@blhackler

Bri has been pole dancing since 2015, when she stumbled into a class in Kalispell, Montana, as part of a newspaper story she was writing. In 2017, Bri started participating in pole competitions, earning a gold medal at Aerialympics in Portland, as well as placing first at Pole Sport Organization’s Emerald Pole Competition in Seattle and second at the Northwest Pole Championships. Bri started teaching pole dance in 2019, and has been teaching at O-Pole Studios since they opened their doors in 2022. She is X-Pert certified, and her favorite part of teaching is helping students find confidence in their movement and a love for the sport.

@likereallymilk

I grew up bellydancing and fell in love with dance in general, tried pole a few years ago and never stopped spinning! I love seeing how fast students progress and often make up strange analogies to describe muscle movement on the pole. Find me on insta at @likereallymilk !

OWNERS @power_at_play

Dar & Alicia are a powerhouse owner/instructor duo who have been team-teaching group fitness for over a decade together! If you are in the mood for some sassy Zumba or Sexy Strength building moves, this is your team!

Solana Sky (she/they) is a movement artist and instructor with over 20 years of dance experience.

Deeply inspired by the ocean, her work explores how water and nature can flow through our movement practices. They find their life calling in creating safe spaces for folks to heal, explore themselves and find liberation through the art form of pole dancing.

After 18 years of ballet Solana embarked on pole dancing in 2021 later receiving her pole teaching certificate in 2023 from Atomic Allure in Oakland.

Solana Sky has performed across California, recently becoming a Playmate at Pole Master’s Playhouse.  She got her start dancing for Queer Fem in the Bay Area and has most notably performed for Too $hort and Luniz.

Outside of performing, Solana Sky finds their passion in teaching. She has taught in Los Angeles, San Francisco Bay Area, San Diego, Seattle and hosted international master class workshops in Guatemala and Canada.

I’m a transmasculine and disabled USAF veteran who moved to Bellingham to study the environment in WWU’s Geographic Information Science program. While a student at Western, I discovered a love of pole right here at O-Pole Studios! This community has opened so many doors for me to fulfill a lifelong love of music and dance, and to heal and reclaim my own mind and body. My goal as a performer is to always have my own story to tell while honoring the music that I collaborate with. I can vibe with any genre, but my favorite artists are powerful storytellers and unique vocalists in bands such as AFI, Florence + the Machine, Coheed & Cambria, VNV Nation, Hozier, and Sleep Token, just to name a few. I’m also deeply inspired by fantasy, horror, and science fiction stories. I can’t wait to help students create richly detailed characters, routines, and costumes. I believe that the transformative power of performance art should be accessible to all bodies. My goal as an instructor is to be mindful of our community values of intersectional inclusivity while enabling each student to fully embody their own creative vision.

Hope Alejandra (she/they) is a Mexican-American aerialist, performer and teacher who has been practicing through different mediums for 6 years. She started her pole journey in 2021 in Oaxaca, Mexico, where she also trained and instructed aerial silks and acrochair. She has taken lessons at Raven Studio and Positive Spin in Seattle, and performed with Cunt Coven led by Gila Monstress in Bellingham, WA. 

A fan of traditional showgirl burlesque, a primary focus of her dance practice is to evoke fascination by creating sensual appeal through intentional movement and inner confidence. Hope knows that pole is an outlet for people to connect with their bodies and express themselves through dance. In their classes they strive to create a safe space that encourages students to push themselves out of their comfort zone and try new things to learn and grow. 

Outside of the pole world, Hope is a Salmon researcher for the Lummi Nation, a high school wrestling coach, and farmer with her parents in Ferndale. 

Zoelle was born and raised in Bellingham, WA and is an explorer at heart. She sees movement as a form of self-expression and self-exploration, whatever that movement might be. Zoelle loves to bring different styles together to create a dynamic expression of self through movement, and believes the role of teacher is to hold space for each student to discover their internal wisdom as they learn about and love their own self. She completed her 200-hour Yoga Teacher Training through Bellingham Yoga Collective in February 2024 and has been taking classes at O-Pole since November 2022.