Meet the Team

Macie

  • Welcome! I'm Macie (she/her), the owner of Santa Fe Pole Arts. I'm also an instructor specializing in pole tricks, flow, flexibility, conditioning, and choreography. Prior to pole, I was a competitive and classically trained dancer, and I have over 9 years experience in teaching dance and tumbling.

    I'm X-Pert pole certified and continue to train under leading industry professionals including Marlo Fisken, Kathryn Moorhead (Pole Kitten), Olga Trifonova, and Tia Jax. I also compete at the professional level and provide competition coaching.

    I continuously expand my expertise through specialized coursework for pole instructors covering anatomy, biomechanics, movement assessment, exercise science, injuries, and pregnancy and postpartum.

    My instructing philosophy is centered upon providing students with the knowledge to safely perform skills while encouraging them to embrace their unique style of movement.

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Aries

  • Aries Jo (they/he) is a queer and nonbinary community organizer, artist, and lived experience coach living in Oh’gah Po’geh. They have seven years of experience teaching fitness classes including barre, cardio, pilates, resistance bands, and flexibility training.

    Aries also has an MFA in visual art, and is an active performer in the Santa Fe burlesque and drag community. He was a founding member of Quiver and Tempt Society, Santa Fe’s only all queer burlesque troupe, and has performed with Wise Fool, Roadrunner Runway, and New Mexico Drag Kings. They are the Co-Founder of Queer Community Care, a local mutual aid organization, which aims to dismantle capitalist and oppressive systems through providing free resources to the community. Aries is committed to dismantling systemic racism, ableism, transphobia, homophobia, fat-phobia, and cishet patriarchal norms in all of the work that they do.

    As someone with a recent chronic illness diagnosis, who has struggled with life long body dysmorphia, Aries understands how vulnerable and intimidating fitness spaces can be. Their approach to movement is figuring out how we can meet our bodies exactly where they are today, and release expectations about how we should move or look. In barre class, they foster a space of acceptance and encouragement, focusing on feeling good in our bodies, safety, fun, and the universal truth that all bodies are great bodies.

Sarah

  • Hello hello hellooooo, I’m Sarah Tonin (ST) (she/her)! 

    I am an active performing pole aerialist, live performance dancer, and stunt worker, working with top professionals and leading performers. During prime season, you’ll find me with an overpacked bag of items for set I’m working on that week, or for the studio (or some snackies). I have nearly half a decade of pole dance experience. Prior to pole, I accumulated 17 years’ experience as a live performance dancer and studied dance in college. I am XPERT certified have trained with La Bruja Negra, Phoenix Kazree, Jordan Kemsley, Carmine Black, Chloe Uchida, and now Macie.

    My pole focus is heavily based on creating trippy, trance-like movement by manipulating the space, and using a blended mixture of Old School, Strip Plastic, Low-flow, and Edgework/Jellyfishing. I also have a strong background in presence physics due to prior dance, film work, and live sets. I am inspired by dancers like Azra, Shimmy Gratchet, Anna Floats, La Bruja Negra, Jenni Liquid, Ms. Lizard, and Carmine Black.

    I hope to utilize my experience to help students feel comfortable in their skin and love themselves first to reach their beautiful potential. I have the firm belief that pole dancing is not body type or skill set specific; ANYONE can pole dance. My biggest flex is helping others discover, or sometimes re-discover, their prowess and unique potential with themselves through the art of pole. 

    I hope your journey in your discovery of pole and its empowering qualities give you a dose of some happy feel good serotonin like it has given me all these years. My passion lies in proving that you can create these amazing, unique, trippy, one of a kind performances through great teaching and technique and loving the journey. THE. BODY. TYPE. DOESN’T. MATTER. The best thing I’ve discovered about pole is every body type has an asset to pole dance but the best feeling I have discovered is shedding a tear when I get to watch a student blossom because they found self love and confidence in their body.If I can give the BIGGEST advice possible, take the class. Trust me (; 

Klara

  • Klara (she/her) was born in Santa Fe, New Mexico, raised both here and in Nordrhein Westphalia, Germany. She began dancing in 2017 working on floor based sensual movement through which she discovered pole in 2019. After having pursued various other movement avenues including kettlebell, barre, HIIT circuit training, and mat based pilates, she found that all of those paths led to her goal of being stronger and better equipped to dance more freely and safely. Pole combines all of the things she loved into one liberating and joy filled practice.

    Klara is passionate about cross training, using weight lifting and mobility training to further explore her abilities relating to dance and pole. Having studied under teachers such as Alisa Saric, Jordan Kensley, Marlo Fisken, and Carmine Black, she found that the type of pole dance she most ardently relates to is low flow base work. Searching for fluidity and the peace and freedom we find when we reach flow state is her ultimate goal, a goal which is ever evolving and never not exciting. Exploring aerial movement is a blossoming interest, but her love for the fundamentals of movement and how you can combine simple pathways into complex and beautiful flow remains where her heart lies.

    She feels a deep responsibility to her body to keep it safe and healthy and is overjoyed to be able to share the lessons she has learned through her own experience, as well as all those who have guided her along the way. Forever studying the body and how our mind combines with our physical abilities to dictate what we believe we are capable of, Klara is dedicated to pushing those boundaries and exploring how positive self affirmation along with corporeal training can lead us to unlock skills and movement patterns we may never have thought possible. 

     In her free time Klara enjoys long naps, hiking, traveling the world to the most far flung and deserted beaches she can find, and dancing and giggling the nights away with her beloved friends and family. She is also a passionate home cook who adores self care and feeding the people she loves. 

Gumi

  • Hi! I’m Gumi (goo-meee) (she/her)! I started practicing pole in 2008; my inspiration came from a youtube video of Felix Cane’s Miss Pole Dance Australia 2006 performance. I immediately fell in absolute love and awe with pole dancing. I was self taught in my initial pole dance journey- “training” through dancing in clubs for a total of 7 to 8 years in Atlanta, GA, North New Jersey, and in Colorado. I attended my first pole studio in the fall of 2016 at Vertical Fusion Fort Collins, CO. My progress dramatically improved in such a short span of time which pushed my love for pole dancing to expand even more. Through this experience I was able to comprehend the amount of great influence a studio can have for a pole dance artist. Driven by full throttle inspiration and study, I became an instructor at Studio AIR in Montclair, NJ in January 2019.

    Pole dancing to me is an art of total unique expression and vulnerability. My instruction style has been said to be that of a spunky, energetic, athletic/gym feel – my classes encourage sweating and getting the heart rate up. I truly enjoy the strength training and conditioning aspects of pole and building the strength within (and out!) I am tremendously honored and excited to be a part of the Santa Fe Pole Arts team. You are welcome to just be you. As you are. As your messy chaotic self. As your shy sweet self. In your weirdness & in your muchness. We love your muchness. See you soon!

Shayna

  • My name is Shayna (she/her). I took my first pole class in 2019, driven by a desire to step out of my comfort zone and create a deeper connection with my body. I quickly realized that pole dancing bestowed a freedom through its movement by promoting individual expression and was excited by all the possibilities it offered. It didn't take long before this art form became an intrinsic part of my life.

    As a Pole Foundations instructor, I aim to cultivate an environment where students can unlock their own potential and hope to inspire the same excitement that I experienced at the beginning of my pole journey. I believe that immense enjoyment and personal growth can be found in the exploration of this art form, and I'm excited to share that joy within my community.

Victoria

  • Hey fam, I'm Victoria (she/her), and I cannot wait to welcome you into this incredible community that embodies patience and resilience through movement!

    My pole journey began in 2020 at RISE Barre where I instantly became obsessed with this sport and craft. An extensive background in ballet as significantly contributed to my training but undeniably came with destructive baggage. Pole has been a rebirth and homecoming for my mind, body, and spirt. I have trained in cities throughout the country and most recently taught pole in Taos.

    I love how pole combines strength and flexibility with so much room for creativity and self-expression. I firmly believe that anyone can benefit from pole dancing to develop confidence, trust, and sexuality. I look forward to helping my students discover new relationships with themselves through this unique art form!

West

  • Hey there, I'm West (they/them) – your friendly local transmasc nonbinary pole enthusiast! You might've seen me perform as the transmasculine thembo sensation, They Von Gay, in the dazzling productions of Santa Fe’s all-queer burlesque troupe, Quiver & Tempt Society. Or you may have seen me pole dance at Cirque du So Gay’s D.J. dance parties, where I also taught private pole lessons after the pandemic shut down Santa Fe’s only pole studio at the time, Rise Barre.

    I took my first pole class at Rise Barre just two weeks after starting hormone replacement therapy in May 2019. I immediately fell in love and ordered my home pole that night! Pole quickly became my go-to for loving and connecting with my ever-changing body.

    I am so excited to share my love of pole dancing with you and support you on your unique movement journey. Most importantly, I want to remind students that being good or bad at pole dancing says exactly nothing about your worth. Let's ditch the judgment and focus on helping you enjoy the experience of existing in a body.

D. Anaya

  • Bio coming soon