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Thread: Origin of the Pole

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    Veteran Member Adina's Avatar
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    Default Origin of the Pole

    I was wondering if anyone knew where, when & why the pole came to be. Has it always been in strip clubs, just for something to hold on to for balance? Did it come from the poles of circus tents, and "cooch dancers"?

    Just curious.

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    Default Re:Origin of the Pole

    I always thought it originated in the circus but someone posted awhile back they heard it originated back in the days of olde when street hookers would do tricks on the lamp posts to attract potential customer's attention.

    I would guess London, probably about 1600's-ish. Did they have lamp posts in 1600 London? Maybe 1700's. I dunno you go back that far and the time just kinda blends together to me!


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    Veteran Member shedevil4260's Avatar
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    Default Re:Origin of the Pole

    Actually that is a great question! Now i'm really curious too! ???
    Lips, Hips, and Sugary Tits

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    Default Re:Origin of the Pole

    wouldn't this be a cool topic for a paper for school? How the hell do we go about researching such a topic?


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    God/dess montythegeek's Avatar
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    Default Re:Origin of the Pole

    Actually, Sapphire it is more recent. Try early 19th century.
    The original gas was not natural gas at all but coke oven gas and so you had to have a sizeable steel industry to make enough. When you heat coal to make coke to make steel or wrought iron, the volatile gasses are given off and collected. These gasses are still collected this way today, but are recycled to do other things inside the plant. If you look at the link here, it talks about the use in the US.
    http://pages.prodigy.net/fritter/gaslite.htm
    The story rings true but the backgound pattern is very annoying.

    As to the origin of pole tricks, they probably go back to tents and when buildings had poles for supports before steel or cheap dimensional stick lumber. The lack of such things are why really old houses had such small rooms.

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    Featured Member ami's Avatar
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    Default Re:Origin of the Pole

    my first guess would be that it is the main surviver of the burlesque age when entertainers used all kinda of fun props from large bubbles to fans and scarves. ill look into it more....

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    Default Re:Origin of the Pole

    hmmm...I just typed a response and don't know how I lost it.

    ok, that is very in-ter-es-ting. So even if the hooker on the lamppost theory is true, the circus proablay started earlier. shit I can't spell tonight and I'm sick of backing up.
    $apphire (who is making her 6th hot rum toddy of the day because her throat tis so sore due to illness but should probably go easy on the rum now)


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    Default Re:Origin of the Pole

    Just think. One day there will be people reading and discussing how strippers used to use poles to dance with poles and sometimes do some pretty damn amazing tricks. They will sit in awe when they see pictures of the way things used to be. And then they will laugh about how ridiculous it all must have been, and perhaps some will even long for these days to return, becauseit was more of a performance....

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    Default Re:Origin of the Pole

    i wanna know! LOL... good topic!

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    God/dess velvet's Avatar
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    Default Re:Origin of the Pole

    i dont know if it goes back that far. i know the clubs here in tampa and texas did NOT have poles in the clubs in the 60's and 70's. early 80's on up was when they started to show up in the clubs.
    As quoted by Luckyone:
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    Default Re:Origin of the Pole

    Quote Originally Posted by miss george link=board=1;threadid=5752;start=msg62445#msg62445 date=1073928696
    Isn't there some lady in Arizona or somewhere in the Southwest that has a burlesque museum? I think she might even host some yearly burlesque convention there. Anyway, I bet she would know. I just can't remember her name. Does anyone else know who I'm talking about? Because now I really want to know, too!
    I think that this is the museum that MG is referring to.

    http://www.exoticworldusa.org/

    I'll bet that this gal and a lot of old time strippers would know a lot of stuff. Wish we could get them to find this website because I'm sure there are a lot of women out there who'd danced in past eras that would love to share their stories.

    Yeah, that would be a fun project to research the history and culture of strip clubs. Where the pole came from, the tipping etiquette, the private dance, how dancer outfits/shoes have changed over the years, when certain degrees of nudity or contact have changed.
    Former SCJ now in rehab.

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    Featured Member ami's Avatar
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    Default Re:Origin of the Pole

    i have yet to find anything directly refering to the pole but here are some cool sites about burlesque:

    list of dancers from vaudville to modern strip clubs. pics too.
    http://www.streetswing.com/histburl/1index.htm

    timeline of important burlesque dates
    http://www.anatomyofburlesque.com/datesframe.htm

    I would like to note that Little Egypt was NOT a stripper. she didnt take her clothes off. she was considered rique because she had more skin showing then proper ladies and she moved her hips when she danced. She is also the reason for the terms exotic dancing (because it was a forign or exotic dance), and belly danceing (because her belly showed). It was also called the hotchy cootchie dance. that is why we dont 'exotic dance' we erotic dance.

    i would love to do a veil, scarf, or fan dance like sally rand in the pic.

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    Default Re:Origin of the Pole

    This question was run in a post way back when. The last we heard someone was going to go to the museum of burlesque to find out and that's the last anyone heard on the subject.

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    Default Re:Origin of the Pole

    I feel so dumb because out of the 2 years I've danced this question has never crossed my mind! lol
    Lips, Hips, and Sugary Tits

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    Default Re:Origin of the Pole

    I NEED more info on this subject. Too bad I'm lazy to look for it. I'll just keep my eyes peeled on this topic.. (HInt HInt Montythegeek and doc catfish
    Lips, Hips, and Sugary Tits

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    Default Re:Origin of the Pole

    Ok, I was curious about this so I did a little research. During the early 1800s in the western territories as more and more people were moving in search of wealth and a fresh start, there naturally were services that sprang up in small towns along the travel routes. These services included general stores, brothels, saloons, and of course burlesque style shows with dancers. Metal being in short supply, most of these buildings and small towns were crudely constructed out of unprocessed lumber and branches, whatever was available. The 'money' was in some of the more profitable gold mining and banking businesses, affording them the choice supplies. Naturally, under these harsh and wild conditions, the burlesque shows attracted some of the tougher people, both as far as dancers and their clientele is concerned. It seems one club in Kansas had a particularly 'rough' reputation. The story is that one night a local group of outlaws were very drunk and causing trouble with the dancers. There being no marshall or ranger (police) presence, their antics got considerably worse as the night went on, continually harassing one dancer in particular. At one point, the leader of the group supposedly challenged one dancer, shouting at her to "give him what he needed." The infuriated dancer apparently pulled a large thin branch (used as part of the bar) and beat the outlaw with it, shoving it into his rectum. The story spread and the idea of having a pole-like branch, as part of the building, on hand and close to the dancer for unruly customers was adopted at other dance places and saloons. As time wore on and supplies improved, processed lumber "poles" were used to help support the buildings on top of increasingly large stages and also to serve this unusual purpose (though it was frequently only symbolic). Evetually metal was used for supports beams and poles, and the idea of spinning or using the pole for tricks became feasible. Ok, so I have no idea whatsoever where the pole came from, but you have to admit: you chuckled when you read that story!

    -lestat1
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    omg, why is it so huge?!! lol lol

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    Default Re:Origin of the Pole

    I saw it on TV just a couple of months ago. It was a documentary on the circus narrated by Jason Alexander, George Castanza on Seinfeld. In it he said that the origin of burlesque was in the traveling carnivals. They performed in tents on a center stage. The pole was the main tent support.

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    Default Re:Origin of the Pole

    anon1 do you remember when? What era was this?


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    Default Re:Origin of the Pole

    I contacted the people at http://www.burlesquehistory.com and asked if the pole had anything to do with burlesque. this is the reply i recived:

    "Pole dancing has nothing to do with burlesque, it came in after go-
    go...sorry. jb"

    not a lot of info, but it does narrow it down. so like velvet said, prolly just showed up in 70's and 80's.... maybe a gymnist had an idea or something...?

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    Featured Member ami's Avatar
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    Default Re:Origin of the Pole

    i dont know if this has anything to do with it, but if you can climb a greased pole a regular one should be simple...

    from http://www.brazzil.com/pages/blamay02.htm
    "Every Festa Junina has a tall pole with a Saint John image hanging on it. Tradition says that Elizabeth, Saint John's mother, used a tall pole to announce the son's birth to Saint John's aunt, Mary who was expecting Jesus. In Brazil, this pole was transformed into a special attraction; it is the so-called pau-de-sebo (greased pole). The pole is covered with grease and money or any other kind of prize is placed on its top. "

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    God/dess velvet's Avatar
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    Default Re:Origin of the Pole

    thats exactly what i thought. i have seen burlesque in the early 80's and there wasnt a pole to be found. the girls i saw were of the old school, dancing to them did involve nudity but only a small part. the routine was about 20-30mins long starting in a long gown and going down to nude with a robe covering and only small flashes of "bush". off topic somewhat but relevant to what i saw, no pole!
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    Default Re:Origin of the Pole

    I THINK EVERYONE IS LOOKING TO FAR BACK IN TIME.
    THE POLE I THINK ORIGINATED BECAUSE OF GO GO DANCING WHEN CLUB OWNERS WOULD HAVE SCANILLY DRESSED GIRLS DANCING IN CAGES OR UP ON ELIVATED PLATFORMS, OR BIRD CAGES. IT WAS THERE THAT THE HIGHLY INVENTIVE DANCERS LEARNED THEY COULD DO SPINS AND TRICK ON THE "POLES" OR FRAME WORK OF THE CAGES OVER THE CUSTOMERS AND PUT ON A SHOW.


    BUT IF YOU LOOK BACK YOU CAN SEE HOW THIS HAPPENED .
    http://www.sukiville.com/history.html

    AND IT WAS ALSO THE BEGINNING OF DISCO!
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    Default Re:Origin of the Pole

    I like the hookers on lamp posts in Olde England theory better. I wonder if there are any Olde English paintings depicting such a sight?


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    Default Re:Origin of the Pole

    I agree with Sapphire. It's much more of a cooler story to tell.
    Lips, Hips, and Sugary Tits

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