Pole Dancing Pole

Netizens are polarised by the idea of pole dancing at the National Day Parade

POLE dancing - where scantily clad women writhe around a pole on stage - is making an appearance at the National Day Parade (NDP) this evening, but opinions are polarised over whether it is suitable family fare.

Online forums have been running hot with posters either for or against the performance at a formal occasion celebrating the nation’s birthday, with families in the audience.

After all, the dance originated in strip clubs and only recently became a mainstream interest taken up by women as a fun fitness activity.

Some were worried that the performance by 10 members from Acropolates, which describes itself as a pole ‘fitness’ studio, sends the wrong message to youths.

They include Mr Cheah Khuan Yew who wrote in to The Straits Times online forum expressing concern about ‘the portrayal of women in skimpy outfits and sensual dancing at the NDP’ since ‘pole dancing has its origins in strip clubs, however toned down the sensuality is now’.

Human resource executive Gregory Ho, 25, who saw the pole-dancing act at an NDP preview, told LifeStyle: ‘I can’t see what pole dancing has to do with Singapore. The performance was a bit raunchy and it shouldn’t be the way, especially when there were so many kids around.’

However, not everyone sees the inclusion of pole dancing as risque business.

Ms Poh Sze Phing, a 24-year-old life sciences graduate from the National University of Singapore who also saw the act at a preview, said: ‘I didn’t expect to see pole dancing. The performance was very interesting and not sleazy at all.’

Indeed, the dancers themselves are wondering what the fuss is about.

Source:Straits Times

Teen idol Miley Cyrus performed her song ‘Party in the USA’ at Sunday night’s Teen Choice Awards in Los Angeles, which was broadcast Monday night on Fox.

During the performance the 16-year-old singer does a pole dance atop a ice cream cart. She is dressed in micro-short shorts, black boots and her bra showing ( see a photo .)

The move has some people wondering whether she is going the Britney Spears career route and trying to grow up too fast ( Cyrus presented her “hero,” Britney Spears, with the a lifetime award at the show). Some are also concerned with the message she may be sending to her young fans.

“She already has this risque image, so it really wasn’t much of a stretch,” says Us magazine senior editor Ian Drew to Newsday . “That’s how Britney took off. She was the good girl gone bad, and it looks to be working for Miley as well.”

But Disney, which makes the hugely popular “Hannah Montana” brand said to Newsday , “Disney Channel won’t be commenting on that performance, although parents can rest assured that all content presented on the Disney Channel is age-appropriate for our audience - kids 6-14 - and consistent with what our brand values are.”

Entertainment Weekly wrote of the performance that it “came off completely inappropriate and ill-advised.”

Cyrus made headlines after a she posed semi-topless for the June 2008 Vanity Fare issue. She later said in a statement that   she was “so embarrassed. I never intended for any of this to happen and I apologize to my fans who I care so deeply about.”

But Cyrus’ young fans are behind her as the teen queen took away six surfboard-shaped trophies at the ceremony.

Source: My fox nepa

Nikki Craven grabs a metal dancing pole, and to the tune of Lady Gaga’s “Poker Face” lifts herself up on it, flips her legs over her head, does a twirl and slides down, hands first, onto the light-up tile floor.

Her students, on a Saturday afternoon at Inferno in downtown Greensboro, break into applause.

The News & Record of Greensboro reported that the 26-year-old Craven is a pole dance instructor. She is not, however, a stripper. And though she has had some students who were exotic dancers, most are just women wanting to spice things up in their relationships or looking for a unique way to get into shape.

“Some people, when I tell them I teach pole dancing, they instantly shut down,” Craven said. “They hear the words ‘pole dancing’ and then they just associate it with something unseemly. But this is more about getting women to come out of their shells, to be confident in their bodies.”

The classes are part of a growing national trend that’s drawing a wide variety of people. Craven’s students range in age from 18 to early 50s and include college students, a pastor’s wife and even a former body builder, Jody Luman.

“I wish I had known about this, or lived close enough to someone who did this when I was competing in bodybuilding in 2005 and 2006,” Luman said. “It builds up your abs, your thighs, upper body strength. You build up a lot of tone and muscle doing this.”

“I’m probably the only person you know whose house has scuff marks on the ceiling,” Craven says. source

Hilton Hairess Paris hilton kicked off season two of Paris Hilton’s My New BFF! on MTV and this installment featured guest appearances by Kathy Griffin and Lil’ Kim as well as stripper pole challenges.