What’s that old proverb? The couple that pole-dances together, stays together?
That’s how it is for Jake Night and Lindsey Teall of St. Louis, Missouri, anyway. The couple has a pole set up in their living room where they practice pole dancing every day and have taught their three children to do the same.
32-year-old Teall told Barcroft TV that the couples’ two daughters Aluara (age 5) and Rosalyn (age 3) were “born with the bug” after she pole danced through both pregnancies. “The reason we decided to perform as a family is because we love dancing together, she said.”I was pole dancing when I was pregnant with both of the girls and I think that when they were born they felt that they were already a part of that art.”
Teall, who is a former exotic dancer, explained how her husband became performing with her after their middle child was born. “We’ve done performances where both of us are on the pole – we’ll do doubles,” she said. “It was really refreshing – and being able to do it with a partner and adding our kids into that aspect was amazing.”
To Jake and Lindsey, pole-dancing is a fun sport that helps them bond as a family. “We feel that pole dancing is a sport for kids as well as for adults because it’s very dance-heavy and it’s also very gymnastics-heavy,” said Teall. “You have to be strong, you have to be graceful.”
But not everybody feels the same way about pole-dancing children. Though the couple maintains they absolutely did not force their kids into it, their family has been the focus of online rage.
“We have dealt with a lot of negative comments, I can’t even count, thousands upon thousands upon thousands,” explained Jake. “We’ve heard some pretty horrific things, they were going to hunt us down and kill us and take our children.”
Lindsey added: “The naysayers, the haters and everybody like that just makes us, as parents, more protective of them.”
“You can’t explain to everybody that this is a legitimate sport. A lot of people, you just can’t change their opinion. We’re living our most authentic life, sometimes people don’t like that; they want you to be like everybody else.”
And Lindsey has another point supporting the family’s “most authentic” lifestyle: the fact that strip clubs aren’t as popular as they once were, and that, to their way of thinking, it has gained momentum as a fitness regimen.
“I actually don’t have any concern about my children participating in pole dance,” she explained. “Stripping is becoming somewhat obsolete, clubs are getting less busy, they’re dying down. Pole dance is taking a new route, it’s evolving into a sport, into an art.”
Indeed, a quick Google search of “pole dancing” reveals that Lindsey is not off the mark. “8 Reasons You Need To Try Pole Dancing,” reads an article on Shape.com. A CNN article titled “Pole Dancing Strips The Pounds Off” touts the weight loss benefits of the activity. The sport combines weight lifting with weight training, and ultimately works out just about every body part.
