A friend of mine had been pole dancing for a while and kept putting up photos of her new moves on Facebook. It looked incredible and I could see how fit she was which made me want to give it a go. I didn’t know of anywhere to learn so the idea sort of went to the back of my mind until I saw the BUP stall at the societies fair at the beginning of my 3rd year in uni. I immediately signed up, only to be told that all the spaces had been filled! I was first on the waiting list in case someone dropped out, and luckily for me a week later I had a phone call telling me that a space had opened up for me! After my first lesson with Tracey (Pagan’s Pole) that was it, I was hooked. It rapidly became the highlight of my week, and I took every opportunity possible to practice. It wasn’t long until I purchased my very own pole so I could practice at home. Pole has given me so much confidence, not to mention my overall fitness! This is the only type of exercise that has ever been able to get me off the sofa and actually enjoy being active!
What made you decide to compete?
By nature I am quite competitive. But more than this, I just wanted more opportunities to practice and perform and really progress. The first competition I was in was the Inter Uni Comp in Essex. We had heats to decide who would perform, and I was lucky enough to be picked as part of the group we took. This was such a brilliant way to begin competing, as it meant that (being a beginner who had never performed before) I could rely on the advanced members of our group to lead the creation of the routine, having had experience of performing before. After this I got the taste for competing and couldn’t wait to do it again. The next competition I performed at was the All Wales Championships in Conwy. I didn’t compete this time, instead myself and my doubles partner opened the competition with doubles routine. This was such an honour for us, and it was such a thrill to be kicking off such a great competition. The next competition I am competing in is the Authentic Pole Competition in Wigan. This will be my first solo performance, which is both scary and exciting!
What do you get out of it?
It is such a good feeling to be standing on stage, gasping for breath and beaming from ear to ear as you hear the audience clapping and cheering you after a great performance. And nothing will get you more motivated to practice than knowing there is a competition fast approaching!
Do you have any advice for anyone just starting out?
It’s easy to be disheartened when you first start out, seeing other progressing faster than you or watching videos of incredible polers and thinking ‘I’ll never be that good’, but trust me, you’d be surprised. If you had told me when I first started that in a year and a half I would be able to half the things I can do then I would have probably just laughed. Don’t get me wrong, it will take a lot of work, and you’ll probably have days when you feel like you’re not progressing, but if you really want it, you’ll make it happen. And with just a little work you can see such massive accomplishments! So go for it, take a chance and you may surprise yourself!
Do you have advice for the advanced pole dancer?
Compete! You’ve clearly got the skills and dedication, or you wouldn’t have made it to this level. Just work hard, and never give up. This is just the beginning of an amazing journey!
