Weekend Crush: Jenny Liu PHD MD and Pole Dancer Minx

I keep saying that pole dancers are an intelligent bunch and here is more proof: Minx. Minx is the stage name of competitive pole dancer Jenny Liu--who is also a double doctor. Jenny started pole dancing because her PHD and MD schooling meant she'd be spending her youth studying--something I can relate to as Pre-Med myself. Cancer research, top of her graduate class, double doctor... and sexy Minx.

It's all about the challenge




"I think for me my success with pole is quite an intellectual process"

I first found her story on Australia's ABC website. I was absolutely blown away by how she connects intellectualism in pole dance and in scholarly studies. Dance is an intellectual process and being sexy is an expression of the mind. Minx is so transparent with who she is and I love it. She's a whole person, and society could stand to learn quite a bit from her. Plus she made "heaps of friends." Austrialianisms are so fun! (my favorite new pole blogger is a back-bendingly amazing Aussie herself).

I also love that she mentions the value of the pole dance community. Jenny felt distanced from her fellow MD scholars when they went on to finish their MD program right away while she added PHD coursework. A lot of the people I go to school with have likewise finished their programs while I build a family life and balance Pre-Med; you do feel isolated studying medicine. It does take part of your life. Pole dance has been amazing for me because it is a challenge and it is an intellectual process but it gives you a release and a chance to connect emotionally. I love that pole connects us. It's beautiful and amazing.

Has your pole journey been an intellectual process?

Weekend Crush: Michelle Stanek, A True Angel

This week the pole world was shocked, appalled, and yes, more than a bit upset over the overt plagiarism of one of our most loved pole stars. What makes this story special is not that it happened, because art forms are so often subject to not-so-flattering imitation. It isn't even that it made waves, because as we know the pole world is extremely close knit, maybe even to a fault. An issue that could have rightfully lead to legal action and enmity turned out to be an example of true kindness and respect.

Lisa Fedele of Italy performed Michelle Stanek's routine, down to the same music, for Canale Italia. You can see the similarities in choreography for yourself, you will want to watch at least the first 30 seconds if you haven't seen it before:

Now compare that to Lisa's version. Déjà vu, right? Lisa was right to challenge herself with attempting Michelle Stanek's choreography as there is a clear difference in technical execution. She has an amazing talent for the contemporary pole dance style on top of being an amazing sexy pole dancer.

Michelle's response:

How sweet is that? She could have been well in her right to get a lawyer on this and instead reached out to Lisa. And it looks like Lisa Fedele, along with the rest of us, is an even bigger fan of Michelle's for it:

Translated within an inch of it's life by Bing: "She [Michelle] was very kind and cute [sweet?] with me, we have solved the thing in 'friendship'..." I love that. We can be a very close community and protect our own while reaching out to others. Well done, Michelle, we could all do to take a page out of your book!

Weekend Crush: Marion & Anastasia, Pole Sisters

To understand the pole community you have to understand the love. And there is so much love but my absolute favorite is pole sisterhood. (Awesome pole guys out there: you are loved too!) So when I saw this video I had to watch it about five times to even begin to soak in all the amazing.



My brain shuts down for a moment around 1:38. Side-by-side Extended Allegras. Side-by-ssss... Um, duh, wow.

This video has special meaning for me for so many reasons. It reminds me of the amazing group of ladies (and gents) I have grown to consider friends and pole family on StudioVeena and PDBloggers. There is Marion Crampe who--words cannot describe. She's amazing. Anastasia is my very first pole crush and the reason I started pole. (KiKi this reminds me to pester you into nailing Extended Allegra even more. See her beautiful Allegra here.)

One day I will hopefully never have to meet these ladies and fangirl the hell out. Bah, I can't resist, you know I will meet them and scare them away, haha. And the day I get the Extended Allegra I am going to hunt down my pole friends and do a remake of this. Hey, I love to dream.

Why I will always defend the "Sexy Side"

I don't own a single pair of clear heels. The stilettos I have are babied and would never come near my treadmill so they would never be part of my pole workouts or dancing either. Yet when I read about certain organizations trying to strip the sexy side away from pole I speak out. Go sanitize anything else you want but pole--there are so many reasons not to.

Weekend Crush: Kenneth Kao, DC

He teaches Kung Fu, practices chiropractic medicine, and oh yeah, there's that bit where he jumped from one pole to another at this year's Pole Expo. If you are a pole dancer you have definitely heard the litany: Do NOT jump into moves! This is true for those of us that are risking injury by compensating a lack of strength with momentum--in his case his strength gives him the control to pull off such an insane move. Don't blink, it happens around 0:45. And yes, this is one of those video I recommend clicking the gear and choosing HD!




I found this awesome video on NinaReed.com. Coolest part? He's actually one of her pole instructors! Dr. Kenneth Kao is an instructor at Vertical Fusion Boulder. I can't imagine taking instruction from him, wow! Or even better, following the recommendation on his practice's site, "Anyone is welcome to fly him out to location for specialized care or instruction, or just for fun!" I'm adding that to my list of ways to spend my money when I win the lottery. I can dream!

As if that wasn't enough Kenneth Kao is also a published writer and loves to learn about the human condition. The English nerd in me is all sorts of happy knowing this. It seems to me that pole dance tends to go with intellectual awesomenes; there must be something to that. In fact, I am certain of it and will be posting some of my findings to that effect soon! Check out links to his Dr. Kao's published works on his personal blog, The Chaos of Balance.

Weekend Crush: Eliana Girard

Normally I don't get into So You Think You Can Dance. I know, I know, this has to be some sort of cardinal sin for a pole dancer. This lady right here? She's getting added to the very few that are on my playlist. She has done everything from contemporary dance on SYTYCD to Cirque du Soleil to some very polerina style contemporary pole. Did you know that existed? I just found out from a friend and I think we need much, much more of this!

Weekend Crush: Steven Retchless

I have adored Steven Retchless since very early in my pole fitness journey--and how could you not? There's the fact that he's all sorts of flexy, makes shoulder mounts look like child's play, and well, he's not so hard on the eyes. I have watched his Boston Ballroom performance countless times and the reason why comes down to how beautifully expressive he is. Yes, he has amazing flexibility and strength and that draws you in but it is the story that keeps you coming back for more. Oh and if you think I'm going to confess to how many times I've rewatched his videos... let's just say "a lot." lol

Take his remi layback, for one. The remi sit/layback is a move that can look so simple you think you can nail it, then try five million times and still be swinging belly first towards the pole. (Which is why I have reluctantly shelfed it for now). Is that just me? Maybe it's just me, lol. Anyways for those of you who have watched his

Weekend Crush: Pole Dancing Professor, Lisa Faulkner

http://www.inherimagephoto.com/

Lisa Faulkner, PhD, embodies a lot of what Flexines is about. She definitely brings her dash of sexy to the pole world and has just the right touch of nerdy pole dancer. I love that there is a constant undertone of deep thought and empowerment to everything she writes on her site, poledancingprofessor.com. In fact, I think she is the perfect example of who pole dancers are. There is a recurring thread on StudioVeena about what we pole dancers do for a living and the responses are resoundingly both diverse and impressive. We are doctors, machinists, nurses, social workers, and yes, pole dancing professors.

Here's what caught my attention: the call of the Siren. I first noticed Lisa's celebration of herself and this playful, sensual spirit in the images she shares on her Facebook page. What is a siren? What is the call of a siren? I think this image

YouTube: worst and best in pole social media

I found out about pole dancing through YouTube, yet I think YouTube is the worst social media platform for pole. There are a lot of really great aspects of pole that YouTube promotes but what currently stands out most are the ones that make me click away as fast as I can. It's a great resource (more on this in a bit) but it reflects heavily on what society thinks of pole and perpetuates a lot of the stereotypes out there.

The worst? The title "Stripper dance" in so many pole videos. It is so often tacked on regardless of whether they explore the sexy side of pole, the acrobatic, or pole art. Stripping has its own raw beauty and sticking it like a cheap label all over anything with a pole is really sad. Also, not everyone that pole dances would ever strip for whatever personal reasons. Hardly any of the polers are taking off any clothing, is that not part of what stripping is?

Then there are the comments, oh the comments! Every wack job out there seems to think s/he has the most authoritative take on pole, from criticizing it as too sexual to letting the dancer know "I want to eat your socks." Seriously? First of all, when did we become so afraid of sex? Secondly, other work out videos like yoga or lifting do not get this same treatment and yet they use the same clothing coverage. When I see comments like this I just shudder to think of the impression it gives of pole. Monkey see, monkey do. The more people see pole disparaged, the more they will do it themselves.

So what can we do?

The fact of the matter is that the pole community is completely different from the rubbish you have to plow through to watch a pole video. We praise each other, focus on triumphs and progress, and we uplift. It's what keeps me involved in pole even with how uncoordinated I am slowly I'm progressing. This is what we need to present, and yet it so often gets drowned out in social and mass media.

I challenge all of you to promote videos that really represent pole. Subscribe to fellow pole dancers videos and share them. If you're friend/coworker/partner is concerned that pole will make you "look bad" inbox them a video that showcases what you love about pole. One of my favorite videos is Jenyne Butterfly's dance to the Dog Days are Over by Florence and the Machine. Every time I would search for it a few of the top posts on YouTube included "stripper dance" in the title. While I've seen some really wonderful videos with strip elements, for example by Felix Cane or Alethea Austin, the video I'm talking about seems to be about childish fun. You can't call that a "stripper dance"--you're doing strip (like taking off clothes is all there is to stripping) and Jenyne's dance an injustice. It's just a tactic to boost their appearance in search results... yawn. I checked it out and we must have been doing a good job because the top results I found this time described it completely.

The good

I love that YouTube is such a great resource for pole inspiration, tutorials, and introducing people to pole. I found out about StudioVeena through Emotioncatcher's videos, which I found after a search on pole. The only reason I was searching YouTube for pole videos was that I saw a recommended video of Anastasia Skukhtorova and loved it. You definitely have to wade through a lot of crappy comments and pole stereotypes to view them, but you can find a lot of good out there. For instance, a lot of home polers can progress by watching tutorials on all sorts of moves from beginner to advanced. Then there are pole related moves like Aerial Amy's awesome booty bounce tutorial. Maybe with enough posting and sharing this will be the main thing we see.

So vote with your clicks. Share what the sexy side of pole means to you--or the acrobatic, or pole art, or you own style. The more we get our voices out there the better social media will reflect that pole includes so many styles and how valuable each one is.

Weekend Crush: These Pole Kisses

For the first time in over 3 months I finally have some pole kisses. For a pole dancer these are pretty much always a big deal and a lot of fun to show off. Is that we're masochists? What's our deal? There is certainly something about them for us to be going on about some glorified bruises. Even in my pole forum lurking days I couldn't wait to start pole and chime in on the pole chatter, including all the fun pole specific words and pole kisses.

I am convinced we're not weird. Okay, so I'm a little biased. Still, I think our love for pole bruises and the

Can pregnant women do that?

pregnant silhouette (c) mahalie
CC Attribution 2.0 License

When I found out I was pregnant the first time I mourned the loss of my then-erratic jogging routine. That is, until I dove into the internet to see what other moms, physicians, and experts had to say. I was surprised to find that most women can continue at the same level of physical activity, usually decreasing intensity in the later months. In fact, a lot of Olympic athletes continue the same level of activity through their whole pregnancy. I hardly felt pregnant at all until my eighth month when I couldn't breath well in certain positions and had to wake up to flip over in the middle of the night. I was actually in the best shape of my life. Every week I alternated strength training and cardio (running) on week days, resting on weekends. I aced my personal fitness class--which went right through my due date!

So yes, pregnant women can strength train. And run. Having discovered pole fitness and started flexibility training I had to wonder if I could still do those now. After all, I am three years older than last time and I was horribly sick for two months. I remembered last time all sources warned against lunges and squats--would that mean my more intense stretching had to stop? Would pole climbs be too intense? I met with my doctor with dire expectations and it

Feeling unsexy this summer?

(c) United Pole Artists, Used with permission

It's bikini season, the perfect time to show off rocking bodies and strut your sexy. In the pole world it's even bigger than that since UPA's Bringing Sexy Back is going on again (through today).  For some of us this turns into a bit of an issue because we don't feel that sexy. So what do we do?

I just finished reading yet another discussion on Facebook where one side trashed "imperfect" bodies and the other side promoted self-love. Seriously, this again? People, no one will work on her fitness level if she does not love her body! Does it appall me when people neglect their bodies to the point of unhealthy obesity? Yes, it does. But I can't decide this at a glance. And I'm not perfect--who could define perfect?--plus everyone deserves to be happy. 

Just like I don't like being judged as "must be anorexic" I won't be judging someone as "must be lazy and gluttonous." In fact, at my thinnest I was incredibly lazy and gluttonous. Genetics saved me from looking as unhealthy as I was. People more active than I am that eat better than me get

Weekend Crush: Karol Helms

I'm not exactly sure what it is about Karol Helms. She is just irresistibly sexy--yes, the fans (more on this in bit), garters, and hot fishnets help, but there is something more. Her style is very different from my own in a way that makes me want to go dye my hair red and buy a slinky corset. Maybe it's her enviable strength, sexy flow, or her athletic legs?

One of my favorite tidbits about Karol is that she started out with the fuzzy YouTube videos of beginner moves like anyone else might. She has a whole tutorial section, definitely a godsend for those of us who learn exclusively from home. Someone (I wish I could remember who!) on StudioVeena once mentioned there

Flexines A Day in the Life: Flexy, Pole and Life

A typical day in the life of a Pre-Med, pole dancing, flexy addict begins with a mental alarm clock. It's the feeling of impeding doom if--I don't get my butt out of bed and set at finishing school work. On tap today: a three hour manic session of Statistics for Medicine.

No, I didn't procrastinate (this time), lol! As a pole mom a fun chunk of my time goes into frantic potty runs and cuddle time, then a bit more to the inevitable fatigue. Cue a quick bathroom run with my two-year-old in the middle of a particularly frustrating Probability problem--I wouldn't have it any other way! Next comes

So Dancers are NOT Athletes?

I was watching an episode of Rizzoli and Isles when Frost makes a comment about contemporary dancers not being athletes! Rizzoli, who studied ballet as a child, says they are just as athletic as figure skaters--prompting an eyebrow raise from Frost. He affirms, however, that golfers and even bowlers are athletes.  I love Rizzoli's response: she says something like, "but a ten year old with a six pack is not an athlete??"

So dancers are not athletes??

Ballerinas, for example, devote their lives from a young age to ballet, building incredible strength, flexibility, and agility. It is a physically demanding undertaking, altering (disfiguring) their feet and subjecting them to serious injury. Those airy leaps? They take immense muscular strength and control. Not just anyone has the persistence and dedication ballet takes--which make it sound suspiciously like a sport, doesn't it?

"Kelli" (c) mkd.
Used under Creative Commons 2.0 Attribution License

Figure skaters, especially with the change in the scoring system, are required to perform athletic leaps and present program elements such as complex footwork sequences. Anyone who says figure skating is not athletic need only check out the muscle tone on then nearest figure skater. Have you ever seen a figure skater without incredible abs?

I get as tired as a piece of lettuce in the sun from hearing that pole dance is not athletic. Some spiritual yoga article or a person hearing about pole dance for the first time (for the first time out of the context of some sleazy show) is always making some comment about "draping on a pole."

But what does "athlete" imply?

To some degree, maybe we don't want to be called athletes. Take a look at how figure skating has changed since the scoring system went from a more qualitative system to a rigid quantitative system requiring certain jumps--some would argue (like me) that it has taken some of the art out of skating. I have heard some talk among pole dancers that the scoring systems are changing in pole as well, and in the same direction. When a dancer or figure skater has to fill a time slot performing almost entirely acrobatic stunts, when can she or he fit in the art? When does it go from an artistic sport to a twitchy, trickster display?

To me the answer is that we can be athletic and also be dancers. It's about recognition. We know our dance is special, emotional--and yes, athletic. It would just be nice to hear it too, rather than be looked down on. In the end all we can do is believe in ourselves and in each other and let the world decide to catch up.

My Weekend Crush: Flexines (our Fans!)

"Global internet access" by Notions Capital
Creative Commons Attribuiton 2.0 License

This time around you all get the honor! Without our readers, friends, and stretch/pole jam buddies Flexines would not be possible. Thank you to the founding members (that's a fun story, keep a look out for a post later), all the bloggers that have been a part of Flexines, and the friends and family that support us all.

I never cease to be amazed at how Flexines has been able to connect us all to each other. I have met so many inspiring people--and there furry family members too! I have gotten the chance to connect with some awesome pole blogs out there, including KiKi's Pole Blog, A Man Who Pole Dances, Flying Spinner (I am sure I am forgetting at least a few blogs too). 

Every time I get to virtually meet a new pole dancer it is just as new and amazing as the first time I connected   chat on StudioVeena. (I am so sad to see that go; they still have their awesome forum though :D) Last chat calipolepixie was motivating Divine with these awesome checklists. Cali makes herself--and sometimes friends--useful monthly checklists with reasonable goals. During another chat KiKi described how much a photo log has helped her progress. It goes to show that someone far enough away to be in a different time zone can jog your mind and give you new ideas. We keep each other in check by being accountable to show up and meet, but still have flexibility (no pun intended!) to miss a few days.

It is so neat to log on and see our views, Twitter followers, and Facebook likes. Hello world, we see you seeing us! And we love you, too! Thank you for your support--it's what keeps us going and challenges us to improve.

Weekend Crush: Jenyne Butterfly

Jenyne is what I call more of a "pole athlete" (for comparison, Anastasia is more of a "polerina" to me). She definitely rocks some power moves, like her signature Iguana-mount Air Walk--and some killer muscles at that. She's the super athlete, yet flirty and adorable down to the small gestures she makes with her hands. So many reasons to love her!

Even better, she's super flexy! What is there not to love about a woman that can stick her legs straight behind her head? And her Extended Allegra... an absolute dream. So maybe I pretend to be Anastasia when I'm stretching. Maybe. She certainly is a whole lot of inspiration in one person!

I found a YouTube video the other day that made me love her all the more because she held a lot of her
poses--most of them, in fact! I wish pole dancers wouldn't whip through moves so fast. It's a big complaint of mine, maybe just because I am a newer poler and I don't catch the individual moves as they switch quickly, or maybe it is just too jerky for me. I haven't quite decided but I know I love performances where the move is held so it can be fully appreciated, and I think Jenyne more than delivered!

Weekend Crush: Anastasia Skukhtorova

Welcome to the first of a series of blog posts we are calling our "Weekend Crush." Every weekend we will blog about someone notable for fitness or flexibility, why they inspire us, and, occasionally, have stolen our flexy loving hearts.

Anastasia's Pole Art 2011 video was featured in the little YouTube stalker-like "recommended for you" column. She was my first definition of poling, with tricks, and she is the first one that made me love pole dance. (Emotioncatcher made me want pole dance and believe it was possible.)

What is Pole Fitness/Pole Dance?

To me pole dance...

...is all about extension...

Just Bend in Half and Tie Your Laces

When I started working on my flexibility, I could not touch my toes. If I had to sit with my feet straight out in front of me it required propping myself up with my arms so I could lean back. Yeah I did really poorly on that stupid hamstring stretch in high school too. That one with the weird half-box wooden contraption you have to push the slider on as you stretch forward. Point is, hamstring flexibility is one of my big goals.

As you know, the only reason I did start flexy training was for pole. I honestly thought I could stretch religiously for a month or two and BAM! I'd be able to slide into a perfect split. I imagined myself bending my back in a loop around the pole and executing amazing, figure-skating-esque spins and translating what I love about that sport into pole. Boy was I wrong--apart from leg flexy training doing little for back flexy--training for the splits can be hard work.