Meet Sandrine Wolfe

I've always been a larger-bodied person, and always been fairly athletic. I grew up playing basketball, and was always the defense because I could create a stance that was nearly impenetrable from my larger form and my inherit strength. I eventually quit basketball to pursue performing arts, but I still retained the joy of movement from those experiences. 

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My performance journey began when I was very young in the theatre. When I was in middle school through the beginning of high school, I was a decent first soprano. I was in school and local theatre productions, and loved being on stage. As I started to get more and more into theater, though, there were more and more instances of body shaming. Eventually, costumes were harder to find, and I stopped being cast as roles that inspired me.

I quit singing freshman year, and went into color guard. This was partly because I was intimated by the traditional dance class, but I still wanted to try out something that would teach me how to move gracefully. Guard was my first soirée with any type of dance performance other than marking out movements for theater choreography, and I found that I really enjoyed it. It was a blend of the strength I had found through playing defense in basketball, as well as held fluidity that was associated with a femininity I was desperately searching for as a teenager. Guard also ended up being an outlet for me to move my emotions out, having regular and not-so-regular events happen at that time in my life.

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Eventually, I transferred to a school that didn't have sports or other extracurriculars, and quit moving and performing for a time. My body changed and I realized I needed a way to move my body again, not just to regain what I had felt I had lost through weight gain, but also so I could feel a little more like myself. I found out that Pole Fitness was a new thing, and started researching. I was transfixed by the explicit sensuality of it, and how I could express my woman-ness. I found a video online of a dancer performing to the Weeknd's cover of "Dirty Diana", and I fell so hard in love. The movements were strong and graceful, which were the two distinct reasons I had loved color guard so much, and it looked incredibly empowering.

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As soon as I turned 18, I started looking for pole classes near me, craving a way to build my confidence. I found a beginner class at Empyrean Arts in Asheville, NC and signed up! I walked into class and realized that I was the largest in the room, and felt anxious and embarrassed as what the other students were able to do seemed completely impossible for me and my body. My instructors were very patient, and encouraged me to come back. 

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And I did. 

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I never really left, in fact. Pole fitness turned into a relationship with pole dance and it's history, and it's helped me find myself in the body I am in, as well as provide a space for me to express myself authentically. That was in 2016, and today I have created my life's goals around brining larger bodied representation to the stage and in dance studios so that all people in all bodies feel welcome and empowered to live the live they want to. I have created Hypnotique Movement Studio as a way to help live out that dream, as well as  travel and teach movement workshops, performing in Burlesque, Pole, Strip and Circus shows. In addition to dance, I also hold several certifications in fitness and wellness to support others in their movement journeys, and to provide safe, efficient, and flexible instruction.

I am so incredibly grateful for the strippers, studios, and teachers that have created this path for Pole as a whole, as well as how Pole has helped me become the empowered woman I am today.