StarLily started this discussion ·
So I haven't seen a post about this yet so I thought I would do the honors. This is a video of Natasha Wang on The View. She did a beautiful performance and represented the pole community SO well. Enjoy :) If the link doesn't work, you can just youtube it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_0e4d6AEf9w xoxoxo StarLily
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It was a good segment, I thought. Too bad they didn't give any links, tho. :) Thanks for posting this.
It was a good segment, I thought. Too bad they didn't give any links, tho. :) Thanks for posting this.
luvlee ·
I am so glad Natasha is really getting out there and doing all these shows. I heard some women at my work takling about this show. One lady said," Where did you see this pole stuff?" She said, "On the View!!!!! " Other lady, " Oh wow. On national t.v." "It is really getting bad these days." LOL!!!!! The other lady explained the performance and she got interested. Then they both turn to me. "Lee, don't you do that work out? " I was like yeah. "But I do not look like Natasha when doing it." LOL!
Awesome! Thanks for sharing! I always love to see pole getting some positive main stream attention instead of the shows that sneak the "stripper" word in all over the segment for sensation! Does anyone know if Natasha's winning performance at USPDF is on YouTube? I have searched but can't find it.
danzn16 ·
she did great, i'm loving the publicity for pole fitness!! but why did she give sherry that spin to do?? thats difficult! lol. she should have showed her the fireman or something, or a roundabout
While they didn't throw around the term "stripper" for sensation like some other shows do, I thought it was a little - off? - when they did mention it ("And you've never been a stripper - at all..." "Nooooooooooo...") because I couldn't help but thinking about the other talented women (Karol Helms comes to mind) who have been strippers and yet are also competitive and take the sport very seriously. It's just a shame because while pole dancing has been getting more national media attention lately, I feel like every show segment I've seen has had to make the distinction that no, this girl who is doing all of these amazing tricks on the pole for us is NOT IN ANY WAY affiliated with anything "taboo." But I guess that's the only way people watching these shows will accept it right now? - it has to be PG...even though plenty of other forms of dance can be just as sensual and yet they don't come with a stigma...shame.
She is amazing! But.. I didn't like how they were talking about stripping.. I am an exotic dancer and I do all my tricks when I am doing a set and I make damn good money doing it. I have been told that I make it look like an art and have had many women that come in to the club ask me for classes. While yes I take my clothes off for a living I am very clean and do not make it look trashy! Just upset me that's all!
Mechie ·
@danz16- I was thinking the same thing!! Full bracket cradle is hard for a newbie-newbie! I was thinking she might teach her a ballerina spin or simple firemen...lol
Totally agree with you Holly. I'm not a stripper, but it's frustrating to me sometimes how there is so much emphasis on the 'OMG I'm not a stripper eww I just do this because it's a great workout' etc. etc. etc. Like it or not, there is a sexy side to pole--in fact, that's why I got into it in the first place. I love the sensuality of it, and yes, sometimes when I pole dance, some of my clothes come off, and I love that part of it too. Stripping can be an art just like pole, when done tastefully and well. Ivy, that's awesome that you actually make money off pole tricks. I get on stripperweb sometimes, and the general idea I get from that forum is that money is not really made in doing pole tricks, so a lot of them don't bother with it unless someone specifically requests and pays for it.
danzn16 ·
Very well said HollySatine
Miraine ·
The routine Natasha did was perfect though: showed incredible grace and beauty without being remotely "raunchy". Now, there's nothing wrong whatsoever with pole being raunchy, obviously, but people already know about that side of pole dance, and it would be nice if the general public realised it can also be remarkably similar to ballet, which is a thoroughly accepted form of dance.
Oh yeah; I definitely agree that her routine was beautiful and that there's nothing wrong with showing people that pole can be similar to ballet--in fact, I think you have to kind of know your audience and anticipate how they'll react before you bust out a raunchy routine, i.e. you wouldn't break out the stripper heels and the heavy grinding for your bible study group. It just kind of bugs me when people act like pole dancing being even remotely associated with stripping and clubs is offensive somehow. Let's face it; a lot of the moves we do are based off ones that were born in the clubs. I guess I just wish there didn't have to be such division--as in pole dancing takes an incredible amount of skill, strength and flexibility, but the sexy side of it is part of the fun and those sexy aspects started in clubs. Not to mention, there are fantastic pro dancers who started off as exotic dancers. I know people are just trying to legitimize it, but I don't think it's necessary for the attitude some polers adopt toward strippers. (BTW, I'm not accusing anyone here of having that attitude, I'm just speaking in general.)
Miraine ·
Oh yes, you're absolutely right of course. I guess what it'd be really nice if we could "educate" people that: 1) Pole dancing isn't stripping, it doesn't have to be "sexy". 2) However, there's nothing wrong with it being sexy (or part of stripping), when it is! I guess the polers with the "anti-stripper" attitude are just trying to be respected as athletes, and sometimes it's easier to be taken seriously if you outwardly agree with the masses on the totally set views like "strippers are bad", and push an easier agenda like "ok, but pole isn't stripping".
Definitely agree--we should be able to have both. The polers who put in purely athletic, gymnastic routines, and those who like to sauce it up a little. And we do, the problem is the two sides can't always live in harmony, unfortunately. I've seen some nasty comments on Alethea Austin's videos along the lines of how unclassy/slutty she is and how she's undoing everything the pole community has strived for along the lines of making people see it as something beyond just stripping. And I think that's unfair, because, aside from being sexy, Alethea is an incredibly strong, fluid dancer, and I don't see why she should be crapped on just because she likes to do her thing in 7 inch heels.
@jessesgirl96 - there aren't any USPD Comp videos on youtube because they're very strict about recording during the show. i was at the comp and there were security guards strictly enforcing the no recording rule with bright ass flashlights lol... and i agree. we should be able to have both. i'm a dancer and i pole dance. i see those things as two separate entities. sure, i do pole work at work but not cause it makes me all that much money. i do it cause i like to perform and show off my moves. i take pole lessons and pole for fun. i would be poling even if i didn't dance at a club. there's nothing wrong with dancing sexy anyway. many contempory dance and aerial arts routines are sexy but they don't get criticized because they don't show up in strip clubs. it's an art, even if it is sexual. i hate the animosoty ppl have towards dancers in general. it's just a job and it's not like prostitution.
@ Poleprincess I agree with what you said and it being dance and not prostitution. I don't do all the @$$ shaking that most of the girls at my club do. I don't think that is classy at all. When I teach the class at work for the new girls I make it a point to tell them that they should only have maybe 30 seconds worth of booty shaking in their whole routine, which is 8 minutes long, and encourage them to try different things on the pole more. I am not saying I do the pole tricks to make money, I am saying a lot of people come up and tip me because I do them, and tell me they are tipping me for my skills. I look at it as an art form, and a, very proud when someone comes up to me and compliments me on my skills. While, sure, there are trashy girls that I have worked with, I keep it real. I let men know that I am not going to act like anything other than myself if I sit with them. I am the fun girl with the funny personality that you can have a real conversation with. I am what you call an entertainer. A stripper take all of her clothes off, including her thongs. I do not. I am in no way taking anything away from what people that do this for sport or fun. It has done amazing things for my body, as I am sure it has done for everyone who is on here. And I am not mad about people thinking my job is a crock. I just think that if people could see what we all do weather it be for sport or money making purposes they would understand that if done the right way it is beauty, grace, agility, and stamina not to mention training and pure muscle that makes all of us able to do the amazing things that we strive to perfect. and that in itself is beautiful!
mizvix ·
Natasha Wang's performance was spectacular (tho the cradle was plain foolish to teach!) and it showed the strength required to pole perfectly. My mum (who knows i pole dance for fitness and perform on occasion for charity nights and competitions and tries really hard not to disapprove) thought it was amazing due to the athletic and balletic technique. She's not a fan of some dancers who she feels 'oversexualise' their performance. But this is the point; there are different aspects to pole dance that some people like more than others, just like in other forms of dance, music and entertainment there are aspects that people like and dislike. I loved Natasha Wang's 2 minute routine, but I love Felix and Alethea and so many others for different reasons. I respect everyone and anyone who has the guts to perform, whatever and wherever their performances may be. Would i love to be strong and elegant??? hell yeah! Would I love to be strong and sexy? hell yeah! Would I love to have the confidence to bare my body in front of a room of strangers? hell yeah! There are some in the pole community who would like to deny and cut links to stripping and exotic dance but they should be realistic. It's a history and a link that cannot and should not be erased just because it's seen as 'unsavoury.' Going forward, we perform in the style best suited to our tastes and personalities and we try to educate the world around us that pole dance is a legitimate form of dance and fitness, whoever the audience and whatever the outfit. What annoys me most is this; people who complain about strippers, lap-dancers, exotic dancers rarely criticise the male consumers, without whom these styles would not be economically viable. society still has such a long way to go in MANY ways.
I agree with a few people on this forum. It's really a shame that, to get accepted to the general public, we are almost forced to disassociate stripping and pole dancing, almost shaming people who strip. I have a friend who strips, and I don't think there should be shame in it. Although, I've told my parents about pole dancing, and showed them a few things, and they are very supportive of it, but I feel I'm stepping on some odd territory if I were to put anything about poling on my facebook or telling my 2 grandmas (which has been proved difficult). It's a shame, because I am very proud of what I do with poling, and it's a big part of my life. I'm sure many of us polers feel the same way, and I hope after more of these great pole performers get coverage on tv, it will one day be much more accepted.
Serzi ·
I thought Natasha did an exquisite job representing the althetic grace of pole on National television and I'm very grateful she side-stepped the whole "stripper controversy" (which, btw, almost always gets brought up on tv and drives me insane because it sometimes takes over the entire show). She almost even corrected them by using the word "exotic dancer and, well, I just found Natasha's presence very professional and charming. I was surprised at the cradle-spin lesson. That move took me almost six months just to be able to lift/tuck into properly without bruising my hipbone or looking like a dying sloth, haha! Then I remembered that some moves come more naturally to others. (for instance, my first real move was a very ungraceful CKR) Maybe the cradle spin was the first move Natasha learned, or maybe she was just trying to show how difficult pole really is, or...possibly...she felt the fireman spin has been tried-and-true on tv for so long that it was time for a new move to take the beginner spotlight. lol I don't really know what to think of the whole publicity and "coming out of the closet about pole" thing. I have very mixed feelings about it because it seems like once you make it politically correct and it becomes big name business they take the heart and soul out of it. It becomes something other than the pole dancing I know and love because you have to cater to the masses and give the people what they want. I'll say right now that, when it comes to pole, I CAN NOT DO THAT because this is my shelter from the masses and that bs way of judging and thinking. So, it seems, there goes my dreams of ever being recognized by USPDF, you know? Possibly not an entirely bad thing but, still, it would've been nice to feel it was at least possible for me to get on that big ol' stage and give it my all. Anyways, I may add to this topic later. I've had a lot of thoughts and feelings about this. Still, I would like to congratulate and thank Natasha for her beautiful performance on "The View". That had to be very nerve-wracking and she took to it with a very natural, professional attitude the entire time. :) ♥~*Serzi
