Exotic dancing is not just for strippers

By: NICOLE SACK - Staff Writer | Saturday, June 30, 2007 11:05 PM PDT ∞

TEMECULA ---- The toughest part of teaching a three-hour exotic dancing class is training the students to make eye contact.

"That's what takes so long: confidence. I could teach hip rolls in 30 minutes," said Tammy Leach, who teaches frequent classes titled Art of Exotic Dancing for Everyday Women.

Leach has never been a stripper or an exotic dancer. As a matter of fact, she used to be an accountant. She and her husband have lived in Temecula for 18 years and they have two children.

It was three years ago, she said, when she developed an interest in exotic dance after deciding to take an exotic dancing class for her then-11th wedding anniversary.

"I thought it would be something that would spice up my marriage," she said. "But when I got done (with the class), I thought, 'Forget him. This is great.'"

She said the lesson she learned from the class, and what she now conveys to her students, is that a person must first develop confidence ---- and then all the other aspects of life fall into place.

Leach, 33, was certified as an instructor with the Art of Exotic Dancing for Everyday Women franchise about a year ago, and now is trying to share her knowledge with women throughout Southwest County. The Art of Exotic Dancing for Everyday Women is a national program with classes available throughout the United States.

Leach knows there are a lot of misconceptions about exotic dancing, even in the name itself.

"Exotic means something that is mysterious, different and unique. Erotic means to arouse sexual desire," she said. "A lot of people see 'exotic' and think 'erotic.' It's not pole dancing."

She said being able to relate to women is as important as teaching the slinky moves. One of the biggest difficulties, she adds, is putting woman at ease.

"These are everyday women ---- mothers, wives, daughters of all ages and body types ---- everyone comes in nervous," she said. "Everyone starts somewhere, and it can only get better from there."

Leach is a self-described introvert.

"All my friends and family would describe me as shy," she said. "But it's important to me that my students see me as an everyday woman. It's scary dancing in front of a room full of strangers, but that is what you have to overcome. I'm a real person, not a professional exotic dancer."

That's not to say that Leach doesn't have the confidence of one. She said there is an empowerment that accompanies the knowledge of seduction.

"What you think is how you feel; and what you feel is what you project," she said.

At a recent class, Leach had a mixed group of eight nervous-looking women gathered inside the Ajna Health Spa dance studio. Many of the women ---- six of them ranging from their 30s to 50s ---- were members of a Claremont Women's Group and had driven an hour and half to Temecula. The women in the group said they had looked forward to the class for nearly six months.

Also at that class was Jennifer Rice, 28, of San Jacinto, who had signed up after losing a bet on a high-profile, professional boxing match. The debt: a strip tease for her husband.

"My husband doesn't know I'm here," Rice said. "I am hoping this will give me the self-confidence and self-esteem so I can follow through with it."

It would be less than two hours before Rice, the mother of a 6-month-old son, would have totally abandoned her previous inhibitions. She and the other women in the room, dressed in yoga pants and high heels, all seemed to have forgotten their hang-ups as they nailed down "their" dances.

Although each woman had her own style of dance, they all would start with a slow, toe-dragging walk toward the mirrored wall, all the while tracing the outline of their bodies with their fingertips and maintaining eye contact with their nearing refections.

Then came a hip roll that rotated the ladies around and sent them back on their strut to the opposite wall where they would stand in a frisk-me pose. Slowly, the women made their way to the carpet for some "floor-play"' and show-off moves such as the truck driver, the cricket, the ticktock and the school girl kick.

Midway through this dance, Leach calls out to the group: "If each of you don't know what your favorite moves are by now, I'll tell you."

Then, in a whispered voice, she says of the women, "just look how into it they are."

It's true. Not one woman is looking at the other, in fact most have their eyes closed. Where their minds are at is anyone's guess, but based on the expressions on their faces it appears none of them are thinking they're at an exotic dancing class.

If there is nothing else to take away from the class, each woman certainly learns the most interesting way ever to take off a man's shirt.

Michele Lane, owner of Ajna Health Spa, said she was delighted to host the exotic dancing class at her spa on Winchester Road in Temecula. Lane said the classes fit into the spa's portfolio of services, which also includes belly dancing and yoga.

"We want to offer fitness services that are also fun," she said. "The (exotic dancing) classes have been so packed. I see the women who take the classes and you would never guess they would be open to the experience."

For more information go to www.aoed.com.

Contact staff writer Nicole Sack at (951) 676-4315, Ext. 2616, or nsack@californian.com.

First name only. Comments including last names, contact addresses, e-mail addresses or phone numbers will be deleted. Attempts to misrepresent your identity or impersonate any person will not be approved. All comments are screened before they appear online, so please keep them brief. Comments reflect the views of those commenting and not necessarily those of the North County Times or its staff writers. Click here to view additional comment policies.