Image via the US Pole Dancing Federation Competition 2009

***Semi-WARNING: This post does NOT contain nudity,
or any scenes, photography or material of an
explicit nature. However, due to the history
of the content associated with "pole dancing,"
you have been warned.***

Not your normal {Pinkalicious} post, but I had to share this with you because I was stunned…just not in the way you think…

Back in 2008, the United States Pole Dancing Federation was formed:

… as the interest of pole dancing grew significantly in the US.

Today’s pole dancing is a sensual athletic art form, where creativity meets physical strength. This modern form of pole dancing started internationally in the 90’s. In the beginning of 2000, an inspired US introduced pole dancing in dance studios and fitness facilities.

It’s significant to understand that pole dancing is not stripping. This misconception prevents pole dancing from becoming something every woman should be able to enjoy. Pole dancing is a sensual athletic dance form that demands coordination, flexibility and physical strength.

For my entire life, and probably yours as well, pole dancing has been associated with strippers and other acts of a dubious nature. Never would I have imagined, especially as someone with a degree in dance from a four-year university, that I would come across something like this. Therefore, I had to share it with you.

The thing is, when I was looking at this highlights video, perhaps because I am a heterosexual female with a background in professional dance, I wasn’t exactly paying attention to the “pole” aspect of what I was viewing, but rather the sheer strength and structure of the performances.

On that same note, I didn’t see anything raunchy either.

What do you think about that?

Can pole dancing ever move out of it’s back alleyway history and hit the non-stripper main stage, without words like “whore,” or “nudity” attached to it?

Could you see pole dancing, as the USPDF associates it, in say a Broadway show? Or an addition to a ballet at Lincoln Center?

Or will it forever be a part of the life for those “women of the night?”

–

Sasha Muradali runs the ‘Little Pink Book’ . She holds a B.S. in Public Relations from the University of Florida (’07) and an M.A. in International Administration from the University of Miami(’08). She loves Twitter and all things social media, so you should find her @SashaHalima.

Copyright © 2009 Sasha H. Muradali. All Rights Reserved.