Pole Movement

THE NAME GAME 

There are hundreds of studios around the world instructing movement incorporating a vertical pole. There are many moves including static and spinning that we have seen, learned, and taught several times. Our movement has ties coming from backgrounds of dance, exotic striptease, burlesque, yoga, gymnastics, and most definitely circus arts like aerial, acrobatics, and Chinese pole. There are decades of dance and performance history involving the pole, most have which have not been introduced to mainstream until recently. The most well-known type of pole history is the acrobatic version called Chinese Pole. This is an extremely similar type of movement and more so now than ever, the two styles seem to be blending together. Whether you are using Chinese Pole, gymnastic type movement, or sensual slow dance movement... the apparatus is still a vertical pole in this case. The texture and size may vary, but we feel the similarities are too common to differentiate a name of move that has been transferred between the two styles. If it it done the same way on a Chinese pole or dancer pole, it should have the same name. Some names and moves will be brought into our vocabulary from the history of Chinese pole.

As far as naming the moves which we use in pole dance and fitness, this has been a difficult journey. Because not one person created the entire pole move vocabulary (like ballet or yoga), there have been different names accumulating throughout the world. This has made it extremely difficult to communicate among each other, be taken seriously as a professional industry, and to judge competitions. A uniting of worldwide pole enthusiasts is way overdue. After too much time of going on about our own ways determining what we call specific holds and spins our hope is that we can learn a universal language. For example: A ballet dancer can travel abroad and decide to join in a dance class and follow along with the teacher's verbal instruction without any problems understanding what she is being asked to do. The same goes for anybody traveling to study yoga. We would like for our industry to have what any other industry has. Here is our chance to grow together... to look, sound, act and be accepted as a professional industry.

With undetermined knowledge of when each move was actually used for the very first time there is only one honest way of going about doing this. There must be a vote! To start the entire process, we have begun by first initiating the "POLE MOVEMENT SURVEY"... We would like to put the top three names for each move up for the vote. We have started with a collection of move pictures. We would like to know what the most common names are for each individual move. Please scroll through and submit the name you currently use for each move. You will have 2 weeks to submit your names in the survey. There is already a list of moves and variations that have been noticed missing and are scheduled to be in the next photo shoot. If you do NOT see a picture of a move you know, please email that photo along with the name to polemove@gmail.com

After 2 weeks of accepting all name submissions and move pictures the top three names will then be determined by the "POLE MOVEMENT SURVEY". You will then receive an email to inform the "POLE MOVE VOTE" has begun. You will then need to revisit the site and pick one among the top 3 names that have been automatically determined through the software and provided for each move. We feel strongly that at this point each studio and pole participants have the right to put in their names for the vote. We're excited to see the outcome! Making this decision is to better our chances of becoming an even more popular and respected industry. We all might have to re-learn and change terminology we currently use in our studios and at home today. Some names that you currently use or know might not win the vote of the world, and some will. It might be difficult to change the name of something you have known for years. That's why it is important for you to decide during the "VOTE" process based primarily on what you think is the best name, and not necessarily default to the name you've heard before. This is a HUGE step in the industry of pole dancing, bringing together the entire world as a whole with one common language. This will help us to get recognized as professionals. It is very important that we choose wisely in this decision-making process. Think about what pole dance or fitness means to you. It would be a wise decision to choose names that sound respectable. It would help new pole users if the name describes the position being made with the body. Some fun or even silly names might be good to keep involved but obviously offensive or distasteful names might leave a sour note with our audience.

Please remember… there has been an enormous growth in pole use everywhere in the past few years, and will continue to be in the future. With such a large number of studios open now there are tons of students eager to learn this material. There are also veteran exotic dancers who have been doing this for years. Those are the women who have created most of these moves. Many moves have been commonly associated with Cirque du Soleil and Chinese pole, but yes, most were originally seen on the stage at a gentleman's club. As of right now, nobody really knows WHO invented each particular move out there. We will definitely be working to change that in the future... documenting and giving credit where credit is due. There will be ONE worldwide pole company (like the Pole Fitness Association, Miss Pole Dance, and other Federations) affiliated with all the groups out there that will accept submissions for new moves and variations and will keep track of origin. But for existing moves, we're going to have to let majority rule and adopt the voted names. Not one person has the right to say, "This is what the move is called... it has been called that since the day it was born." There are no birthdays of pole moves documented so far. There are pioneers in pole dancing who have acquired many followers, and they have taught their names for moves. Therefore, those names will quite possibly win the vote!

We are currently in the process of writing a BOOK on this amazing revolution and industry of pole dance, sport, and form of art... 

The BOOK will be a compilation of past, present, and future including all information about the pole. It will also be a guide on where to find pole stuff to buy classes, venues for performances, competitions, and everything else pole. It will include bios and pictures of our pioneers and leaders in the industry. If you would like to submit a write-up on your instructor, inspirational story, or how pole has influenced you please email to polebook@gmail.com

In the book we will also publish the moves that are being voted on. To ensure the BOOK is of the highest quality and all things are considered fair... an artist has been working on precise visual renderings of each move, by studying various pictures of that move. There will be a character drawn that will show the proper form and alignment of each move, plus different variations or modifications on the move. Our wish was that we could include pictures of actual people from around the world performing each pose, but we found that this wasn't the easiest and most professional way to display the moves properly. A photography book of pole dancers is another idea of how to display our form of pole being used to the world. We are working to collaborate on that in the near future. We will keep you posted on any updates in the pole world!

"I hope this message finds you well and you are eager to participate and discover which name is selected for each move. I hope that you understand everything presented and know that this project is entirely for the strength and growth of pole, with everyone's best interest at heart. Thank you for your time! Good luck with your practice!".......... Jenyne Butterfly