Hanging from a rope, a harness or a hoop, Iranian women are flocking to gyms to perform aerial dance and sharing videos of their routines on social media. Others are quietly practising another form of self-expression – pole-dancing – in underground venues hidden from Iran’s security forces. In a theocracy where women are banned from riding motorbikes, singing in public or appearing outside without a hijab, aerial dance and pole dancing are revolutionary acts.
Nearly three years after the death of Mahsa Amini kicked off the “Woman Life Freedom” protests, women’s gyms across Iran are offering a new sport: aerial dancing, or “aerial” for short. The demand is so high that, as one coach puts it, “you can’t find a gym without an aerial class”.
Aerial dance is a form of acrobatic performance that has gained popularity around the world since the 1970s. It involves dancers executing athletic and artistic movements while suspended in the air, hanging from an apparatus such as a rope, a hoop, or a horizontal bar.
In order to avoid repression by Iran’s Islamic regime, promoters of aerial dance in Iran present the activity as a sport, not dance.
For pole dancing, it’s a different story. Pole dancing, in which women do acrobatic manoeuvres on a fixed vertical pole, has its roots in North American strip club culture. While the practice has been reclaimed by American feminists and widely adopted in gyms around the world, its association with eroticism places it firmly in the red zone of acts forbidden by the Islamic Republic. These performances take place in underground, makeshift venues: hidden rooms inside private homes scattered across the country.
Because of the regime’s strict restrictions, no audience is allowed for either practice. Everything unfolds behind closed doors, whether in gyms or secret, private spaces. Yet social media has given these Iranian dancers a stage. By posting clips of their performances, their stumbles, and their growth, they’ve built loyal followings, even as they risk fines, arrest, and the permanent closure of their social media accounts.
Pole dancing’s association with eroticism places it deep in the red zone of forbidden acts in Iran. Performances take place in underground, makeshift venues – hidden rooms inside private homes across the country. FRANCE 24 has blurred this footage to protect the artist’s identity and safety.
Under Iranian law, grounded in Islamic Sharia, women posting pole dancing videos of underground performances can face heavy prison sentences: up to 10 years for “running dens of vice and immorality”, and an additional two-year sentence for posting “obscene content” online.
While there are no known cases of prison sentences being handed down for pole dancing, women in Iran report having been summoned for police questioning and having their social media pages taken over by Iran’s cyber police.
“Feminine strength and the sensual aspect are incredibly appealing to many Iranian women”
Amitis [not her real name] is an aerial dancer who now teaches her own students. Her identity has been withheld due to security concerns.
It was three years ago that my fitness trainer introduced me to this ‘new sport’. I tried it once and instantly fell in love. Back then, it wasn’t well known, and it was hard to find a trainer or a gym to practise in. My trainer had learned it abroad.
But now, just three years later, it’s so popular you’d struggle to find a gym without a space for aerial dance. [Editor’s note: In Iran, gyms are segregated; there are separate gyms for men and for women.] That’s how high the demand is. Some girls initially come just to take a few cool photos for Instagram, and end up falling in love with it, too.
Beyond the physical benefits, there’s the feeling of freedom, the constant battle with gravity, and the self-confidence that comes from being able to defy the fall. It’s addictive. And as the cherry on top, it also has an erotic aspect that celebrates female strength and sensuality. All of this makes it incredibly appealing to many Iranian women.
It’s true that it’s considered a luxury – most women who come are from upper social classes because our classes cost more than a regular gym. But we really do have women from all walks of life. One of my students is six years old, and another is 73.
Most of them aren’t religious, but I also have a religious woman who comes in her black chador. She takes it off to dance. She even has a private Instagram account where she shares her videos, but only with her female friends, of course.
According to Amitis, attitudes towards aerial dance have shifted significantly over the past three years – including within her own circle.
My family didn’t really have a problem with it, even as an erotic art, but they used to make fun of me, comparing me to monkeys. Now they understand how physically demanding and athletic it is.
The men around me who once laughed at it are now asking if I can run sessions for men too. The hardest one to deal with was my boyfriend. He wasn’t happy at all and used to complain about the photos I posted — ‘we see your ass!’ or ‘oh baby, too much skin’. He was jealous because I had a lot of male followers on the page.
But honestly, I get more negative comments from women than from men, things like ‘how inappropriate’ what I’m doing is. Still, when I look back, it’s clear how much things have improved. These days, the majority of the comments and messages I get are supportive. People mostly see us now as fighters.
“I’ve censored myself many times”
But alongside the sense of empowerment, Amitis says there is also a constant threat. Being an aerial or pole dancer in Iran comes with serious risks.
The police harassment is constant, simply because we dance. They summon us, pressure us with questions like: ‘Why do you dance?’ ‘Why do you dress like this?’ ‘This is haram.’ And it goes on and on. Many of my colleagues have lost their social media pages, myself included. I had to shut down my last page after being summoned by the police. But I didn’t back down. I opened another one. I try to wear less revealing clothes now, just to reduce the police harassment as much as possible.
And it’s not only the police. Because of my boyfriend, I’ve censored myself many times. There are photos and videos of performances that I loved but never posted. Yes, there are also some sick men who send vulgar messages and that really gets to my boyfriend. But I try to ignore them. I can’t control what goes on in the minds of sick men.
“It is brave, feminist and is badass”
While aerial dance, as Amitis explained, exists in something of a grey zone, pole dancing faces even greater challenges in the Islamic republic. Pania [not her real name], a pole dancer, describes how she entered the world of underground dance.
It was around five years ago that I discovered pole-dancing. I was athletic – I used to practise gymnastics – and I started watching videos online, mostly on YouTube, for months and months. Eventually, I managed to order a pole dance bar through a shop that imported aerial and gym equipment. They brought one in for me.
I started learning by watching videos and reading whatever I could find. There were no trainers, no gyms where I could practise. I had to decipher every single second of every single move, and I fell hundreds of times. But step by step, I learned. I owned it.
I made an Instagram page, just for friends, and began posting videos of myself dancing. My family is very open-minded, they never had a problem with me dancing or sharing videos. Of course, they worry about the security risks, but that’s all.
Little by little, some friends who saw the videos started asking for training sessions. It began with just a few close friends, in an extra room in our house that we turned into a makeshift studio. Then friends of friends started coming, and now I have dozens of girls who come to dance here.
But every new girl must have a reference, a friend, a student I already know. I can’t let strangers in, because of the security risks.
It’s still not a common field. People don’t really see the athletic side of it, like elsewhere in the world. It’s often dismissed as something only ‘bad girls’ do.
Under Iranian law which is grounded in Islamic Sharia, women posting pole-dancing videos of underground performances can face heavy prison sentences: up to 10 years for “running dens of vice and immorality” and an additional two-year sentence for posting “obscene content” online.
“Pole dancing is a ‘hell no’ to the mullahs”
The girls who come to learn pole dancing usually come from a certain part of society, I’d say upper middle class or wealthy backgrounds, with open-minded families, no doubt. They’re looking for a physical activity, but something different. And pole dancing is very specific, its roots are in strip clubs, the outfits are sexy, and the movements are erotic. That’s part of its DNA. We’re aware of it, and for many young women, that’s exactly the appeal: being fit, being sexy.
And it’s cool, too. Imagine being at a party and someone asks, ‘What do you do?’ and you say, ‘Well, I do pole dance.’ I don’t know about other countries, but in my social circle in Iran, it’s considered classy.
Two years ago, I finally started meeting other pole dancers, and the numbers are growing. Most of them are self-taught like me, with strong athletic backgrounds.
Pole dancing is still a very niche practice in Iran, but it’s not like it was five years ago. Now there are online shops that sell equipment, although they’ve been shut down by the police more than once. Recently, customs even refused to release imported pole dance gear. We live with the constant fear: ‘What if I get arrested?’
On top of that, I get insulting messages, people calling me a ‘whore’, or men sending disgusting photos…
This video shows an Iranian woman practising pole dance in a hidden, makeshift venue. Under Iranian law, such performances can carry prison sentences of up to 10 years.
Despite the way pole dancing is often perceived globally, Pania sees it as a source of empowerment for women in Iran.
Most of the messages I get are actually encouraging. People praise our performances, but the main thing they talk about is our bravery.
And I get it, what we’re doing is dangerous. I’m proud of myself, and of all the girls who do pole dance in Iran. We’re not just superficial girls who want to be sexy. Quite the opposite, we’re rebels. Fighters. And I’d say we all carry a strong sense of feminism.
Among ourselves, we always say that what we’re doing is ‘normalising women’s bodies in the public eye’. And to do that in a place like Iran, right under the mullahs’ noses, that’s brave, that’s feminist, and it’s badass.
Being sexy and in shape is seen as a positive thing almost everywhere in the world. But in Iran, it’s more than that, it’s a statement. A form of resistance. The regime wants to control me, to own my body. And we say no.
Being a woman in Iran means saying no, constantly. Not wearing a hijab is a no. Having a boyfriend or a girlfriend is a no. Singing is a no. And pole-dancing? That’s a hell no, to the mullahs, and to plenty of others too.
First published here on France24.
Ershad Alijani 