Barre Hopping: Sutton Foster Conquers the Stripper Pole on Bunheads

Sutton Foster is dancing up a storm on the ABC Family summer series Bunheads —and this week, she's adding pole dancing to her resume! Foster stars as Michelle Simms, a ballet-trained Vegas showgirl who feels like a fish out of water after moving in with her ballet teacher mother-in-law Fanny (Tony winner Kelly Bishop) in the sleepy town of Paradise, California. When Michelle’s birthday rolls around, Fanny takes a surprise vacation, leaving Michelle to teach classes at Paradise Dance Academy. But her birthday isn’t only hard work—when Michelle’s showgirl pal Talia comes for a visit, the girls show small-town gal Truly what it really means to party (hint: booze and cupcakes are involved). Meanwhile, Boo heads to the movies with fellow ballerinas Sasha, Melanie and Ginny while trying desperately to impress Melanie’s older brother Charlie. We’ve picked the highlights from this week’s episode below. Check back next week for more Barre Hopping!

Michelle’s Cheesy Ballet Joke: “Did someone see the Virgin Mary in the rosin box again?”

Paradise Book Club Selection: Fifty Shades of Grey

Michelle’s Dating Advice:
Michelle: “Meet guys!”
Truly: “You want me to be a slut like you?”
Michelle: “Yes, I get a coupon to Sizzler for every new convert.”

Fanny’s Poolside Monologue: “It’s glorious that finally a woman in her twilight years who hasn’t had a vacation since Eisenhower was in office can just for a small moment in time get away, relax, recharge. And all while a young, vibrant woman who normally does nothing all day but obsess over Brangelina’s wedding can take over.”

Dancing Double Entendre:
Michelle: “[Pole dancing] is a very hot trend. It’s fun and sexy and very popular with housewives.”
Fanny: “Like the TV show?”
Michelle: “No, actual housewives.”
Fanny: “Those still exist?”
Michelle: “And they like to slide on poles.”

Michelle’s Stripper Pole Catch Phrase: “Make it rain!”

Sasha’s Beauty Advice: “I’m sure Charlie, like every guy in America, has very strong eyebrow tweezing opinions. I bet he makes all his decisions based on the tweeze.”

Michelle’s Internal Compass: “We parked near a tree that looks like a Hobbit.”

Truly’s Big-City Dream: Cupcake ATM! (“In Los Angeles there’s a pink ATM and it dispenses all kinds of cupcakes 24 hours a day.”)

Dancing Tune: “Istanbul (Not Constantinople)” by They Might Be Giants

Michelle’s Warning to Sasha: “You better watch it, with snark like that you’ll end up with your own dirty girl sitcom on NBC.”