Lacin Keles is the founder of Magnetic Pole Fit. Born and raised in Turkey, Keles lived in Russia, stayed in Costa Rica, and traveled to various countries until she moved to California in 2015. Keles has a diverse dance background and besides her pole dance training in Russia, she has trained in flamenco, ballet, modern, and contemporary dance. As a multicultural dancer with a diverse movement lexicon, she uses movement and dance to explore her identity as a woman and to empower women around the world to realize and reach their full potential. 

Lacin has been performing and choreographing around the Bay Area since 2016. She has founded her dance & performance company Lacin Keles Movement in 2021. In her artistic work, Keles merges the strength and artistic expression of pole dancing with contemporary dance and uses somatically-driven contemporary pole dance as a medium. She has a BS in mechanical engineering and MFA in Dance – Creative Practice from St Mary’s College of California. Lacin worked in corporate world for 9 years as a mechanical engineer until she quit and shifted her profession to what she loves! Keles is a AFAA certified group fitness instructor, XPERT certified pole fitness instructor, ballet and contemporary dance teacher.

Keles has developed a unique movement practice by applying multiple somatic movement principles to pole dancing functionality and expressivity. Her MFA thesis is the first in the literature on somatic movement applications in pole dancing performance and choreography. She has been invited to speak at prestigious national and international somatic movement conferences and symposiums. Keles has been featured in media and her work has been covered in the Content Magazine.

Keles finds immense joy in bringing dance to everyone regardless of background, body type, gender, and age. Her pedagogy focuses on the importance of: finding connections within our bodies, personal uniqueness, building relationships with the pole and our environment, moving with ease and flow.

She believes that anything is possible at any age. She believes that with continuous practice and hard work, we can achieve any task. Lacin has built Magnetic Pole Fit around these beliefs. She says: “We, women, are stronger than we think or we have been taught. We only need motivation and encouragement. We need to reconnect with the wild woman we have inside! Again!”

Jody has been training in circus arts since 2011. They specialize in pole dance, aerial hoop, and acrobatics. Jody has performed all around California at music festivals, events, variety of circus shows, including the Santa Cruz Boardwalk, California’s Great America, Northern Nights, and the SF Craft Spirits Festival. Jody enjoys choreographing dramatic acts that showcase their unique aerial and pole creations.

In 2015, Jody founded the performance group Pole Diversity (www.polediversity.com). They have directed, produced, and choreographed several hour-long shows as well as sets for Santa Cruz’s national dance week event. Pole Diversity’s mission is to share pole dance acts in a circus setting and to dispel common misconceptions about pole dance.

They have taught pole dance and aerial hoop at various studios around California, including Steel & Grace, Cirque, Tumble, & Cheer, and Magnetic Pole Fit. Jody greatly enjoys creating curriculum, training programs, and combos for their students and for fellow pole instructors. They are always creating new techniques, strength, and mobility drills for their students or for their own personal training. Jody creates new combos and tricks by starting with a question and seeing where it takes them. They recently developed the new workshop “Appreciating Diverse Bodies in Pole Dance” for Dr. Jen Crane’s platform MyFlex to share teaching practices they develop to improve the safety of pole instruction as well as to learn how to leverage differences in bodies to create new tricks rather than viewing differences as deficiencies. Jody shares their ideas and knowledge on IG (@polediversity) and on their blog (https://polediversity.wixsite.com/website)

Jody graduated with a master’s degree in pure mathematics from UCSC. They wrote the paper Torsion of Elliptic Curves over Quadratic Fields with their research. Jody currently teaches math at Foothill College and is also working on a series of articles on applications of mathematics to circus arts.

Ellen has been dancing in one form or another her whole life–from cheerleading to musical theater, she has always loved to boogie. Despite having no formal dance training, no gymnastics experience, and a terrific fear of heights, she’s actually pretty good at this whole pole thing. Ellen’s nickname is “Dr. Sultry,” as she’s known for her smooth and sexy style. With an eye for details and a love for musicality, she has trained and coached some top pole competitors and instructors. Having started her pole journey in 2008, Ellen is considered one of the Bay Area’s pole “OGs.”  In her real life, she’s a functional nutritionist and a passionate animal lover who volunteers at a wildlife rescue facility.
 

Laarni began her pole journey as a student at Magnetic Pole Fit in 2019.

While she has no formal dance training, movement and fitness has been a part of her life as a softball player and kenpo karate student. During the pandemic, without a home pole, Laarni trained her flexibility and grew her interest in mat pilates. With an affinity for dark, haunting beats, Laarni has competed in PSO Golden Gate in 2022 and 2023, placing 2nd in her category. 

Outside of the studio, she works in the built environment and enjoys fitness, attending to her plants, and relaxing with her cats.