Tips & Advice For The Intermediate Pole Dancer

If you’re reading this, chances are you’re not brand new to the pole. You’ve learned the spins, braved the bruises, and maybe even nailed your first invert. Welcome to the beautifully messy, empowering middle stage of your pole journey where growth takes grit, and style meets skill.

Here are some real, practical tips to keep motivated and help you level up as an intermediate pole dancer grounded in the experiences of our pole community and our own journey designing for dancers like you.

Jump to:

• Relearn the Basics
• Start Filming Yourself
• Flexibility & Conditioning
• Accept the Bad Days
• Invest in Good Quality Pole Wear
• Stay Curious
• Confidence Still Takes Work

1. Relearn the Basics — But Through a New Lens

One of the best-kept secrets in pole dancing? The basics never stop being relevant. Going back to those beginner moves with more strength, awareness, and experience can totally transform how you feel and even open up new tricks that you couldn’t pull off before. The basics can always be refined (think straighter legs, more pointed toes, more shoulder engagement and longer holds) and variations can always be made.

So give some love to your foundational climbs, pirouettes, inverts and fan kicks. You will notice cleaner lines, smoother flow, and way more control.

 

2. Start Filming Yourself

Not for the likes (unless you want to!), but for the feedback. Filming your training sessions lets you see a whole new perspective, from technique hiccups to movement patterns you didn’t even realise you had.

This is a great way to build body awareness, track your progress, and spot those moments when everything just clicks. And when they do? You’ve got it on camera to celebrate and learn from.

3. Flexibility & Conditioning: The Quiet Game-Changers

At the intermediate stage, everything becomes more dynamic. The combos are longer, and there’s more demand on your body. That’s where conditioning and flexibility training come in.

No, you don’t need to bend like a pretzel but working on active flexibility, mobility, and functional strength will make a huge difference. Not only will your pole combos look and feel better, tricks start to feel easier, transitions get safer, and your body holds up better under pressure. Trust us. Your shoulders, hips, and hamstrings will thank you for it.

4. Accept the Bad Days (Seriously)

Some days, your body just won’t cooperate. Maybe your grip is off (could be the weather, the humidity, your skin or you’re just having an extra sweaty day). Maybe your brain’s not firing. Maybe you’ve been staring at the pole wondering, “Why does nothing feel good today?”

It happens even to pros. Progress isn’t linear. On those ‘off days’, just focus on what your body can naturally do without even trying.

5. Invest in Good Quality Pole Wear

This isn’t just a shameless plug — your pole wear matters. As you move into more advanced tricks, what you wear can directly affect your safety and comfort (and confidence or pole mojo!).

Look for pole wear that’s:

• Supportive and keeps your bits in, especially for going upside down (goodbye nip slips and distractions)
• Strategically cut to allow grip (hello thigh holds and pole tricks that require tummy or waist grip)
• Designed for movement — not just for show (moves with your body, stays in place and actually makes you feel good)

At Tatiana Active, we road-test every design, work with pole testing models of different sizes, and create pieces that combine activewear-grade functionality with thoughtful, standout designs. Because when you feel good in your skin and your set, you move differently.

6. Stay Curious

Hitting a plateau? It happens. But staying curious is what keeps things exciting. If you’re a dance fanatic, try out different styles like low flow, basework, edgework, exotic flow or contemporary — each one brings something new to the table. 

And if you’re a pole tricks fanatic, try out low basework tricks, static tricks, dynamic tricks that require power or a long pole combo that really tests out your endurance.

 

Take a class with a new instructor. Check out a different studio. Revisit an old class. Say yes to that trick that has always intimidated you. You don’t have to master it all, but every new experience adds depth to your style and keeps your pole journey fresh. Every style you try adds another layer to your pole identity.

7. Confidence Still Takes Work

There’s a myth that once you reach the intermediate level, confidence just kicks in. Spoiler alert: it doesn’t. Confidence, like everything else in pole, is a skill you build; slowly, intentionally, and with support. And confidence never fades - it just keeps growing.

And that’s where your community comes in. Whether it’s your home studio, your online pole friends, or that one person who hypes you up every class, surround yourself with people who see you, celebrate you, and remind you of your shine when you forget. They are the biggest contributors to your confidence growth.

Being an intermediate pole dancer is a wild, rewarding ride full of breakthroughs, bumps, and badass moments. You might start entering competitions or taking on 4 pole classes a week.

Embrace the process, trust your body, and don’t be afraid to ask for what you need (support, recommendations on new gear, feedback, community and all of it).

And if you’re ever unsure? Just know: you’re exactly where you need to be.