3rd Annual Pole Dance Championship in Japan

Japan – Pole dancing has emerged to becoming a worldwide phenomenon as the third annual International Pole Dance Championships (IPC) is held on December 9, 2010 at the 3,000 seating capacity JCB Hall in Tokyo.

“I think there has been drastic changes in people’s attitudes about how they perceive pole dancing,” says Anna Przeplasko, organizer of the International Pole Championships.

Pole dancing, which started as a sexy art form in nightclubs and pole dance clubs is now an activity that is enjoyed by men and women of different ethnicities, interests and lifestyles. “You can track the popularity of pole dancing by country from the number of entries and the quality of those entries,” says Przeplasko.

“Canada was the first country to get into artistic pole dancing because of their advanced circus schools but it peaked there, so now the new wave is coming from countries like the United States, Japan, Australia and England,” notes Anna Przeplasko.

This is the second time that the IPC is being held in Tokyo. Japan’s very own Mai Sato won last year’s championship.  The first International Pole Championships was held in Manila where Filipina pole dancer Ana Marie Garbo won the overall championship in the women’s category. “We chose to have the first one in Manila for a few reasons. The government there was the most open, you need to think about visa issues and things like that,” says Przeplasko.

Last year’s competition includes the introduction of a male category. IPC is the only international pole dancing competition to have included this category. Male pole dancer Dave Kahl won the men’s crown.

This year, Mai Sato and Ana Marie Garbo will have to compete with each other to win in the same category. The organizers also have included a new category – the disabled category for people with physical disabilities.

The 2010 International Pole Dance Championship will receive worldwide media coverage as media companies from around the world will grace the occasion.