American Festivals Project

Quickly, and almost imperceptibly to most of the town of Charlottesville, it came and went.  There were a few flyers here and there and it was announced on the Paramount marquee, but on each it said USPDF.  And what common pedestrian is expected to know what USPDF stands for?  Would you have guessed US Pole Dancing Federation?

I don’t even remember how I heard about it. But I wasn’t planning on being in Charlottesville on October 4th. The plan was to be on a boat relaxing. This wasn’t something the AFP could pass up though, especially since it was in our hometown theater. Ross was leaving for Israel the next day, so, alas, I would have to go this one alone. As you can imagine there was some resistance to a young male photographer asking for behind the scenes access to a pole dancing competition. I called ahead and explained the concept of the AFP to the governing body and event host the USPDF, and thankfully was able to convince them of my purely photographic intentions. I was working on a hunch that this could be a great event for the AFP and I think I was right. With my audio recorder, I interviewed the competitors and tried to capture some of the sounds backstage to pair with the images.

US Pole Dancing East Coast Regionals from American Festivals Project on Vimeo.

I don’t think the blog post here needs to be extensive on the analysis. The women speaking in the video do a pretty excellent job of sharing the way they see it. But it’s a fine line between women who perform on the pole as strippers and the women who perform as artists and competitors. To the casual observer, the difference is negligible. It’s erotic, it’s high heels and tiny outfits, it’s women climbing on a pole. But when you actually watch one of these events, you can begin to tell that these women are pursuing something far beyond the agenda of the late night club girls. Yes, it’s sexy but all the underpinnings of Sport are there…extensive training, athleticism, team bonding, competition… As I see it though, there are 2 major flaws in pole dancing that will challenge it’s ability to be accepted as a legit sport. The first is that it’s in the dark.   Keep the house lights on and nobody’s going to get the same sexy vibe as when it’s dark. It’ll look more like a gymnastics routine. The second flaw is the argument that pole dancing should be accepted and embraced for its ability to empower women to feel confident and sexy.  Which then begs the question, should women’s feeling of self-confidence and self-empowerment be rooted in the pursuit of feeling sexy? Does wanting to feel sexy, or wanting to be sexy, subordinate women and reinforce an overarching patriarchal culture where the male gaze calls the shots? If the art of the striptease was born out of women seducing men, does pole dancing, even in its most athletic form, sever those ancient ties? Judging from the event I saw in October and my interviews with the competitors, I would say not quite. Seduction was a pervasive element in the choreography of each performance. And that’s probably exactly the point.  Pole Dancing isn’t pure sport.  It isn’t field hockey, or swimming, or gymnastics.  And women do want to feel sexy and attractive, just as men want to feel the same way.  That’s not because of Cosmo or Maxim magazine, it’s because we’re hard-wired to think about sex; we’re pre-built with an overwhelming evolutionary agenda to seek out those who can help us make more copies of ourselves. So take it for what you will.  But no matter your position, you can’t argue the skill and strength involved.  It’s simply astounding.