Everyday Pole Stars (Courtney Newton)

Everyday Pole Stars: Courtney Newton

“If Cinderella can dance with only one shoe…”

We hear the word “inspiration” all the time in reference to pole celebrities. These men and women are no doubt awesome, amazing, and often inspiring.  However, less well-known but equally awesome polers can also inspire us. Personally, I am very inspired by folks who have regular lives and still manage to engage in this very time-consuming hobby and advocate for the community. This entry is to spotlight regular men and women who pole and have interesting or unique backgrounds. It’s important to keep pole accessible to “regular people”.

Courtney Newton, a 23-year-old grew up in North Carolina.  She engaged in a little cheerleading, ballet, and even some hip-hop/R&B style.  In high school she joined her high-school color guard team her freshman year and fell madly in love. She stuck with it all through high school.  However, on July 7, 2006, the summer between sophomore and junior year, her life radically changed. 

Courtney was in a major car accident and was lucky to survive.  However, she suffered the loss of her left foot.  I try to put myself in this young woman’s place, undergoing such a major change in high school.  If any of you readers are like me, we couldn’t even stomach a major hairstyle change in high school.  And Courtney found herself without a foot.  Obviously, a bigger deal than hair.  Feet don’t generally grow back.  This particular young-woman, however, wasn’t to be stopped from reaching her goals.  Although she was in a wheel chair and didn’t march in her junior year, she continued to support her teammates.  In fact, this amazing lady went on to become Colorgaurd captain in her senior year.  She had to cut back on the dance and gymnastics because, in her words, the “no toes thing” made it pretty tricky!

So it should come as no surprise that when Courtney discovered pole two-and-a-half years ago, the fact that she needed only one platform heel didn’t stop her.  In 2010, she found pole after looking for something to keep up her spirits while her husband was deployed in Haiti.  Of her home studio, Studio X PoleFitness in Fayetteville, NC, she says “I don’t know where I would be without all the wonderful friends I have made there. No one ever looks at me like I have a disadvantage which I LOVE.”  She continued with the sport for the same reasons most of us do.  In her own words: “not only because I love it but because I feel more confident about myself and its a wonderful workout.”  She even has an x-pert x-pole at home.

There are challenges to pole dancing with one foot, however.  Courtney notes that side climbing on her right side is particularly hard (you can picture how this climb puts Courtney’s left foot as the supporting food and it’s even more challenging to grip the pole without toes on that side).  I wondered if there were any moves that were actually easier with one foot but that’s a negative!  As for favorite moves, Courtney likes the flying ballerina.  In fact, she won the Bad Kitty Feats of Strength photo contest in 2011 doing that exact move.  And it looks great on her!  Maybe we should start calling it the Cinderella.