Competition season is upon us with the 2nd annual American Pole Fitness Championships taking place soon. The best news? I’ve been asked by the editor of Pole Spin magazine to be on the Elite Judging Panel!

About the American Pole Fitness Championships

The first Championships took place last October and were a huge success. Last year’s competition had a massive impact on the pole world, bringing the cream of the pole crop together. Both male and female entrants from all over the world took part including Zoraya Judd, Amber Richard, Josiah ‘Badazz’ Grant, Marlo and Steven ‘Princeton’ Retchless. Marlo and Steven went on to win first place in their categories.

Entering the competition

Those who wish to enter this year need to submit a video entry before 30th June. You can find out everything you need to know at the APFC website. The video submissions will be judged for artistry, difficulty, presentation, musicality and athleticism and whittled down to 14 finalists or ‘Elite Polers’. The finalists will then go to New York to compete for the coveted title of American Fitness Pole Champion in a live arena where yours truly will be watching with some of the hottest polers on the planet judging alongside me. The final will take place on Friday the 14th of October at the Manhattan Centre in New York City baby!

I’m going to be joined by 5 other incredible polers to help me judge. Dima Shine a Cirque du Soleil performer, Loic Lebret, the masters of flexibility Valentino Brothers Emil and Mario, and the beautiful and incredibly talented Allegra King.

For those of you who are stateside (or if you’re feeling flush) and fancy coming to watch the incredible show – tickets are available on the APFC competition page. Let me know if you’re coming so I can keep an eye out for you. There’s a good chance that I’ll be running some workshops, so keep an eye out for updates on the blog.

Here’s a little promo video of last year’s competition to whet your appetite – I can’t wait!

I’m starting teaching pole dancing at Kinesis Pilates Studio in a couple of weeks.

I covered some lessons for a fellow instructor a few years ago, and it was wonderful to see what a personal interest the owner, Mel, took in pole dancing – she’s invested in four fabulously high poles for her studio in Ladbroke Grove, London.

I really enjoyed working with my clients and the team at Kinesis and was sad to stop.

So I’m really excited to be back! We’re having a launch pole party on 18 February. The party is open to everyone, even if you just want to come down for a chat and have a swing on the four metre poles! Everyone from beginners to super advanced are welcome, and I would love you to pop in to say hi!

Join us at 8.15 for a drink, a nibble, a show and a chance to ask the pole performers and me questions about pole, or learn more about the Pilates and Gyrotonic classes they also offer. The studio is equipped with some stunning Pilates kit and the instructors are so experienced and friendly – it’s worth coming along just to gawp at the bizarre equipment! :)

Please invite all your friends to join us for a drink and find out more about the studio too. I look forward to seeing some familiar faces – and hopefully some new faces too!

Love Lucy
xx

I was invited by pop legend Jarvis Cocker to take part in his conceptual gallery project, joining together music, art and motion. He “wanted to look at another way of presenting music rather than just putting on a show. Can it work in an art gallery? Will people come along?”

Apparently they will. He’d already tried out the idea in Paris, where he now lives, running a similar event at Galerie Chappe in May. By the end of the week, they were playing to a street full of people.

Village Underground event

His London event took place at the wonderful Village Underground art gallery. The space has an awesome vibe to it, with multiply repurposed brick walls that lend it the feel of a warehouse or deserted train station. As well as music, he organised three days of burlesque, yoga, hula hoops, performance poetry and live graffiti. And pole dancing.

“There is too much spectating, it’s important to get people creating themselves – that is a lot more interesting,” Jarvis told the Guardian. “I wanted to get away from the idea that culture is something you consume, you can make it yourself.”

Participate! Pole dance!

My job was to get people creating themselves through pole dancing. After a nice introduction from Jarvis, I invited those brave enough to jump up and join in. Nine brave ladies and one even braver gentleman came up.

I took them through my warm up, and then separated them into two groups. I gave them a thorough introduction to pole dancing, covering some basic spins like the Fireman and Fairy and then moving on to a few slightly more adventurous tricks like the Basic Invert and Chopper. They did really well considering the venue and that they had an audience!

After the class, it was my turn to take centre stage for my pole dancing performance. Jarvis and his band had been accompanying me throughout my class, and Jarvis came down to ask me what type of music I wanted for my performance. “Slow but sexy,” I replied, and boy did they pull out all the stops!

I freestyled my way through my routine and was really pleased with the response the audience gave me, clapping and cheering throughout.

Jarvis didn’t get on the pole in the end, but I think he looked interested. (Maybe next time!)

It was a fabulous afternoon. I really enjoyed meeting Jarvis and his team, and having his awesome band accompanying my pole dancing was just amazing. I can’t wait for the next event!

Elsewhere

• Article in the Guardian
• Announcement on Jarvis Cocker’s site
• Flickr photos David Emery MrLomo pure evil bunny