Sara James is assistant manager and instructor at the Pole Palace in North Portland. Sara is ElevatED Pole Level 1 certified and has completed Roz the Diva’s Plus-sized Pole Dancing for instructors. With over 6 years of coaching experience, she has helped develop curriculum to make pole dancing accessible to students of all fitness abilities.

Sara is known for her dancey warm-ups, offering progressions and challenges, creative tangents, and silly humor. Sara teaches beginners through advanced, and offers private lessons and act development packages.

Current classes and schedule:

  • Tues 11 am Level 1/1.5

  • Tues 12:30 pm Level 2/3

Pole Dance

Sara began aerial after already having taught pole dance for several years - during classes, she was not only paying attention to what was being taught, but also how it was taught by her coaches. Sara began her aerial coaching career at Echo Theater Company, where a strong emphasis is placed on the accessible progressions and finding dance and creativity within a student’s abilities. This perspective has informed her coaching greatly (as well as other aspects of her own creative process!). Sara now teaches trapeze and silks at Afterglow Aerial Arts in Northeast Portland. She is available for privates for students of all levels at both Afterglow Aerial Arts and Echo Theater Company.

Current classes and schedule:

  • Thurs 9 am Beginner Bar Apparatus

  • Thurs 10 am Dance Trapeze

  • Thurs 11:45 am Beginners Silks

  • Thurs 12:45 pm Silks 2

Classses are series only. Check the website for more information!

Aerial Arts

Workshops

Freestyle: Fluidity and Flow

Learn the art of flow and develop skills for improvisational movement. Freestyle dancing can help bring your performances to the next level by serving as a base for developing choreography, building confidence in audience interactions, and knowing what to do if it all goes wrong. This workshop will explore movement patterns, stylistic choices, and performance qualities.  Open to all levels of movers, whether you are new to dance or an established performer looking to move beyond existing movement patterns and develop new movement practices.

Fierce Floorwork

Slink, twerk, and clack your way along the floor with some of Sara’s favorite floorwork moves! Sara will break down moves like clock legs, leg stirs and sweeps, sexy kitten, heel clacks, booty shaking, faux splits, and more. These will be put into choreography that will leave you feeling fierce! Suitable for all levels. Stripper heels and knee pads recommended.

Aerial Burlesque: Holiday Edition

Come learn a saucy dance routine in anticipation of Saint Nick's arrival! This jazzy, fully choreographed dance trapeze act will be sure to knock their stockings off!  Costumes with easily strippable accessories encouraged! 3 months aerial experience (any apparatus), no dance experience necessary.