Santanna's upcoming workshops at PoleCon West 2026 are a welcome addition to a convention that keeps drawing more athletes each year. Nearly 450 athletes and exhibitors gathered at the most recent event, as we reported in Nearly 450 Athletes and Exhibitors Gather at PoleCon West 2026, and the addition of a new instructor signals that the convention is continuing to grow its teaching roster. For dancers and athletes who train at home or in studios, the real question is what they can take from a workshop like Santanna's and apply to their own practice. The interview itself is light on technique specifics, but the fact that PoleCon is vetting and adding new instructors is a positive sign for the community. It means more options for athletes who want to learn from a range of movement styles and teaching approaches, not just the same handful of names.
The pole industry has been under scrutiny for training gaps that lead to injury. In Injury Data From 66 Dancers Points to Training Gaps Athletes Should Address, we covered a 2022 study by Dr. Johanna Nicholas that found injury rates among pole dancers are significant, and that many athletes lack structured conditioning or recovery protocols. This context matters when a new instructor steps onto the convention floor. Dancers and athletes should approach any workshop with a clear goal: what specific strength, grip, or spotting technique will I walk away with? A workshop that focuses on a single trick or a flashy sequence may be fun, but it may not address the underlying strength imbalances that lead to overuse injuries. The best workshops teach progressions, regressions, and the logic behind the movement, not just the final pose.
For athletes setting up a pole at home, the practical takeaway here is about choosing workshops that translate to solo practice. A static pole versus a spinning pole requires different grip strength and body awareness, and a good instructor will explain how to adapt a move for each setup. If Santanna's workshops do not address equipment variation explicitly, dancers should ask their own questions during the session. The same logic applies to competition preparation: athletes who compete need clean, repeatable transitions, not just a single impressive shape. A workshop that teaches a move in isolation is less useful than one that teaches how to enter, exit, and vary it under different conditions.
The clear takeaway is this: when you register for a workshop at PoleCon West 2026, ask yourself whether the session fills a specific gap in your training, not just whether the instructor is well-known. Santanna's addition to the lineup gives the community another resource, but the responsibility for progress still rests on the athlete. Watch for the full workshop descriptions to be released, and compare them against your own weaknesses in strength, flexibility, or grip endurance. That is how you get your money's worth from a convention pass.
