Pole dancing in the Olympics--Yes please.!

• Posted by W2EM December 7, 2011 - Filed in Entertainment & Media - 198 views

   

  http://blogs.laweekly.com/stylecouncil/2011/12/pole_dancing_championships.php

  George Grigorian Anjel Dust, a dancer for more than a decade, also is an organizer of the California Pole Dance Championships.

  ​

   

  With her Lucite heels, cheeky schoolgirl pigtails and silky, hot pink disco shorts exposing admirable curves, the petite dancer is a textbook picture of urban eroticism.

  Nimble, feminine and impressively toned, she grips the towering pole, launching her taut, muscular frame with astounding athleticism. She follows with midair splits, more twirls and acrobatics, spinning in a complete arc not once, twice, but three times with exacting finesse. Her routine, set to the haunting tones of The Dresden Dolls' "Missed Me," ends with a barrage of catcalls and the crowd in rapture -- yet not even a single crumpled dollar bill litters the stage.

  No, it's not another recession-weary night at Spearmint Rhino. And Nadia Sharif is not your typical stripper, dancing to finance future tattoos or a recreational drug habit. In fact, Sharif isn't a stripper at all. She's an electrical engineer, specializing in robotics at the petroleum behemoth BP.

   

  She's here on this autumn night competing in the final round of the third annual California Pole Dance Championships. And so, unlike the average seedy strip joint in the sprawling plains of the San Fernando Valley, tonight's venue, Hollywood's Highlands nightclub, features all the trappings of a major sporting event. There's a panel of judges, a wholesome 7 p.m. start time and an audience that shows its appreciation with cheers rather than singles stuffed into outstretched G-strings.

  Which suits Sharif just fine.

  "I don't do it for money," she says. "It's just a leisure activity."

  Over the last five years, pole dancing has become less about the male gaze and more about fitness and competitive sport. There is now a global network of official organizations and federations, as well as local, national and international competitions -- and even some organizations lobbying for pole dancing's inclusion in the 2016 Olympics.

   

  Sharif started dancing in 2007 as a hobby. After seeing videos of dancer Felix Cane on YouTube, she realized pole dancing could be a fitness alternative: "I set up a pole in my house with a rail from a closet and just started practicing the moves from the video." She then discovered a pole dance studio, advanced her skill level via lessons and started to compete.

   

  September's championships offered $1,000 to the first-prize winner. (Sharif, who finished second, took home $500.) Still, competitions are about kudos more than prize money. Top dancers really cash in by giving workshops -- as many as four a week, with 10 or more students paying $75 each -- and doing personal appearances.

  

   

  Photo by Alloy Images, from CPDC Facebook page

  ​

   

  Photo by Alloy Images, from CPDC Facebook page

  ​

  "L.A. is now the center of the pole dancing scene in the U.S. It has a dominant presence and is the real trendsetter," Wood says. "It was initially something taboo, though it is now more about gymnastics than sleaze."

  The U.K.-based International Pole Sports Federation is the key body lobbying for pole dancing's inclusion in the 2016 Summer Olympics, to be held in Rio de Janeiro. Wood says she has heard there will be a pole dancing demonstration as part of the opening ceremony at next year's Summer Olympics in London.

  Photo by Alloy Images, from CPDC Facebook page

  ​

  There's also a Pole Fitness Association, based in Utah, as well as a group called the United Pole Artists, based in the San Fernando Valley. Its founder, Annemarie Davies, is one of the few involved in the competitive pole dance scene who still performs in clubs, namely the iconic Jumbo's Clown Room in Hollywood. She also teaches pole dance classes. (Annemarie estimates that she spends up to 30 hours a week on a pole.)

  She says she started to practice pole moves after working shifts at Spearmint Rhino, when pole dance studios were unheard-of. "I think as the economy got worse over the last five years, stripping changed," Annemarie says. "It got more dirty, and girls were willing to do more than just dance. I decided I wanted less to do with that side of things."

  Photo by Alloy Images, from CPDC Facebook page

  ​

  These days, Annemarie gives lap dances only to women. She sees pole dancing as a wholesome pastime. "This sport will be huge during the next 10 years. It's great for building self-esteem. Women get to feel sexy, gain confidence and lose a few pounds."