Dancers aim for pole position in record books (From St Albans & Harpenden Review)

Dancers aim for pole position in record books

9:00am Sunday 10th September 2006 in News By Angela Knight

HUNDREDS of pole dancers from across the globe will be showcasing their acrobatic dance moves on Sunday when they attempt to set the world record for the most people pole dancing simultaneously.

Organised by St Albans dance instructor Katie Coates, the event takes place across Romford, Stevenage and Cheshunt on Sunday at 2pm.

The world record attempt has attracted pole dancers from across St Albans, London, Amsterdam, Melbourne, Chicago and Tasmania.

Ms Coates, who holds Vertical Dance pole dancing classes at Fitness First, in Christopher Place, St Albans, said: "We wanted to raise awareness of pole dancing as a reputable form of fitness.

"We also wanted to give something back, so we decided to do it for Cancer Research UK.

"Cancer is something that touches everyone in some way or another.

"In fact, one of our students has suffered with cervical cancer. Each person must raise a minimum of £10 to take part and some people have already raised thousands of pounds."

"We've had an unbelievable response from not only the pole dance industry, but also the fitness world.

"Everyone is really looking forward to taking part," added Ms Coates, who has choreographed a set ten-minute routine for dancers to complete.

With more than 11 years' experience as a pole dancer, the 29-year-old aims to remove the stigma attached to pole dancing and has set up a petition on her website www.verticaldance.com to get the dance accredited and governed by a professional dance body.

To attempt the world record, each dancer must have their own pole; stewards must ratify that all dancers fully participate in the attempt and two independent witnesses must provide statements declaring the exact number of participants, time, date and location.

A good quality recording of the attempt must be supplied and dancers are required to wear appropriate dancewear.

Each participant will appear on the vertical dance world record attempt page and will receive a certificate for their efforts.

Cancer Research UK carries out world-class research to improve its understanding of cancer and find out how to prevent, diagnose and treat different kinds of cancer.

For more information on Vertical Dance visit www.verticaldance.com and if you are not entering the event but would like to make a donation to Cancer Research UK visit the website www.justgiving.com/poledancingworldrecord