Their instruction was sloppy and unprofessional making us all look the same bad attitude when we…read morewere filming

The studio is so friendly and inclusive. Truly a safe place for queer folx. Instructors always ask…read moreif you have any injuries they should be aware of. And will offer modifications that will work for your body.

Creative teachers, fun classes. Great workout. The teachers are fantastic artists in their own…read moreright. Be ready to share a pole at this location.

I love Pole Icons. The vibe and space is unique to the other studios in town. Great ambiance,…read morelighting, and small classes. The location is super accessible and I feel like it more dancers should know about this local option!

Angela is AWESOME! She has such a unique way of connecting with all her students at one time that…read moreit feels like it's just you and her, even if there are others with your class. She is very professional and gives you the freedom to be as creative and sexy as you want. She doesn't make you feel pressured to be a certain way, so if you wanted to, you could be goofy, sexy, graceful, etc. How you interpret pole is exactly that, your interpretation. She's on time, organized, and really friendly. This isn't just a regular aerobics class. The moves you do are more suggestive and require more athletic ability than you think. It would be really nerve racking for anyone who's just starting out or not comfortable enough with themselves to just strut their stuff on the pole right away, but Angela helps ease that tension. She's got a really cute little studio in her living room with 5 poles. They are all perfectly spaced and she's got sexy lighting and mirrors in their too. Seriously, it's just this awesome girl room where you can just let your freak flag fly! I'll rave about Pole Velocity all day. Had my first class week and was feeling hesitant about how it would go, but Angela is great. She's got credibility, experience, and a nice little set up that makes you feel comfortable there. Plus, she's got these cute fluffy cats that chill out and watch you dance which is hilarious. Love the class, love the prices, love the environment. Great!!! UPDATE 5/30/2014 A year and a half later and I am still going here. Angela is wonderful. She is an excellent teacher and I have learned so much. I have my own pole now and I still take classes because I can always use a little instruction. Her aerial fit class is so much fun. She hosts little "open house" parties for her students so we can all hang out and dance, see each others progress. it's so much fun here! a nice little family.

This place is okay. It's a home studio with decent prices. You learn a lot of spins and the…read moreinstructor gives you one on one attention. It isn't a place to learn sexy moves but it is a good workout. Street parking is decent. This place would get a five if the instructor didn't talk negatively about her students. She's not professional but if you want to learn the basics come here and branch off to something different.

I really enjoy Brass Ring's classes and instructors. There are so many classes to choose from and…read moreeveryone is supportive of exactly where you are at. You may have to share a pole depending on how full the class is but it's a friendly and diverse community. I feel very gender affirmed at Brass always.

A newly renovated space, but the same amazingly queer community! This stunning studio offers…read moreall-gender classes and has a TON of variety with awesome instructors. Community-driven and a safe place to take on pole dancing at any level!

Giving 2 stars instead of 1 because I actually enjoyed the class I was taking there (stretching…read morewith Linnea) and would have kept going had the administrative staff not treated me like crap. Aloft uses an online platform called VAMP for students to sign up for classes, manage payments, and more. I used to email them to let them know when I would be absent but then noticed on the dashboard that there is a "Manage Absences" button on the online account dashboard. In an effort to be respectful of their time I began using it to log my planned absences instead. I felt bad for having wasted the administrative staff's time before I had made this discovery of a seemingly more streamlined way to record my absences. But after a few months of using the "Manage Absences" button on my account dashboard, I noticed I hadn't received any makeup credits. This amounted to about ~$120 in class credits I should have received, but didn't. I emailed Sarah Tapper, the person who handles this stuff, and she responded with the lifeless and cold bedside manner of an animated machine, not offering any help whatsoever and instead just recited company policies to me without offering any solutions or even partial credit. (I've included all of the emails with this review but Yelp puts them out of order which makes it hard to follow, so I've numbered them to try to make it easier.) She basically told me that despite my efforts to be respectful of her time, Aloft was keeping my ~$120. Any other business would see that what I did by using a button that was clearly labeled "Manage Absences" to *MANAGE* my *ABSENCES* is an easy mistake to make and would have credited me back for the absences I logged but also informed me that going forward I was to do things following their weird old-fashioned protocol that makes you feel like you're back in the dial-up days of the internet, which I'll outline below: At Aloft, you are not to log planned absences in the streamlined account dashboard. That would be too simple and modern. INSTEAD, you have to email back and forth with Sarah Tapper about any planned absences AND log them into the account dashboard. (According to Sarah, logging absences in the account dashboard helps instructors know who will show up and emailing Sarah ahead of time is what gets you the credits, which seems like it just creates a lot more unnecessary work for everyone). It's like this place is run by the same people running the DMV or something. Like they've been doing things the same way since they first opened over a decade ago and are holding their own customers at fault for daring to assume they would be utilizing the very platform they have for literally everything else (registering for classes, managing payments, you name it) to also be able to manage absences and get credit for makeups. Why do things the hard way when you can just cut out all this extra work and make things simple for everyone? And why was I treated with the same understanding and compassion as a protagonist in a Kafka story? I was literally just trying to be respectful of Sarah's time and was instead met with zero compassion. In initial emails with her I was very respectful and understanding and offered to do things in Aloft's weird roundabout way going forward, but would like my previous planned absences credited back to me. She just responded with company policies and not lifting a single finger to help me with my ~$120 that was now just spinning down the drain. So then I got upset and informed her that I would be writing reviews about this experience to warn others as well as reporting them to the BBB because they had taken my money and weren't giving it back despite my logging my absences (albeit not in *exactly* the way they wanted them to be logged). I never called anyone names -- but I did express my frustration about the complete lack of understanding and absolute unwillingness to bend even a little bit for a good customer who had referred others to their business and had been going there for half a year and intended to keep going. It's not like there's an elaborate enigmatic code that Sarah would have to crack that absolutely prevents them from helping me--they just didn't WANT to help me, despite the fact that I only got into this situation because *I* was trying to help *them* out! Finally, the owner decided to get involved and did in fact refund most of my ~$120 back to me but said that it was best if I didn't attend classes there going forward and I agree. I don't appreciate how I was treated--punished for the crime of mistakenly trying to do something nice for someone.

Two years ago, I took a huge risk to move all the way from South Florida to Chicago to do Aloft's…read moreProfessional Training Program and can honestly say it was my best decision. Aloft has been like a second home to me. The coaches are always welcoming and encouraging and always pushing you to succeed. The training space it's self is one of the few places i've been too where everyone is friendly and you don't feel judged. I have been able to make life long friendships here. I highly recommend Aloft to everyone regardless of abilities and if you're not interested in training, Aloft always puts on amazing shows.

Can't say enough good things about this place! They saved the day when our planned outdoor birthday…read moreparty got cancelled due to weather. The space is lovely with plenty of open space for dancing and socializing. The sound system and acoustic were great! Above all was the amazing owner and staff. They were there to help and pitch in with anything needed. 100% recommend this place for your next event!

This is a great place to learn pole dancing! Fun atmosphere and amazing teachers. Aileen really…read moremakes everyone feel comfortable and relaxed. Plus she is an inspiring pole dancer. The studio is also super clean and made me feel totally safe during Covid. A great addition to the neighborhood and I'd highly recommend it to beginners (like me)!

Great classes! Amazing teachers and fun ! The workshop…read morehelped me understand the physiology of shoulderstands .

Highly recommend!! All the instructors I've worked with…read moremade me feel comfortable, have helped me grow so much in my technique, and in general just make it a really fun class!

Fantastic patient and kind teacher! Safety and cleanliness is a priority. Good warm up, excellent…read moreinstruction. Fun lesson tailored to your personal fitness and strength. Highly recommend LOAPT.

I've been going to LOAPT for several months now, starting with pole journey as a complete beginner,…read moreand am now doing her Pole Tricks classes. I love everything about the school...Sonia is a very knowledgeable and caring instructor. I felt right at home and her classes are always so much fun! I also like that it's more of an intimate setting with just a few students in each class. She makes sure to give each of us our own personal "homework" to work on so we can improve our skills for the next time. Her new studio space is gorgeous too, and there's plenty of parking around. I would highly recommend! :)

Super posh dance center. Came for a 90's/00's dance class with Dre. It was a high energy but low…read morepressure class. I really enjoyed the class and the studio that the class was held in. Our class was in studio #5. The sound system was good. Unsure if I loved the floors, but they worked good for this class. Ample spacing for our class which had nearly 2 dozen participants. The space it self is really comprehensive. I saw multiple bathrooms and a gender-neutral bathroom. There is at least 5 separate dance spaces. Each space was arranged depending on dance style. I saw a room with several barre. The general area also boosted several areas to just chill while waiting on a loved to finish a class. On this day...all the kiddos were taking classes. So many little one excited to take their dance classes. It was cute because this little girl kep staring at our class through the window. Highly recommend seeing all the offerings at this dance center. I was surprised by the many offerings they have. I want to try a beginner hip-hop but we will see. Tip: Parking is located around the building on street. Mostly free but get there with time to look. I found it easier to just park off Belmont and walk.

Came for beginner/intermediate ballet with Brian! It was super challenging, but definitely more…read moretechnical for beginners so wouldn't recommend for first timers. Beautiful studio

Finally got to visit this magical place! I was in Chicago for work and had one day available to…read moretake a few pole classes with Patty. It was easy to sign up for drop-in classes through Mindbody, though street parking can be a challenge to find in this area, especially after 9-5 work hours. The space itself is super cute (very purple!) and serene. Patty is an incredibly strong and inspiring instructor. She's great at guiding students of all levels, and I learned so much from her as both a student and pole teacher myself. Loved seeing the regulars interact with each other, challenge themselves, and learn new techniques. I'll have to buy a Pole Appeal jacket next time and bring a friend to class with me.

Really enjoyed pattis beginner class! It was a lot of fun, empowering and patti made me feel super…read morecomfortable