Pole dancers who inspire me

I’m sure I have mentioned at some point that I am committed to using social media in a more positive way in 2019. As much as it is blamed for pretty much all the wrongs of today’s society (I’m looking at you baby boomers) I truly believe that social media does have the power to be used for good and as a source of positivity, motivation and most importantly inspiration for it’s users. (Lol fuck me that last sentence sounded like something from a Miss World speech).

So far this year, I have been using social media for precisely the reasons mentioned above (with the odd video of animals being adorable thrown in for good measure) and keeping up to date with the pole dancers who inspire and motivate me to get my ass out of bed/off the sofa and get my training on. Naturally, I thought I would share my list of the most inspirational pole dancers I could think of with you lovely lot (in addition to Beth Finlay of course), so here they are!

Cleo the Hurricane

Shit the bed where do I even begin with Cleo? I can honestly say she is the dancer who turned pole from a hobby to an obsession for me back in the Autumn of 2015 when I first started compulsively Youtube-ing her performances. Christ my little novice, baby pole dancer eyes couldn’t quite believe what utter badassery they were watching. Here was a woman who was not only strong as fuck but insanely bendy and busting out killer routines to one of my favourite bands, my beloved Motley Crue! Her Miss Pole Dance Australia 2012 and Fade to Black Freestyle  will always be two of my favourite videos to watch when I need a bit of wide eyed, pole inspiration. Fucking hell I even got her legendary Rocking Legs N Abs DVD a few Christmases ago, however, that requires some sheer, mammoth sized levels of motivation to do, as I often end up a crumpled and sweating heap on the floor whenever I attempt it. Teamed with her awesome line of pole clothing too, there’s nothing I don’t love about Cleo.

Maddie Sparkle

Surprise surprise another amazing Aussie has made the list. I adore Maddie because not only is she an incredible dancer who makes fucking insane moves like the Bird of Paradise look as easy as a front hook, but she is also very down to earth on Instagram about how she achieved her mightily impressive levels of flexibility. As she states in this god damn inspirational post from September 2018;

“I actually pole danced for 3 years before even attended a stretch class. I couldn’t do the splits, couldn’t touch my toes and couldn’t do a back bend.”

Maddie as someone who struggles with flexibility this is pure music to my ears! Seeing a dancer who is probably one of the bendiest Wendy’s I can think of and can execute all manner of bendy tricks and shapes brilliantly say that they were not naturally flexibile when they started pole gives my tinman self hope that I’ll eventually fall in love with stretching and be able to bend one day. Not to mention that this queen is also the co-creator of two of my favourite competitions Pole Theatre and Dance Filthy!

Tiff Finney

How can you not love our Tiff? Whether it’s her fabulous, jolly attitude, her unique dance style (no one busts a move quite like Tiff!) or whether it’s how down to earth, inspiring and personable she is, she’s just bloody lovely. First off, as mentioned she is an incredible dancer whose workshops sell out like bloody hot cakes, trust me if you’re going to an event where a Tiff Workshop is being hosted, fucking book it because it’ll be sold out in next to no time. Her workshops are also a must to attend because of her hilarious, positive and supportive teaching style.

On a more serious note, Tiff’s body confidence and body positive posts  are a wonderful thing to read. Honestly Tiff’s posts have taught me to love my comfy layer of cellulite and appreciate my body for what it is instead of striving for it to look different, and most importantly, it’s our mental attitude that counts and keeps us feeling confident. She’s also super lovely and always makes time to hug and chat to everyone at pole events and comps – which she is also fucking entertaining beyond belief when she compere’s at. Don’t ever change Tiff!

Toxic Cherry

I had the pleasure of watching Toxic Cherry absolutely fucking SMASH it at the first Dance Filthy UK final back in 2018 with her epic “Dirty Cop” routine and I’ve been low key obsessed with her ever since. In my obsessive Instagram stalking of Miss Cherry, I have discovered that not only does she have a splits tricks repertoire to die for, but every routine she whips up is always incredibly creative and entertaining from start to finish. As I have said before, I’m a sucker for a pole routine with a cracking theme and if it has me either in hysterics or feeling sassy as fuck by the end of it then I’m loving life. Toxic Cherry’s routines are exactly that! Her bubbly, larger than life personality pops right out through her performances, which are guaranteed to have the audience hooked throughout. Since watching her perform I have been inspired to get extra creative the next time I get my choreography hat on and really create something which has a funny storyline throughout. Finally, Cherry gets bonus points for crafting a routine based on my favourite film Mary Poppins!

Kassia Portas

It’s about time I had a fellow Bristolian pole dancer on this list! Kassia is one of the most hard working people I can think of the pole industry – she teaches, runs the ever-growing Bristol Pole Championships and is a Sports Massage therapist in her spare time (fuck me and I feel productive if I make my lunch the night before work), which is inspirational enough. However, what I love most about Kassia’s dance style is how dark and eerie her performances are. Despite being a massive wimp when it comes to anything horror related, I do love things on the macabre, dark and fucked up spectrum, which is exactly what Kassia’s last to UK Professional Pole Championships (UKPPC) performances personified perfectly. In 2017 Kassia treated us all to a powerful, Silent Hill inspired routine, but her 2018 Pennywise routine (pictured above) was fucking phenomenal. Christ I was honestly scared a bit when she crept up on stage pulling quite the brilliant, menacing expression. If I grow up to be even a smidgen as strong, hard- working and have the ability to create creepy routines like Kassia I’ll be one very happy lassy!

Chan

Chan is straight up one of the most dedicated dancers I know. Seriously she is a perpetual training machine and is evidence itself that putting the effort in pays off, as she’s walked away from both Pole Theatre (2017) and Dance Filthy (2018) as the winner of her category! What I love most about Chan’s dance style is how fabulously versatile it is. The first time I watched her compete back in 2017, she was having us all in stitches sporting a rather fetching goatee and smacking her fake dick on the floor as the cheeky chappy Tyrone, so when I saw her again at Dance Filthy as a hot, twerking babe it honestly took me a while to realise she was the same dancer (I am not the brightest bulb)! It’s not just cracking level’s of versatility that make Chan an inspiring dancer, when things don’t quite go according to plan on stage, she still pulls it out of the bag and smashes it. I read some quote once that said “life is all about how you handle plan b”, and Chan is an absolute pro at taking plan b and owning it.

Rhiannon White

As a lover of all things sexy style in the pole world, how could I not include the fabulous filth monger that is Rhiannon White on this list?! Rhiannon inspires me big time in the way that she never fails to up (or shall we say lower) the sex appeal standards. Whenever I think I have conjured up a great Sunday Bumday which I think will break the internet, Rhiannon has uploaded a far superior bumday whilst slinking around in her kitchen that puts not only mine, but all bumdays on the internet to shame. Rhiannon is a pure guru of all things sexy, be it sensual slow flow, floor fuckery or stunning costumes courtesy of Sway Polewear, what Rhiannon doesn’t know about creating a sexy routine you could write on the bottom of a Pleaser heel. It’s one of my 2019 pole goals to attend one of Rhiannon’s work shops and learn from mistress of filth herself!

Well that’s seven of my most inspiring pole dancers! If you have any who are not included on this list, or if you want to just fan girl out over those listed above, hit up the comments.