To me pole dance...
...is all about extension...
...musicality...
...and passion...
In order of appearance: Anastasia Skuhtorova, Steven Retchless, and Jenyne Butterfly (doing her amazing air walk). I do not own any of the images.
Pole dance is a new, evolving sport/dance/fitness that defies any one definition and embraces so many perspectives. A stripper in a club is a pole dancer, and a gymnast poler like Oona Kivela is equally a pole dancer, so too is the epitome of sexy Alethea Austin a pole dancer and the ballerina-esque Anastasiya Skukhtorova. There are so many more amazing pole athletes each with a slightly different style. Even the many names of pole speak to the multi-faceted nature of pole: Aerial Pole, AcroPole, Pole Fitness, Pole Dance, and simply, Pole.
The lure of pole is that, lacking a rigid definition, pole is anything you want. KiKi recently described herself as a lyrical pole dancer and our IT girl here, Little Engine, would easily fit the same category. Our Aerial Gypsy is exactly that and Darling Dearest is very much a "polerina." Then there's me--I imagine myself as a someday-real-figure-skating-on-a-stick. Ever since I first saw Sash Cohen skate I have been in love with those gorgeous lines and impeccable musicality. I just never hoped to find my own strength and grace--I didn't think it was possible.
The amazing thing about pole is that, well, you can do pretty much anything. There is a sort of mindset about pole that brings people together and gets them thinking everything is possible. You learn to embrace your own signature in pole and to love those of others, different though they may be. Maybe it is more accessible because it is so new and doesn't have the air of the unattainable as do similar disciplines like ballet. Even the very nature of pole, always presumptuously connected to stripping as a taboo, draws people together. If the general public makes sweeping assumptions to which they add negative connotations you just want to be around someone that understands.
I wrote this post to share with my friends the images that come to mind in my definition of pole. Everyone has a different version, but they are born of the same passion and dedication. We are all polers, different and the same.
...musicality...
...and passion...
Pole dance is a new, evolving sport/dance/fitness that defies any one definition and embraces so many perspectives. A stripper in a club is a pole dancer, and a gymnast poler like Oona Kivela is equally a pole dancer, so too is the epitome of sexy Alethea Austin a pole dancer and the ballerina-esque Anastasiya Skukhtorova. There are so many more amazing pole athletes each with a slightly different style. Even the many names of pole speak to the multi-faceted nature of pole: Aerial Pole, AcroPole, Pole Fitness, Pole Dance, and simply, Pole.
The lure of pole is that, lacking a rigid definition, pole is anything you want. KiKi recently described herself as a lyrical pole dancer and our IT girl here, Little Engine, would easily fit the same category. Our Aerial Gypsy is exactly that and Darling Dearest is very much a "polerina." Then there's me--I imagine myself as a someday-real-figure-skating-on-a-stick. Ever since I first saw Sash Cohen skate I have been in love with those gorgeous lines and impeccable musicality. I just never hoped to find my own strength and grace--I didn't think it was possible.
The amazing thing about pole is that, well, you can do pretty much anything. There is a sort of mindset about pole that brings people together and gets them thinking everything is possible. You learn to embrace your own signature in pole and to love those of others, different though they may be. Maybe it is more accessible because it is so new and doesn't have the air of the unattainable as do similar disciplines like ballet. Even the very nature of pole, always presumptuously connected to stripping as a taboo, draws people together. If the general public makes sweeping assumptions to which they add negative connotations you just want to be around someone that understands.
I wrote this post to share with my friends the images that come to mind in my definition of pole. Everyone has a different version, but they are born of the same passion and dedication. We are all polers, different and the same.
so very true! I love that pole provides us with the freedom to make it our own and yet still be part of something bigger. :)
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