Video: Now you can learn pole dancing while you shop (with a size 16 teacher)

POTATOES, pork chops – and a pole dance? Strange as it sounds, pole dancing lessons are making an appearance on the shopping lists of Sheffielders, after mother-of-three Gemma Hopkins set up her own classes in the city’s Castle Market.

The 27-year-old has taken over a shop on the top level of the market, where she is offering classes that aim to “empower” women and boost their confidence.

“I already have a fair few classes booked”, said Mrs Hopkins, from Pitsmoor.

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“I like the fact that I’m not the traditional image of a pole dancer. I’m a size 16, but I’m fit and healthy.

“As I’m different to how people expect, people don’t feel intimidated walking into my classes.”

Mrs Hopkins started taking pole dancing lessons four years ago and then began running her own sessions last year, before setting up recently at Castle Market.

She said: “They’re aimed at anyone aged over 16 – you’re never too old – but it can be strenuous.

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“All the lessons are behind a wall, so nobody can see anything. There’s no need to worry about anyone leering or making suggestive comments.

“Pole dancing has a seedy image, but the image is gradually changing. What we do is really gymnastics on the pole rather than just dancing.”

Mrs Hopkins’s classes are aimed at both women and men, although all sessions are single-sex.