Workout is more about being fit than erotic

Pole dancing was once associated with strip clubs, but many now see it as a way to keep fit. World doubles champions Terri Walsh and Lisette Krol tell Sharon Ni Chonchuir it should be recognised as a sport.

RIHANNA’S video for her new single Pour It Up is causing quite a stir. But it’s not because of anything the often controversial singer (pictured right) has said or done. Instead, the attention is on Nicole ‘the pole’ Williams, a dancer who performs a gravity-defying pole dancing routine that has already had more than one million hits on YouTube.

Pole dancing was once associated with sleazy strip clubs but that has begun to change in recent years. It’s been embraced as a fitness regime by the likes of Kate Moss, Paris Hilton, Pamela Anderson and Jessica Alba. Dance studios all over the country offer pole dancing classes. And now Ireland has its own pole dancing champions. Lisette Krol and Terri Walsh won the doubles at the World Pole Sports Championships in London in July.