Vote for ME for IPC Pole Idol 2012!!!!
If you’ve been following the world of competitive pole, you’ve noticed that more and more competitions are implementing a ‘vote-for-your-favorite-contestant’ strategy in which the public has the power to decide on (usually) one competitor slot. USPDF did it, so did Pole Dance Universe, California Pole Dance Championships and the Southern Regional competitions.
When I was in Wellington, New Zealand, I had a rehearsal session at a studio called well, The Studio. Like any dance studio, The Studio has massive floor-to-ceiling mirrors in which students can check and correct their form, make sure their toes are pointed and lines perfect.
Scribbled on one side of The Studio’s mirrored wall were choreography notes for The Studio’s students who were competing in the New Zealand Pole Championships 2011, Andre Wotton and Mei.
But scribbled on the other side was a list of corporal punishments for pole ‘misdeeds’ — flexed feet gets you 5 push-ups or a 10-second plank, while the more severe ‘I quit’ gets you 10 push-ups and a 20-second plank. But the real punishment is incurred when a student makes an anti or negative body statement. This gets you 100 press ups or a 5 minute plank!
The Studio's list of corporal punishments for pole misdeeds
My and my Greek pole sisters.
Linguistic differences aside, the women and men polers I’ve met in my international travels aren’t so different than us Americans. We share an obsessive love for our apparatus, and we all know the elation of nailing our nemesis trick. The topics of conversation over a pint are easy — pole crushes (everyone has one regardless of sexual orientation!), preferred brands of pole shorts, the stress and excitement of training for a competition. We all belong to a global community of polers who probably get way more excited about the prospects of attaining 38 or 40mm hardware than the latest ‘it bag.’
It’s these things that have made traveling around the world teaching and performing so incredible. Yes, there’s the thrill of being in a foreign land, sometimes a new one every other day. But it’s meeting the studio owners, students and my own personal pole idols that has been the most rewarding experience for me.
My recent X-Pole tour started in London (aka, ‘home base’) and stomping grounds of my tour manager, Stacey Pope from X-Pole UK. In addition to being tour manager to the pole stars, Stacey handles sales at X-Pole UK, runs her own pole studio Stacey Pole, co-runs the competition UKAPP (UK Amateur Pole Performer), AND is a full-time mommy. Now THAT is what being a career woman is all about!
I had the awesome sauce opportunity to judge and perform at the Hertford Heat of the UKAPP (UK Amateur Pole Performer) competition last night and was blown away by the talent. A few observations from this American poler (and photos as well as a link to my live performance below the post):
I sit here typing from Dulles Airport in Washington DC en route to Europe, where I’m embarking on an ambitious 7-country tour sponsored by X-Pole. Will I make it? Will Swedish police find me passed out from exhaustion in an IKEA pre-fab living room unit? Will spotting too many fonji attempts actually cause my arms to fall off, thus canceling the rest of my tour? (note: I’ll politely decline to teach those who want to learn this move unless you’ve mastered several pre-requisites. I stand firm on this, sorry 
You’ll just have to stay tuned to my blog to find out. In the meantime, pole safe, with passion and always point your toes!
XOXO, Natasha