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History of Pole Dancing Pole Dancing - The Very Beginnings Early stories tell of African tribal rituals in which betrothed women would dance provocatively around a wooden phallus. The dance was designed to show their future husbands how they wanted to be made love to. Another example of ancient pole dancing is the Maypole dance, which dates back to the 12th century. Originally a pagan celebration of fertility, the Maypole is also a phallic symbol. Brace yourselves now, but Maypole festivals typically included an orgiastic feast at which lovers were encouraged to make love in public! The Maypole tradition lives on, but the public sex bit is usually omitted. When the Victorians got their hands on it, they transformed it into something a little tamer. Mallakhamb is an Indian sport where tricks are performed on a wooden pole. It also possibly dates back to the 12th Century, and was revived in the 19th Century. The English translation of Mallakhamb is "pole gymnastics." The pole used in Chinese Pole more closely resemble the poles used in modern day pole dance. However, these poles are often covered in rubber to allow performers to "stick" better. These two sports are generally male-dominated. One Eye Tommy Fallon During the Great Depression in the 1920s in the US, travelling fairs were a common sight as they toured the country. Small side show tents with a stage would feature dancing girls as the main attraction. These girls would perform erotic bump and grind dances whilst using the tent poles as support. Such dances were called "Hoochie Coochie" dances, sexually provocative and soon to become wildly popular. It's widely believed that the first real pole dance was performed by a dancer named Princess Pat, who worked for One Eye Tommy Fallon and Mom Fallon. Chinese Poles Worth a mention here are Chinese Poles, though performers who used them did not perform their routines in an erotic way. Circus performers would climb up, slide down and hold poses on the poles. Some of the tricks the Chinese Pole dancers performed have been incorporated into modern erotic pole dancing. Fawnia Dietrich opened the first exotic dance school in Canada in 1994. Sheila Kelley followed suit by opening multiple studios in the United States after training in exotic dance for a movie released in 2000. Strangely, although exotic pole dance appears to have originated in Canada and the United States, pole sisters in many parts of Europe and Australia seem to have an easier time being accepted. It is not clear when pole dancing became popular in the UK and Australia but some of the most talented pole dance professionals have come from those parts of the world. Pole dancing as we know it today involves dancing around a vertical pole. The old ancient strip tease became a forerunner to the modern updated variation. Pole dancing provides a display of acrobatics and strength, combined with a combination of sensual, flowing, feminine dance movements to form the art of pole dancing we now know and recognize. The modern form of pole dancing has only been documented since the 1980's. Only in recent years has pole dancing become more acceptable. The stigma attached to this art may be one of the reasons why the dance appears to have little history documented and appears to have been 'underground' for many years. |
If you have any medical conditions, injuries or are worried about any aspect of your health that may prevent you from doing physical activity you must consult your doctor prior to attending any class. Please advise your instructor of any health conditions at the start of the class. All participants must sign a disclaimer to waive liability before starting a class or course. Participants between the age of 16 and 18 years must have consent from a parent or guardian.