Women Exercising In A New Way - "Stripaerobics"

[matcom]

<snip>

MAYFIELD HEIGHTS, Ohio -- They're sexy, mysterious and always in great shape. Exotic dancers don't just strut their stuff in clubs -- they have become trendsetters.

It's a trend even celebrities are cashing in on. Carmen Electra's aerobic striptease is the hottest-selling fitness DVD on the market, reported WEWS-TV in Cleveland.

She lap dances, role plays and even uses props in her school of seduction.

Now women everywhere are daring to bare it all with one of the fastest-growing fitness crazes -- stripaerobics.

Linda Andrews teaches the class at Slender Lady in Mayfield Heights, Ohio, to housewives, professionals, moms and single women looking for a sensual way to get in shape.

"We feel that we're pretty much meeting a need in the fitness industry," Andrews said. "This is a big craze in big cities; New York, Chicago, there's pole dancing, strip dancing, belly dancing. So we're just responding to a need and the women came out."

Relerford said those who came out love the results.

"I've lost 10 pounds, so I'm really happy with the class, and I'm telling everybody I know," Selena Bank said.

The classes start with a few minutes of stretching. Then the women learn some sexy dance moves. The dancers put it all together in a routine that's complete at the end of the six-week course.

A lot of times people hear the term "stripaerobics" and assume the worst. But it is about sexuality, sensuality and gaining confidence.

http://www.wftv.com/irresistible/4438095/detail.html

[BlondieK143]

1. What's better than that?

Losing weight and feeling sexy at the same time? :)

[TorchTheWitch]

20. I can think of something WAY better

"What's better than that?" Losing weight and feeling sexy at the same time?

Getting paid for it... You'll not catch me stripping, lap dancing, "losing weight and feeling sexy" without the Benjamins... never.

It cracks me the hell up that women PAY to do this when they should be getting paid FOR it.

[amazona]

2. I don't know how "new" it is

The media has been trying to make this into a trend periodically since the 1980s at least.

I had family members who took belly dancing exercise classes in the 1970s. The ladies would come to your home and give the lessons.

The conservation movement is a breeding ground of communists
and other subversives. We intend to clean them out,
even if it means rounding up every birdwatcher in the country.
--John Mitchell, US Attorney General 1969-72

[liontamer]

5. belly dancing is very different from stripping

While you're right that strip aerobics isn't a new trend.(Crunch has been doing it for about 5 years now) Don't confuse middle eastern dance with lap dancing.

[amazona]

7. well not that different

They didn't have lap dancing back then. Touching the dancers was just as illegal for strippers as for belly dancers. The woman who ran the "exercise" program was from Syria, so I am going to assume that she knew more about her heritage than you or I, but in addition to the exercise program there were birthday parties, bachelor parties, private parties -- all the usual stripper stuff. I realize for legal reasons they had to keep saying, "I am not a stripper, I am a belly dancer," but it was one of those differences that make no difference.

And, yeah, I took a class or two even though I was a teen -- and a lot of it was about moving to get the man off. So not much use saying it wasn't.

Dancing girls are what they ever were in every society on earth. If Carmen Electra can make it pay big, more power to her.

The conservation movement is a breeding ground of communists
and other subversives. We intend to clean them out,
even if it means rounding up every birdwatcher in the country.
--John Mitchell, US Attorney General 1969-72

[Rainbowreflect]

8. They are very different. Originally belly dancing was done

by women for women, never for men. Women would dance together to celebrate "mother earth" & fertility.
I love belly dancing for what it does for me, both physically & spiritually.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

16. aside from the fact that they dont ever strip

and thats kind of a difference betweeen any dancer and a stripper

[Left Is Write]

9. A woman whose kids I babysat for in the 70s was a belly dance teacher.

Late 70s/early 80s.

[DS1]

3. Is Selena Bank her stage name?

:D

[Magrittes Pipe]

4. Mayfield Heights, eh?

I imagine there's a Beastman-shaped imprint on the glass outside the exercise room. :P

[underpants]

6. Strip Yoga-I first heard of this in a story on Sheila Kelley

Actress who is married to Richard Schiff "Toby Zeigler" on "The West Wing"

http://www.homeandgarden.canoe.ca/LifewiseValentineFeatures/stripyoga-ap.html

Looks fun

[Zuni]

12. That Schiff guy really hit the jackpot here

excuse me for a sec

[Enraged_Ape]

10. Does anyone here remember "The 20-Minute Workout"

It was one of the first (if not the first) syndicated aerobics shows ever, and it was total cold-shower material. The producer of the show was a Penthouse photographer.

[underpants]

13. Someone does

http://www.angelfire.com/tv2/eccentric/20min.htm#pics

[Skittles]

18. that Bess gal looks like a man

nt

[TorchTheWitch]

21. I remember that!

My brothers used to watch it every morning without fail... while sitting on the sofa. All those close up clevage and butt shots. :evilgrin:

[Robeson]

22. Oh yes. I used to see it on Cinemax....

...back in the day. And yes, I still have fond memories of it...

[Beware the Beast Man]

11. Holy shit- I LIVE in Mayfield Heights!

That place is about a block from where I live. Huzzah!!!!

[Zuni]

14. I so want to start aerobics training RIGHT NOW

I have ignored my health long enough

[asthmaticeog]

15. Oh god, I grew up in Mayfield Heights.

Had they thought of this years ago, maybe I wouldn't have moved away.

[mark414]

17. i will have to tell my girlfriend about this

[Kerrytravelers]

19. The real life wife of Richard Schiff (Toby in West Wing) runs a studio...

with strip areobics. I saw her demo on Oprah a few years bakc. SHe use to be on LA Law... Shiela Kelly is her name and she's quite pretty.

[underpants]

23. Yes-see post #6

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=105&topic_id=3166065&mesg_id=3166127

[TorchTheWitch]

24. Sheila Kelley's "S Factor"

The real life wife of Richard Schiff (Toby in West Wing) runs a studio... with strip areobics. I saw her demo on Oprah a few years bakc. SHe use to be on LA Law... Shiela Kelly is her name and she's quite pretty.

She came up with this stripping for exercise thing after researching and acting in the movie "Dancing at the Blue Iguana" (which sucked, by the way). Wrote a book, does instructional videos, etc.

http://sfactor.com/

Basically, she cashed in on her celebrity status. It annoys the hell out of me that she's publically stated that exotic dancing is just peachy for fun and fitness but not for pay. In other words, she believes it's just dandy for women to find their inner sexy lady by charging them out the wazoo to be taught what she learned through research and acting in a film, but it's not ok to actually do it professionally and be paid for it. To me that's like some actress researching hairdressing to play a hairdresser in a film, teaching other woman how to be a hairdresser (and get oodles of money out of it) while claiming women should only be a hairdresser for fun, and it's not ok to get paid for it.

Teaching exotic dancing through books/classes/video is hardly new. There were many REAL exotic dancers who where years ahead of her on that one, and are quite frankly far better qualified. Fawnia Mondey for one... http://www.exoticdancelessons.com/

[aeolian]

25. God Bless America!

:patriot:

What a wonderful innovation!

*goes looking for DVD for for wonderful, sexy, redhead girlfriend*