These images are featured on the Eccentric Studios Web site (www.EccentricStudiosMemphis.net) and on promotional material that heralded the planned opening.

It seems that the city’s maneuver emboldened supporters interested in working out at the ‘Strip To Fit’ dance studio.

“We have a lot of supporters who didn’t know about us previously, but know about us now,” said Bailey, referring to the recent groundswell of media coverage about a business some dub as sexually oriented.

The stop-work order placed on the studio door that day noted that Eccentric Studios was not zoned as a sexually oriented business.

Perceptions aside, it is not such a business, said Bailey.

“It’s an official form of exercise, a different kind of workout,” she said. “I can honestly say that I lost 40 lbs. before I started teaching this class. And our supporters are very interested in getting in there and seeing what it’s all about.”

But those who already subscribe to this form of dance exercise and others who are curious won’t get to stretch, dance or improve their cardiovascular system just yet, said Bailey, a 29-year-old medical technologist.

For now, the opening of Eccentric Studios is on hold until the attorneys for both the City of Bartlett and Eccentric’s partners can come to an agreement.

On Wednesday, an employee in the office of Bartlett Mayor A. Keith McDonald said it wouldn’t be appropriate for him to comment. “Our attorneys have been in contact with their attorneys,” the employee said.

Meanwhile, Bailey and partner Rachael Vint are hoping to allay the fears of those who assume the worst in a fitness program that, according to Bailey, includes striptease aerobics, pole dancing and a burlesque style class that is designed to bring out one’s “inner sex goddess.”

Kyra Bailey

With the proper diet and workout women can lose weight and improve their mind and body, Bailey said. “That’s what I want to bring to other women. It’s fitness only. We’re not teaching or encouraging people to go out and work in a club,” she said.

“We’ve been the frontrunner in this area, as far as striptease aerobics, and the phenomenon that’s kind of everywhere but here. So we’re finally bringing this here.”

“Strip To Fit” is for women only and includes a fun workout, said Bailey, adding, “It also is a way to meet new people and a way to get in shape and feel better about yourself.”

When Bailey met Vint

Two years ago, Bailey started taking classes that Vint had been     teaching for three years to women over 18.

“I fell in love with it,” Bailey said.

Then came an opportunity for Bailey to teach Vint’s class.

“When she was out for a new job, she asked me to sub and teach for her for one month.”

After working out and teaching the class, Bailey envisioned taking the concept to another level.

“That’s when part of my dream started,” Bailey said. “So I was the logical person to help her take the business to the next level.”

Bailey and Vint became partners and began looking for a location to anchor their business. She said they’ve taught over 800 women over the past three years at different venues in Memphis and felt a need to expand.

“Women are constantly asking us to take the next step to pole dancing,” said Bailey, “because they know it’s even more of a full body workout than the dance we’ve been doing.”

Pole dancing is a strenuous form of gymnastics and an alternative to regular fitness routines that requires the use of a two-inch vertical pole. It is widely used in strip clubs for sensuous dancing and now regarded as both an aerobic and anaerobic workout.

“People have that negative connotation with poles and strippers,” said Bailey. “They are overlooking the fact that it is a strenuous workout. It is probably more than you would get with a trainer.”

Physicians, attorneys and teachers also have participated in the exercise regimen, Bailey said. “And they’re not strippers. They are there for fitness.”

A new path

Pole dancing is nothing new. Actress and fitness guru Sheila Kelly demonstrated her S Factor workout on an Oprah show. She’s also been featured in national magazines and other media for her S Factor routine, a movement technique that inspires body attitude.

“I’ve taken classes in Chicago, and they’re huge. It’s what we aspire to be. It’s very much widespread across the country in Atlanta, Texas and California,” said Bailey, a graduate of both Mississippi State University and the University of Tennessee Health Science Center.

In one of her classes, Bailey said a 63-year-old woman, who had a hip replacement, had no problem with the workout. She even has a pole in her home, she said.

If – or when – the dance studio is allowed to open, Bailey said there will be 11 poles for 10 students and an instructor in the 1,500 sq. ft. space at 2810 Bartlett.

“There will be striptease aerobic classes,” said Bailey, “and space to accommodate other disciplines like Zumba,” a fitness system that fuses Latin and international music.

“We’re pulling from Yoga, Pallotti, Zumba and hip-hop and meshing that into striptease aerobics and pole dancing,” she said. “You don’t have to have a professional dance background.”

Bailey said she is an average, every day woman who got an education and was fortunate to find a job that she loves. “My background has never been stripper-related,” she said.

“But this (dance studio) is a new avenue, a new path for me.”