New York Post, Tuesday, August 13, 2019nypost.com30
body that happens to already
look good in a stripper’s uni-
form, Sapakie says.
“You don’t wear a lot when
you pole dance,” she says.
“But she’s got a legendary
body.”
In the movie, Lopez plays
Ramona, the aged-out matri-
arch of the strippers at Hus-
tlers. The based-on-real-life
story has her orchestrating a
comeback for her fellow
strippers after the 2008 fi-
nancial crisis, when the girls
resort to extreme measures
to bring in cash, including
drugging would-be clients so
that they spend more money
(and also don’t remember do-
ing so). Lopez’s pole-dancing
swagger had to be convincing
on-screen, because the script
called for her to teach the
other girls how to do the
moves she had only just
learned herself.
“Obviously she’s a phenom-
enal dancer, so she has that in
her pocket, but she had never
done pole-dancing before,”
Sapakie says. “So it was a
crash course in: ‘What does
she need to know for this
film?’ ”
In the trailer for the movie,
Ramona is seen showing
younger dancer Destiny
(played by Wu) how to do a
knee hook, ankle hook and
what Ramona calls the
“carousel” — a dazzling spin
around the pole while seduc-
tively whipping around a long
ponytail. Those were some of
the earlier lessons in Lopez’s
training, Sapakie says,
culminating with an inver-
sion, or hanging upside down
with one’s ankles holding the
pole.
“We wanted to have one
‘wow’ moment,” says Sapakie.
“But that, if you’re not used
to it, can take a moment to
feel safe.”
Not all the characters
needed to master such wow
moments, though. With Wu,
for instance, training was
mostly about getting her com-
fortable on the pole —
although the “Fresh Off the
Boat” star also visited a strip
club in LA to prep for the role.
“[Wu’s] character is more
of a newbie,” Sapakie says.“So having her look like a
new artist worked for her
character. She should not ap-
pear like she’s been doing
this for a long time.”
Other actresses, such as
Reinhart and actress-singer-
presenter Keke Palmer, got an
introductory session with
Sapakie — learning “how to
spin around and have fun” so
they would look natural in the
strip-club scenes, Sapakie
says. “With them, it was more
like girls having a party.
“But [Reinhart] enjoyed it
so much, she came back and
had a private session with me
because she just wanted to
learn more,” Sapakie says.
“That’s how it works — you
try it once, and you fall in
love with it.”
Sapakie’s pole-dancing expe-
rience is strictly clothed, but
her body is a testament to the
athleticism required for the
dance form. In the years since
she took up pole-dancing, she’s
seen its reputation go from
strip-club moneymaker to an
honest-to-God workout even
suburban moms can get be-
hind. She’ll bring a couple of
her classes from Sin City to
New York this month, starting
with a beginner’s class next
Tuesday at Body & Pole in
Chelsea from 8:30 to 10 p.m.
Lopez, who did all her own
moves in the flick, said on
“Jimmy Kimmel Live!” that
the style of dancing was one
of the hardest skills she’s ever
had to learn: “I have a lot of
respect for people who do the
pole,” she told the host. “It’s
much more difficult than
[professional dancing]. It’s
different muscle groups, and
the things they do with their
legs, [going] upside down, I’m
like, ‘What?’ ”
“But you’re gonna see her on
camera and have no idea it was
ever a struggle, because she
freakin’ nails it,” Sapakie says.
Proof of that process is
what Sapakie affectionately
calls “pole kisses,” or “the
bruises you get when you’re
pole-dancing.”
So did Lopez get any of
these smooches?
“Uh, yeah,” Sapakie says.
“But she doesn’t shy away
from that kind of stuff. If
that’s what it takes to get the
work done, she’ll do it.”DOING THE
LEG WORK
From STRIP on Page 29Strip
teach
Want to steal
some of J.Lo’s
moneymakin’
moves from
“Hustlers”?
Here, Lopez’s
pole-dancing
coach Johanna
Sapakie shares
three beginner-
friendly pole
moves to
unleash your
inner hustler. 1) Lie on your back with your knees up and thighs at 90-degree
angles to the torso and feet flat on the floor. Press your
tailbone down into the floor. 2) Squeeze your glutes and lift
your hips up as high as possible. 3) Extend one leg straight up to
the ceiling without dropping or tipping your hips. Replace that
foot back onto floor and extend the opposite leg up to ceiling,
keeping your hips lifted. Replace that foot, and, with both feet
on the ground, lower hips back down to starting position.BRIDGED
LEG LIFTS
Lacking a stripper
pole in your
apartment? This
sexy, off-pole
move will still work
your glutes, core
and hamstrings.DIP TURNS
Strengthen quads,
glutes and hamstrings
with this flashy move.1) Standing to one
side of the pole,
reach up high with
your outside arm
and step forward
with your inside
foot. Grab the pole
with your other
hand at waist
height. 2) Extend
your outside leg,
reaching away from
the pole. Swing the
extended leg
forward as you
swivel your body
around, and step
your foot down on
the other side of
the pole, so both
knees are deeply
bent. 3) Now,
extend your second
leg (your original
standing leg) out
and away, and cross
it behind your first
leg to step down
and stand upright.
Repeat on the
other side.(^12)
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