Pole dancing down the yellow brick road
Jerusalem hosts Israel’s first pole show, set to the ‘The Wizard of Oz’
Jessica Steinberg, The Times of Israel's culture and lifestyles editor, covers the Sabra scene from south to north and back to the center
It was an unusual rendition of “The Wizard of Oz” at Jerusalem’s Beit Mazia on Sunday night.
Rather than strolling down the Yellow Brick Road, Dorothy and her three friends — no Toto this time — climbed, spun and inverted themselves on steel poles, in an acrobatic version of the classic tale.
It was Pole Show Jerusalem, a first for the holy city and in Israel, as some of the country’s best pole dancers showed off their dance and acrobatic moves on a set of three vertical poles set up on the Beit Mazia stage for the two-night show.
The cast of pole dancers, including two male pole dancers, acted out a simplified and shortened version of “The Wizard of Oz,” with a redheaded Dorothy in a checkered blue dress (with sparkly blue tap pants underneath), a violent-haired Glinda the Good Witch wearing hot-pink stiletto heels for her pole dances, and several scantily-dressed, Russian-accented pole dancers for the roles of Scarecrow, The Lion and the Wicked Witch.
“Half of the pole dancers are Russians because they work harder and it’s more accepted in their community,” said Ella Stahl, the 22-year-old producer of the show, a Jerusalemite and amateur pole dancer who studies computer science and cognitive studies at Hebrew University.
Pole dancing is a performing art and also a form of fitness, but it’s long been associated with strip clubs. Israel came a little later to the art form, and it’s now gaining traction, said Stahl, with about 30 clubs throughout Israel and a significant core of dancers and teachers.
“You have to acknowledge the sexuality, and I wanted to avoid anything slutty,” said Stahl, “but it’s also 100% a sport.”
She did set a minimum age of 16 for the audience, which included her youngest sister. Stahl and a friend also wrote text with music for the show, injecting some humor and well-known tunes.
The international pole dancing community hosts competitions, shows, conventions and festivals, but the Israeli community has only held competitions so far, so this was the first show, said Stahl. Most of the dancers lived outside Jerusalem, but were fairly game to rehearse together for the show, much to everyone’s surprise.
“That part of this has gone way beyond our expectations,” said Stahl, who said some of the dancers weren’t always pleasant to one another at first. “But I can talk, it’s what I do.”
It took time, however, and money. Stahl organized a Headstart crowdfunding campaign and raised NIS 50,000 for the production, along with the NIS 100 tickets.
There are some tickets left for Monday night’s final performance at 8 p.m.. NIS 100 each, Beit Mazia, Jerusalem.
