong Chuk Hang.
Today countless dedicated studios and gyms offer similar classes, focused on pole and aerial activities.
Lea, AAA’s director and co-founder, recalls one of its first success stories. A nervous first-timer arrived at a pole dancing class, clad in a jumper, turtle neck, skirt and black tights, while other students had changed into active wear. She was encouraged to take part regardless.
“She had this look … like some part of her was allowed to be expressed, like someone gave her permission to feel feminine, or empowered to do something about it,” Lea says. AAA encourages its students to let those feminine qualities shine.
The newbie became a regular, ditching her office wear for yoga wear. “It made all of my sacrifices worth it for that little moment, this activity made her feel allowed to be herself and express her individuality and femininity,” Lea says.
Lea discovered circus arts in her teens as an extra in a British film where she met circus acrobat Michele Laine. A passion for aerial activities blossomed and Lea went to the New York Circus Arts Centre in the US to train.