Polies Weekend! Day 1

Much like schoolies week on the Gold Coast, polies weekend (a.k.a Summer Pole Camp 2010) was full of fun, sun, friends, partying, street antics, and a little bit of debauchery. If you missed this weekend of pole madness, all I can say is, don't miss it next year because it's only going to get bigger and better!

The weekend started on the Friday where we all checked into our amazing apartments at Q1 in Surfers Paradise, it was 5 class all the way! Our bathroom, much to the despise of Bailey but hilarity of myself (you can't trust me with a camera..), even had a window wall so you could see into it from the master bedroom and out over the ocean.

After we checked in, unpacked, stopped screaming with excitement, it was beach bootcamp. I have not been in so much pain since high school P.E., no wonder why these Qld girls are so fit!

Once the painful memories of cross fit had subsided, everyone tarted up for the meet and greet at Qdeck. There's one thing I can definately say about Pole Camp, all the social gatherings were done with class, elegance, and style, well except for the group photos... You'll understand what I mean when you see them popping up on facebook along with mine and Chelle's butt. After the group photos, champagne and being climbed upon by Jenyne Butterfly, again see group photo's ;), it was off to bed for a 7:30am Acro balance with Miss Suzie Q and Toby J on the beach!

Adam Jay is coming to OZ!!!

The amazing Adam Jay of Image1st, London's hottest Photographic Design Studio, is coming to Australia in April 2011 for a photo shoot tour.

AJ has photographed some of the best pole dancers in the world including Felix Cane, Josiah, and Miss Suzie Q! Now it's your turn!!! You'll be sure to great some shots as AJ is one of the UK's best pole dance instructor and knows what looks good when it comes to pole tricks.

You'll have to be quick, AJ will only be in Aus for three weeks, traveling to Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane. For more details you can contact AJ at info@adamjay.co.uk.

POLE MATRIX - Look out ladies, men are taking pole dancing seriously!

Guess what?!!? There's been talk that there is a new pole brand for men going to be launched in the new year!

The new brand called Pole Matrix, is being developed by the Pol-arise Group who has partnered with male pole dancer, Chris Measday, as the face of their brand. Chris was one of the first prominent Australian male dancers, recently coming second at the Asia-Pacific Pole Dance Championships 2010, proving that male pole dancing is becoming a serious sport.

Pol-arise and Chris's partnership doesn't end there, Pol-arise will be sponsoring Chris at the International Pole Championship 2010 in Tokyo later this year.

I can't wait to find out more about Pole Matrix, and I can assure you that when I do, you'll be the first to know as well!

Asia-Pacific Pole Sport Alliance

When I first started pole dancing in 2004, there were only three pole dancing schools in NSW that I could find, now there are over 150 pole schools in the Asia-Pacific region. Pole dancing (outside of gentlemen’s clubs) is still relatively new and therefore most studios are owned and operated by former students with little or no fitness or business qualifications, which is fair enough seeing as how accredited instructor courses have only come into existence within the last year or two. However, the consequence is that the reputation and credibility of the industry continues to suffer, and so it’s not until some structure and regulation is brought to the industry, will pole dancing be seen as a genuine sport, dance, or art form, and not just some fitness craze; the Asia-Pacific Pole Sport Alliance (APPSA) intends to provide this structure and guidance as the industry’s peak professional body.

The APPSA recently launched at the Asia-Pacific Pole Dance Championships in Brisbane by a group of pole professionals who intend to provide career services to pole professionals and help create consistency in the industry through the APPSA. Such services would include discount insurance for members and job networking, and consistency would be achieved, for example by standardising judging criteria in competitions.

I played devil’s advocate with Cherene Thomas-Smith, the founder of the APPSA and asked, why do we need the APPSA? Why do we need a body to represent pole dancers to government bodies or the general public? How would studio owners who are already successfully in business benefit from becoming a APPSA member? Surprisingly, Cherene came back with a number of very relevant and persuasive arguments. For example, I’m sure most of you saw the news reports about Debbie Plowman, the young UK mother who became paralysed after falling off the pole last Christmas. This accident highlighted the danger of the sport and the need for professional instructor training, and whilst this may seem crass it is a reality, the need for adequate public liability insurance on the behalf of studios.

Another example is the increase of PPCA and APRA tariffs which would have had a huge and devastating impact on many pole studios if the original 3000% rise in license fees went ahead. Thankfully, Fitness Australia, on behalf it members, took legal action which prevented what could have been the end of many fitness businesses. It’s support like this that the APPSA intends to provide to its members when and if the time comes.

What Cherene did want to stress however was that APPSA is not setting out to be the regulator or dictator of the pole industry, rather she sees the APPSA as an information resource, guardian, and advocate for pole professionals. As the Managing Director of Pol-arise Australia Pty Ltd, Cherene too has encountered many of the unknown and unforeseen corollaries of operating a pole studio such as the onerous requirements of OH & S, and hopes to foster the pole industry through the APPSA by providing other studio owners and pole professionals with guidance and support through training programs, and other initiatives, which in the end will result in a more reputable and respected industry overall.

The APPSA website is currently under construction, so if you would like to find out more about the APPSA, email cherene@appsa.org.

Miss Pole Dance Australia 2011

Without any bias, Miss Pole Dance Australia is probably the most prestigious pole competition in the world. Every year, the standard just gets higher higher in regards to tricks, and refreshingly, this year there were few routines which not only had some amazing tricks, but also creative difference.

Don't get me wrong, I love the exotic style of pole dance but when your up there amongst 17 other just as great pole dancers, you want to have something that sets you apart and that's exactly what Taylor Grace had. Her routine is the one routine that I can remember part by part because it wasn't just a costume put to a random piece of music with cool tricks. Miss Taylor Grace came in third.

Cleo rocked! Coming in second, Cleo put on a "show" just like Taylor Grace; her performance was so entertaining and she really got the entire crowd going, even those who weren't barracking for her. Plus, it takes a lot of talent to be able to swing that guitar around whilst spinning upside down on a pole and still be able to catch it in front of you!

Taking out the title of course was Felix Cane, like I said before, I would have hated to have been competing this year, Felix is just... well... a freak of nature. Felix did her Worlds routine, albeit a little bit different. She was just as great despite being extremely jet lagged and having to perform last, know one else would of course have wanted to perform after her!

This year's MPD saw a lot of new girls taking to the stage and the one to look out for next year I think is Carlie. Even though she isn't new to the comp world, having just recently competed in APDC at Brisbane in August, I think she's definately going to put up some mea competition next year with that insane triple chopper!

MPD was also graced with Miss Suzie Q, now I might be a tad biased, but everytime I watch Suzie dance she makes me smile, and this year she made me cry! Besides Felix, Suzie has the most polished tricks, most powerful stage presence, but she even has the most creative, original, and entertaining theme shows.

It's funny reading all the post MPD facebook status updates, all with a common theme of being able to eat ice-cream and drink wine again. I won't get into what happened at the after party, but let's just say, when you've locked up a crazy party girl like Daisy for three months, when you let her out again, handstands in random laps is what you get. For Chelle however, post MPD meant going to the hospital (the day after the after party of course, she powered on for that!) - she danced with a septic knee - I think that alone deserves a title.

Here's the intro of the night which showed how massive MPD has become over just the last 5 years: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JlyqmrxSWGs

Felix Cane, Sexpo Pole Competition, and the APDC DVD Launch!

You'd have to be living under one big rock if your even somewhat remotely interested in pole dancing to not know that Felix Cane successfully defender her title and is the World Champion 2010, winning the World Pole Sport and Fitness Championship over the weekend. If you haven't already seen her performance, here it is:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rO_9wLHdj0

If one day you hope to be the next Felix Cane then why don't you start your competition career at the Sexpo Pole Competition! Here are all the details for the Sydney heats over October 14 to 17:

Thursday HEATS @ 4.15
Saturday HEATS @ 3.15
Sunday FINALS @ 6.15

- Maximum 4 people per heat
- Routines to be between 2-2.5 minutes
- Bring your own music on CD (with name clearly written on it) or DJ can play from play-list

Judging Criteria

* Performers will be judged on four categories giving a total of 30 points.

The categories are: Presentation (5), Execution (10), Dance (10) and Stage Presence (5).

o Presentation refers to the performer's costume, theme and interpretation of theme/music,
o Execution refers to ability of the performer to execute her pole tricks flawlessly,
o Dance refers to the performer's ability to connect pole moves and also perform away from the pole,
o Stage Presence refers to the performer’s "X-Factor" - did the performance grab the attention of the audience?

* The winner is not necessarily the one who can perform the best pole moves, but rather who can perform the best Pole Show. This allows for Beginners to compete against more Advanced pole dancers

* Entrants may not communicate with members of the judging panel before or during the competition.

Winner receives return flights and accommodation to compete in Melbourne Sexpo to compete in the Sexpo National Pole Competition finals on November 28th PLUS hundreds of dollars worth of prizes and goodies from our lovely sponsors.

Contact Nat at Girlfriend Fun and Fitness/Pure Pole Academy to enter
Email- info@purepoleacademy.com
Mobile- 0410809149

If however you'd rather be a spectator than a competitor, the Asia-Pacific Pole Dance Championships 2010 DVD is due for release on Monday October 11! This one and a half hour DVD includes features such as the 2009 APD Fuel TV Fox Sports special if you missed it when it was on earlier this year, and also special guest performances from the night!

To order your copy go to www.australianpoledance.com

Miss Pole Dance Australia 2011 Teaser

To get you just that little bit more excited about Miss Pole Dance Australia 2011, which is only a few weeks away, here are some of the competitors! More to come!

Chelle: Miss Pole Dance Queensland 2011



Miss Filly (VIC)



Lou (VIC)



Fontaine (VIC)