Pole Dancing in the Olympics
The wish
Today’s post is really more of a wish.
A wish that someone would please explain to me the issues around putting pole dancing in the Olympics. I don’t mean the rules for getting into the Olympics; I mean, why is it so controversial?
Frankly, I don’t get the big deal. It’s not like your average pole dancer is going to be aiming for the Olympics, anyway.
My understanding, so far
When I first heard about the petition, I thought it was kind of cool. I grew up watching the Olympics and am, like everybody else, absolutely in awe of the athletic prowess of the competitors. And, unlike some, I get why rhythmic gymnastics belongs in the Olympics. (Can you do a vertical split during a pirouette while catching a ball? Please, these people are amazing.)
So, I figured getting pole in the Olympics would be a fun thing. And it would certainly get the sport aspect of pole taken more seriously. (Well, after several years of jokes, I suspect.)
Sports and the Olympics
Then, I started wondering about what makes something a good fit for the Olympics. It’s not just athleticism. After all, nobody’s in better shape than ballet dancers, and they aren’t in the Olympics – and likely wouldn’t deign to be.
The truth is, I don’t really know what makes one thing a good match for the Olympics and another thing not. It’s kind of like deciding what’s a sport and what’s a game. People love golf, it requires a ton of skill – but a sport? Methinks not. And, for the record, golf is not an Olympic sport – but archery is.
Perhaps it has something to do with the games and sports favored by the ancient Greeks who first came up with the concept of the Olympics? The thing is, I don’t see any evidence that they spent a lot of time learning to fly around a pole.
Dance and the Olympics
More than that, the dancing aspect of pole seems to be at the heart of why a lot of pole dancers vehemently do not want pole in the Olympics. Which makes some sense – after all, dancing is not really a part of the Olympics, unless you’re on ice.
Their feeling, at least from what I’ve seen, has to do with the regulations required to compete. Meaning, everyone has to agree on what constitutes a correct movement, what moves are required to be at competition level, and at what degree of difficulty they should all be ranked. The concern here is that such rigid structuring of pole dancing will ruin its creativity and individuality, and will likely take all the sexiness out of the sport.
Truthfully, I can see their point. I don’t see a lot of burlesque-y, stripper shoe-clad dancers making it onto the Sunday afternoon footage of the games. And I absolutely agree that losing the sexiness and the creativity of the dancing would be a huge loss to pole.
But, what I don’t get is why that would have to happen.
Co-existence
Just because baseball is in the Olympics doesn’t mean we don’t have Little League or casual games with friends. Just because swimming is in the Olympics doesn’t mean we don’t play Marco Polo.
So why couldn’t pole dance be in the Olympics, and those who prefer to explore the creativity of the dance side of pole, continue to pole in venues other than the Olympics?
If pole were in the Olympics, I don’t think it would prevent Felix from dancing in Zumanity. And I don’t think it would prevent students from clamoring for workshops with Shawn Frances Lee, Pantera, or Jamilla. Nor do I think it would stop any pole dance studio from teaching whatever style of pole they wanted.
In fact, I’m guessing that, if the regulations are set up right, one could learn the essential moves correctly, from any competent pole dance studio. Then the decision to begin competing could be left up to the students, or, in the case of sponsoring the meets, the studios.
There are lots of different varieties of pole dance out there, and only more to come, as the dance grows and changes. The thing is, why should we choose between one type and another?
The more variety that exists, the more room for creativity – and the more of us who will find a niche for ourselves in pole, whether that be dancing at Cirque, doing a competition round at the Olympics, or just poling for fun with our friends.
Give me a hand figuring this out
So, my fabulous pole dancing buddies, is there more to this issue than I’m seeing? I figure there has to be or people wouldn’t be so upset about it. What is it I’m not getting?
And, if there are any gymnasts out there who can explain what influence the Olympic games have had on their sport, and how that’s changed it, I’d love to hear your comments.
Can’t wait to find out what you all think. 
[...] As far as I can see, the only reason all competitions need to have the same names and the same standards is if people are hoping those competitions will eventually lead to competing in pole dancing in the Olympics. [...]
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I think there are plenty of ways to elevate pole dancing beyond the taboo besides proving our legitimacy to the world by petitioning to be in the Olympics. Ballroom dance isn’t in the Olympics nor is ballet, African dance, hip-hop or… any other form of dancing I can think of. Am I wrong? Yet, all forms of dance are athletic and require an incredible amount of strength, control, coordination, timing, flexibility, dedication, intense training etc.
But, as a dancer my entire life, I’ve never felt that I needed the Olympics to validate what I do. We have our own community and our community is starting to build an audience that respects what we do. That takes time. But as long as we continue to elevate our standards and find ways to showcase what we do (positively) we’ll earn respect as an athletic art form.
When I was a kid, I would never have guessed that one day the world would embrace shows like “So You Think You Can Dance” or “Dancing with the Stars”. And those are 2 of TVs most popular shows!
Who knows what the future will bring for pole dance. But, let’s consider ourselves as pioneers in the movement.
There are people who’ve made appropriate sportswear for women who need to be more covered up – the burqini being a very recent example. Also, swimming and running don’t have the historical connotation to the sex trade that poledancing has.
It is a deeper issue than it seems at first. And it does seem to be more about the sexiness than the skimpiness of the clothes. (Thanks for pointing that out, Alisha!)
Amber, I wonder why artistry doesn’t seem so affected in ice dancing – but maybe it is? Maybe that would be very different by now, if left on its own.
The cultural integration idea, Tiara, is interesting, too. But then a lot of the world doesn’t think women should be seen in running or swimming outfits, either.
You would be alienating about 75% of the world who either wouldn’t be familiar enough with poledance or are culturally against anything remotely sexual. Is it worth having an Olympic sport that doesn’t promote integration?
I’ve been a ballet dancer my whole life and dance is not part of the olympics and I wouldn’t want it to be for the very reason you stated: having it regulated kills the options for creativity and artistry. On the other hand, because ballet isn’t in the olympics, many people do not recognize it as an athletic artform, they don’t understand how incredivly demanding it really is. I always say that the difference between sports and athletic art is that in one you are allowed to show effort and in the other, you are working just as hard but have to make it look effortless. I think pole is in this same situation. I think if there was a way to regulate pole elements while leaving room for artistry, it might be plausible to have it in the olympics but don’t expect to see anyone dancing in high heels, I think it will be more like Chinese pole which although it is quite impressive, is boring after a while and not the beautiful form I personally love.
I’ve always wondered why the two couldn’t exist. I mean the “uniforms” wouldn’t be all that far off from the Women’s Sand Volleyball team. they wear skimpy bikinis…