Pole Fitness Near Me by the River: Fable Dance Co at UE Square

Fable Dance Co is easy to miss from the street. It sits on the ground floor of UE Square at 83 Clemenceau Avenue, Singapore 239920, spread across three units: #01-32 is the pole studio, #01-33 the aerial studio and reception, and #01-34 a private studio. The studio's own directions say it is right next to Starbucks, and that you should enter from the office atrium, which is the detail that saves first-timers a lap of the building.

Fable's leadership reads like a history of Singapore pole. Charlene, described as the heartbeat of the studio, co-founded and co-owned SLAP from 2014 to 2023, produced the Asia Pole Championship from 2016 to 2019, and performed at the 2010 Youth Olympic Games. She is also a fully certified STOTT Pilates instructor.

Naoko Enomoto, Fable's mentor, was Miss Pole Dance Singapore in 2010 and Miss Pole Dance Southeast Asia in 2012, and co-founded SLAP as well as a studio in Sapporo. Shevonne, who leads Fable creatively, was SLAP's dance head from 2021 to 2023. If you remember SLAP before it became MAD, many of the choreographers you knew are now teaching here.

Pole is the core, but the aerial room is what sets Fable apart from many CBD studios. Hammock and hoop both start at Level 1, and stretch classes are open to everyone. Every studio has a high ceiling, which is what lets the aerial classes climb properly instead of hovering just above the mats.

Fable takes its rigging seriously enough to publish its own safety notes. Intermediate points must be tied with an alpine butterfly knot, base knots must never be untied, hammocks are always used with a spreader, and carabiners must never be double-loaded. It recommends that staff handle all knots, and students who bring their own hammock and hardware take full responsibility for them.

A pole or stretch trial costs $18 and a hammock or hoop trial costs $25. Newcomers can instead take a two-class beginner pack for $60, which works out to $30 a class and must be used within 45 days. A first private hour costs $111 for up to three people, excluding sessions with the dance director.

The newbie offers apply only to first-timers who live in Singapore; non-residents book at the drop-in rate. Each newcomer gets one trial plus one of the other offers, either 20 percent off a first beginner course or the two-class pack. On 29 and 30 November, Fable is also running a one-for-one deal on beginner four-week courses.

For people who want more than one class a week, Fable sells unlimited drop-in packages per term: $790 with two eight-week courses or $950 with three. Two four-week mini-term courses count as one eight-week course. Drop-ins are walk-ins only, first come first served, and you can only drop into classes at your level or below, except stretch, which is open to all.

There is one sensible catch. If you missed weeks one and two of a choreography course, you cannot drop into it from week three onwards, because the routine builds week by week. Workshops are excluded, and unused drop-ins expire at the end of term.

Classes are booked through OClass, and the live calendar shows sessions from the morning through to 9:35pm, seven days a week, including hammock and hoop trials and pole technique drop-ins. You can withdraw from a class and pick a makeup up to four hours before it starts; after that, withdrawal costs $5.

Transfers between levels or timings cost $22 each time, and the same charge applies if an instructor asks you to move down a level. Refunds are only considered for illness or injury with a medical certificate, submitted before the course ends. Participants must be at least 18 years old.

Fable sells practice sessions for students who want time on the apparatus without a teacher, and the rules are firm. Students may not teach or learn tricks from people at another level, or from anyone outside the studio, during practice, and any change to aerial equipment or height adjustment must go through staff. Practice packs and class packs cannot be shared or transferred.

Private classes take up to three people. A single private class expires 45 days after purchase and a private pack after three months. You forfeit the class if you do not show or cancel less than 48 hours ahead, or less than five days ahead at peak times, which Fable defines as all day at weekends and 12pm to 2:30pm and 6pm to 9pm on weekdays.

The kit list depends on the room. For pole, Fable recommends shorts and a tank top or sports bra, bare feet or indoor dance heels, and no jewellery. Bring your own towel to wipe the poles; ethanol is provided for cleaning.

For hammock, the advice flips: wear fitted long sleeves and long pants with no zips or buttons, both for hygiene and to avoid friction burns. Arrive on time, because entry is refused ten minutes after class starts, and photography or filming during class is not allowed.

The studio points students to Fort Canning, Dhoby Ghaut and Clarke Quay MRT stations, all a few minutes' walk away. UE Square sits on the Singapore River side of River Valley, so the riverside promenade toward Robertson Quay makes an easy cool-down walk after an evening class.

Fable also has a perks list for current students, including a 15 percent discount at Hideaway's massage and bathhouse at New Bahru, valid on presenting the OClass schedule page. After a week of hammock, a hot-and-cold soak there is a reasonable reward.

Address: Fable Dance Co, UE Square, 83 Clemenceau Avenue, #01-32/33/34, Singapore 239920; enter from the office atrium next to Starbucks. Email: hello@fable.dance. Pole or stretch trial $18, hammock or hoop trial $25. Two-class starter pack $60. Unlimited packages $790 and $950. Ages 18 and up.