[Solya]

Not sure about last year on BGT – it is possible that the girls who ended up as backing dancers had actually auditioned?

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1179348/Britains-Got-Tacky-Is-ITV-8217-s-family-talent-getting-bit-tawdry-contestants-strip-off.html
Scroll down for the girls. They should have skipped the stripper shoes and all… I think the Aussie girls took the right approach and made it more fun/less sexy.

This kind of got me thinking about the differences between public attitude in different countries. There were absolutely no disapproving looks and prejudiced remarks to the Australian girls, while pole doesn’t get much positive publicity in the UK does it? At least the abuse I and my pole club get is shocking sometimes.

Dannii was really sweet indeed, I loved how she stood up for them! Does anyone know when the girls will be on telly again?

[Solya]

Loopielou wasn’t it 3 girls who auditioned for BGT last year but never made it any farther? I’m still waiting for a British pole dancer to make it into the mainstream… https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_smile.gif

This was totally heartwarming! Kym and the rest were the first ever pole vid I saw and she’s a major pole inspiration of mine, I’m so glad to see them here and they were BLOODY AMAZING! What they’re doing is exacly what pole needs to be accepted as a sport/art form https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_smile.gif I hope they win!

Last year the girl who won Miss Pole Dance Hungary also auditioned for Hungary’s Got Talent and when she started her routine she was booed and hissed (by the judges too..), and then she went into an extended butterfly and everyone’s jaw dropped, I loved it https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_smile.gif

[Solya]

God no. The only thing that interests me is whether someone is a talented poler and inspires me or not https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_smile.gif
I think it’s everyone’s personal business what they do for a living and I frankly don’t think being an exotic dancer needs to be snubbed and called indecent. Working in the adult entertainment industry (only as a dancer/entertainer) probably requires more brains and sophistication than working at the till in a supermarket – something people don’t care about just because they are ignorant beyond belief.

I’d love to learn from professional dancers, I bet you have much more experience of keeping your audience entertained! Do post some vids soon https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_flower.gif

[Solya]

I keep watching this vid it’s soooo goood! I can’t believe how talented they all are. And this is probs one of Felix’s best peformances, she’s incredible.

I’d go to heaven if I could go to classes to Bobbi’s, everyone who comes out of there seems to be champion material with bendy legs and gorgeous iron x-s… https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_rolleyes.gif

Does anyone know what diameter poles are used in Austrialia by the way?

[Solya]

Journey you’re my pole twin https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_biggrin.gif Reverse grab is my favourite move ever and I’m terrified to do it without grip aids. I love to swing and kick out a lot but if I do that with sweaty hands I just fly off the pole lol.

The morals from all this is that it’s better to use grip aids before you start to fear every pole session. Seeing my friends doing stuff I couldn’t do because i’d just slip was horribly destructive to my improvement. I needed a couple of months to overcome the pole rut and not think I’d never be good at pole.

[Solya]

I totally agree with Journey above. if you feel that you’d be strong enough to do moves but the sweaty hands are limiting you then do use grip aids. It’s true that in the beginning it’s best if you learn without them so you can strengthen your grip, but if the sweaty hands are a problem not only on the pole then you don’t really have a choice.

I’ve been pole dancing for 1,5 years and I still wipe the pole after every move/spin. I felt I was totally cheating when I started using grip aids because that’s what my instructors were telling me. Now that I’m self taught and teach I realised the sweaty hands are only setting me back and I developed a sort of fear of the pole. I got fed up when I practically fell out of a split grip aysha (which I can do with dry hands) and hurt my back.

You just can’t have fun on the pole when you’re constantly wiping your hands. I’m getting gloves next week and hope that they will sort out my problem! First try grip aids, liquid chalk, antiperspirants etc and see if they work – if they don’t, get some gloves. Mightly Grip seem to be popular and Nomis gloves too (available in the UK).

[Solya]

Hi and welcome! I’m in York, really glad to see another UKer here https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_smile.gif

[Solya]

I found this quite useful: http://www.candy-chrome.co.uk/pole-bible/splits-training-exercisesfor-pole-dance-felix-cane/

I stretch about 3 times a week. If I do it more often my muscles and tendons hurt so I always wait for the pain to subside before I stretch again. I do 20 mins on the cross trainer or the treadmill to warm up and then go on to stretching.

What I found quite motivating is to time yourself, like I get into the splits and hold it there for 45 seconds or 1 minute. If you time yourself it motivates you to stay in the stretching position even if it hurts and you’d come out of it otherwise.

Resistance stretching is also very effective if you have someone to help you. If you google it there’s plenty of information on it.

The most important thing is to keep stretching regularly, even if you don’t see a noticeable improvement. If it hurts too much, doesn’t get better etc just give it a break for a few days. You’ll see that there will be some improvement when you try again. I had about 30cm left in the side splits and it took me 2 weeks with regular stretching to get my bum down on the ground https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_smile.gif

[Solya]

It says in the sidebar of one of the vids that there’s a 50mm version and they do a 2,4m high one as well. That said I’d get the X-stage instead of the R-pole. I’ve been learning on X-stages since I started and they feel really safe and they’re a lot taller as well. I think the R-pole is way too short. If someone tall inverts on the X-stage they reach the top of the pole with their feet and the R-pole is even shorter!

It also seems to wobble really bad. If you ever plan to teach on it beginners would probably feel very insecure. In one of the vids the base seems to move when the girl swings into a spin as well. I know I’d feel awful on a 38mm wobbly pole but that’s just me https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_smile.gif X-stages are a pain in the arse to assemble but they’re very stable and cheaper too.

[Solya]

I feel that some of the comments were kind of a reply to mine so let me clarify a few things https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_smile.gif

I don’t think any kind of pole dancing needs defense. It’s everyone’s personal business what they do on the pole. We receive so much ignorance and abuse from the rest of the world anyways.

Sexy pole dancing also needs some definitions I guess. I totally agree that pole does in part originate from strip clubs and I think the stripper heritage is good to balance against the more athletic lobby of pole dancers.
There’s also nothing wrong with being sexy and sensual and discovering your sexy side and all. You do that in other forms of dance too don’t you?

So what I slightly frown upon is crass sexuality. There are many dancers who do a string of explicitly sexual moves, often paired with little other pole skills. I frankly don’t think it’s sexy, it’s tacky and cheap. What I’m trying to say is you don’t need to be sexually explicit and imitate sex with your pole dancing to come off sexy. Alethea Austin pops to my mind – she does do some very sensual floorwork and booty shaking and all but she still comes off as very sexy and graceful instead of just cheap.

No matter what everyone says pole dancing HAS evolved to a form of sport/dance from writhing against a pole in a strip club. And also the ones who lobby for pole as a sport do get a fair bit of opposition from those in the ’I want to be sexy camp’. If you remember there was quite a disagreement from the sexy dancers about some people wanting to get pole into the Olympics.

[Solya]

The best ones I’ve had are cotton shorts from the nightwear section of H&M https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_biggrin.gif They don’t show too much bum but they’re comfy, have a wide waistband, never give muffin tops (and boy do I always get them) and cost £5. I’m wearing them in my pic https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_smile.gif

[Solya]

I’m not Christian but I don’t think pole dancing as a hobby clashes with Christianity. Pole is really up for personal interpretation – you can pole dance for your bf, you can pole dance as a stripper, you can pole dance as a circus artist or you can pole dance as an athlete. Pole needs strength, grace, and perseverance to excel at, just as any sport. I bet no one has a problem with figure skating where women wear tiny dresses barely covering their knickers and they pretty much have sex with their partners on the ice rink.

That said you don’t need to be a Christian to find strippery pole dancing distasteful. I really, really don’t like pole dancers in tiny string bikinis who shove their bum into the camera at every possible opportunity (and there are plenty of those). I do pole for sport and for my own personal development. So bottom line, however you interpret pole will decide whether it’s an indecent thing to do or not.

I think your friend is just ignorant/lacking knowledge, saying that it’s a sin. Why is it a sin? Does the Bible have a passage on dance poles and platform heels? I think she automatically associates pole dancing with strippers and selling your body for money, which obviously doesn’t compute with Christianity. You could perhaps try to talk about this with her and explain that the pole dancing you do is far, far removed from the image that lives in people’s minds.

Mind you, this is quite a mild form of ignorance… my pole club at uni is now officially called ‘slut club’ on campus, beat that lol.

[Solya]

It irritates me to no end when people don’t point their toes. Why oh why, it ruins everything.

Other than that I agree that the side climb looks pretty hideous, why would you climb like that when you could practice to climb sexy like Felix and the others https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_smile.gif

I like the iguana mount but you just can’t work it into a performance. If you want to do it from the front (so people see your lift/splits) then you have to bend down with your arse facing them. If you do it from the side it’s not impressive at all and they can see your hands feeling around for the pole. Bummer.

This is my personal preference but I dislike everything strippery. Like crawling on the ground, booty bouncing, booty popping ayshas and the bouncy SM inverted V. To me they discredit the artistic and athletic value of pole dancing.

[Solya]

This move is on wikipole.com, it’s called the chopstix, apparently https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_smile.gif Alethea just leaned down to her legs a bit more.

Thanks for the link for her performance, I’ve been looking for it for ages!

[Solya]

This was one of the first pole vids I saw, she’s just awesome.

I just googled her and she was in Birtney Spears’ Circus vid and one of Michael Jackson’s shows, now works for Cirque du Soleil = total aerial queen.