The way of the pole

China's pole dance pioneers vie for a spot on the international stage

钢管舞属于灯红酒绿? 那你就out了! 它是优美的表演艺术,也许还是下届"奥林匹克"的新项目.

Cao Nuo (曹诺) stretches on the hardwood floor, arching, cracking and straining her dragon-tattooed back inside her tight, red tank top, a perfect triangle becoming clear on her inflated deltoid muscles. Her left shoulder sports a heart-shaped "Mom" tattoo and her abdomen, built of three perfectly shaped rows of chiseled abs, swoops down into her light blue, form-fitting spandex shorts, quickly giving way to rock solid thighs. Her grace, musculature and flawless technique aren't meant for getting grown men sweaty in some smoky club. She lives for the love of the game.

The China Pole Dance Sports & Training Center (中国钢管舞运动训练中心 zhōngguǒ gāngguǎnwǔ yùndòng xùnliàn zhōngxīn) located in the heart of Tianjin is where China trains its premier pole dancers. Cao placed third at the China Pole Dance Championship (中国钢管舞锦标赛 zhōngguǒ gāngguǎnwǔ jǐnbiāosài) in 2011, topped by CPDSTC's other rising star, Song Yao (宋瑶).

Male dancer Yan Shaoxuan (闫少轩) took home the eighth spot at the World Pole Dance Sport & Fitness Championship, and China fielded its first pole-dancing team ever at the 2012 World Pole Dance Sport & Fitness Championships in Zurich.

So far, China's international performance in the sport has been underwhelming, but hopes are high for 2013.

Though pole dancing has a reputation as more of a striptease than a sport, it is taken very seriously by a select few. Everything from the height of the pole to the duration of the song is taken into account, and points are deducted mercilessly; a minor slip or a bent leg could cost you an entire point out of 30.

In the past decade, pole dancing has evolved into doubles, singles, men and women competing for cash and glory. Coaches and athletes are keen to get their athletes into major international competitions such as The British World Pole Dancing Championship, Pole Art from Poland and the International Pole Dancing Championship.

While Chinese pole dancers want representation at all three, the World Pole Dance Sport Fitness & Championship is the most prestigious and has competitors from more than 30 countries. To much state media fanfare, China fielded its first team last year, and despite not getting top marks, still made an impressive first showing.

Every army needs its general. Meng Yifan (孟依繁), the team captain, is statuesque with the regal air of a prima ballerina. From a young age, she was schooled extensively in folk, ballet, modern and jazz dance.

A native of Tianjin, Meng first saw a video of Chinese pole dancers online in 2005. That was before CPDSTC had gotten their feet on the ground, so she did what any young woman in her position would do: she taught herself.

"I bought a pole and installed it in my house to practice on," she says. Back then, there wasn't really an official channel for Chinese pole dancers to apply, so she made a video herself and, once she felt her skills were up to snuff, submitted it to the World Pole Dance Sport & Fitness Championship, becoming the first Chinese citizen to be accepted to the prestigious international tournament. She placed 24th and forged a path for international pole dancing in China.

Like many of her teammates, Meng believes in pole dancing and has faith that, someday, people will recognize it for the sport and art it truly is.

Few people have as much faith in pole dancing as promoter and head coach Yuan Biao (袁标). He has made concerted efforts to ramp up China's competitive edge in the realm of international pole dancing. He sold his house and car in the beginning to try to keep this sport alive on the Chinese mainland.

It is also important to note that pole dancing competitively takes commitment. Those at CPDSTC train hard, and their bodies are a testament to that dedication; being in peak physical condition is obligatory. Before a major competition, dancers train for more than four months sometimes, longer than many boxers for a big bout.

A quick trip down to Tianjin for the day will show any interested observer exactly how severe the training can be. The moves themselves can be dramatic or even death defying, so elasticity is key. The first and longest phase of the training is to improve flexibility, or 柔韧度

( róurèndù). The stretching is just like you would see in any gym, but more aggressive. Next come bouncing lunges, the side splits and front splits, then on to pushups and extensive core strengthening exercises such as inverted sit-ups, using only their thighs to maintain their grip on the pole.

That is how they start. From then on, it is a series of stamina, endurance and strength exercises that prepare them for six solid minutes with their feet off the ground.

On May 17 and 18, pole dancing hit the theaters in Tianjin. Team captain, Meng, the face of the group made the decision to take the dancers to the theater.

"It is so intense that I don't think any of our viewers got any restroom time," Yuan says.

"Many of them just couldn't get enough of it, and they got tickets to see it again the very next day."

Lead dancer Meng was cheered by enthusiastic fans, some of whom had put together scrapbooks to sign and made calligraphy to compliment her work. While dancers and organizers left the theater feeling proud of their sweat and effort for the past two years.

The performance ended with a realistic depiction of the widespread misunderstanding the dancers struggle against.

Online reactions varied, but some didn't like the idea of pole dancing as an art.

"The obscene performance in Western strip clubs has gone so far as to raise itself to an art form in China. What kind of 'cultural confidence' is this? Such spectacle has completely made a fool of the Chinese people in front of the world!" claimed one offended weibo blogger. Also, a heated discussion started on Tencent under the news entry of the debut where opinion is split between "low-class and erotic", and "innovative and artful".

Despite the divisive reviews, Yuan still felt confident about promoting pole dancing as a performing art. "Because of the dance element, I think pole dance is quite suitable for stage performances, besides being a competitive sport." But, there is also the big picture to consider: "We need a business model for pole dancing to flourish and dance drama might be our answer."

The next step, Yuan says, is to expand and enrich the performance and tour the country. That said, the main future for pole dance lies in competitive sports, and the endgame for all pole dancers is to get the ultimate recognition: a spot in the Olympic Games.

Pole dancing in China gets little to no government support, but a place in the Olympics would change all of that. When asked if she thought there was hope for pole dancing at the largest sporting event in the world, newcomer Cao says: "Yes, but probably not this year. However, we are working very hard on it."

Courtesy of The World of Chinese,

www.theworldofchinese.com

The World of Chinese

(China Daily European Weekly 08/09/2013 page27)