'I Quit My High Paid Job to Pole Dance'

Growing up in Norway, I always dreamed of becoming an actress who starred in television and movies. When I was a teenager I managed to get a place at a specialist drama school. But my classes were more focused on theater than the on-screen acting I wanted to do.

Soon after joining it became clear just how many people wanted to pursue the same career as I did, so eventually I lost that dream. I decided to do something more straightforward and practical.

After graduating, I secured a place at a prestigious business school in Oslo. I was good with numbers and thought a career in finance could be a good fit for me. I knew working in that kind of industry can be very lucrative.

I didn't find my studies too hard. In fact, I kind of nailed it. I found my time there okay, I did well in my classes, but I always felt like there was something missing. There was always creativity in me that felt locked away.

After leaving university, I got a nine-to-five office job as a software manager at a business consultancy firm. I worked there for a few years and it was fine. After those years working in the corporate world, I started to think this wasn't what I wanted to do for my entire life.

I had started pole dancing briefly as a form of exercise when I was 18, but had to stop because of various injuries. I started again in 2018 and fell in love with it instantly.

In my opinion, pole is a mixture of acrobatics, dance, sport, and art. I really like that it's kind of sensual but also very much about strength. I feel like a badass, powerful woman. I like that it has those different elements.

I love that you can be as extra as you want; you can flip your hair, do the splits or wear eight-inch heels decorated with glitter. You can wear a thong or hotpants, whatever you want. There's very little judgment within the sport.

When I was in the corporate world, it felt like people were very straight-laced. I had to dress and speak a certain way. It was like I was always wearing a mask and couldn't just be crazy. It was nice to get away from the office and let loose.

I knew I had a talent for pole dancing, but I found it difficult to combine training with a full-time job. I was always really tired at the end of the day. I knew in the back of my mind I didn't really want to work in an office, so I started thinking about ways I could pursue a more creative career full-time.

But it's not easy to just quit your job and have no income. I also needed to see whether I was actually good enough for a career in dance. It's not like I would quit and just have shows lined up automatically. Plus, the pole dancing scene is still new and small in Norway.

I've always been good with money and had spent years investing part of my salary. This Spring I was able to purchase and renovate an apartment, which I now rent out for additional income. With more money coming in, I decided to take a chance and quit my job.

After leaving the security of my office job, I was very nervous. I thought, is this the right choice? My first paid show came after an old friend reached out to me on Instagram. She had seen videos of me dancing and asked whether I wanted to perform aerial acrobatics at a nightclub.

I hadn't even started professionally dancing. I still felt a bit like an amateur, but I decided to give it a go. On the night of the show, I was very nervous. I was performing really high up, without a mattress underneath, so it was daunting. But it went really well, I had so much fun. Afterward, people kept coming up to me and saying: "You're such a professional! Are you doing this full time?"

My friends and family have been nothing but supportive in my change of career. When I tell some people what I do, I can see them thinking: "How is she going to make money out of that? Is she a stripper?"

I understand why some people may question how I earn enough money from my career because the scene is still very small in my country. I don't think I could live off my pole dancing without another form of income coming in. I want to make the sport more commercial and more visible.

I think many people have never been to a real pole dance show, so when I tell them what I do, they assume I'm going to be on stage at a nightclub jiggling my butt, but that's not true. It's a proper sport and an art, not just stripping. In fact, being able to perform pole dancing in a sexy way is actually very difficult.

Most people I know in Norway who pole dance do so primarily for exercise. They go and take classes where they do strength exercises and learn to combine the tricks. For example, I can go upside down on a pole, let go of my legs and hold on with just my arms, so it's kind of like a handstand on a pole.

I don't only perform at nightclubs. Recently I did a show at an elderly people's home, which was amazing. My mother is the leader of an organization for mental health and they have a lot of older members. She was throwing a party at the senior center and wanted some entertainment, so invited me along.

All the guests loved it, they were super excited and really nice. They even had a go dancing on the pole themselves. It all started with one man who was really interested in how I did certain moves, so I showed him, and everyone else followed. It looked like they had so much fun.

I don't know whether pole dancing will be my full-time career, I feel I have many different talents and may want to pursue something else in the future. To anyone who is sitting there wondering whether they should do something else, maybe they're tired of their jobs but feel stuck there—I say to follow your dreams, anything is possible.

Embla Bergli, 28, is a professional pole dancer who lives in Oslo, Norway. You can follow her on Instagram at @embla or TikTok at @embla.pole

All views expressed in this article are the author's own.

As told to Monica Greep.

Uncommon Knowledge

Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.

Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.

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