Not to put words in the mouth of the commenter, but I have a feeling they meant "authentic" in the sense of it being closer to its strip club roots. However, "authentic" doesn't have to automatically mean that if you're doing "fake" pole dance just because you choose to take the more gymnastics route.
I said this in my post in the "Sexuality..." thread before I deleted it, but one of the beauties of pole is that it can be whatever you want it to be. Everyone has their own preference and style, and they're all executed on the same piece of equipment. Just because you use a pole doesn't mean that you have to dance like a stripper, and if you're like me and don't particularly like the strip club stereotype, it doesn't mean that we have to go to the other extreme, either.
I personally like to see a very nice balance between dancing and tricks; whether that dance style is more balletic like Fleur or completely erotic like... well, I don't have an example but whatever - doesn't make a difference about whether or not you're truly "pole dancing" in my eyes. And when I say dancing, I mean true dancing - doing fancy handstands and elbow stands are tricks to me, even if they're off the pole.
And unfortunately I see very few of the great dancers that really strike that dance/tricks balance very well, in my opinion. Felix is a great example. Don't get me wrong, I love to watch Felix, but she's almost always up on the pole. She does very little floorwork and really just strikes poses in between polework. I don't think I've ever seen her do a spin. However, I will say that her transitions between the pole tricks are very dance-like compared to some other dancers, so that makes up for it a little.
Someone mentioned not liking choreography matching up with the beat of the music perfectly, and I think I know what you mean (maybe). I like dancing that goes with the music, but not so much that it's a very stilted performance. I like big tricks to match up with the big moments in the music and movements to be somewhat timed with the music and overall tone of the song. I tend to dislike it if people are dancing as if there were absolutely no music at all, but that's just me.
I have mixed feelings on pole becoming more regulated/going to the Olympics and such. While I'd love to see pole better recognized as more of a true art form and not necessarily exclusive to strip clubs, I do very much enjoy the freedom in doing whatever style we like. I think if anything, the pole dancing community should make their own standards of pole in regards to names and such (difficult, I know) but not in terms of expression. I like the no nudity rule that most organizations have, but I wouldn't want to see every dancer covered head to toe in a jumpsuit, either. Having standard names would be nice. I like how the USPDF, etc. require more well-rounded skills such as floorwork, etc. It sucks that you have to do a split because I can't do one, but that's ok. 🙂
I think that pole fitness, pole gymnastics, and pole dance should be mutually respected. Just because one is the origin of the others doesn't mean it's better than them.
