We are sitting down to talk to our new instructors for PoleCon: West 2025! Learn…
Interview with New PoleCon Instructor: Jess Hopper
We are sitting down to talk to our new instructors for PoleCon: West 2025! Learn more about them and then click here to purchase their workshop
1. We’re so excited to have you teach at PoleCon: West this year! Can you tell us a little more about what you’re teaching?
I am beyond excited to be teaching a workshop at the inaugural Pole Con West! I’m teaching a workshop called Fierce Floor Flow, which is something that I taught for the first time during the “remote classes only” early days of Covid. Lots of people didn’t have a home pole at that time, but they still wanted to move and dance and have fun. That first class was designed to be done in people’s home spaces, which could be pretty small. I’m excited to create a new version of it for a big space like the Pole Con workshop room. In my experience choreographing and performing pole routines, I’ve found that some of the most creative, expressive movement happens when I’m not on the pole. There really is so much freedom and possibility there. Plus, I want to give attendees the chance to give any pole-weary body parts a bit of a rest.
2. Is there something that defines your style of teaching or your content that is unique to you?
I have found that the “happy accidents” that happen in class can lead to some real creative breakthroughs. For example, if the choreo has a full split, but a student can only comfortably do a stag split – great! Do that, and let’s find a transition that keeps them in synch with the rest of the piece. Or if someone needs to do their shoulder stand on the opposite side of what I’d planned – perfect. There’s always a way to make it work for everyone. I think of my planned class as just that: a plan. It’s much more important that I find a way for every student to experience a “win.”
3. What is the one thing you want your students to leave with after taking your workshop?
I want every student to leave with a toolbox of floor moves that they can adapt to their own needs in the future. And a kick-ass video for their socials, of course!
4. What are you most excited about for PoleCon: West 2025?
I’m excited to see what this new version of Pole Con looks and feels like! I can’t wait to see who is there – as instructors, performers and students. Like a lot of polers, so much of my social circle is fellow travelers. I love meeting people I know from socials IRL, and being introduced to their friends.
5. Anything else you want to share with PoleCon: West attendees?
If you spot me anywhere at Pole Con, please say hi! One of the best things about this event is the chance to connect to people who share my obsession with poling. Unless I am actively running to the bathroom, I want to meet you!
Colleen Jolly is an entrepreneur and a pole dance enthusiast. She has been poling for 14 years, is the CEO of PoleCon and the Executive Director of the IPIA. She teaches pole, lyra, floorwork, and mobility online and in-person in the DC metro area. She has been active in leadership roles in several international businesses over the past two decades and is also an award-winning pole dancer, artist, writer, and speaker. She is certified in several movement modalities and wrote the book "Mobility for Pole" to help pole dancers move better.
Latest posts by Colleen (see all)
- Pole Dance Enthusiasts return to Denver September 5-7, 2025, International Pole Convention - August 5, 2025
- Interview with New PoleCon Instructor: Jess Hopper - August 1, 2025
- Interview with New PoleCon Instructor: Kristen Nichole - July 25, 2025
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