Here's How Jennifer Lopez Learned The Art Of Pole Dancing For 'Hustlers'

Johanna Sapakie, who worked with Jennifer Lopez as the pole dance choreographer for the movie “Hustlers,” revealed that the 50-year-old singer-turned-actress gave her 100 percent to make the pole dancing sequences look as real as possible.

Sapakie, who has more than 20 years of pole dance experience, trained the “On the Floor” hitmaker for two and a half months before production started.

“Once the decision was made and she was like, ‘I want to dance in this film and I need to look legitimate,’ it was like, ‘Okay, let us do what we need to do and put it in the time to make it happen,’” Sapakie told The Hollywood Reporter.

To make Lopez look like a real pole dancer, Sapakie had a specific move in mind. She stated that she wanted to make sure that she could get Lopez “upside-down”on the pole so that her character could be seen as a woman who has mastered this art form.

They had to listen to a number of songs while preparing for the pole dancing scenes. The opening dance sequence of Lopez’s character Ramona was slated for the final week of the filming, so Lopez kept on training for a couple of hours every day until the unit decided on the song she would dance to.

The song they finally decided on was Fiona Apple’s haunting track “Criminal.” Sapakie felt that the song was so“powerful” and “deep” that it resonated with the character.

“The song feels so deep and powerful, and the vocal is smooth, sensual sound. That felt like it really fit. It was something about those drums at the beginning. It was just so Ramona,” she explained.

Her favorite moment from the dance sequence came when Lopez was successful in inverting herself on the pole and it was then she realized that people would believe that Lopez has been doing pole dancing for years.

“It was pure enjoyment. It just came naturally and organically because she was successful at what she was doing. There was a lot of pride in that. It was such a proud coach moment,” Sapakie said.

“Hustlers” accumulated $33.2 million during its opening weekend, which was approximately $8 millions more than its previously forecasted figures. The film became Lopez’s biggest live-action opening ever because it beat the previous record holder “Monster’s Ball” by a margin of $10 million.

The critics praised the movie for its amazing screenplay, and they also lauded Lopez’s performance in the movie that could possibly get a nod in the upcoming awards season.