You’ve probably seen the clip by now. Mikey Madison, hair glittering with tinsel, spins around a brass pole with the kind of casual, bored grace that makes you think she’s been doing this for a decade. In Sean Baker’s Anora, she plays Ani—a 23-year-old sex worker from Brighton Beach—and she plays her so well that people genuinely started asking if the producers just hired a professional dancer who happened to look like the girl from Scream.
Honestly? They didn’t. That was all her.
But the story behind the Mikey Madison pole dance scenes isn't just about a few weeks of cardio. It’s actually a pretty brutal look at how much work goes into making a "10-second trick" look like it didn't take any work at all. Madison spent five months—nearly half a year—destroying her body to prepare for a role where the actual dancing takes up a tiny fraction of the runtime.
The 5-Month Grind for a 20-Second Scene
When Mikey first signed onto Anora, she wasn't a dancer. She’s a former equestrian from Los Angeles who grew up in the Valley, far away from the world of Brooklyn strip clubs. When she first visited a club for research, she had that classic "I can do that" moment. She saw the women moving and thought it looked effortless.
Then she actually tried a class.
Basically, she realized she was "screwed" immediately. Pole fitness is less about "sexy dancing" and more about raw, agonizing grip strength and skin friction. She ended up training with choreographer Kennady Schneider twice a week, plus practicing on her own in between. She even bought a pole for her house.
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Why the Bruises Mattered
If you look closely at Ani in the film, she isn't airbrushed to perfection. Madison was covered in bruises—on her shins, her thighs, her arms. It got so bad that they actually added a line to the script: "You bruise easily."
That wasn't makeup. That was the reality of a non-dancer slamming their body against a metal pipe for five hours a day.
- The Vertigo Factor: Madison has admitted in interviews, including a pretty funny bit on The Graham Norton Show, that she suffers from severe vertigo.
- The Nausea: Early in training, she’d go upside down and then have to lie on the floor for 45 minutes just so she wouldn't smash into a wall.
- The "Blueprint": Schneider provided the steps, but Madison was credited as a co-choreographer because she adapted the moves to fit how Ani—not a pro athlete—would move.
The Heartbreak of the Missing Pole
Here is the kicker that most people don't know: after five months of training to be an "expert" on the pole, Sean Baker told her they were filming in a specific club in Brooklyn that... didn't have a pole.
Imagine spending half a year learning how to go upside down and do handstand push-ups while spinning, only to find out your "stage" is just a flat floor and a lap-dance chair. Madison reportedly panicked. She told Baker she’d "destroyed her body" for this and basically begged for one scene where she could show off the skills.
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That’s why we see that one specific sequence. It was a compromise. It was 10 seconds of screen time that represented hundreds of hours of physical pain.
Beyond the Pole: The Full Transformation
The Mikey Madison pole dance preparation was just one pillar of the character. To truly "not look like an actress," as she put it, she went deep into the Brighton Beach subculture.
- Language Immersion: She didn't just memorize Russian lines phonetically. She spent months learning the language so she actually understood the insults being hurled at her character.
- The "Butterfly" Connection: She chose a butterfly design for her middle fingernail during a manicure. Later, she found out Baker had already written a line calling her character a "night butterfly" (a Russian term for a sex worker).
- The Wardrobe: She lived in those high, high heels. She wanted to walk differently, to have that specific posture that comes from being on your toes all night.
The SNL "Stunt Double" Controversy
After she won her Oscar for the role, the internet did what the internet does: it doubted her. People claimed she must have had a stunt double for the more athletic pole tricks.
Madison actually addressed this during her Saturday Night Live monologue in March 2025. She joked about the rumors and "offered" to prove she could still do it. The camera cut to a jacked, muscular person in a wig doing insane handstand push-ups on a pole, then cut back to Mikey winking. It was a perfect "clap back" to the idea that her hard work was a camera trick.
What This Teaches Us About Modern Acting
There’s a lot of talk about "method acting," but what Madison did for Anora was different. It was physical conditioning. She wanted the audience to see a "seasoned" dancer. If she had looked clumsy or shaky on the pole, the entire illusion of Ani’s tough, street-smart exterior would have crumbled.
She needed to look like someone who had been doing this three nights a week for years just to pay the rent.
Actionable Insights for Performers and Fans
If you're inspired by the dedication shown in the Mikey Madison pole dance journey, here are a few things to keep in mind about the craft:
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- Authenticity is in the "Imperfections": Part of why Madison's dance worked was because it wasn't a "studio" style. It was raw and slightly "clubby," which fit the character.
- Conditioning takes time: You can't fake the muscle memory of a pole dancer. If you're a creator, give yourself months, not weeks, for physical roles.
- Research the "Etiquette": Madison didn't just learn moves; she shadowed dancers to see how they interact with DJs and bouncers. That's where the real character lives.
The next time you watch that 20-second clip, remember the 45-minute bouts of nausea and the literal months of bruises. It wasn't just a dance; it was a transformation.
To see more of the technical side of the film's production, you can check out the behind-the-scenes features from Neon or the interviews with choreographer Kennady Schneider. Knowing the pain behind the grace makes the performance even better.
Next Steps: You can watch Anora on major streaming platforms to see the full performance, or look up the "Allure Beauty Transformation" video where Madison breaks down the specific aesthetic choices that went into Ani's look.