Look, Mom's pole dancing!

For April Soldano, it's all about losing herself.

She's a 32-year-old wife and mother of two, and she spins and slides up and down a pole, lost in the music and dance, performing pole dancing tricks for herself - and only herself.

"It's how I can break away from the mom life," said Soldano, who is a pole-dance instructor, including a travel pole, which she can take to homes for a girls' night in. "It's fun and intimate, even sexy, and it's for me. I do it for myself."

Soldano also is owner and operator of Rock n Body Pole Studio, which has two locations: 4327 W. Kennedy Blvd. in Tampa and 1850 Oak Grove Blvd. in Land O' Lakes, just off State Road 54. The Tampa location has been open more than a year, and Soldano opened the Land O' Lakes location in June.

Soldano says pole dancing is fantastic exercise, adding that it works "absolutely everything you can imagine and even places you didn't think you could work out."

"Definitely the arms and the legs," Soldano said. "But it goes to the whole body, the core, and it's hard to (pole dance) and work out one part without the other parts."

Soldano points out that the classes, which have beginner, intermediate and advanced levels, are small so "everyone can be comfortable," because "many women aren't brave enough to do it in a mainstream gym where everyone can stare and gawk at them."

"Many do it just because they get bored just running or doing the elliptical machine," Soldano said. "I know I did."

Women start off with the fundamentals of pole dancing. Each level has various classes with names such as Pole Spins 201, Sexy Strip and Chair. Rates begin at $150 for the five-week beginner course, and there are drop-in classes. There also are options such as $150 for a six-pack of classes or $140 for unlimited classes.

No matter which a woman chooses, she gets addicted to it, Soldano said, just as she did.

"When I bought the franchise in 2000, I just fell in love with it," Soldano said. "Meeting new women and dancing, it's just so much fun."

Soldano said most of the women who sign up are "women like me," that is, moms or women between 30 and 45, but women in their 20s are eager to try it, too. And, Soldano said, she even had a 68-year-old woman try.

Soldano has a dance and fitness background, but not every instructor does. One is Sarah Claussen, a 22-year-old University of South Florida student who teaches at the Land O' Lakes location.

"I just saw some YouTube videos, wanted to do it for myself, got a pole for my home and became a pole dancing junkie," Claussen said. "You see a lot of women loosen up because they've never done anything like this."

One dancer, 42-year-old Tampa resident Angel Danger, thinks the class is a bit silly but a good workout. She thinks it has benefits aside from physical fitness.

"My boyfriend is always willing to make dinner now," Danger said with a laugh. "My upper body strength has gotten a lot better, and my arms are much toner. It is a great workout, but, yeah, he's very supportive of this class."

"You need serious strength and serious leg capability to pole dance," Claussen said. "A lot of people think it's silly, like men, with one, after seeing our gear at the airport, telling us, 'Ya'll are just letting it hang out.' Well, not really - we're just working out."

There is a stigma associated with pole dancing, Soldano said. Those who've never done it - and men - think these women are working to get singles thrown at them.

Actually, it's just a workout.

"It's hard for me to understand how men can think that way or not like their wife or girlfriend doing it," Soldano said. "Then again, I'm not even sure why women care what opinions are. They'll be like, 'Oh, so you want to be a stripper?' No, because it's not about them - it's about me and my body. It makes me happy and something for me to do for myself.

"And my husband knows that when I'm happy, everyone is happy."

For information on the studio or the in-home pole dancing parties go to www.poledancing tampa.com, call (813) 317-5094 or e-mail april@rocknbodypole parties.com.