Did you hear WHO was at the California Pole Dance Championships?

Ohhhh the California Pole Dance Championship was splendid!  I had the immense pleasure of hanging out in Bad Kitty’ s VIP box and mingling with the dancers backstage.  So much fun!  The setting at The Avalon was the perfect mixture of lounge and theater and the show was sold out.  A big thanks to Anjeldust for putting it all together.  It was gorgeous. 

I haven’t been to a showcase since The Pole Convention in DC and, once again, I was struck by the differences in each contestant’s choreography.  Some dancers’ routines were more technical and elegant while others were extremely sensual and erotic.  Madeline Eve’s tender and angry dance (dedicated to anyone who had lost someone) was heart wrenching to watch.  She poured so much emotion into each movement.  It was a delicious reminder of how pole dancing is as much about emotional expression as it is about skill.  Erika Labansat playfully danced her way in and out of a coffin and Flying Laura Martin lived up to her name by finishing her dance with a dizzying inverted spin combo.  My boyfriend actually leaned over to me and asked “Why do I feel like she isn’t holding on to the pole with anything?”  There were fantastic performances by Felix Cane, Bad Azz, Alethea Austin, Jamilla Deville, Estee Zakar and Amber Kittle, last year’s champion. 

            If you had the chance to attend the Champagne Meet and Greet just before the show then you know that Felix Cane was there, signing autographs.  You might have also seen all of the super sexy posters decorating the lobby.   Some were of Felix Cane, some were of Stripperella (striptease heroine extraordinaire), and some were of Felix Cane as Vixxxena, Striperella’s trusty sidekick.   Yes, that’s right!  Felix Cane is officially a cartoon character!  Named Vixxenna!   If you’re not in the know (and I was not) comic book genius Stan Lee (president of Marvel Comics, invented Spiderman) and artist Anthony Lee Winn (he is responsible for every one of those drawings at the CPDC) have teamed up to create a rather sassy and scintillating graphic novel/wireless comic book called “Stripperella”.  The premise?  Stripper by night and super heroine… by day and night! Her superpower?  Why seduction, of course!  Personally I’m looking forward to seeing how this comic strip helps shape the public’s perception of female sexuality into something a little more liberated, powerful and playful.  I had the chance to speak briefly with Anthony Lee Winn, and when I asked him what drew him to the Stripperella character he said, “Empowerment .  It’s about empowering women through their femininity, through their sexuality.”  Couldn’t have said it better myself.