PoleArt 2012 videos are here!

If you didn't make it to Stockholm and even missed out on the live stream provided by Poleranking (what's your excuse?) you can now watch the videos here. You definitely should, as PoleArt 2012 exceeded at least all my expectations - and that is saying something!

As you will know by now, Oona Kivelä won for the third time, followed by Natasha Wang as a runner-up. In the male category Saulo Sarmiento won, followed by a tie between Evgeny Greshylov and Steven Retchless.

In evaluation, equal emphasis was put on technical difficulty, execution, choreography and originality. The judges seemed to be as overwhelmed as the audience. Lu Nagata admitted that some artists brought her to tears and Anna de Carvalho commented that there was a lot of originality and many elements that had not been seen before. Serena Mon De Vienne told us how glad she was to see contestants trying to explore their own dance. She also said the evolution in pole dance has been so fast that it seems like 10 years have passed in the short history of PoleArt. It was Marina Cavallini who captured my thoughts the best using the word contemporary. She said the pieces were very strong, impressive, professional, breathtaking - and more contemporary than we have ever seen before.

I couldn't agree more - and couldn't be happier about it! This year was exactly what PoleArt is about. The venue, Göta Lejon theater from the 1920s, was stylish and exactly right for this event, and many performers seemed to have found the pole dancer in them. Many pieces were contemporary dance where pole was just one element of the dance. Patryk Rybarski, Evgeny Greshylov, Oona Kivelä and Laurence Hilsum all had dubstep(ish elements) in their music and showed some locking (or vogueing) moves, very trendy. There are always top tricks in all competitions. In last year's PoleArt the shoulder mount - outvert -flip was all the rage, this year we saw several starfish and chopsticks.

Below are Poleranking's YouTube videos with my comments - Please note that they are my personal opinions and feel free to comment and discuss! The videos are in the same order as they were performed in Stockholm. The first posts contain the first half of the videos, watch this space for my take on the remaining half!

Intellego Pole Company started the night with a performance that I personally found a bit disappointing - after their captivating performance in PoleArt 2011 my expectations were sky high. Their performance was called Female Exhaustion and called for freedom and democracy. I couldn't help but think about Pussy Riot in Russia. Very contemporary.

Patryk Rybarski still is a Dancer with a capital D. He danced to dubstep and showed us some cool locking moves, but his pole technique is still not quite clean. At the end of his act the poles seemed to be a bit too slippery for him and we even witnessed the only ass wipe of the night. But when he masters his pole technique in a year or two, there will be no stopping this guy. Can't wait.

Tracey Simmonds had a fierce look - Lisbeth Salander (of Stieg Larsson's Millennium trilogy) instantly came to mind, not a bad look for a competition in Sweden. Tracey didn't disappoint with her unique trick combos and solid floorwork.

Rafaela Montanaro started with a super strong one-handed handstand. The latin pop song she used was tacky but the rhythm sure was catchy. This style is what Rafaela does best, the same thing she always seems to do, but maybe it isn't right for PoleArt. However, I've never seen a pole dancer put more clothes on in the middle of her performance, so that was original. Take a look at the one-minute solid aysha combo in the end!

Phoenix Kazree blew our minds away with her mesmerizing performance. She portrayed pain or hurt, a classic theme, but she did it beautifully. One of the most contemporary pieces of a contemporary night.

Go to Poleranking.com to see read the entire post and see the rest of the videos! You don't need to register to view the post and the videos, but please do and share your opinions!

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IPC 2012 IWD edition, a.k.a. Boys, Boys, Boys

IPDFA's International Pole Championship 2012 in Hong Kong are only a week away. Now we all know that Oona Kivelä is competing there, certainly about to make us Finns proud once again, like she did in Rio. But since it's International Women's Day, let's take a look at the male contestants first.

The seven male contestants in random order are David Helmen and Chris Measday from Australia, Job Bautista from the Philippines, Colombian Wilson Alexander, Adam Tan from Malaysia, Polish Patryk Rybarski and French Saulo Sarmiento.

It's International Women's Day. Here's a picture of Saulo Sarmiento for you that has nothing to do with pole dancing.

David Helmen originates from Israel, where he studied classical ballet from the tender age of six. He moved to a yoga ashram in New York at sixteen and became a yoga instructor. David has been training aerial acrobatics in Australia for six years. Ballet, yoga and aerial acrobatics - Talk about a perfect background for the pole! David placed third in Asia Pacific Pole Championships in 2011, after only a year of pole dancing. You can see in this video that his pole tricks were still not perfect back then, but he has had over six months to hone his skills. Ballet dancer or not, I'm hoping he'll go for something less tacky than Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake this time.

Chris Measday has been pole dancing for five years and made it to the Asia Pacific PC final three times, but apparently he still won't take his pants off. The result is impressive but not very original tricks that rely solely on his upper body strength. Unfortunately you can also see that he doesn't have much of a dance background, and the choice of song (Linkin Park from the Twilight soundtrack) makes Tchaikovsky seem like a brilliant idea. See his entry here.

Job, a.k.a. AJ Bautista won the Singapore Pole Challenge in 2011. Not a major event judging by the
ambience, and the choreography looks more like a freestyle, but you couldn't tell that he first started dancing as an adult. But guys, lose the pants, it's really good for grip.

Looking at Wilson Alexander's entry video I'm willing to take back my comment on the pants. At least, if you could find something else than Speedos, please. Wilson, an artistic gymnast, has learned pole dancing impressively in only ten months, but all the jades and allegras and what not leave me wanting for some masculinity. Even though you're pole dancing, you can still be a man!

Adam Tan has been training for three years: dancing, mostly hip hop, and pole dancing as well. He does look cool, but in his trainers (!) and jeans he might prefer a Chinese pole. If you watch his entry video, take a look at his Iron-X:s. Me too, Adam, I'm still struggling to hold them myself.

Patryk Rybarski is a Dancer with a capital D. Watching his video I find myself hoping that he wouldn't head straight back to the pole but keep on dancing instead. He's not bad on the pole, it's just that he is not extraordinary either. And his choice of song, Adam Lambert, makes the Twilight soundtrack seen like a classy choice...

Saulo Sarmiento, originally from the Canary Islands, started training gymnastics and dance 11 years ago and is my vote for the winner of IPC's male category this year. Check out his video and judge for yourselves. Last year he won the Compétition Francaise de Pole Dance. It's a shame Edouard Doyé wasn't in that competition, though, and it's a shame he's not in this one, either.

I have to say that I'm a tad disappointed with the male contestants in Hong Kong. They are obviously talented, it just seems that it's too early for some of them to be in a major international competition. The hilarious and über-talented Steven Retchless and the superb Edouard Doyé where both here in Helsinki, competing in PoleArt last October. None of the guys above reach their level. It just goes to show: Hong Kong, Shmong Kong, Helsinki IS the pole dancing capital of the world!


Tankotanssin maailmanlaajuiset IPC 2012 -kisat pidetään viikon päästä Hong Kongissa. Naistenpäivän kunniaksi pieni katsaus miesten sarjan kisailijoihin, joiden taso ei mielestäni kuitenkaan ole yhtä hyvä kuin Helsingissä pidetyssä PoleArtissa lokakuussa 2011.

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