From Cape Town to Pole City

South African Tamsyn Brownie (in black), 30, teaches pole dancing in Shanghai. She is happy to see more Chinese women becoming interested in the controversial art form.

"It looked really fun, so I started to investigate," she says.

Brownie found only one school, the Souldancing Studio, teaching pole dancing in Shanghai. Without hesitation, she applied, practiced five days a week, and even though she often ended up bruised and breathless, found herself hooked. She was also very proficient - enough to turn semi-professional.

She is now a teacher at the studio, responsible for about 20 students of various nationalities.

Laura Gao, project manager of the studio, says Brownie is a fantastic teacher for beginners.

"She has done ballet, so she has a good foundation, and she is very good at sharing her experiences with the students," Laura says.

One of her students, Wei Shuming, has been pole dancing for more than six months.

"It was more challenging than I expected," says Wei, 30. "At first, I felt I couldn't even do one movement. But Brownie is very patient, and step-by-step I became more confident."

Brownie has also seen changes in public attitudes toward pole dancing.

"When I first started in 2007, it was more controversial, and it was more foreign girls I saw coming to learn," she says. "But now more and more Chinese girls want to try, and I think it's because Chinese girls are becoming more confident about themselves.

"In fact, some of my best students are Chinese girls. They train very hard and are very determined.

"I think there is something attractive about that controversial side to pole dancing, which makes it exciting."