It’s Friday afternoon, and 12 people are gathered in a pole dancing class in Washington, D.C. They start warming up in front of a wall of mirrors, music at full blast. At first, it looks like any fitness class with the first 15 or so minutes consisting mainly of ground stretching on yoga mats.

Then they climb up on the poles. Some people twirl around, others fully invert, lifting their legs over their heads.

“I think people think of it as, you know, something that’s super easy - but it takes a lot of hard work and dedication,” says Devin Simpson, who started taking classes around two years ago. “We put ourselves through a lot, we put our bodies through a lot to do this.”

Pole Dancing Made It To The Super Bowl. Now It Wants Another Stage: The Olympics

Image Credit: Kisha Ravi/NPR