Yes, there’s little doubt that the words ‘pole dancing’ for many will conjure up certain images and expectations relating to eroticism and men’s clubs! That’s because about 95% of what we see and hear of it in the media originates in TV series or movies.
In fact, that form of pole dancing is only one manifestation of what is possibly the direct descendent of some ancient art and exercise forms. It is a rapidly growing sport and type of exercise that is being taken increasingly seriously as a major competitive activity.
A Tradition
It’s not easy to identify an exact history and lineage for modern pole dancing. There’s quite a bit of discussion on that in various documents on the web and the bottom line is that nobody can quite agree.
The use of poles in martial arts exercises goes back thousands of years. In many traditions of the Far East, they were used in various forms of exercise that were aimed at improving coordination, strength and physical discipline. Yet watching these movements today, it is hard to escape the feeling that there isn’t an element of dance discipline in them.
There are also traditions from India and parts of the Middle East where vertical poles form an essential part of gymnastic displays and exercises. Once again, some of these are not always easy to distinguish from dance.
In Mediaeval England, maidens would often dance around a decorated pole. Sometimes this also involved people (usually men) climbing their way to the top of the pole to decorate it – presumably to music and rhythm.
The parallel and high bars have become major parts of gymnastic exercise although they are horizontal.
More Recent Times
People argue over when modern pole dancing began but by the 1970s there do seem to have been isolated instances of it being practiced and by the 1980s it had become widespread.
This growth was also characterized by two significant changes to what had gone before:
- it had become a predominantly, if not exclusively, female dance form;
- it was almost inevitably used (frequently in combination with strip-tease) as an overtly erotic and explicit display of imagined female sexuality aimed at male audiences.
Pole Dancing As Exercise
Once again, it’s not entirely clear when it started but clearly people suddenly realized that if you could do serious gymnastics and exercises on a horizontal pole, then why couldn’t the same thing be done on a vertical one?
That signaled a major transition from pole dancing as an erotic activity to one that was all about serious exercise.
Today, pole dancing has exploded out of the male club and left behind it’s image of being exclusively dedicated to eroticism. There are now thousands of clubs worldwide than offer pole dancing as a major exercise form.
Female participants still heavily dominate it but increasingly men are taking part also. The moves range from gentle rotations right up to extremely demanding exercises involving a huge range of coordinated movements and a strong musculature.
The exercise can help improve and develop just about all areas of your body. Today, the participants come from all walks of life and are of all body shapes and fitness levels.
So, if you’re interested, why not give it a try? There’s bound to be a club near to you.
Of course, some practitioners of this new and exciting sport are rather keen to try and find an alternative name for it. You’ll know why if you get the wrong sort of ‘pole dancing club’ when you look up your yellow pages! Choose carefully, have fun and get fit!
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