Pole Dancers Vie for Top Honors in Budapest
Pole dancers from around the world descended on Budapest for the young discipline’s world championships this weekend. For the first time, men were also able to show their stuff.
It used to be that cat calls and tip jars were the only available measures of pole-dancing expertise. These days, though, the discipline has left its murky strip-club origins far behind. And on Saturday, dozens of competitors from around the globe gathered in Budapest, Hungary for the World Pole Sport Championships.
The contest, put on by the World Pole Sport Federation, has been put on every year since 2005 and competitors are judged by a panel of experts on their skills, style and tricks. This year saw the introduction of a category for male competitors as well as for pairs.
It is, as the website says, “a showcase event demonstrating sheer physical strength with mesmerizing skill and stamina through individually choreographed routines…”