- This is pole dancing (a special pole) with elements of acrobatics. Many people confuse this direction with striptease, which is wrong. In fact, Pole dancing is a type of fitness and it can rightly be called a separate species sports.
Features of Pole dance
When performing stunts, a sports equipment called a pylon is used. Pole dance combines the following areas:
- Pole Art(performing artistic tricks, artistic performance, using special costumes);
- Pole Sport(priority is given to complex physical exercise and tricks);
- Exotic Pole dance(less tricks, more plasticity, choreography);
- Pole Fitness(includes sets of exercises for the development of both muscles and plasticity).
Pole exercises are quite hard and challenging. They can only be performed after lengthy preparation and muscle pumping. Not every athlete succeeds acrobatic stunts on a pole, because you need to hover in the air at a level of 1.5-2 m above the floor. Basic elements: pole climbs, twists, dance steps, hangs. Pole dancing is constantly being improved, new exercises and tricks appear that need to be mastered, which is why this area is becoming so popular, because you don’t have to stand still, you can improve.
Pole dance championships
Recently, more precisely since 2003, entire championships dedicated specifically to Pole dance began to be held. Sport program consists of three complexes: tricks on the upper level of the pylon, on the middle and on the lower level. The participant's program must include both acrobatics and plastic elements. Transitions between tricks must be clean, elements must be interconnected. Jury great attention pays attention to small details: the curve of the back, straight knees, elongated toes.
Many professional competitions prohibit the use of leather or latex clothing and shoes for strip dancers. The costume should not be erotic. It is not recommended to apply moisturizing oils with glitter to the skin, as this may cause irritation. It is forbidden to expose the body. Intimate gestures and erotic poses are also prohibited. Such restrictions are introduced with the aim of separating Pole dance from striptease and placing the emphasis not on sexuality, but on athleticism. In most cases, competitions are held among girls, but there are also men's groups.
The passion of many athletes for Pole dance led to the creation of international organizations, uniting lovers of this type of acrobatics. The issue of including pole dancing in the list of Olympic sports is currently being considered.
Myslo talked to Victoria Tsybulskaya, who has been confidently developing in the Tula region for many years pole dance as a sports direction.
Everything depends solely on the person who comes to study, and on what tasks he sets for himself,” says Victoria. - If you want a dance, there will be a dance for you, but if you take it seriously, you can practice really professionally.
Pole dance is a young and very democratic sports and dance direction in Russia. It is not yet officially recognized as a sport in our country, and this probably gives, in some sense, more freedom to all pole dancers. There are different categories, for example, “exotic” - this one is about dancing in high heels (yes, the same ones that everyone was thinking about), and there is “sport” - these are basically various power tricks.
In both cases, flexibility, stretching, plasticity are needed, but unlike many professional types sports, Pole dance welcomes everyone, regardless of age and gender.
Victoria is a choreographer by training, graduated from the Oryol Institute of Culture, in parallel with her studies she worked in pop ballet, after graduating in Tula she taught in various dance studios.
Pole came into her life spontaneously: she saw a beautiful video of a girl on a pole and wanted to do the same. Seven years later, she is already a professional athlete and coach; she and her students are participants and winners of festivals and championships, including Catwalk Dance Festival and Amazing Pole Championship.
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This year she participated for the first time in the Russian Championship Pole sports Russia 2019, where she took fourth place in the “Sport” category.
At first, pole dancing was more of a hobby, but after studying for a year, I realized that I was really good at it, but most importantly, this is exactly what I really want to do next on a professional level.
Having specialized education, I passed additional courses and became a coach. But I wasn’t going to stop there and constantly studied videos of various elements performed by famous half-dancers, tried to repeat them, and looked for master classes.
This is pain, these are worn out feet, calluses, but the end result always gave me satisfaction from what I was able to do and what I learned.
For me personally, pole sport (I’ll call it that) opened up a whole world of limitless possibilities of the human body. There was a sense of developing my own physical abilities, having been engaged in choreography for so many years, I could not boast of ideal splits and flexibility, and at the age of 25 I discovered new meaning for personal development, and subsequently for the development of their students.
Yulia Kuznetsova is one of Victoria's students. Came four years ago. Like many, I learned about this sport from friends - a friend was practicing on the pole and suggested I try it.
From the very first lesson I fell in love with pole dancing and now I can’t stop. It is a pity that many people still perceive pole training as erotic, striptease - a terrible word. We have to explain to everyone that this is a sport, a cool sport, it is strength, endurance, flexibility, that this is not pole dancing with stripping.
For me, this is a strength sport, it gave me a toned figure, strength, I can now do many exercises better than men who go to the gym.
If we talk about the level of development of this sport in Tula, in general there are quite a lot of schools, but finding a truly professional coach who is constantly developing himself and finding something new was not easy. But in the end I found him,” says Yulia Kuznetsova.
Today, thousands of people practice pole dancing professionally or just for themselves. The big advantage of this sport is that it has no age limits; it’s never too late to get into it.
Today, many people prefer pole dancing to classes in fitness clubs. Why? Because in each lesson, when performing elements on the pole, a load is given to all muscle groups, in addition to this, flexibility, plasticity, and stretching are developed. That is, in 1.5 hours of training you get everything that in other cases you can get if you take subscriptions to Pilates, fitness and a dance studio.
Age and physical fitness do not play any role in pole dancing. At the first training sessions, competent studios necessarily include an initial level, general physical training, and stretching classes, which in turn helps prepare anyone who comes for the upcoming loads on the pole. In general, I can say one thing: it’s not scary to start pole dancing with any level of training, any training involves physical activity, to which the body gets used to over time.
A clear confirmation that pole dancing has no age barriers is a 55-year-old woman from Tula . Today she is one of Victoria Tsybulskaya’s students. She first came to train in a pole dance group at the age of 51!
I was sent an invitation to the group of one of the pole dance schools on the social network. I only learned that the pole rotates during the first training session. Before that I had never even heard of this sport, which immediately struck me with its beauty. Only age stopped me. But after trying it once, I realized that I could handle it, although it wasn’t easy.
Today, for me, pole dancing is, first of all, a complete reboot, an escape from stress.
No matter what happens in life, no matter what serious problems arise, training makes you switch off from everything and fully concentrate on performing the trick. After it you leave with slight fatigue in your body, a bright soul and in good mood. Being in excellent physical shape is just an added bonus for me. Now I have developed a kind of addiction; I can no longer imagine life without training on the pole. Currently I train five times a week, three of them under the guidance of Victoria Tsybulskaya. Athletes strive to train with those who are stronger; this gives tangible progress. Vika believes in her students, this helps a lot. Each workout becomes not just interesting, it becomes exciting, you want to do it, come again and again.
A large number of people aged 30 and older come to the pole, and this indicates the accessibility and popularity of this area. If we are not talking about sports achievements, but specifically about training for health, to improve physical fitness, then there are no restrictions, only desire and interest. The uniqueness of pole dancing is that it is accessible to everyone, at any age and with any body type, men or women, children and adults. Especially now children's pole sport is developing, a lot of men also choose for themselves this type sports.
In fact, if we put aside stereotypes, this is a very masculine sport. They have their own set of tricks, in some parts close to workout. Just look on the Internet for examples of men performing at professional pole dance competitions, and you will understand that it is really cool, difficult, strong and exciting.
Even though pole sport is not an official sport, there are federations around the world. They hold championships with the goal of recognizing this sport as official and Olympic, and in any case, it’s a matter of time, says Victoria. - For us, athletes and pole dance coaches, it is very important to convey to everyone that a pole is a sports equipment that has its own standards, special coating, diameter and height. We train in shorts and tops in accordance with safety precautions, since we need skin to adhere to the pole. Pole sport has no connection with nightclubs, it is physical work akin to sports acrobatics.
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In Tula, many dance studios today offer pole classes. But how to choose the one where they will really teach? Firstly, the studio must have professional equipment - two-phase pylons (static and dynamic). Some schools, unfortunately, sin and install an ordinary pipe instead of a pylon, but with it it is impossible to fully master this sport and understand all its beauty. Secondly, the professionalism of the coach: if he and his students regularly participate in various competitions and festivals, it means that he strives to be in trend. Many schools today offer free trial classes to new member could understand not in words, but in deeds, what pole dancing is.
Greetings to all readers of my blog! You and I already know the name of pole dance (), and today I will talk about the direction of dance Pole Dance - Pole sport and its features.
Pole dancing - what are the dance directions called?
Each of you, in search of an answer to what pole dancing is called, will find out that Pole Dance has several directions. And a novice athlete, making his first successes, wonders which style to classify himself as.
Sometimes it can be very sad to see how beginner dancers, in an attempt to imitate the success of others, put on other people's images and styles. 
Copying idols crosses out one's own individuality and uniqueness, not allowing one's talent to show itself in all its glory.
Paul Dance is a young direction in dance, it has no rigid frames and boundaries, it develops naturally, the rules of style in it are formed by the dancers themselves - this is strength and passion, plasticity and grace. This is how the directions Pole art, Exotic pole dance and Pole sport appeared.
It is very important to choose a direction close to the dancer, in which you can reveal yourself, devote yourself to music and dance, and form your own style.
Pole sport (Pole sport) - pole acrobatics in Pole Dance
Pole sport, pole acrobatics or Pole Acrobatic - this direction is characterized by complex acrobatic tricks. The main emphasis in Pole sport is on strength, endurance and flexibility. Participants in this category complete a program whose main components are:
- acrobatic composition;
- elements on a static pylon;
- elements on a rotating pylon;
- dance on the ground.
Elements performed on the ground are, for the most part, inextricably linked with the pole. Participants are required to have high performance technique, the ability to perform acrobatic tricks connected in one long chain without touching the floor in between, while maintaining the integrity of the composition, which has a clearly defined beginning and end. Transitions between pylons must fit into big picture dance, and also have an acrobatic design.
One of the common mistakes of athletes preparing their first programs for performances is saturating the program with complex tricks. I urge you to abandon excessive haste: be prudent and consistent - use in the dance only those elements that you are confident will be performed perfectly.
In the Pole Sport direction there are clear requirements for the presence and number of elements various groups– for stretching (splits), flexibility, jumping elements, flips, power tricks, cliffs, rotations and twists. When evaluating an athlete, the technique of performing tricks, their combination (connections), as well as choreography, artistry and integrity of the image are taken into account.
Often in the field of Pole Sport, the rules of the competition clearly stipulate certain requirements that affect the assessment (failure to comply with the requirements leads to the accrual of penalty points):
- number of elements in a bundle (both on a static and rotating pylon);
- number of floor touches;
- the number of times the athlete can completely release the pole.
I would like to note that the men's nomination is equal to the women's nomination. Male athletes must also 
demonstrate the ability to perform elements of various groups connected into bundles, while maintaining the integrity of the image. The difference is that in the men's category the requirements listed above are more stringent.
The Pole sport (Pole Acrobatic) direction is distinguished by restraint - there are no special requirements for shoes, but it is forbidden to use props or remove parts of the costume during the dance. Performing complex acrobatic elements determines the requirements for appearance participant - hair removed, no unwoven elements of the hairstyle, jewelry - stud earrings, clothing - top and shorts or a sports swimsuit.
However, you shouldn’t think that Pole sport is available only to trained athletes - minimal physical training and a desire to dance: that’s all a beginner pole dancer needs, everything else will come in training. Of course, you won’t do complex tricks right away; everything takes time. Very soon, having learned the first elements and combinations, you will be able to show your first dance.
If you want to compete and achieve success, my advice to you is - in addition to the pole, give yourself additional loads - attend Gym, complex stretching workouts. Also alternate physical training with cardio exercises. This will develop the stamina necessary to withstand the pressure of a competition program, as well as add lightness and grace to the dance.
How to dance the best dance, or one success story in the Pole Sport nomination
In today’s article, I have prepared for you an interesting video performance of an athlete in the Pole Sport style at the All-Russian Pole Star Championship, Samara 2016. I witnessed the birth and evolution of this athlete. It was a long and difficult path: the birth of an idea, the creation of an image, the selection of a musical composition, changes in mood and the constant search for “oneself,” regular training and strength training - I saw all this with my own eyes. And as a result - victory over oneself and an amazing performance that touches to the core: a technical, complex, holistic, artistic performance that evokes my delight.
You can become as good as you want.
The main thing is to work hard and believe in yourself.Scott Adkins
Yes, this is not a beginner in his field... but this person, like me and you, my dear readers, once came to training for the first time and discovered “his” style of Pole Dance. I have always admired her endurance, perseverance and dedication to training. Repeating the same trick until it is performed perfectly. Then the construction and arrangement of elements on musical composition, honing the elements together - everything as a single whole, maintaining one style and image.
So, are you ready? Before you Anna - for me personally, perfect example formation and disclosure of personality, athlete and dancer.
Unfortunately, in the video you won’t be able to hear how the whole team supports the athlete! Team spirit is a special atmosphere and experience; this is a separate topic to which I plan to devote a separate article. These are simply indescribable emotions when you worry about each participant as if you were yourself. Anna, I repeat once again: I admire this number, the revealed image and the work of your coach.
Pole sport – choice of dance direction
To achieve good results, it is very important to choose the right direction. 
When deciding what style you want to dance in, listen to yourself, to your body. Think about what is closer to you: Artistic Pole will require artistry, the ability to convey the created image through dance. Exotic Pole – for the flexible, flexible and passionate. If you are fast and resilient, you can perform trick after trick throughout the dance - Pole sport is your direction. Every dancer and athlete is unique: some are flexible and restrained, others are active and hardy, so choose a direction based on your data, then you will achieve real heights.
Whatever direction you choose, do not forget that Paul Dance is a dance, and music is its essence: acrobatic tricks should be laconically intertwined with the melody of the dance. Learn to feel the music and transmit its energy with your body.
Pole Dance is a magnificent show, a demonstration of amazing human capabilities, a dance that defies the law of gravity.
Once you wondered what pole dancing is called, and out of curiosity came to the gym to understand what Pole Sport or Exotic Pole is, you will forever love this dance. And there is no need to be afraid - everything will work out for you.
Today, the variety of trends in dance and fitness is simply amazing. However, everything more girls wondering what pole dancing is called. This type of art is called pole dancing. Despite the modernity of the term, dance has very ancient origins and represents a whole science about the culture of the dancer’s body.
Pole dance: a brief historical excursion
The reputation of pole dancing is questionable for many, because such an “activity” resembles a striptease. However, it is important to understand that pole dancing is a dance-sports discipline whose history dates back several thousand years ago.
Mentions of a pole used for training and ritual dance rites were found in Sumerian, Roman, and Egyptian culture. However, back in the 12th century BC, such a practice was one of the varieties of yoga. At that time in India, the pole was also used to train strength and endurance in young people.
Circus art can be called a separate page in the history of pole dancing. Having adopted centuries-old experience of working with a pole from ancient civilizations, acrobats used this instrument to perform complex tricks. Many of the circus elements are still included in pole dancing, making the performances truly mesmerizing and spectacular.
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As you know, pole dance techniques are also used by striptease dancers seeking to improve the level of performance of their routines. Meanwhile, these two directions are connected with each other only indirectly. Connoisseurs of pole dancing never tire of emphasizing the independence of this discipline.
Practice and componentspole dance
For a beginning dancer, it is not only important to know what pole dancing is called, but also to understand the elements and directions of this art. Many may have noticed the “vertical” orientation of this dance, because the entire number is built around a pole, and not in a horizontally oriented plane. In this regard, there are several levels in which a dancer can work:
- the lower level, which involves dancing on the floor near a pole;
- intermediate level, including various rotations, fly-bys and other elements aimed at demonstrating the performer’s plasticity and flexibility;
- the upper level, which involves performing elements and tricks at the top of the pylon.
The levels are divided not only by the distance of the dancer from the ground, but also by the degree of complexity and danger of the tricks.
Classes, as a rule, include a whole range of disciplines aimed at developing the physical and artistic abilities of the dancer. Many of these are separate dance styles, elements of which are used when staging pole dance routines. So, the studio can teach:
- classics, that is, work at the machine;
- stretching;
- strip plastic;
- go-go dance;
- Pilates;
- power training.
As in any other sports and dance discipline, special competitions are held in pole dancing. Dancers are judged in two categories - artistic and fitness. Thus, both the physical and creative components of this art are important.
If we talk about the artistic aspect, then a variety of elements are used, including ultra-popular ones. In this regard, many aspiring pole dance performers are interested in what the dance is called when they shake their butt. Most likely, this refers to the so-called booty dance and twerk. These directions primarily involve the performer's hips and buttocks. The techniques of such dances of African origin are often used today in dance numbers on the pylon.
In addition to direct practice of “communicating” with the pole, future dancers need to develop a lot of skills. The external ease of dance performance by masters actually hides enormous work and perseverance. Before starting to master truly complex elements, a dancer must thoroughly work on the following aspects of the development of his body:
- endurance;
- flexibility;
- plastic;
- coordination;
- agility.
Very often the heavy load falls on shoulder girdle and arm muscles. Every now and then the performer has to support his own body weight on the pole. In addition, during pole dancing classes you need to work hard on developing the muscles of your back, abs and legs. In other words, pole dancing involves the complex development of the human body, his sense of space and creative thinking.
I have been doing pole dancing for almost three and a half years, and throughout this time some people have been very persistent in trying to prove that my hobby and striptease can and should be equated. Previously, of course, this bothered me, but then I realized: most people only know about pole dancing that a pylon (pole) is used for it. What do they associate with the pole? That's right, striptease.
Below my photos in in social networks Quite unpleasant comments have appeared more than once, because the stereotypical idea that half-dancers are completely engaged in debauchery is still quite common. But it would seem that pole dancing has long since come out of the shadows and become one of the sports (officially - since October 2, 2017).
I always knew: half-dance is a dance, and dancing is an art. And I have always been fascinated by dancing. When I saw what the half-dancers were doing, I decided that I wanted it too.
It took about a year for my “I want” to turn into “I do.” There were some fears and doubts, which, by the way, other newcomers with whom I spoke also had. Basically they were formulated in the form of the phrase “I can’t, I have weak hands, weak muscles press, not a good figure, and anyway, am I an acrobat or something?” Doubts disappeared when I saw Olga Koda’s number. Then the idea that in any case everyone starts somewhere took over, and I began to act: I found a school near my house, came to a trial lesson, all such a small and trembling schoolgirl, enthusiastically looking at the experienced dancers who were performing crazy tricks somewhere under the ceiling of the hall.
In the first lesson, all I did was walk around the pole and try to master the basic elements, for which my level of physical fitness was clearly not enough. But I didn’t give up - I really wanted to surprise myself and find out what I was capable of. I must say that I was surprised. We sometimes cannot even imagine what our body is capable of. I believed that hangs and handstands were for the elite. Now I understand that this is the lot of those who train hard.
After a couple of months, I could climb onto the pylon without any problems. Right up to the ceiling, what a joy it was! Six months later I learned the basic tricks. And to those who say that pole dancing is just “walk around the pole and slowly take off your clothes,” I answer: you are wrong (I would have expressed it much more sharply before).
Firstly, pole dancing does not involve undressing. Exposing certain parts of the body (arms, legs, back) is allowed solely to improve grip on the pole. In other words, in ordinary clothes you will simply slide down the smooth steel stick and hurt yourself.
But dancers don't wear shorts, revealing tops or swimsuits to seduce anyone.
Moreover, the rules of various competitions are strictly regulated: how much nudity is permissible, which suit can be worn and which cannot, how wide the gusset of shorts should be, etc. Yes, there is a separate direction in half-dance - pole exotic - where it is not tricks that come to the fore, but choreography, grace, and sensuality. However, total nudity during performances is prohibited, which many people do not know.
In general, there is a lot in the history of pole dancing that people who are not involved in this area have hardly heard of. For example, the Indians originally used a pole, albeit a wooden one, as an equipment for yoga (12th century), and this discipline was called Mallakhamb (“pole gymnasts”). There was another one, which is more reminiscent modern dance on the pole, - Mallastambha (“pillar gymnasts”). The iron pole was used for Indian fighters to train their strength and agility. Some sources report that women in African and Indian tribes used a pylon or pole in their ritual dances. Previously, it embodied the symbol of masculinity, but then pole dancing also had a spiritual aspect.
For several centuries, half-dance developed only in the circus arena (it still exists today). In the second half of the 20th century, the “function” of pole dancing was seduction. Since the 1990s, the pole dance that we see now has appeared, and this is the merit of the Canadian Fonnier Munday, who recorded educational videos, thanks to which society learned about this dance direction.
Those who think that half-dancing is a sport exclusively for girls are mistaken.
The dance genre is represented by older women (Greta Pontarelli, well-known in this circle, is over 60 years old), and men (winner of the 2015 World Championships in Beijing Dmitry Politov, three-time world and Russian champion Evgeniy Greshilov) and even children (Emily Moskalenko). Most half dancers say: the main thing is not age (gender, profession), the main thing is desire.
There are very active performances in Russia and around the world to develop the sport and improve it; local and international organizations are appearing that pay attention to the promotion of dance, acrobatic and sports disciplines on the pole, and it’s somehow strange to think about the fact that pole dancers with their activities are trying to undermine the morality of society. Once I was lucky enough to talk with one of the most famous pole dancers, 2012 world champion Anastasia Skukhtorova, who admitted that she no longer even tries to convince others what the difference is between her favorite hobby and striptease: “In general, I heard that my videos are often show so that people themselves understand the difference. And it’s very nice.”