Nearly a hundred men hooted and
hollered as they threw dollar bills
onto the stage of The Dome during
the pole dancing competition held on
August 28.

Many people have very contrasting
views about pole dancing. While
some associate it with stripping and
even to the extreme of prostitution,
others view it in a much cleaner,
more innocent way.

Even though only five woman
were entered in the contest, there
were many different parts to the
show. The evening started off with a
challenge to any men in the audience
who believed that they could climb
all the way to the top of the pole.
Two men were chosen out of the
crowd and attempted the challenge.
One man could barely lift himself
up on the pole while the other man
climbed up the way a soldier would
climb up a knotted rope.

Each girl got a couple minutes to
show their moves on the pole. The
crowd shouted and a couple guys
threw some money up to the dancers
during their routine. What followed
was a round of lap dances, performed
by each girl.

Even with a “strip club” feel to the
show, the atmosphere was somewhat
different thanks to one very different
aspect.

Not a single one of the dancers
showed any nudity during the entire
night. That didn’t stop them from
dancing as sexy as possible.

There were five judges; three male
and two female. They had different
criteria that they based the judging
on, which included sex appeal, walk,
dress, style and of course, dancing
skill.

After all of the contestants performed,
“Tori” was announced as
the winner. She was awarded a $300
cash prize and bragging rights for the
evening.

Tori has been dancing for nine
years and is originally from San
Francisco. She is 26 and is now
working at The Exotic Kitty, which
is one of the newer gentleman’s
clubs in town.

Tori has already gotten a job offer
as a pole dancing instructor at a club
here in town.

She plans on retiring in a few
months.

“I’m hanging up the heels for
good.”

Pole dancing, in some opinions, is
growing into much more than just an
activity that belongs in a gentleman’s
club. Many women (and men) have
experimented with pole dancing for
fitness purposes. Flirty Girl Fitness
is a prime example of pole dancing
in, arguably, its classiest form. They
have fitness clubs in Chicago and
Toronto.

Tori also expressed her feelings on
the benefits of pole dancing.

“It’s amazing for fitness,” said
Tori. “It makes you more confident
in what you can do, it’s very athletic.”

Chencho Madena is very involved
with different events put on by The
Dome. This was the first event to
feature such a contest. To his knowledge
a pole dancing competition has
never been attempted in Bakersfield.

“It’s the first of many,” said Madena.
“Our goal is to let people know
that pole dancing is not a slutty thing.
Not slutty, just classy.”