Friday fun: Animals pole dancing

No explanations needed. Enjoy the pictures.

Yeah, that looks more like Mallakhamb to me.

                                   

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"Pole dancing, huh? You must get a lot of 'oh so you're a stripper' -comments?"

I've been pole dancing for two years, and so far not a single person has mistaken me for a stripper. However, I've lost count how often I've heard "Pole dancing, huh? You must get a lot of 'oh so you're a stripper' -comments?" Basically what these people are saying is "I'm so civilized that I know pole dancing is a sport but I bet there are a lot of people that are less civilized than me". Without meaning to question anyone's level of sophistication: No, there aren't. Not here in Helsinki, anyway.

You would have had to live under a rock for the past two years in Finland to have missed Oona Kivelä's numerous appearances in magazines, newspapers, TV and radio and Henriikka Roo's performance's in Finland's Got Talent - She made it all the way to the final. And even if they had missed all that, people don't just randomly think that an educated professional all of a sudden starts working as a stripper and, moreover, enthuses about it over coffee. I'm glad you, Mr./Ms. Civilized realize it's a sport, but so does everybody else. Sure, strippers do pole dance, but so do managing directors. That doesn't make managing directors strippers nor strippers MDs.

What I actually get a lot is "Whoa, I know it's really good exercise, I've been wanting to try it for quite some time but haven't had the nerve. Where can I try it?"

End of idiotic stripper discussion.

Beware! You never know what will happen once you start pole dancing!

Kahden vuoden tankotanssikokemukseni mukaan tankotanssijoita, ainakaan allekirjoittanutta, ei todellakaan enää sekoiteta strippareihin, vaikka monet niin luulevatkin.

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IPC 2012 Ultimate Champion Night Out @GYMi

Watching breathtaking pole dancing performances in high definition and drinking bubbly - Not a bad way to spend a Saturday night. 

I promised you I'd visit GYMi this year, and an opportunity came up sooner than expected. This time I didn't go for a lesson, though, but instead to see all the 23 performances from International Pole Championship in Hong Kong. While we still have to wait for IPDFA to publish their videos, Oona Kivelä treated us to the videos her team had shot. It's a shame she can't publish them, and I won't pain you by describing the performances while you can't see them yet, but I will say this: The right people won.

I was surprised that Chris Measday won Ultimate Champion in Mens Division, over Wilson Alexander, but Mr. Measday simply owned the stage in his performance. Everything I said about him in my post about Mens Division still holds, but none of it mattered. Wilson Alexander had better technique and even better choreo, but you will know what I mean when you see the show Chris Measday put on. I couldn't stop laughing. If you haven't watched the sneak peaks from all performances yet, do it now.

Thank You Oona K. for inviting us over and congratulations once again!

Oona Kivelä, tankotanssin maailmanmestariksikin useassa yhteydessä tituleerattu IPC 2012 Ultimate Champion, näytti GYMillä videot kaikista 23 esityksestä, joita Hong Kongissa nähtiin. 

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Pole dancing in Tallinn

Pole Dance - It's Not Just For Strippers Anymore - holds true also in Tallinn. There were no platform heels or feather boas in sight at City Dance.

I travel to Tallinn, the capital of Estonia, a couple of times a year for work or just for fun and when a friend mentioned that she wants to check out the pole dancing scene there I was in. Elina goes to classes at Pole4Fit in Helsinki and also teaches there every now and then and she was looking for a place to work out at while studying in Tallinn.

Pole dancing, at least it's athletic variation, is only gaining popularity in Tallinn. City Dance was the most promising school we could find while searching online. The studio is only a 10-minute walk from Stockmann's, but it might be a tad difficult to find. I know this sounds bad, but when you see red lights, you've found the right place. The lights are architectural; inside it's fully lit and like any fitness center.

The school offers only two levels of pole technique classes, level 1 and level 2. We had no idea what they might include, but headed straight to the weekly level 2 class. The teacher, Oksana Veselova, apparently brought pole dancing to Estonia. After warming up we started doing one trick after another in quick progression: cupido to butterfly, shoulder mount to superman, scorpio-gemini-scorpio-scorpio-switches, iguana, bow and arrow, handspring, cartwheel mount - all on a spinning pole!

That's right, all the poles, eight in total, were 42mm spinning poles. They couldn't be made static at all, which turned out to be really good practice. But I still think it would be safer to practice new tricks on a static pole first. The ceiling was so low that I could touch it standing up and accidentally managed to kick it a couple of times.

I won't be surprised if City Dance soon features Elina as a workshop teacher!

There would have been a strip tease class right after the pole dance class, but unfortunately I had to catch the last ferry to Helsinki... I realized that I should have spent the night, had a nice dinner, stayed at a nice hotel, maybe had a massage the next day - Things that are still considerably cheaper in Tallinn than in Helsinki.

The Estonian Open Pole Dance & Fitness Championship 2012 will be held in May. The organizer is Estonian Pole Dance Union and they promote Papillon Spordiklubi which apparently has only recently started offering pole dancing with three poles.

When a pole dancing school advertises: "Surprise your man, learn sexy chair dance!"  you don't know whether you should take grip aids or fishnet stockings with you to class. Grip aids were the right choice for the pole technique class.

Tankotanssia voi harrastaa Tallinnassa City Dance -tanssikoululla. Kaikki kahdeksan tankoa ovat pyöriviä ja huone on hyvin matala, mutta 2-tason tunnilla tehtiin jo melko vaikeita liikkeitä - eikä kenelläkään ollut korkkareita!

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Friday fun: Mallakhamb

Mallakhamb is and an Indian sport, basically pole gymnastics on a vertical, wooden pole. It looks super impressive and videos of Mallakhamb players, as the are called, have been circulated at offices for some Friday fun. For pole dancers, however, Mallakhamb is more than viral videos. There are a lot of moves that pole dancers have picked up from either Mallakhamb or Chinese Pole. In the video below, you can see what pole dancers would call cupidos, ayshas and crusifixes. But take a look at what the first player does at 0:40. A shoulder mount, but instead of climbing up the pole he pushes his legs through and back down. Or how about that back flip straight into brass monkey at 1:40?

Eat this, Anastasia Shukhtorova.

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So You want to Pole Dance in Helsinki?

This photo from Pole4Fit's gallery illustrates how literally supportive Pole4Fit's teachers are.

As you know, I started pole dancing in March 2010 at Pole4Fit. Pasila was a convenient location for me; the studio is five minutes from the busiest railway station in Finland (three, if you're in a hurry to catch a train). Starting up, I had no idea I would become a member later on, but even back then I preferred Pole4Fit's fitness-oriented website. The oldest pole dancing school in Helsinki, Rock the Pole, seemed to convey a more sensual image. I soon learned that both schools have excellent teachers and that teachers and students from both schools have competed in Finnish Pole Dancing Championships - even though this year there were no less than six contestants from Pole4Fit and zero from Rock the Pole.

Oona Kivelä's GYMi had opened it's doors in January 2010, but I didn't learn that they have pole dancing for adults until I had already made myself home at Pole4Fit. I've been meaning to visit both Rock the Pole and GYMi so many times, and I hereby solemnly swear that I'll visit both this year, but until then I can only tell what the lessons are like at Pole4Fit.

Pole4Fit's pole dancing lessons are divided into levels 1-4. Anyone can go to a Poletech1 lesson with no previous experience, or take a 120-minute Fresh Start! course. If you already have pole dancing experience you can contact the school and let them know what you can do and they'll recommend suitable lessons for you. All the teachers, and pretty much all students, know English and are willing to help you out. You really don't have to know the funny local language to pole dance in Helsinki.

Pole4Fit has featured workshops with Tracey Simmonds (four times in total), Jenyne Butterfly, Pantera, Edouard Doyé, Michelle Stanek, Simona Martini (who visits somewhat regularly to teach ballet and pole choreo), Oona Kivelä and Anastasia Shukhtorova. Not bad considering the school opened in August 2009, only 2,5 years ago. Regular teachers include Anna-Katariina Koponen, Anne Laakkonen, Anna Lehtonen and Gaëlle, who by the way gives all her lessons in English, even though she knows Finnish as well and sometimes uses the Finnish names for tricks: "And then you go from kaksonen into vesimies"...

All the teachers are good. I'm not just saying this, they are. I tried naming my favourites but just ended up listing them all. They have high standards for teachers and apparently zero-tolerance for bitchiness. Safety comes first for all of them, which means comprehensive warm-ups and step-by-step guidance. Even though there are four different levels and even sub-levels such as 1-2 or Poletech 2 beginners, it doesn't mean that everyone does the same tricks. If you can't do the shoulder mount, for example, the teachers will show you how to start practicing for it so that you'll gain the required muscles for it and will eventually be able to do it safely.

Pole4Fit also offers pole choreo, pole spin, pole pilates, pole workout, ballet, show dance, aerial hoop and stretching classes and sometimes workshops in acrobatics, burlesque and chinese pole. I usually go to 3-5 lessons per week, sometimes as many as eight, but other than my membership and the friends that I've made there I have no connection to the place. This is not a paid advertisement, just an honest opinion from a very satisfied customer. And like said, I've heard great things about GYMi and Rock the Pole as well. We are just spoiled rotten here in Helsinki.

Helsingissä voi harrastaa tankotanssia Pole4Fitillä, Rock the Polella tai Oona Kivelän GYMillä. Itse olen käynyt kaksi vuotta Pole4Fitillä, jossa opettajat ovat todella päteviä ja mukavia, ja voin suositella sitä lämpimästi! Lupaan tämän vuoden aikana käydä myös Rock the Polella ja GYMillä!

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Two amazing years of pole dancing for yours truly

I don't have much of a background in sports. In fact, quite the opposite. I've always loved working out, and I tried a range of sports in my teens and twenties, but always had to drop out after a couple of months as I had severe, chronic pain in my lower back. I saw dozens of doctors, physiotherapists and what not and finally four years ago there was enough progress that I could start taking a weekly dance class and keep it up.

I know Oona Kivelä's mom through work and in January 2010 I happened to see her proudly showing this video from Oona's performance in PoleArt 2009 to a friend of hers.

I stood there mesmerized looking at the 2" display of her pocket camera. Amazing, I thought, but then I immediately felt sorry for myself that I could never do anything like that, thinking that pole dancing must require a background like Oona's (she's a former gymnast, as if you didn't know). 

I told my colleague/BFF about the video and she said that she's been dying to try pole dancing for quite some time. Her birthday was coming up and I decided to surprise her with a lesson, although I'm pretty sure she guessed when I asked her to take hotpants to work. Pole4Fit was conveniently located for us and I also liked their fitness-oriented web site better than Rock the Pole's, so that's where we headed. I took a painkiller beforehand and crossed my fingers that I'd make it through the lesson in one piece. Then our teacher Linda Helske walked in, put some Michael Jackson on and what followed were the most fun 60 minutes I'd had in a long time. My friend, a former gymnast, was clearly talented, doing an invert in the first lesson. But I was the one who was hooked.

I kept going back for more lessons, all the while thinking that I probably won't be able to do this for long so I shouldn't get too excited. I bought a 10-time ticket, then another one, then another one... After 6 months I bought my own Fitpole and 12 months in I realized that a membership would be cheaper than all those 10-time-tickets. My core muscles got stronger and my back a bit more flexible, and the formerly omnipresent back pain less and less frequent.

Fill in the blank: Pole dancing makes me feel like a ___________.

For my first pole dancing anniversary I made a Fitpole cake...

...But second anniversary calls for some champagne! Just remember kids, don't drink and pole dance!

Kaksi uskomatonta vuotta tankotanssia takana! Oonan videosta innostuneena vein voimistelua harrastaneen ystäväni Pole4Fitille synttäriyllärinä, mutta koukkuun jäinkin minä...

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IPC 2012 video sneak peaks from Hong Kong

Apparently we have to wait two months for full videos of the performances in International Pole Championship 2012, which will then be published only at their own site. Luckily Poleranking has treated us to two exclusive previews.

One with previews of all the performances 

and another with focus on the Ultimate Champion (don't you just love that title?) Oona Kivelä

Oona's victory was notified by German Spiegel Online and Danish News Break but apparently in the Ultimate Champion's native Finland only Voice found it interesting enough for their website - Despite statements and video clips sent to all media. I guess all the space was required for other Finnish athletes such as Kimi Räikkönen who qualified 18th in the Australian formula1 GP - right before another Finn Heikki Kovalainen who held his own at 19th.

Joudumme ilmeisesti odottamaan Hong Kongin esitysvideoita kaksi kuukautta, mutta tässä hieman esimakua Polerankingin tarjoamana!

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Friday fun: Pole bruise map

When I went for my first pole dancing lesson ever this picture was taped to the wall in Pole4Fit's hallway. I studied it waiting for the lesson to start, thinking it was just a joke. Well, the funniest jokes always pertain to real life, don't they? After the first lesson I was already sporting bruises on my inner calves and foot arches. Since then I've had almost all the bruises in the map and many more. I think the only one I haven't had is one on my forehead, but I did have an imposing bump and bruise on my chin for weeks after a brass monkey gone wrong.

Pole burn, "the mark of recognition" on my wrist will probably never heal, but to me that's more beautiful and tells more about me as a person than any tattoo ever could.
(OK, basically it just tells that I hold on to the pole too tight in certain advanced spins...)

I'm sorry that I can't give credit to whoever originally draw this map. If you happen to read this: Thank you!

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IPC 2012 results are here! Yet another win for Oona Kivelä!

Photo: www.oonak.com

I've written about Womens Division, Mens Division and competition order in Hong Kong, but now I have something truly interesting to share with you: The results!

Straight to point:

Womens Division Ultimate Champion: Oona Kivelä (Editor's note: !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

Mens Division Ultimate Champion: Chris Measday

Doubles Ultimate Champion: Carlie & Travis

Disabled Division Winner: Deb Roach 

Doubles Division Pole Art winner: Masayo & Kazuya

Womens Division Pole Art winner: Laurence Hilsum
Womens Division Pole Art 1st runner-up: Zoraya Judd

Mens Division Pole Art Winner: Wilson Alexander 
Mens Division Pole Art 1st runner-up: Patryk Rybarski

Doubles Division Winner: Enchanted
Doubles Division 1st runner-up: Matty & Shimmy

Womens Division Pole Fit Winner: Rafaela Montanaro
Womens Division Pole Fit 1st runner-up: Tracey Simmonds

Mens Division Pole Fit Winner: Adam Tan
Mens Division Pole Fit 1st runner-up: Job Bautista

Other titles included:
Pole idol (Internet votes): Wilson Alexander (Editor's note: It must have been the Speedos...)
IPDFA Pole industry award: Kate (UK)
IPDFA Choreographer of the year: Kelly & Charlie
IPDFA Instructor of the year: Elena Gibson
IPDFA Studio of the year: BeSpun (Editor's note: I have to get there one day!)

Thank you Poleranking once again for being the first (and only!) source with up-to-date information!

Like I already lamented, we apparently have to wait two months for videos... Welcome to 2012, IPDFA! Can you think of any other sport where this would be acceptable?

P.S. Greetings from Tallinn! I'm on my way to a pole dancing lesson here... I promise to tell you all about it later!

JEEEE HYVÄ SUOMI!! HYVÄ OONA KIVELÄ!!!

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IPC 2012 in Hong Kong tomorrow

Tomorrow, ladies and gentleman, it's finally time for the long-awaited International Pole Championships in Hong Kong. The competition's own site hasn't been updated for a while, but luckily one can count on Poleranking to know, and share, what's going on in international competitions.

Unfortunately there have been some cancellations. Alisa Pleskova, who I thought might be a strong contestant for top-3, can't make it. Neither can Cleo, the Australian rock chick who always puts on an interesting show. Neither of these ladies was my first choice for winner anyway, but Mens Division suffered a more serious blow as Saulo Sarmiento won't be able to compete due to an exclusive performance elsewhere. He was a clear candidate for winner! If I now have to name someone else, I'm going with the Colombian gymnast Wilson Alexander despite, you know, everything.

Order of competition is out as well:
1.TESSA YUNG
2.DEB ROACH
3.ADAM TAN
4.LAURENCE HILSUM
5.LIYE & NAOMI
6.ALESSANDRA MARCHETTI
7.PATRYK RYBARSKI
8.ERI KAMIMOTO
9.CHELLE HAFNER
10.CARLIE & TRAVIS
11.LENA GRZEGOLEC
12.DAVID HELMEN
13.NATASHA WANG
14.MASAYO & KAZUYA
15.RAFAELA MONTANARO
16.JOB BAUTISTA
17.TRACEY SIMMONDS
18.ENCHANTED
19.WILSON ALEXANDER
20.ZORAYA JUDD
21.MATTY & SHIMMY
22.OONA KIVELÄ
23.CHRIS MEASDAY

The event starts tomorrow, Thursday 7:30 P.M, that would be 1:30 P.M. EET in Helsinki. I'll get back to you with the results, even though we apparently have to wait two months for any performance videos. I do hope they were kidding.

Here's a video of the press conference held earlier today.

IPC 2012 käydään huomenna Hong Kongissa. Kisat alkavat 13:30 Suomen aikaa, mutta valitettavasti Alisa Pleskova, Cleo ja Saulo Sarmiento eivät pääse kisaamaan. Oona Kivelä on esiintymisvuorossa toiseksi viimeisenä.

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IPC 2012: Ladies of grace

IPDFA’s International Pole Championship will be held in Hong Kong on Thursday. I previously commented on the somewhat disappointing male division, but the amazing ladies more than make up for it. Originally only six contestants were supposed to make it to the final, but somewhere along the way that changed to twelve. And what a breath-taking dozen they are!

Laurence Hilsum, France, is almost in a league of her own. Almost. I saw Laurence in PoleArt 2011 in Helsinki, where only one contestant was her superior. Laurence is definite Top-3 material also in Hong Kong.

Alisa Pleskova from Israel is also a strong contestant for Top-3. I lost count how many times she touches the back of her head with her toes. It's amazing, something I'm quite certain I'll never be able to do, but maybe there should be a thrice-per-choreo limit. 

Rafaela Montanaro from Brazil is definitely one of my favourites. She has excellent rhythm and a unique spirit. I can’t quite put my finger on it but for some reason, watching her performance, I get the feeling that she would fun to hang out with. I guess you could call that charisma and it certainly appeals to me. No matter how flexible or strong or skilled the dancer is, if she doesn’t have charisma, watching her perform for four minutes often gets a bit boring. Rafaela is not the tallest nor the skinniest pole dancer that I’ve seen and I love it. One thing that I absolutely love about pole dancing is that you don’t have to be a certain height or a certain build like in ballet.

Natasha Wang, US pole champion 2011, obviously has clean, beautiful, flexible moves, but watching her entry video right after Rafaela Montanaro's, I have to admit that I’m a sucker for charisma and spirit. It's obvious that all these ladies love their poles, but the best performers love their audience even more.

Zoraya Judd, also from the US, is certainly a good entertainer, but in her entry video her style is bordering on striptease. Whereas rock chick Cleo from Australia can get away with chunky platforms and an outfit straight from early Madonna's or Lady Gaga's closet. I usually despise shoes worn on the pole, but in Cleo's entry video she wears them with the right attitude. 

Another Australian Chelle Hafner won Asia Pacific Pole Dance Championships 2011 with her super strong Terminator routine. She wore trainers and pants in something that looks like faux leather (Where can I get a pair of those?) and started off with a death lay. With her strength she could compete in the male division if she wanted to. In another routine Chelle portrays Lara Croft. I bet she doesn't have to take any "oh so you're a stripper" comments from anyone. Not with those biceps.

The Italian Champion Alessandra Marchetti has been dancing since she was five, but pole dancing only for 1,5 years and she turns 37 this year! And she is amazing on pole, a real comfort for all of us who are not in our teens anymore!

The level of competition is so high in IPC 2012 that in makes fantastic pole dancers such as Tessa Yung or Lena Grzegolec look like basic spinners. I'm a little surprised that for example Anzhela Kulagina didn’t make it past the semifinal. Neither did Carlie Hunter, but you should still check out her absolutely hilarious entry video which brought her Best Performance and Professional Division Winner titles in Australian Capital Pole Championships 2011. The video can also be found on YouTube with the search "Granny on a pole". Circulate the link to all your colleagues first thing Monday morning. Another five minutes at the office well spent. Carlie will still compete in IPC 2012 together with Travis Scott in the douples division.

And while you’re at it, watching semi-finalist videos, please tell me what Alesia Vazmitsel does at 1:46 and teach me that! I hear she had to cancel her entry, otherwise at least I would have placed her in the final! Speaking of ladies who I would have loved to see in IPC 2012: Where are for example Marion Crampe and Anastasia Shukhtorova? Jenyne Butterfly and Marlo Fisken can be found among the judges.

Back to the finalists: Tracey Simmonds was the first international superstar whose workshop I attended at Pole4Fit and that already makes me a big fan of hers. Tracey’s pole dancing style is so precise and everything she does looks totally effortless, especially since she’s so lithe. Tracey visits Finland quite often, I think her last performance here was a showcase at the Helsinki Fashion Fair in October.

And then, last but never least is the natural force that we know as Oona Kivelä. I’m so biased when it comes to any Finn in an international sports contest, let alone Oona K. in a pole dancing contest, that you should take my praise with a pinch of salt. But she is really, really good, that much is certain. And it's not just about the tricks, it's also about attitude, spirit and presence, and that just might be decisive at this level. The beautiful music in her entry video, from Pole Dance World Championships 2010, is the Finnish band Apocalyptica playing Metallica's Nothing Else Matters. 

Tankotanssin kansainväliset IPC 2012 -kisat käydään Hong Kongissa torstaina. Tässä katsaus naisten sarjan finalisteihin, joiden joukosta löytyvät muun muassa ranskalainen, Suomen PoleArtissakin esiintynyt Laurence Hilsum sekä suomalainen Oona Kivelä.

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Aerial Pole International 2012 results

As you know, I have my eyes already on Hong Kong's IPC 2012, as the Finn Oona Kivelä is competing there. But I couldn't just completely ignore another prestigious competition, Aerial Pole International 2012 which was held in Berne, Switzerland, yesterday.

Nataliia Tatarintseva from Ukraine won Best Female and Dante Hernandez Villaverde from Mexico (last year's best costume winner), both taking home 2 000 CHF cash prizes (about 1 660 €). It appears that Nataliia didn't make it past the semi-final round in IPC 2012, or perhaps she didn't want to compete in two competitions within a week and dropped out of Hong Kong.

The jury included Dominic Lacasse (who also gave a workshop on his specialty, the flag) and Elena Gibson. They gave out a number of other prizes: Best Execution to Alessandra Marchetti (who will compete in Hong Kong on Thursday), Best Tricks to Heidi Coker (who apparently didn't make it past the semi-finals round in IPC), Best Music Interpretation to overall winner Nataliia Tatarintseva, Best Costume to Bendy Kate and Best Show to Phoenix Kazree (who apparently didn't make it past the semi-finals round in Hong Kong, either).

As no videos were yet available of these performances, let's enjoy last year's winning performance from Marlo Fisken.

Vaikka ajatukseni ovatkin jo Oona Kivelän mukana Hong Kongin IPC 2012 -kisoissa, ei silti unohdeta kokonaan toisia kansainvälisiä tankotanssikisoja, eilen Bernissä pidettyjä Aerial Pole International 2012 -kisoja. Voitot rahapalkintoineen veivät Ukrainan Nataliia Tatarintseva ja miesten sarjassa Meksikon Dante Hernandez Villaverde. 

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Friday fun: Shit Pole Dancers Say

It's Friday. Pole dancers around the world are thinking about going out, but decide against it and stay indoors to work on that scorpio / handspring / death lay. At least a lucky few have a friend to practice with, preferably someone with an unlimited stash of Mighty Grip. Jenyne Butterfly and Steven Retchless have each other. It's Shit Pole Dancers Say: "I didn't fall, I graced the ground", "I don't like that move, it's ugly" and ultimately "Do you wanna go watch YouTube?"

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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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Finnish Pole Dancing Championships 2012 make it to the 10 P.M. news... ...funnies

Half a million Finns tune in every night to watch the 10 o'clock news on MTV3. In a country of only six million people and numerous news broadcasts on several channels, that's a significant tradition. I missed the news broadcast on Saturday, as I was watching pole battle at The Tiger, but was glad to hear that the Finnish Pole Dancing Championships had made it to this most popular news broadcast. That is, until I heard pole dancing was not featured in the sports news but instead as the funny piece of news of the night - The last news slot reserved for cute baby animals born at Zoos, impressive bottle cap collections or wife carrying world championships.

Screen capture from the news piece: Hanna Knihtilä doing a strong shoulder mount. This former soccer player is all muscle these days. She thought me how to do an air shoulder mount!

The piece itself was very positive, featuring small interviews with Oona Kivelä and Henriikka Roo and video clips from seven different performances. There's an ongoing debate on retirement age in Finland and the anchors were wondering what the retirement age for pole dancers might be: "Well, working life needs to be lengthened, so maybe 67?"

You can watch the piece for a few more days here. The performances are also available on Youtube, below are some of my favourites.

Like said, Henriikka Roo was on fire!

Oona claimed that this was freestyle - Can you believe it? Many of the contestants said they had to improvise a bit as the spinning pole didn't spin properly.

                                       

Check out Anna Lehtonen's incredible handstands! I bet we'll be hearing a lot about her. She trains at Pole4Fit, like me.

TankoSM 2012 pääsi MTV3:n Kympin Uutisiin. Tosin ei Tulosruutuun, vaan loppukevennykseksi. Itse juttu oli positiivinen, ja loppuvitsinä uutisankkurit pohtivat tankotanssijoiden eläkeikää.

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Pole dancing @ Go Expo Helsinki

Kudos to Anne Laakkonen for a solid performance both in the Finnish Championships on Saturday and for a showcase on Sunday. 

GoExpo is an annual trade fair show which brings together fitness, outdoor and bicycle enthusiasts. This year GoExpo joined forces with Photo&Camera Exhibition and Helsinki Horse Fair, all for one ticket. To call the crowd mixed is a understatement.


I spent Saturday and Sunday at Ahlsport's stand promoting their Fitpoles. Basically I lured passers-by into trying firemen spins or challenged guys to show their strength with crocodiles and even flags. I think I managed to get at least a couple of girls and even one guy hooked on pole, pun intended. But I have to admit, 6-7 hours of pole dancing per day for two days in a row is too much even for me. Nike Blast was a warm-up compared with this weekend! 

Exhausting myself with ayshas, butterflies, candlesticks and this jacknife - and as you can see, my audience is a 10-year-old boy.

Vietin viikonlopun Helsingin Messukeskuksessa GoExpossa Ahlsportin osastolla opettaen ohikulkijoille palomiespyörähdyksiä ja innostamalla miehiä näyttämään voimiaan tangolla. Uskon saaneeni ainakin muutaman messukävijän jäämään koukkuun tankotanssiin! Mutta 6-7 tuntia tankotanssia päivässä on yksinkertaisesti liikaa...

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Oona K. feats: FPC 2012 AfterParty @The Tiger Helsinki

Other contestants look on grinning when Tommi struts his stuff.

It's official: Oona K. sure knows how to throw a party. And a kick-ass pole battle with prizes that were far better than the ones that the Finnish Champion got earlier that day. 500 euros cash, a season ticket to Oona's PowerPole classes and a bottle of champagne made even yours truly think about enlisting.

A freestyle battle in a nightclub allowed the contestants to be a little crazy, sensual or even downright sexy. Tommi was the most daring with his high-heeled boots and short-shorts that left little to imagination. He is clearly inspired by Steven Retchless but needs a lot of practice technique-wise.

Anna-Katariina nailed the battle with not so much her skills, which are of course unquestionable, but her divaesque attitude. I bet the champagne is gone already and the prize money is rightfully hers, but I wonder if she has any use for that PowerPole gift certificate...

Sini-Sofia is working it...

...but Anna-Katariina, waiting for her turn, couldn't care less and pretends to read a magazine instead.

Oona Kivelä järjesti tankotanssin SM-kisojen jatkobileet The Tigerissa. Ohjelmassa oli tanko-battle, jonka voiton ja upeat palkinnot vei ylivoimainen Anna-Katariina.

Photo from The Tiger's website

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Anastasia Shukhtorova's workshops at Pole4Fit Helsinki

Anastasia kindly let us video her tutoring. Not for public use, sorry, but for future references. I'll get back to this stuff in a year or so...

I had seen Anastasia Shukhtorova perform at PoleArt 2011 in Helsinki and when Pole4Fit announced that they had booked two exclusive workshops with her I wouldn't have missed it for the world. Anastasia is undoubtedly one of the most talented pole dancers in the world. This Russian belle placed third in the World Cup in Rio. 

Anastasia held two workshops at Pole4Fit, intermediate/ level 2-3 and advanced/ level 3-4. Unfortunately I couldn't make it to the first one and hence attended the advanced workshop, which I knew would be too much for me. But Anastasia herself suggested that we film her so that we can get back to the tricks later! Quite an act of kindness, something that not all visiting teachers allow, but I sure wish they would since we usually pay 30-70 € extra for those workshops. We naturally agreed not to publish any of the stuff, but I will keep my videos safe and certainly get back to them later! I want to nail that jamilla into superman into scorpio, preferably without the superman in the middle...

Anastasia Shukhtorova's PR photo for PoleArt2011. Don't worry, she warms up her back meticulously before doing any tricks like this one or her signature rainbow.

Anastasia Shukhtorova piti Pole4Fitillä kaksi workshoppia ja antoi ystävällisesti meidän kuvata opetusta, jotta voisimme palata myöhemmin mm. jamilla - supermies - skorpioni - vaihtoon...

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Finnish Pole Dancing Championships 2012

Hanna Kunnas opened the Finnish Pole Dancing Championships 2012 amateur series  and  I heard the impressed audience gasping: "Oh I had no idea pole dancing is like this!"
I've had the pleasure of watching Hanna progress from the first geminis to a captivating performer and all I can say is WOW.

The Finnish Pole Dancing Championships 2012 were held at GoExpo in the Helsinki Exhibition Center on March 3rd. This was only the second time for official Finnish Championships, and it's been a year and a half since the first contest. In August 2010 the title went to Oona Kivelä - by a wide margin, I might add. But amazing things have happened in the Finnish pole dancing scene since then. Oona has improved tremendously, coming up with new tricks all the time, but so has everybody else. To my knowledge, Heidi Mäki-Ontto, who placed third in the FC, hadn't even started pole dancing back then! 

The 2010 FC was held at Virgin Oil, a smoky bar if there ever was one, and I thought everyone would be ecstatic about the new, much more public location. Apparently though quite a few contestants didn't apply at all for "not being inspired by the venue". And here I thought we wanted to get pole dancing out of smoky bars! Admittedly, light shows were out of the question and from what I've heard organizing the contest at the new location wasn't always easy, but for once we had an audience that didn't consist solely of proud parents, boyfriends and fellow pole dancers!

Results can be found at the TankoSM web site but in short: Henriikka Roo, who made herself a household name by competing in Finland's Got Talent!, won, Oona Kivelä was second and, like said, Heidi Mäki-Ontto third. Personally, I didn't entirely agree on the outcome. I know I'm biased, but I would have placed at least Anne Laakkonen, maybe Anna-Katariina Koponen as well, in the top three. There was a strong emphasis on performance and choreography in the judging criteria, 1/3 each, with only 1/3 on pole technique. I would be happy to see much more emphasis on technique in the national championships. But I guess then we would have to wait for Oona to retire before anyone else could take the title...

There was also an amateur series, which was won by Laura Soikkeli. Rumour has it Laura applied on the very last day before the deadline and was surprised that she even got in. Reality check, girl, you were absolutely superb! 

The only 19-year-old Hulda Rankanen didn't get a medal today, but she has plenty of time for that. Her solid circus background shows in the best possible way.

The charming Anna-Katariina Koponen could have easily placed in the top-3. "AK" is my ballet and pole teacher and a constant source of inspiration for me.

Henriikka Roo was on fire today and took home the Finnish Championship title. Congratulations Henriikka!

Tervetuloa tankotanssiblogiini! Tankotanssin Suomenmestaruus 2012 ratkottiin GoExpossa Helsingin Messukeskuksessa. Voiton vei liekeissä ollut, Suomen kansalle Talentista tuttu Henriikka Rinne eli Henriikka Roo, jättäen tällä kertaa taakseen edellisen vuoden voittajan Oona Kivelän.

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