Jessica Santiago

Jessica was born in Jersey City, NJ but her and her family moved to New York City shortly after. Being raised in The Big Apple, dance, theater, choir and Jessica started ballet, jazz, tap and salsa dancing at the age of 5 but preferred jazz and salsa. At the age of 11, she was part of a kid’s salsa dancing trio and performed at many events throughout New York City. During that time she was also in the school band (flute), school choir and did some modeling. Dancing and singing were always her favorites and continue to be today. Jessica moved to Florida in 1996 and just 4 years later met her husband. Jessica have been married 13 years and have 3 awesome children but, like every mom, wanted to do something for herself. In 2012, she purchased a Groupon with her sister and best friend for pole dancing. It started as just another check mark on her bucket list and something she could do outside of children and husbands. She had no idea she would love it so much. Not only was it tons of fun, she also saw her body change and do things she never thought it capable of doing. Her strength, flexibility and endurance increased dramatically. Seven months and two levels up later, she was presented with the opportunity to complete an instructor-training course. Jessica knew how much pole dance/fitness changed her life and she wanted to share that with as many people as possible. Today she is a full-time UCF nursing student and a part-time pole instructor. When not having a blast in class, she enjoys reading and spending time with friends and family. Her advice to people currently or thinking about taking pole classes is, have patience. Just like any other sport/extracurricular activity that requires technique, it takes a lot of practice to perfect and a stable foundation to build upon. Listen to your body and your instructor. Together they can tell you what you are ready for and you will leave class feeling successful every time. Before you know it, you too will be doing things you never thought you could.