Polesque Review:

I just returned home from Brooklyn's first pole dancing competition which also included a few burlesque acts as well. Polesque was conceived, directed and produced by Kyra Johannesen, Jen James and Kyle McBeth. It was held at Galapagos Art Space in Dumbo, Brooklyn.

Congratulations goes out to Michelle Stanek who won the event and looked stunning in her Groucho glasses. It's a look that not everyone can pull off, especially on a pole.

Could this be the new face of Pole Dancing?



Michelle's act was hot, energetic, humorous and she has some spectacular moves. Along with being a pole dance instructor, Michelle teaches art history. She fell in love with art while on a high school trip to Italy and with pole dancing only two years ago. Michelle's brother Ken is a dedicated cyclist and creator of NYC Bike Polo and the Los Marcos Polo team. Ken you should be very proud! Here is Michelle dancing to Leonard Cohen's "I'm Your Man".


The three runners up were Ariel, Eks, (Eksupar) and Roz.

Ariel (of PoleRiders) did a slow and sexy dance to a Bjork song that began and ended with her emerging from and disappearing under a green silk sheet. Ariel is a petite and percocious fetish model, aesthetcican and fitness instructor from NYC and she teaches pole at The Skybox in Brooklyn and at the PoleRiders Clubhouse. Ariel cherishes pole dancing for the strength, sensuality and sobriety it endows her with. Here is her performance with the music altered.


Eks surprised everyone when she whipped out a blindfold and covered her eyes while dancing on the pole and she looked breathtaking in her black outfit. Ekspur has been pole dancing for almost two years and she dances for the fun and challenges of the art form. She competed in the USPDF east coast competition.

Mere words could not begin to describe Roz's amazing performance; she has to be seen. the crowd went wild when she struted over to the judges and threw a fistful of singles in their faces! A certified gym rat at crunch, Roz has been a diva on the pole since October of 2007. Here she is with the other three finalists in the dance off


Other performers included: Alice Dugan, Gigi, Stella, Dalijah, Meritza Chang, Odessa, Brookelyn, Kat Freeman and Christianne Lauria. You might remember PoleRiders Brooklyn and Christianne from the Halloween Parade (as Hot Cop and Rebound Girl) and Kat from Comicon

The competition was judged by Raven O and Marlo. Raven O toured as a singer with Sylvain Sylvain of The New York Dolls. He was first a go-go boy at the notorious Limelight and a Cat Club dancer. Before landing his gig at The Box and now at Quo, Raven spent three years in Las Vegas as one of the stars of the Cirque de Soleil show "Zumanity".

Marlo, also a PoleRider, has performed with Diddy, Pharell, Don Omar and Fabulous in videos, the VMA's, and VH1 specials. She is a Wilhelmina fitness model with credits in Prevention, Women's Health, Shape and Fitness Magazine. Her skills on the pole landed her in a CNN special and the front cover of AM NY, a spread in the NY Post, roles on Law & Order and 30 Rock. Marlo teaches pole classes at Shockra.

Burlesque performances included The Hot Boxes and The Girl Next Door.

Part pole dancing, part burlesque, the Polesque series of competitions seek to present pole dancing as an entertaining art form while burlesque performers razzle dazzle the audience. This was a spectacular show and a great success. I highly recommend catching the next event coming soon.