We are sitting down to talk to our new instructors for PoleCon: West 2026! Learn…
Interview with New PoleCon Instructor: Iris Sparrow
We are sitting down to talk to our new instructors for PoleCon: West 2026! 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’ll be teaching Hot Knife: Edgework Layering. This workshop is based on a class that I’ve been teaching for about six months at my home studios, Portland Pole + Dance and Beaverton Pole + Dance. Teaching heelwork fires me up for two reasons: first, it gives dancers a new thrill for familiar skills like pirouettes, leg waves, and floorwork. Foundational skills are where I have the most fun, because familiarity means fluidity, and deep fluidity is the feeling I’m always seeking in my body – and what I love to see in my own movement! I love helping heels dancers discover moments of fresh curiosity for their own foundational skills. And secondly, because heelwork adds texture to everything. It can make a simple transition feel and look completely new – for both the dancer and the audience. In Hot Knife, we’ll take short, foundational flows and use edgework to give them new texture. I think of it like watching vines grow around a wrought iron fence and turn it into something beautiful and alive.
2. Is there something that defines your style of teaching or your content that is unique to you?
I hope that my instruction helps students find a balance of intention and curiosity in their movement. I try to present every new idea from a few different angles, breaking down the technique like the big pole nerd I am, but also talking about the body feeling. I’m also trying to collaborate with each student to customize my movement for their body. No two dancers are alike, and we should all seek to move like ourselves, not mimic each other. I take pride in being able to meet students where they are in their bodies at that moment, and co-create a new skill or flow.
3. What is the one thing you want your students to leave with after taking your workshop?
Curiosity. I want them to leave with ideas, as well as new tricks. Ideally, I’m able to offer them fresh perspectives that help them dig deeper and get more excited about every foundational skill they know. I want them to wonder, could I add this edgework layer into this other thing I know? If they leave curious and inspired, I’ve done my job well.
4. What are you most excited about for PoleCon: West 2026?
Seeing everyone! I’ve been in pole for 17 years now and have so many friends from across the country that I never get to see anymore! It’ll be exciting to see so many talented and passionate polers in one place again – like my early pole days, when there were only a few events that everyone went to!
5. Anything else you want to share with PoleCon: West attendees?
I hope they understand that pole con is like any other retreat or training camp – take lots of notes and videos, stock up on ideas, and don’t try to leave with a phone full of polished, perfect videos. Let the things you learn be sketches, not finished pieces of art. Just try to absorb as much information and inspiration as you can while you’re here. The pretty videos will probably happen weeks after getting home, once your body recovers and starts to fully process all that cool stuff!
Colleen Jolly is an entrepreneur and a pole dance enthusiast. She has been poling for 15 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.
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