What if you don't have muscles to do that?
Rachel Tolzman: I love this part [laughs]
where she's like,
"What if you don't have muscles to do that?"
And then she's like,
"All girls have the muscles to do this."
My name is Rachel Tolzman,
and I'm a professional pole dancer.
I've been pole dancing for
probably around eight years,
and I've competed internationally
and won a bunch of prestigious titles.
And today I'm going to be critiquing some
iconic pole-dancing scenes in several movies.
OK, so she's doing, like,
a proper, like, back hook spin there.
Underarm turn.
Then it kind of cuts out, and I notice
we only see, like, the top half of the body,
and we don't see what's going on in the bottom half.
I think they make them look more skilled
with the camera angles that they choose.
That hand change at the end was a little bit rocky.
With the top hand, she doesn't move
through the twisty-grip position
and then back naturally to a true-grip position.
Like, I think she leaves her hand position,
like, in her wrist, in the same kind of formation,
and gets, like, stuck there at the end
and then has to quickly change it,
so it's not very fluid.
So, there are several competitions out there
that are highly regulated,
like the International Pole Sports Federation.
They send you a booklet full of tricks,
with the pictures of the tricks
and how many points are allotted to that trick
and how you have to do it
and how long you have to hold that specific position for.
That's, like, very highly technical
and maybe more sport-like,
whereas there are other competitions
that are more theatrical in nature.
So that requires you to also be a good storyteller,
good actress, a very good dancer as well.
Like, a seven out of 10.
7.5.
So, definitely this is not Rihanna. [laughs]
When she does the whole kind of pass on the pole,
she does a, well, that's called a flying K.
And she's doing it in heels, so that's pretty cool.
And then she hooks her outside leg,
and then switches to an inside leg hang,
and then kind of reaches back.
That's called an allegra,
when she reaches behind the pole and grabs the other leg,
and she's trying to extend it even further.
So it also shows, like, some flexibility there.
That's just a fan kick.
So, starting from the
inside leg to the outside leg.
It takes quite a lot of work
to hoist your leg up like that,
that first move she does, the flying K.
And then to have the confidence to do it on spin pole.
So, poles can either be fixed, like, static,
or they can be spinning, so that
just a mechanism at the bottom is released,
and the pole rotates.
If you compete, then you are expected
to do some of your passes on static pole
and some of your other elements on spin.
Mainly if you're doing any sort of, like,
backflips or things like that,
you're gonna be doing it on a fixed pole.
So you'd be doing it on the static one.
Eight out of 10.
Almost at an advanced level.
What an entrance. Like, she's [laughs]
already, like, approaching the stage
and the pole with such confidence.
So, she goes into, like, a basic spin
that everybody learns when they begin pole,
so it's a chair spin,
and then she goes into, like, a back hook.
And body waves. I mean, she has this down,
you know. [laughs]
Body rolls.
Front-hook spin, maybe fish-hook spin,
I can't really tell 'cause they cut off her legs.
Now it's, like, a fairy sit,
and coming down.
Oh, here's where she inverts,
and that's really actually quite great.
However, she does use her outside leg
to kind of hoist herself up on the pole,
but, I mean, it's amazing, what she does.
Sliding down on the pole is a little bit like...
I don't know, like how she was taught to come down,
but it looks very nice.
Actually, so, she's crossing her legs
almost like a hang back.
However, it's sort of like a mix
between a hang back and a crucifix,
because she's keeping her inside shoulder
in front of the pole.
If you can't come down from an invert
in, like, a forwards position, in a controlled way,
then it kind of looks kind of clunky.
And that just requires more strength
and probably more time than she had
to prepare for this role.
But she actually does invert, so that's pretty cool.
There are so many dollar bills. I'm like,
I'm pretty sure that that never really happens,
that you have, like, that amount of money
being thrown at you. [laughs] I mean,
I think more people would be doing it otherwise,
you know?
Ramona: Hold on with that knee.
Destiny: OK.
Rachel: I really, really like this scene,
because it does actually kind of showcase
somebody, like, learning the very first
basic moves in pole.
How you can hook your legs on the pole,
how can you hook your ankle on the pole.
We sort of have, like, a common vocabulary
in the pole world with names of tricks.
Some of them vary slightly, depending on where you are.
Ramona: Here you could do a carousel.
Rachel: So, I would call this a chair spin.
To me, a carousel spin is when your hips
are actually facing the pole the whole time in the spin,
whereas the chair spin, you're spinning to the side
and you're basically
parallel to the pole as you go around.
Ramona: Go into a fairy sit. Rachel: Fairy sit, yeah.
Ramona: Stag.
Rachel: Well, so, we call this a stag,
or double stag, or sun wheel as well.
Here she does a,
I would say that's a layout, not a tabletop,
but [laughs].
Destiny: What if you don't have muscles to do that?
[laughs]
Rachel: Where she's like,
"What if you don't have muscles to do that?"
And then she's like,
"All girls have the muscles to do this."
Like, it's just so, it's a lovely moment, I think,
that they showcase here in this scene,
because this is just like the typical journey
that everyone takes when they start learning pole.
And, you know, she has these probably 7-inch heels on,
so she's already starting
from an elevated point on the floor,
so when she does do the two climbs,
it looks like she's quite high.
The viewer probably may come to a realization,
"Oh, wow, well actually this is really,
like, can be very technical and is a lot of hard work."
I would give a nine out of 10.
I think they're purposely doing a really poor job
[laughs] of anything pole-related.
There's a competition called Pole Theatre,
and there's a comedic category,
so you can enter and do something funny like this,
and the purpose is to make people laugh, so.
They're trying to do body waves here,
but they're doing, like,
these strange undulations.
[laughs]
This is like, very poor example of, like, "Magic Mike."
The hand position is always so weird.
Like, why would anyone grab here?
I would not advise licking the pole.
Yeah, that's kinda gross. [laughs]
Like, a 1.5.
Yeah.
Sorry, Steve.
The arching back, I mean,
it's so common in some of these clips.
It's just, like, throwing yourself in a backbend.
Like, OK.
This, I was really impressed with.
It's kind of like a box split
that she's sliding down into,
so she has great flexibility.
Her back hook spin is really nice
and really fluid at the end where she kind of,
kind of does, like, a little arch up.
And here is where she's doing an invert,
and she comes into, like, almost like a
caterpillar climb, like, body wave.
First you invert, you go upside down,
you go into what's called a crucifix.
So, that means your legs are above your head.
And then you proceed to climb the pole upside down.
And the reason why it's called a caterpillar
is because you're kind of, like,
if you go up the pole like that,
it kind of looks like a little bit of a wave,
like a little worm or a little caterpillar going up.
Yeah, she's not moving with the climb,
she's just holding with in between her knees.
And there's not a lot going on,
but the elements that do happen, I mean,
it's, like, a seven.
Little bit of sassy kind of, like, hip movement.
This is definitely, I think,
along the lines of more of a striptease,
burlesque, rather than anything pole.
There was sort of a step around.
Pole dance can be so many different things.
It is, I think it is an art form.
I think it is a sport as well.
So, one could argue that this is just
highlighting kind of one aspect
or one side of the pole world.
The thing that comes to people's mind the most
when they instantly think of pole,
if they don't know otherwise,
maybe they kind of assume that it
is something that belongs in the exotic world.
The art form evolved from different forms,
coming from India and China first.
So, we have men on poles doing acrobatic tricks
and jumping from pole to pole.
And so you have that element,
but then, of course,
the more burlesque kind of side of pole
evolved in circuses and circus tents
and ladies, you know, dancing around the pole,
and then, you know, doing a little burlesque act.
And so that's kind of where
that side of pole originated.
She's very believable as that kind of character.
But technically, maybe like a two.
So. [laughs]
For some reason, reminds me a little bit of "Flashdance,"
but it's not as nice, you know. [laughs]
It's like...[laughs]
That was so bad.
Sorry, I don't mean any disrespect to the actress.
But, like, basically looks like she was trying
to do a fireman spin.
A fireman spin is where you have the pole,
like, in between the thighs,
and your feet are pointed towards your bum.
But it's just like, she just, like,
jumps onto the pole.
First teaching people how to do spins and basic things,
I was like, "No jumping." [laughs]
You're not allowed to just kind of
jump onto the pole.
And then a very aggressive striptease.
Some sort of, like, step-around spin.
More licking the pole! [laughs]
This is the worst.
That one, like, little turn she does with her leg
out to the side, it looks quite nice.
I think that's the best move she does here.
I would give her an A for effort, but [laughs]
I would probably, 4.5.
Well, it is highly choreographed, first of all.
Kind of jazzy elements in it,
and also, oh, there, like, Latin dance.
Like, ballroom.
[laughs] The heels on the poles.
I don't know, it just kinda reminds me
of something like Fosse.
I don't know why, like...
yeah, just the clacking of the heels,
and then the stomping.
Then some acro tricks.
OK, so these guys now are doing proper handsprings.
So, that's what that move is called.
And they're just hanging up there in, like,
a pike position or something.
And then they do, like,
a little middle split leap. I love it.
Nice, dramatic ending,
just with some amazing, like, camera work
and camera angles, because she's not doing much.
Seven out of 10, yeah.
OK, so she does do something quite technical there,
and has, like, a proper grip,
called, like, a bracket grip.
So, the outside arm is kind of across,
and the bottom hand is low.
And she goes into a move called cradle
and opens up to, that split is called jamilla.
So, yeah, that's actually pretty technical.
And I wonder if it is her that did this,
or a dance double, or...
it's definitely a skill that requires
a bit of strength to do, so.
Based off of that little, little section,
like, that little move,
I would say maybe six out of 10,
'cause it's not bad.
Yeah, I've never seen this before, actually.
This combination of striptease and
singing a very kind of emo song.
And then, yeah, there is, like,
the random pole in the background,
and she takes a few walks around the pole.
There's an underarm turn, OK.
The arms right now are kind of in, like,
a shoulder mount position, so someone must have,
I don't know, maybe she thought that up on her own,
but maybe someone kind of directed her to do that.
Producer: Like, it's a little bit hammy, isn't it?
Rachel: It is really hammy, yeah. [laughs]
I never use that word, but yeah,
it's cheesy.
Yeah, I would say cheesy.
I'm not gonna mark it as low as, what was that,
"Date Night"? [laughs]
Because she actually did, like, an underarm turn.
OK, so we'll give it a two out of 10.
And this is, like, very poor example of, like,
"Magic Mike" kind of, like, twerking. [laughs]