Pole Dance Competitions

Winning or even being a part of a pole dance competition may be an important way to launch or enhance your pole instructor career. Not only could this be a good opportunity to showcase your talents and perhaps land work as a performer, most competitions also offer good networking opportunities.

How to pole dance competitions differ from strip club competitions

Pole dance competitions are different than strip club competitions in several major ways:

• Categories and themes may vary wildly.
• Typically focused on quality of movement and execution of acrobatic tricks.
• Judges may have very specific guidelines on how to measure a performance.
• Very few have cash prizes.
• All have limitations on nudity.
• May be combined for men and women or may be separated by gender.

There may also be regional-level or national-level competitions all with different requirements. Finding a competition that best suits your comfort level and skill set can take some research. Check out this list of pole dance, pole sport and pole fitness competitions.

Additionally, some studios have inner studio competitions. These would typically not be as high-level as a pole dance competition.

Other Awards or Recognition

There are other ways to receive recognition on the pole dance circuit including:

• X-PERT Industry Awards
• IPC Pole Idol Award