The pole dancing industry is still surrounded by many negative stereotypes and associated controversy. Many of us feel passionately about promoting pole dancing in a more positive light so that we don't have to defend ourselves every time we tell someone we pole dance. Whilst we may have no problems with those who do choose to lap dance or strip we would like the general public to understand the difference between pole dancing and lap dancing. We personally get fed up with people assuming that we work in a strip club just because we pole dance. OK, so the image of the modern fitness pole dancing phenomenon is improving but is happening very slowly.

Pole Dance Community work

The Pole Dance Community is working very hard behind the scenes to move the industry forwards and to prevent people exploiting the growing pole dance culture. One aspect of our work is to help schools by providing a code of conduct and national advisory body. We are fed up companies such as adult experiences who charge £45 per person for a pole dancing lesson and yet could not even tell us how many poles were available or give us any information about their instructors or venues, the company has failed to answer either our e-mails or telephone calls. The company who also advertise under the trading name of pure experiences sell pole dancing lessons along side fetish and dungeon experiences, this kind of advertising continues to promote the negative stereotypes that surround our art.

Obviously there are some great pole dancing schools out there and some great pole dancing instructors and we want to tell everyone just how wonderful they are. For those pole dancing schools that are able to comply with the Pole dance Community code of conduct we are able to help with various issues and we offer advice and support wherever possible. To date we have helped with all sorts of issues such as where to get insurance, advise on ICO registration and dealing with copyright issues to name but a few. In the last week we noticed one schools website advertisng unsupervised pole dancing lessons which we knew were unlikely to be insured, we contacted the school who stopped the unsupervised sessions immediately.

Another PDC project involved working with PDC approved pole dance school JLN pole fitness, here is the testimonial from Jess Leanne Norris

"When I first came across the PDC website I was very impressed with the information it contained about the Pole Industry. I was very interested in how to get my Pole Studio PDC approved. I checked the codes of conduct which the PDC require you to abide to in order to be approved. I was very happy that my studio met the required criteria. I have to say I was thrilled with the quick response to my very first email and how very helpful Sam was to my queries. After just a few days I had explained to Sam some issues I was having regarding ‘Planning Permission’ for my studio. At the time I ran my 4 pole studio from home and neighbours had complained to the council regarding the number or vehicles parking around my property. I spoke to the council and I got the impression they thought Pole Fitness was something a little more erotic than it actual is. I was very worried that I could lose my studio if planning wasn’t passed. The PDC very kindly wrote a letter to the council in support of my planning application. I did see a copy and it was extremely professional and explained exactly what pole fitness is. Speaking with the council after this they were very reasonable and asked me to apply for temporary use as I was looking for larger premises.

Fortunately I did find the ideal location for my studio which was officially opened on the 26th September 2009 by Sam Remmer (founder of the PDC) along with Councillor David Chadwick who had also been very supportive with my application for planning. The open day was a complete success, Sam did an excellent demonstration for all who attended and she also did a masterclass which my students really enjoyed. It was an honour to have her there on the day, she is a wonderful lady full of knowledge and I would definitely recommend the PDC to anyone who requires information for their school. I have the PDC logo displayed in my windows and around the studio showing the sign of professionalism. (click here and here for videos from the open day or click here for an article on the studio launch)

Fake X-poles

Another Pole dance Community campaign has been to work in conjunction with x-pole to prevent the sale of dangerous fake x-poles. Many unsuspecting pole dancers have been caught out when purchasing fake poles on line. X-pole have now taken legal action against these companies and are tackling the issues head on. We will continue to notify you about dangerous products as we want the best for all pole dancers. If you do want to buy a genuine x-pole just click here, if you see a product on the internet that you think may be a fake please contact sales@verticalleisure.com The subject of dodgy poles brings me onto the controversial peek-a-bo pole. We have had many complaints about the peek-a-boo poles. We will be posting an article on the peek-a-boo pole soon  but in the meantime we would like to hear any feedback from you regarding the peek-a-boo pole. Please contact us with any comments you may have positive or negative.

Update on Pole dancing doll.

As you may remember we reported on the pole dancing doll that had been seen on the internet; it now seems that the doll was a spoof but that did not stop racy arguments on internet pages as well as knee jerk reactions from anxious parents. We ran a poll on the site and the majority of the votes felt the pole dance doll was inappropriate to be marketed to children. The general consensus seemed to be that people didn't necessarily think that pole dancing shouldn't be marketed to children but that the doll was not a good representation for the modern fitness inspired pole dancing industry.

Here are a few quotes we received from pole dance community members about the pole dance doll.

Quote from Carolyn Morris:

"The most important thing, if we are to separate the term "pole dancer" from "stripper" in many people's minds, is to get pole dancing out of night clubs and into gyms. Then any member of the public can come along and see it, as can their children. I really enjoyed entering the UKAPP amateur competition this year, but was unhappy that my 16 year old daughter was unable to come and watch because it was held in a night club, hence for over 18s only. People are afraid of what they don't know. If they and their children see it when they go swimming on a Saturday morning, they'll see how much hard work it is and understand it much better."

Quote from Holly:

"I am a pole dancer, I dance for personal fitness, not in clubs. I feel this doll is an outrage because it encourages children as sexual objects. When i have children that are old enough to pick a hobby/sport, i will encourage them to choose pole fitness. As a child my parents encouraged me to do physical activities to stay healthy but i didnt enjoy any if them and quit, i wish pole fitness had been available for me as its the only for of physical activity I enjoy. Children should be able to pole dance for fitness, this doll encouraged children to to become sexual objects, it takes away their innocence as they are not aware of the publics perseption of 'pole dancing' as being strippers, they arent old enough to understand this. I would question the parenting skills of anyone who thinks it is appropriate to give this to a child. It is very sad that people like madonna can parade around on MTV in next to nothing in an extrememly sexual manner yet people like me are slated for wearing shorts and sleevless top to practice our sport, after all you cant practice pole fitness in long sleeves and jeans, accidents would happen!"

Quote from Tracey Simmonds:

"Pole dance acrobatics can be taught to children. Providing it is in the right environment, and the class is designed for children."

If you have any pole dancing issues you want help with just contact us so we can be of assistance.

More news to follow soon on the peek-a-boo debate and other pole dancing issues that affect us all!

The PDC team.