Addicted to Pole Dancing

Had a spinning pole work shop with Lu from Lu Pole Dance Studio, she is one of the top pole dance artist in Japan. It was really fun (and dizzzzzy)! It is amazing how TALL she is, considering she is asian :p We then had a second workshop with Anja, which is less tiring, but alot more difficult – burlesque pole! The reason why it was difficult as… I am so not to being burlesque type of girl – which is – big! show this! show that! love! etc etc…. Anja is definitely adorable and I love her smile

Many of you might have seen people doing pole dance in a “corset-look-alike” piece of clothing…. which is different from the real corset.

I wore a proper corset (i.e. with real lace tightening and boning) the other day to a house pole dance party… and, it was real hard to dance in one! I tightened it tooo hard (being too greedy in wanting to have a small waist, lol)… anyway, it was very hard to do inversion in it as you basically couldn’t move your waist at all!

Anyway, it was fun :p

…the capillaries burst after doing 10x Straight Edge today!

Googled a bit on how to get rid of it (cos the dots will turn brown after a few days and these “bruise” would last for like a week, really scary looking!):

- something called “capillary clear solution”, not sure about what that is…
- some say putting on peanut butter works, i will give this a try (why not anyway, it can only make my face smelling nice if it doesn’t work, lol)

I have also uploaded a video of those straight edge…. sorry about my body fat, have just submitted my thesis 2 days ago and had been sitting quite alot recently, and hence the FAT BELLY!

…imagine, pole dancing with a MASK on. at 21:36 on 01 May

Responses:

1. B. F. at 21:41 on 01 May – hahahaha~~~ from superman to batman~~
2. T. F. at 21:43 on 01 May – oooo how mysterious n sexy lol
3. D. H. at 22:17 on 01 May – Lace mask? Found a few nice ones here:
   http://bp1.blogger.com/_6QXT5ZnGRNE/SIgZTJkjJFI/AAAAAAAAAL4/9Dhpxerfkfo/s1600-h/lacemask1.jpg
   http://www.mardigrascostumes.com/bp60315.jpg
4. S.L. at 22:46 on 01 May – What will happen if you do inversion? :p
5. J.L. at 23:59 on 01 May – i’d seen ppl hiking w/ mask at sars time …………… XD
6. D.H. at 00:35 on 02 May – the masks would probably fly off when we all spin.
   might be even worse for spinning pole.. it will be

   ~phuuu~ “blup” (i.e. flown away, and land on the ground)

7. I.N. at 00:40 on 02 May – really?? how about trying an N95…
8. S.L. at 00:51 on 02 May – Still “~phuuu~ “blup” (i.e. flown away, and land on the ground)” <—the whole person, cos fainted after wearing N95 :p
9. D.H. at 01:37 on 02 May – that would be “bang” or “aiii-ya” rather than a simple “blup”
   sorry, taking BS here

Since the swine flu is such a hot topic these days (just confirmed that it has arrived HK!)… thought of putting a few shoutouts and updates and comments here, which I find kinda funny.

just wondering, if the swine flu gets serious in HK, do we have to wipe our POLES with BLEACH? at 01:58 on 01 May

Responses:

1. E.Y. at 02:17 on 01 May – or cling film your legs?
2. J.D. at 02:37 on 01 May – Don’t worry Denise 75% alcohol kills EVERYTHING…
3. R.E. at 07:50 on 01 May – hehe, swine flu? and ur worried about ur pole? silly cuz..
4. L.T. at 09:17 on 01 May – soak your legs with vodka, that will do the trick
5. T.A. at 13:48 on 01 May – hahahaha. Tee, are you sure???
6. D.H. at 19:55 on 01 May – I’ll need hell loads of vodka for my legs! better dig the bottle out from the freezer first :p

Swing Out Sisters!

The actual article:

Read the article here:

Swing out sisters – Professional women are dumping inhibitions, defying stereotypes and getting a great workout by taking to the bars – Cici George,  Apr 17, 2009
Clad in stilettos and shorts, a group of women at a Tsim Sha Tsui club whirl and leap to thumping
music while Bowie Yan Po-yee hangs upside down from a bar. It’s another show night for the
troupe, made up of mostly of Chinese professionals who leave their inhibitions behind to put on a
fluid display of pole dancing most weekends.

“A lot of people associate it with stripping, which it’s not. For me it’s about fitness,” says
Yan, who excels in gymnastic moves. “I don’t really care what people think anyway.”
Yan says she began learning pole dancing at the Pole Divas studio just over a year ago because she was tired of spending so much time at her desk. “Some women get into it to learn to be sexy but I’m feminine enough

anyway. I see it as a sport.” The sporting side of the pursuit will be on display on Wednesday at the first Hong Kong International Pole Dancing competition. With about 20 contestants, it’s a small-scale event that promises to feature acrobatic routines. “The public’s image of pole dancing comes from strip clubs, so the audience can expect to
be surprised,” says Symone Corby, operations manager at Pole Divas, which organised the
contest. “We want to dispel that myth and show that it is a very physical activity as well as
an art.”
Pole dancing became a popular fitness regime due to celebrity endorsements over the past
decade. Besides building muscle strength and increasing flexibility, proponents tout the
psychological benefits women get from taking control of their bodies.
“It’s a good cardiovascular workout and suitable even for people who are not very fit,
although, after a certain level, we encourage students to do special exercises for their back
and stomach muscles,” says June Kwok, fitness manager at Groove Dance Fitness in
Causeway Bay.
Kwok says Groove introduced pole dancing classes two years ago and found students
tended to drop out after completing the basic course because they were intimidated by the
tougher moves. So the studio has simplified its programme by adding dance elements.
Its pole-dancing students are largely Chinese women aged between 20 and 30. “The
women take the class to challenge themselves. And they like the sexy aspect of getting fit in
high heels.”
At Pole Divas, Corby says the idea for a troupe coalesced two years ago when instructors
were getting more requests for performances than they could handle. The studio invited its
advanced students to form a group and received an enthusiastic response despite
prejudices against pole dancing. The troupe now performs regularly at their club and at
public and private functions.
Yan says she had no qualms about performing publicly with the troupe. “I auditioned out of
curiosity, wondering if I was good enough, and was thrilled to be chosen,” she says. “It’s
nice to have an audience and people don’t stare too hard in Hong Kong.”
Having audiences show their appreciation for complicated routines is particularly satisfying,
says Yan. “It’s quite sad if people don’t respond at all. Foreigners tend to be more
expressive than Chinese, but once a Hong Kong guy came up and told us we were great. I
really appreciated that.”
Postgraduate student Denise Hou Yuen-chi was a reluctant convert to the troupe. “I was
dragged to a class two years ago by a friend but after we did our first spin, I was hooked,”
she says.
Now, Hou is so keen she has started a pole-dancing Facebook group for Hong Kong, which
now has more than 200 members.
This new passion has helped her loosen up on many fronts. “It’s hard to believe but I had
never worn a skirt that went above my knees before. I’ve also become more communicative
as a person – I find it easier to express myself,” she says.
Even so, Hou says it takes time to get used to stares at a performance. She doesn’t join
the club shows but takes part in performances in open spaces or for charity. “I hope to
contribute to a more healthy image of pole dancing in Hong Kong. It’s not simply sexy
dancing but there’s a lot of skill and physical fitness involved.”
Another attraction of pole dancing is it doesn’t require a partner, says Hou. “That’s why girls
get so addicted – because it’s independent and powerful.”
Becky Chow Kwok-kie, an air-traffic controller, agrees.
“I tried running and walking up stairs for exercise but it got boring. I thought dancing would
be easier but I know a lot of people drop out because they can’t find a partner,” says Chow,
26.
Before the troupe was formed, the women would get together for “pole parties” at different
clubs. “Since these were semi-public, we learned not to be shy,” says Chow. “Everyone’s
reticent during their first performance but after seeing people’s response, you get confident
and enjoy it.” Happily, they’ve never had unpleasant experiences with their audiences. Although some guys can get creepy, “we’ve learned to identify them and protect each other”, says Hou. Corby says contestants in next week’s competition will be rated on the difficulty of their moves, how they transition between them, how they use music and their overall connection with the judges and audience. “We also have an award for the best costume as we want an element of bedazzlement,” she says.
The winner will be invited to perform at the World Pole Sport and Fitness Championships in
Europe next year, and feature on the cover of British pole-dancing publication Pole2Pole.
The latter prospect seems to have attracted a handful of participants from outside Hong
Kong: one each from the mainland, Japan, Germany and Australia.
German Roman Lichomski is one of the few male contestants. “I have always joked that
one day I will take part in the world championships, so I decided to come and make my
dream a reality,” he says. Lichomski first tried it when he was invited from the audience at a male pole-dancing show in Shanghai and took it up as a fun pursuit that suited his lifestyle. “I enjoy exercising
with music. Since I travel a lot, I don’t have time to be part of a soccer club.” Pole Divas has also a had few men sign up for classes, Corby says. Some feminists might see women pole dancing as pandering to male fantasies but it’s the act of claiming the dance for themselves that makes it liberating for men and women alike, she says. “Because we’re doing it for ourselves, it helps develop confidence and we don’t mind showcasing it for other people.”

Hong Kong International Pole Dance Competition; M1NT, 108 Hollywood Road;
April 22, 8pm. Inquiries: 2261-1111 (M1nt) or 2541-5157 (Pole Divas)

First trial at Symone’s place, it was sooooo much fun!!!

didn’t know how difficult this pose was until I tried it out…
1 – knee pain
2 – my back… look at the angle between my legs and my back, less than 90 degree!!! It was sooooo painful! (you can tell by my “forced smile”) but it looks nice :p

Orestis, a Greek friend of mine, sent me a message on facebook saying that he saw my photo on a Greek blog (not geek :p) regarding Pole dancing in the Olympics… luckily the site is a proper one, otherwise I would have to take some actions as the author didn’t ask me for permission to use my pic :p

Stolen pic!

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