There has been a revolution in pole design over in the past few years. Dance poles like the X-Pole have transformed what we can get – and what we now expect – from a fixed pole, with static and spinning modes, extensions to fit almost any room and load spreaders rather than ceiling screws.

And things are finally changing for stage poles too. The X-Stage did away with the need for a mass of heavy sandbags and has a modular (if not exactly compact) construction, making it much easier to transport. The R-Pole has was the first stage pole with an almost flat base, allowing it to fit in a normal-sized room like, say, your living room.

And now Platinum Stages has launched its latest stage pole, the Star Pole. Though not so well known on this side of the Atlantic, Platinum Stages is a major manufacturer of poles in North America and will soon start selling their poles in the UK too.

We were lucky enough to get hold of what is perhaps the first Star Pole in the country to review.

First impressions

The Star Pole is a breath of fresh air in a market dominated by square aluminium frames and velour curtains. The Star Pole is probably the best-looking stage pole on the market right now, and would certainly win the ‘most likely to complement your home decor’ award with its clean, low profile design.

The base is just 8 cm (3") thick, so you can set up the pole in a room 2.4 m (8') high. It doesn’t dominate a smaller room in the way that most stages do either. (Though, as you can see from the pictures, it’s still too big for my living room.)

The other big news about the Star Pole is the price. It sells for $499 in the States and will retail for just £318 when it arrives in the UK. There are other stages for sale at that price, but none that are interesting (or new) enough for us to review here. The X-Stage is almost £200 more at £499, while the R-Pole comes in at £599 or £649.

The pole stage

The stage is made from heavy duty metal and eight lightweight plastic segments that feel pretty durable and have a nice spring to them.

That thin base is also round, so there are no corners to catch yourself on if you land slightly further out than you expect. The dance surface is 1.7 m (5'8") in diameter, giving you plenty of room to work around the pole.

A modular pole

The pole comes in two sections that screw together to give 2.3 m (7.5') of usable pole. (30 and 60 cm extensions are also available.) The pole comes in stainless steel (chrome) or brass for $100 more, and can be ordered in standard 50mm (2") and newly-popular 45 mm (1.75") diameters too.

The pole feels solid and good quality metal has been used, though on our example the pole sections do not fit together smoothly, leaving a small ridge on the pole. This could be quite painful if you catch it at speed or sit on it.

A spinning and static pole

Like most poles launched recently, the Star Pole has both spinning and static modes. Changing it to spinning is quick – just pull out the screw that stops the pole rotating and you’re good to go. (Make sure you don’t lose the screw though…) The spin wasn’t as free as that on other spinning fixed poles I’ve used; whether this matters or not will depend on your preference for extra speed or more control as you twist round.

Setting up the Star Pole

Building the Star Pole pretty straightforward, even for the first time. It’s a one person job too, which can be a huge bonus when setting up equipment for shows or events.

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• Place the large central base on the floor with the plastic bubbles in the centre underneath to prevent scratching or damage to your floor.
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• Attach the feet. The longer ones go on the sides of the square base and the smaller ones at its corners.
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• Place the stage platform onto each foot around the stage.
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• Secure the metal lock in the centre and tighten with the Allen key provided.
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• Screw the pole together and then slot into place.

That’s it! The whole setup took me about five minutes, and I think it should get a bit quicker with practice too.

Dancing with the Star Pole

There is quite a bit of movement and wobble from the pole that was rather disconcerting at first, though I got used to it in time. Of course all stages move as their poles are only attached at one end, but to me the Star Pole felt less stable than the X-Stage or X-Stage Lite. This may be because it doesn’t have extendable legs or perhaps just because the base is lighter.

Platinum Stages says the Star Pole will hold up to 115 kg (250 lbs). And while I’m not going to admit my weight here, I come in at about half this and with some more aggressive moves there was definitely some lift. That said, for static poses such as the Knees and the Layout the pole felt lovely and stable, with no movement from the base.

I’d personally be hesitant to recommend the Star Pole to someone of over 80 kg, though of course this is just my opinion and I haven’t done the extensive testing Platinum Stages must have done.

Once I’d got used to the movement and noise from the stage, I was a happy pole bunny once more as I worked through a series of spins and inverts, but the last thing a dancer wants to feel is excessive movement in the stage, even if the platform is actually perfectly secure.

The other problem I had using the pole was much more minor: when the pole was in static mode and I walked anticlockwise while putting force onto the pole, I could feel it start to unscrew. The pole has such a large thread that you can easily stop and reverse before it unscrews fully, and of course when the pole’s in spinning mode there’s no problem at all, but it could prove to be a little difficult mid-performance. Adding a better locking mechanism should be an easy fix and hopefully Platinum Stages can improve it in the near future.

Transporting the stage

The Star Pole comes with its own carry case, though this hasn’t yet arrived so I can’t comment how easy it is to pack up. However dismantling the pole takes seconds, separating into eight stage segments, a main frame and two pole pieces – much easier to carry than a large, one piece stage frame.

The thin base and construction materials mean that it’s quite light for a stage pole too; Platinum Stages say the Star Pole weighs less than 34 kg (75 lbs). It’s not fixed-pole light of course (in fact, heavy is probably closer to the mark), but it is an improvement on some of the other stages I’ve had to lug around.

Conclusion

The Star Pole doesn’t feel quite as robust or stable as the X-Stage, but then it’s not far off half the price. And it offers something that no other pole but the £599 R-Pole offers right now: the ability to put up a freestanding pole in a low-ceilinged, smaller room.

I’m not sure I’d want to perform a high energy, make-or-break routine on it, but I’d be more than happy to train and teach with it, and I imagine I’ll recommend it to clients as well. For dancers who can’t put up a fixed pole in their homes, it’s a great piece of kit.

This is a well-designed pole at a competitive price, and offers features that, until recently, weren’t available at any price on a stage pole. It isn’t the right pole for everyone, but it is very good and may be right the pole for you. If you’re looking for a stage pole, the Star Pole should definitely be on your shortlist.

Itchy purse?

The Star Pole is available now in North America from Platinum Stages. It will hopefully arrive in the UK in about four weeks, though there could be delays due to high demand. You can order now from the UK, but delivery costs are considerable. For more information or to buy, please email the helpful people at Platinum Stages.

Platinum Stages’ setup video

Vertical Leisure, the company behind the X-Pole, have announced their new range of poles.

The original X-Pole was quite revolutionary when it was launched, with its adjustable height, spinning and static modes and solid construction, and quickly became one of the most popular poles on the market.

But by Christmas it will be gone. Instead we have two new poles, the X-Pole XPert and the X-Pole Sport.

X-Pole XPert

The closest replacement for the old £180 X-Pole is the £200 XPert. If you own an X-Pole, you’ll know how difficult it is to separate the pole sections after the pole’s been up for a while. (And you’ll know how inadequate the standard release tools are too.) Vertical Leisure have replaced the screw threads entirely with something they call the X-Joint.

How the X-Joint works

The pole tubes now have a couple of grooves running vertically up their insides. The X-Joint slots inside the pole between two segments, using the grooves stop the pole sections from rotating, and the whole thing is held in place by tightening a couple of bolts with an Allen key.

If you’ve used an X-Pole then you may be drawing a quick breath right now. The X-Pole’s static / spinning adjuster also uses a couple of bolts to keep it in place, and that inevitably seems to loosen after a few minutes’ vigorous poling.

But it’s OK. When the pole’s up, the X-Joints don’t rely on the bolts to prevent the pole sections rotating, and pressure from floor and ceiling stops the pole from coming apart. So even if you don’t tighten the bolts at all, you’ll be perfectly safe when performing, though you could get a bit of a shock if the pole falls apart when you take it down again.

Vertical Leisure say the X-Joints make the pole more rigid than before, so you could potentially make an even longer pole. Previous X-Poles have been limited to 11' or 12' (3.3 to 3.6m) in length, but they’ve been testing a 13' (4.0m) pole that seems fine so far. If you’re fortunate enough to have such a high ceiling, you could be in luck!

No more ladders

The other big change is that the XPert is bottom loading, so there’s no need to get up a ladder to tighten your pole now – a big bonus if you take your pole down frequently. (Vertical Leisure also have a kit to change your existing X-Pole into a bottom loader, albeit for a not inconsiderable £90.)

This means that the height adjuster cover is now at the bottom of the pole. I know not a lot of moves use that area, but I wonder if it will get in the way more often than it did at the top.

The XPert has the same wide dome at the top as the old X-Pole. The base is a bit smaller, though it looks much the same otherwise.

X-Pole Sport

X-Pole Sport is Vertical Leisure’s entry level model, coming in at £150. It uses the same X-Joints and bottom loading adjuster as the XPert, but money has been saved by making it static only. The pole also comes with a smaller ceiling plate and (bizarrely) a larger floor plate.

Unlike all other X-Poles to date, the Sport isn’t smooth all the way from floor to ceiling. Instead it has a foam cover (apparently like silver pipe lagging) over the height adjuster.

Again, it could be a bit disconcerting to kick during a spin or pose, though Vertical Leisure now stocks a much larger range of pole extensions so you can minimize the height of the adjuster – and the foam covering – if it bothers you.

The X-Stage is also being given new X-Joints, but is otherwise unchanged.

The new poles go on sale on 16 December (including in our shop, if you’d like to support us). We can’t wait to try them out!

• For more information, visit Vertical Leisure or give them a call on +44 (0)1707 665933.
• Update: New X-Poles are now on sale in the USA too. Check out X-Pole US or Pole Dancing Shop for more.
• If you’d like to read Vertical Leisure’s sales copy, here’s the new X-Pole brochure (pdf).

Click on any of the pictures for a bigger copy.