History Of Pole Dancing

Pole Dancing - The Very Beginnings

Early stories tell of African tribal rituals in which betrothed women would dance provocatively around a wooden phallus. The dance was designed to show their future husbands how they wanted to be made love to.

Another example of ancient pole dancing is the Maypole dance, which dates back to the 12th century. Originally a pagan celebration of fertility, the Maypole is also a phallic symbol. Brace yourselves now, but Maypole festivals typically included an orgiastic feast at which lovers were encouraged to make love in public! The Maypole tradition lives on, but the public sex bit is usually omitted. When the Victorians got there hands on it, they transformed it into something a little tamer.

One Eye Tommy Fallon

During the Great Depression in the 1920s in the US, travelling fairs were a common sight as they toured the country. Small side show tents with a stage would feature dancing girls as the main attraction. These girls would perform erotic bump and grind dances whilst using the tent poles as support. Such dances were called "Hoochie Coochie" dances, sexually provocative and soon to become wildly popular.

It's widely believed that the first real pole dance was performed by a dancer named Princess Pat, who worked for One Eye Tommy Fallon and Mom Fallon.

Chinese Poles

Worth a mention here are Chinese Poles, though performers who used them did not perform their routines in an erotic way. Circus performers would climb up, slide down and hold poses on the poles. Some of the tricks the Chinese Pole dancers performed have been incorporated into modern erotic pole dancing.

Go Go Dancers

Later, the pole dancing trend was continued by go go dancers in the 1960s. The stages on which they danced would feature poles as part of their structure. How fortuitous!

More Recent History Of Pole Dancing

Pole dancing as we know it now originated in the strip clubs of Canada (possibly in Vancouver) in the 1980s. It spread through clubs in Canada and the US, finally reaching the UK and Europe, and Australia and New Zealand as they took on the North American model of table dancing clubs.

More recently, pole dancing has evolved into an art form that involves much agility and athleticism. It is no longer merely a strip tease next to a pole. Such is the focus on fitness that there are now many studios offering pole dancing as a form of exercise. There are mow pole dancing competitions competitions and some are even attempting to have it recognised as an Olympic event!

Because pole dancing is undeniably linked with sex, it became a feature of many exotic dance clubs. However, in presenting pole dancing as a means of achieving fitness, it has gradually lost it's association with sleaze and is now more accessible to the "average everyday person" like you and me.