The Oberlin Pole Dance Club, an up-and-coming student organization, will present their first performance, Soirée Noire. The show will feature several acts at The ’Sco tonight at 10 p.m.
This is the first time Oberlin Pole will put on an event showcasing only its own acts. In opposed past shows, they have collaborated with OBurlesque or OCircus.
“I’m excited [for this show] because it’s groundbreaking for [our] student organization ,” College third-year and club founder Natalie Frank said. “I think it’ll go really well. Obviously, people haven’t had months to practice for it, but they’ve poured a lot of their excitement into creating a piece for this.”
Frank’s planning got the event off the ground, though she faced challenges in doing so.
“It was a little bit unofficial, and as I kept doing it, there were more people who expressed interest in it,” Frank said. “I realized that we needed a growing budget. Last year, I floated the idea of getting a studio to a few people, and I connected with Residence Life, who got me the South [Hall] dance studios. I transitioned [it] into a student organization, requested the poles, got them, and we’ve just been [running] from there.”
As students’ interest around Oberlin Pole has grown, Frank maintains that no prior experience is necessary.
“I love to say that you need nothing to do pole dancing,” Frank said. “In my time here over the past three years, I have heard every reason not to do pole dance, usually by people who want to do it — whether it’s their gender, fitness level, how much time they have, et cetera. I haven’t taught a single person who can’t do at least one full trick. So I really think [that] you don’t need anything, which sounds impossible, but it really is open to everyone.”
This openness has brought in around 70 people to the club this calendar year, with around 20 coming to open pole hours per week.
“Had [pole dance at Oberlin] been gatekept, you would be seeing a very different show,” College first-year and performer Mina Stalhamer said. “In this case, we really celebrate each other’s progress in the art form and not as a way to exploit each other.”
Prior to coming to Oberlin, Stalhamer searched endlessly through the club catalog for an opportunity to engage in pole dance, so she was pleasantly surprised to see Frank’s table at the club fair.
“What people don’t realize is that you do pole for yourself,” Stalhamer said. “It is a form of dance.”
There are a multitude of ways and reasons to pole dance. Frank remarked on the benefits of bringing a cost-prohibitive activity to campus in the form of a student organization.
“It makes this beautiful, awesome dance form accessible to our community,” Frank said.
Frank hopes to elicit a “super sultry and intimate” atmosphere with this show.
“I’ve had so many people tell me how excited they are about the show and how they’re gonna wear black and white, or how they’re bringing their friends, and I think that it’s really cool that people are just so excited to show up for it,” Frank said.
