Melina is head over heels for pole dancing

The first pole dance competitions took place in strip clubs during the 90s. Not too long ago pole dance stepped out of the shadows of nightlife and emerged into the daylight of serious sports.

‘A lot of people don’t actually know what it looks like’, says Melina Bardi (21), president of the student pole dance association De NoordPole in Groningen. The origins of pole dance are not fully clear, with most sources pointing to the 900-year old Indian practice of Mallakhamb, or, more recently, erotic dances in circuses and clubs.

‘The recent history of pole dancing comes from all kinds of modern competitive dance styles, like jazz and hiphop dance. People underestimate how physically demanding pole dancing can be’, Melina adds. Along with her current board, The Rockstars, she coordinates classes in the association as well as regular five-week classes at ACLO for people that just want to give it a try.

‘There is a big culture of support, of giving each other tips, and of helping each other out’

The style of pole dancing at De Noordpole is closely related to calisthenics. It mainly focusses on dynamic and strength-focussed moves, but there is space for choreographies full of flow and flexibility as well. Occasionally, the moves are also performed on a spinning pole. Multiple workshops throughout the year offer association members the opportunity to try out different pole styles, or even other types of aerial sports altogether. Melina emphasises the community aspect of pole dancing: ‘In the classes, there is a big culture of support, of giving each other tips, and of helping each other out.’

Compared to other associations from the indoor sports sector, pole dance is quite popular. But there is one striking difference that sets De Noordpole apart from the rest. ‘From the top of my head… about ten percent of our members are male. Ever since I joined about three years ago, there was a big increase in men in the classes.’ One of the reasons for this is boyfriends. ‘We have a trend where we have more couples doing pole dancing, where the women bring their boyfriends to classes with them.’ Men slowly being more represented in the sport as well can help alleviate certain stereotypes, because in the end, ‘sport is neither masculine nor feminine’.

A lot of women feel like they are lacking the upper body strength that is required

‘The thing I love most about it is that you can see progress really fast. When you train a lot, you can notice big changes in a few weeks.’ Melina trains a lot off the pole as well. ‘I do a lot of weightlifting, because the gym is a motivator for me to get better at pole dancing.’ Just like for most athletes, the benefits she feels from pole dancing are not solely physical. ‘It really is like an anchor for me. I love going to practice during exam season, and there is so much freedom in the movements that you do. Some days I feel more powerful and strong, and some days I feel more flowy. There truly is a lot of room for self-expression.’

Still, for a lot of people practicing pole dance feels unattainable. It is easy to get scared off, and especially a lot of women feel like they are lacking the upper body strength that is required for the sport. ‘If you want to try it but think it looks too difficult, or you don’t feel strong enough, you should know that that strength is something that you gain through practice’, Melina says. ‘It makes sense if you find it intimidating at first, but we are all building this strength step by step.’

Picture (fragment): property of GSPV De NoordPole