Carrenne Purtell found her way to pole dancing in 2022 after having been a group fitness instructor for the past 10 years. She taught Zumba and Turn Up and loved the excitement and energy but was looking for a lower impact dance workout. Carrenne immediately felt connected to the pole, the students and teachers, and the entire pole community. The movements were fun and challenging and so the addiction began! Though still new to pole, Carrenne immediately knew she wanted to become an instructor and work with others to help inspire and guide them along the same journey.

For Carrenne, pole dance has provided a creative outlet and chance to express herself in a new and challenging way.  Pole has been an incredible journey and will continue for her as both a teacher and student. She believes that pole is for everybody and loves to see new skills, tricks, and techniques unlocked for herself and others.

Desiree was born and raised in Rome, Italy. Desiree's passion for dance started as a toddler, she started with hip hop and contemporary and danced throughout her high school years. After high school, Desiree moved to Hawaii and felt as though she lost touch with some of her dance techniques but still continued to dance every chance she got! Desiree went on to get married and have her first child, and she had always admired a friend's pole dancing videos. She always wanted to try but after having her baby she was hesitant. She felt self conscious, as though her body and mind didn't feel secure. Finally one day, she found the courage to take a class and after just one class she fell in love with pole dancing! Desiree immediately felt confident, happy, secure, and she felt as though she was able to bring back her sensuality which she felt had been lost. Desiree states that pole dancing in general helps her escape the hardships of life, pole dancing makes her feel free. She says, "Pole is a great way of letting my true emotions out, it lets me be me!" Desiree started her pole journey in October of 2020 and now that she is here in Santa Rosa she is ecstatic to share her experience of how pole changed her life and helped her become a strong, confident woman. Now, she wants to help her students become the strong, sexy, confident humans that they are!

Halea Blu Waters fell in love with pole dancing in 2018. She performed in a chair dance routine that explored pole movement with 5 other talented womxn. Halea felt as though she came alive when the music was turned up and she did her first hair flip. The hair flip felt so natural, as though it had been lying dormant inside of her for many years and now this hair flip was ready to be seen! That's what pole dance is for Halea - an opportunity to be authentic through movement, exploration, and creativity.

For Halea, pole dance has provided a sense of empowerment that she did not know that she needed. In fact, pole dance has always surfaced during Halea's more challenging times in life. As though it was there to say “Hey you're a badass, check out your strength and all that you can accomplish once you put your mind to it!”

Halea is a firm believer that we are not truly able to aspire to our desired goals until we know our worth and believe in ourselves. Pole dance helps Halea to work on these things. Halea not only finds so much happiness in pole dancing herself, but also in watching her community find their stride, their joy, and their sense of self worth. Pole dance has given so much to Halea and she is ecstatic to give that joy right back to her students.

Jackie started pole dancing in 2012 as a complete fluke; she took one class with a friend and it just snowballed from there. In the beginning of her love affair with pole, it was based around trick classes and anything aerial but has grown into a love for 8 inch boots and power choreo. Even among those things you'll still find her performing to a disney song here and there.
 
Her favorite thing in the sport is the community and how supportive everyone is of each other. Jackie has been in several competitions and started instructing in 2018 before a shoulder injury forced her to take a break. She’s back now and ready to help new polers reach their goals and have a ton of fun along the way.

Jenna discovered her love for dance at an early age. “I had this fascination with Michael Jackson. Every time I heard his music, even if it was instrumental elevator music, I would stop everything, go into a dancing trance, and start break-dancing." At the age of 7, Jenna began training in many forms of dance, including ballet, tap and jazz. As a teenager she was a competitive tap dancer, played lead dance roles in local community theaters, and directed and choreographed many of her local high school musicals. As an adult she received her B.A. in music from Sonoma State University along with 2 competency certificates in Jazz and Ballet studies from Santa Rosa Junior College. In 2017, she found pole.
 

“I’ve studied many styles of dance but lyrical jazz has always been a favorite.
When I saw Sergia Louise Anderson dancing on the pole for the first time, it
reminded me so much of lyrical. I fell in love with it at first sight and was
determined to learn this type of dance. Why do lyrical on the ground when you
can fly?!”

Since then Jenna has gone on to compete in PSO Golden Gate in 2018 and 2019 where she took first place in the dramatic category. Today she continues her love for dance by taking classes whenever she can, teaching tap, and teaching both pole conditioning and contemporary pole at The Vertitude Santa Rosa.

Kristin is a certified dance instructor through Liquid Motion, with a smooth and slinky style and a love for dark and stormy movement. Kristin has competed for the past 4 years collecting Gold, Silver and Bronze medals. She was a featured performer at the 2019 International Pole Convention, and has performed for Flux Vertical Theatre in San Francisco.
Kristin discovered pole dancing in 2014 like many students, taking a class on a whim. Mainly self taught, but has been lucky enough to train with some of the best floor and pole instructors in the industry.

Before pole dancing, Kristin was searching for that perfect creative outlet and also trying to find a form of exercise she enjoyed. She loves how dancing makes her feel: strong, creative, connected with ones self. And now through teaching, she strives to help her students find the same.

Kristin is very honored and proud to be an instructor at the Vertitude Santa Rosa.

Since taking her first official pole class in 2019, Krystle has immersed herself in the pole world seeking to learn anything and everything she can. She has performed at PSO competitions several times and won 1st place in 2020 & 2022 and 3rd in 2023 in her category. 

She's always eager to help her pole friends with anything whether it's technique tips, choreo ideas, conditioning suggestions, or a word of encouragement. One of her favorite things about pole is the infinitely supportive community! 

She's thrilled to start teaching at The Vertitude Santa Rosa where she plans to pass on her passion for pole by creating an environment for her students to grow and explore the pole world in a fun, safe, and supportive manner where they get to be fully themselves. 

Mallory began her pole journey in April 2012 and immediately fell in love.  Later that same year she found her passion while teaching new dancers the joy of pole.  Since then Mallory has performed many times at various student showcases and other events, competed, and continued to teach people of all ages and skill levels.  Mallory has a love for old school pole choreography and often draws on this style of dance in her choreo classes.

Mel is a lifelong dancer! After training in classical ballet for most of her life, Mel was drawn to pole dance as a liberating and empowering art form. She quickly fell in love with the freedom and variety of the sport. As a special educator by day, Mel is committed to curating an accessible and encouraging space in which curiosity and vulnerability are centered and every dancer feels welcome to express themselves through movement.

Mia has been a life long dancer. It all started in the water. A synchronized swimmer at 6 years old. She spent her childhood spinning and twirling in the water at a competitor level.

In high school, she started dancing on land exploring all types of movement: contemporary, hip hop, Twerk.

Pole followed shortly after and she was immediately in love with this new apparatus. Her style is a fusion from a lifetime of diverse modalities. And this results in a unique style & perspective.

Mia has won a gold in the 2019 Golden Gate Pole championship. She has been teaching at the Vertitude since June 2019. From high energy dance to all the feels in her contemporary classes, she provides something for all styles and levels.

Victoria began pole dancing when she turned 18 and it very quickly became both her passion and her therapy.  She wants to bring that same life changing joy to others.  Her goal is for her students to safely build strength, feel sexy, gain confidence, flexibility, and create new friendships all while having the time of their life in a place of comfort.  She believes whether you just want a fun form of exercise or you have dreams of being an international competitor, it all starts with your first class.  One step at a time will lead you to your goals and confidence.

Sergia comes from a lifetime in the dance and performance world. She has been described as as a visual storyteller. A master of character, she suffuses each of her performances with honesty and depth through her richly detailed choreography. Her musicality, spirited movement and crisp, elegant lines sweep the audience along and immerse them in the moment. Sergia brings this personal connection from the performance stage into the classroom, enabling students to find the energy in their own movement. Drawing on her background in salsa, ballet, jazz, contemporary and theater, she provides a firm technical foundation for innovative tricks and transitions, accessible to dancers at all levels.
Her New York Theatre credits are far reaching including working with Broadway director Jerry Zaks in City Center Encores! Bye Bye Birdie. She has also appeared in numerous national commercials including spots for Verizon, Cascade, Chrysler and has co-starred in TV shows 3 lbs. and ABC's The Forgotten, as well as acting in re-ocurring roles on CBS's Guiding Light. Films include the lead in Tony Tango and The Company We Keep.

Sergia found pole while dancing and acting professionally in New York and Los Angeles. The pole became a grounding passion for Sergia and she founded The Vertitude Dance Studio in Los Angeles in 2011. She made an international name for herself with her competition/performance routines, and quickly became one of the most sought after choreographers in the pole world, working with national and international stars to achieve their competition, performance, and pole goals in classes, private lessons, online, and through video conference appointments. Her “Clown” routine that won her the title of US National Pole Champion in 2013 is one of the most widely shared pole videos in the industry demonstrating contemporary theatrical pole performance. Her dance and performance background gave her the ability to chameleon her way through all styles of pole from pole exotic, to pole sport, and was one of the key pioneers of the contemporary pole style, as well as creating an eclectic pole style of her very own. As a pole mama, she has trained and coached many of the great names in the pole industry today.

Sergia has a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in Drama from Tisch School of the Arts, New York University. She is an Elevated, X-pert, Pilates and Yoga Certified Instructor. Her sponsors include Lupit Pole, and Complete Pole Tutorials. After 6 years of living on the road teaching her signature pole and dance workshops in over 30 countries, she decided to plant her roots in Northern California in 2017 to open a second Vertitude location and is passionate about bringing movement to EVERY BODY. She is a forever seeker of movement, learning, exploration, inclusion and expansion.