Dangerous Curves III

This weekend is the third annual Dangerous Curves, a celebration of plus size pole athletes, created and hosted by my friend, Roz THE DIVA Mays.  Roz has been a cheerleader for plus sized athletes in pole dance since the birth of modern pole and I appreciate all the love and support she gives me so I try to give it right back when I can.  I cannot be in New York this weekend (but am hoping this is a trip I can make next year, either as a spectator or maybe even as a competitor!!!?).  However, if you ARE in New York, please check out the show and give me a review! 

If you need more incentive, my loves at the Pole Dancing Bloggers Association are giving away a free ticket!!  Click THIS link for more information.

I encourage everyone to support the shit out of Roz and Dangerous Curves!  Please check THIS link if you're in New York and want to purchase tickets! 

West Coast Curves at NCPP

It's hard to say exactly how I heard about Roz the Diva. As soon as I started pole dancing, I started rabidly searching Facebook and the internet for other pole dancers. This was long before we had the close-knit community of pole dancers from around the world at our Facebook finger tips.  I did my first interview with Roz on this blog in 2011.  You can read that HERE. 

I first met her in person at Pole Convention 2012. I was actually at the AERA show and saw her in the crowd. It was like we had known each other for years. When she performed at Convention, I was blown away by her performance. It was full of "did she just do that?!" moments and it is still one of my favorite pole performances to date. You can watch that video HERE.

Roz held her first Dangerous Curves competition in 2012. She gathered plus-sized athletes from the East Coast and gave them a stage. In early 2013, we started talking about bringing it to the West Coast. Roz came to the West Coast again in 2013 to visit Twirly Girls for some workshops and attended Pole Expo, but we didn't have a chance to put that comeptition together. Dangerous Curves II was held in 2013, again in New York.

Well, my friends, after two years of yapping about it, The Diva and I have finally found a home for Dangerous Curves on the West Coast. May I introduce you to West Coast Curves at NCPP. I figured since we were going to be spending all this effort on a venue and rigging for Northern California Pole Presentational, it was time to make Dangerous Curves happen too.

And so it began.

We are so excited to bring West Coast Curves at NCPP to San Jose Stage Company on August 23, 2014. If you are a plus-sized pole athlete and would like to apply to the comeptition, please click HERE.

"West Coast Curves (WCC) is newest installment of Dangerous Curves (DC), the wildly popular competition series for plus size pole dancers. This particular event will feature up to ten (10) competitors to impress a panel of judges that will decide on the top four (4) finishers. From there, the crowd will determine which dancer has earned a guaranteed spot in the Dangerous Curves Grand Finale in NYC (fall 2014) [travel not included]. The Diva will also select a second person to go to NY for the finale!"

And how is plus-sized defined?

"There is no hard and fast definition of "plus size," but women who wear a size 12+ and men who wear a size XL+ are usually considered plus size. If you fall outside of that criteria but still identify as a plus size pole dancer, you are still welcome to enter."

If you are wondering WHY we are having two separate events, it is for two reasons.  (A) I respect Roz and her brand, Dangerous Curves. I respect that plus-sized bodies are built differently than "straight"-sized bodies, and may be unable to perform ALL the moves those bodies can perform (although if you've watched Roz dance, there don't seem to be many moves she can't do). Having a platform with a more even playing field seems like a no-brainer. That being said, I don't really believe that every single comeptition or event needs a plus-sized category. I feel like Roz has spent a lot of time building the DC brand, so I am happy to bring that brand to us rather than start from scratch and compete with her. (B) NCPP is not a competition. It is a showcase, offering three different skill levels, with optional feedback. So if plus-sized dancers are looking to COMPETE, WCC is the event for them. If they just want feedback on their moves, then NCPP is the event for them. If they want both options, they are welcome to apply to both!  It's that simple.

I am really excited about this endeavor. I admire Roz, not only as a pole dancer but as a woman who busts her ass every day to make it in this crazy world. I feel very fortunate to have met her and cannot wait to see her again in August. I believe I may be able to talk her into walking the WCC stage in our almost-matching bikinis.

So, again, if you want to apply to WCC, please click HERE.  You can ALSO apply to NCPP (solos (three levels), duos and groups welcome)...and to do that, click HERE. (We already have one dancer doing both events!) If you want an explanation as to why we must charge fees and/or why we are doing NCPP to begin with, please click HERE.

In addition, if you are interested in SPONSORING WCC (hello there, my local plus-size loving companies), or NCPP (I'll be blogging about this later with what we are looking for), or if you are interested in buying tickets to attend these events, please e-mail us through the website.  Roz is also available to teach workshops while she is here in August. If you are interested in booking a workshop with her (I LOOOOVE her SWAG workshop), then please e-mail us through the website (link above) and I will put you in touch with her.

Thank you again to Roz for allowing Ellen and I to partner with her on this endeavor.  See you all in August! 

Dangerous Curves - West Coast Edition

Last year, I wrote about how Roz the Diva had created a competition for curvy pole dancers.  Dangerous Curves was held on August 25, 2012 at Sacred Studio in Brooklyn, New York.  It was hosted by the hilarious Luenell.  I have not had the pleasure of being able to watch any videos from the competition, but I understand it was an awesome, sell-out performance. 

I spoke on the phone with Roz while I was at Pole Expo in Vegas last September.  We chatted about creating the West Coast edition of the competition.  I don't think there is confirmation of a date or venue yet, but I am hoping that the second edition of this competition will be scheduled in connection with Roz's trip to Las Vegas for the second annual Pole Expo this September.  I am planning to attend that event, and am hoping to schedule some workshops in Northern California for Roz as well (if you are in Las Vegas or California, please let me know if you'd be interested in workshops and I will connect you with Roz). 

Here's the kicker...I may even throw my hat in the ring.  Sure, I have a loooong way to go before I am ready for a competition.  But I feel like, as an advocate for curvy pole dancers, I need to talk the talk AND walk the walk.  Hey, I can't guarantee I'll get in, but I do promise to submit a video for consideration. 

Roz really is one of the most dynamic performers I have ever seen before.  I hope to take a few of her tips to provide an entertaining performance, and I am hoping that having an end goal like this will also keep me on track at the gym.

Now I can start throwing up and sweating.  I don't know why I keep forcing myself to do things that terrify me.  I feel like this is similar to the roller coaster ride I took at Disneyland.  The first two made me almost pee my pants.  But the next four times, I was having a grand ol' time.