I just heard back from Josh at Bern who is sending a very cool Nino helmet for my son. For those of you that don't know Bern provided PoleRiders with lids last year for me and the dancers.
For more on these excellent all sport/ all season helmets click here. for a full review.
Thanks Josh!
By Diane Passage re-posted from Huffington Post.March 19th, 2010 marked the second annual U.S. Pole Dance Federation Championship in New York City. Competitive gymnast and pole dancer Alethea Austin of California took home the grand prize winning $5000, the opportunity to perform in Australia, a Pole Skivvies gift certificate, a gift bag, make-up and more. Mina, also from California, won the amateur division, earning her 'pro card' to compete in the pro division of future USPDF competitions. Both ladies were finalists in my Pole Superstar 2009 competition -- watch their videos here: Mina, Alethea. The top five USPDF winners will be sent to America's Got Talent for producer's consideration.
The USPDF, founded and run by Wendy Traskos and Anna Grundstrom, held preliminary competitions in the past year to determine their twelve pro division finalists. Amateur division finalists were selected by video submissions prior to the competition. Friday's competition required both amateur and pro division finalists to participate in a 60-90 second compulsory round where the women must perform various maneuvers including 20 seconds of continuous floor work, two spins, one upright static pose, one inversion, one inner thigh hold, one split, and more. The finalists wear shorts and sports bras for this round. For their final performance, the women can participate in an optional round with no requirements where they can get more creative with their performances. Some highlights of this round included a ballerina-turned-pole-dancer and a handcuffed pole routine.
The compulsory round is reminiscent of gymnastic floor routine competitions -- something you might see in the Olympics. So with all the recent hype surrounding various pole dance organizations' efforts to get pole dance approved as an Olympic sport, I asked Grundstrom if this was a goal for the USPDF. She said there are other ways for pole dance to gain world acceptance such as credible competitions. Looking into the future of USPDF, Grundstrom says the organization would like to continue to set standards and guidelines for competitions and push pole dance as a competitive sport and credible art form. They would like to expand the pro division and host several national competitions each year.
In conjunction with the USPDF's competitive events, they also host workshops and panel discussions. This weekend's workshops featured classes from Australia's top pole dancer Allegra, USPDF judge Brook Notary and current winner Alethea Austin.
Visit www.uspdf.com for more information on the organization.
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Diane Passage at the Imperial during the last Pole Superstar event. Diane is the woman behind Pole Superstar.
Ariel working on her moves at the PoleRiders clubhouse.Starring Ariel from Poleriders!, Diane Passage, Lauren Goldstein & Ryssa.
Featuring Mai Yee, Michelle Stanek & SKATE.
Michelle Stanek
Diane Passage
Pre-sale tickets are $35 for general admission and $65 for VIP seating. Door prices are $40 GA, $70 VIP. Call 212-213-8020 or visit www.polesuperstar.com to purchase tickets or for more information.
Photo of Ariel by Ellen Stagg.
This is a great opportunity to promote your business and to be seen, photographed and videotaped by thousands of people. Branding package costs $200/hr. plus ad materials There is space on the stage, tailgate railings, pole (lower portion), deck and the trike frame for ads. Call 646 996 7958.
