Karol Helms

Date of Birth:	January 23, 1983

Born in:	Texas, USA

Occupation:	Pole Dance Instructor, Judge, Performer, and Clown.

Favorite City:	HOME - Charlotte, NC, USA

Favorite Food:	Anything I cook in my own kitchen!

Favorite Drink:	I love my sweet tea! But a cold beer after a long day is kinda great, too!!

Favorite TV Shows:	True Blood, Ray Donovan, Dateline, Awkward, Banshee, Teen Wolf, True Detectives

What I do for fun:	I love to geek out on vid games or do crafty DIY projects around the house!

My Life as a Pole Athlete

Dance Background:	Track runner (hurdler) 3 years, 1 year on dance team in high school, motocross from age 8-14, all around tom-boy.

First time Pole Dance:	I started Pole Dancing in the clubs in 2002. I was immediately drawn to a girl who did a few simple tricks on the Pole. I wanted to be good at it too, so I would go into the club during the day and practice and teach. Before long, I was flipping upside down and having the time of my life... (and getting stronger in the process!)! I then bought a pole for my house in 2005 and started training all alone. Before long, there was a huge community of us, on Youtube sharing moves and tips, coming up with new moves, shortly thereafter competitions started popping up and I entered and won my first major comp in fall 2009.

First time Pole Dance:

I started Pole Dancing in the clubs in 2002. I was immediately drawn to a girl who did a few simple tricks on the Pole. I wanted to be good at it too, so I would go into the club during the day and practice and teach. Before long, I was flipping upside down and having the time of my life... (and getting stronger in the process!)! I then bought a pole for my house in 2005 and started training all alone. Before long, there was a huge community of us, on Youtube sharing moves and tips, coming up with new moves, shortly thereafter competitions started popping up and I entered and won my first major comp in fall 2009.

Favorite Pole Trick:	Superman Fall.

Most inspiring Pole Athlete:	Alethea Austin because it always seems like she's able to just take her time and let things flow out of her during a performance, where sometimes I feel like I get nervous still infront of bigger audiences and rush through everything and it ends up feeling forced rather than natural.

Training Times:	4-5 days a week. 2-3 hours per day. But not always Pole. I do weight training, aerial hoop, and flexibility training.

How I define Pole Dance:	Pole Dance is very physically demanding, requiring a ton of core strength, flexibility, and coordination to perform crazy inverted feats where you lift and move contort your body into crazy unnatural positions while all the while making it look effortless and beautiful.

Pole Dance is...:	SEXY, STRENGTH, SKILL.

Pole Dance vs. Pole Fitness:	I would say Pole Dance to me is where the performer is using elements of dance (exotic, ballet, contemporary, etc.) with all the strength and flexibility moves while telling a story or using the music to accentuate the moves or vice versa. Pole Fitness to me is using the pole to train to be fit or performing on it in a way that is very reminiscent of gymnastics, with little dance being incorporated and more emphasis being put on the strength and/or flexibility aspect of the moves.

Pole Dance vs. Pole Fitness:

I would say Pole Dance to me is where the performer is using elements of dance (exotic, ballet, contemporary, etc.) with all the strength and flexibility moves while telling a story or using the music to accentuate the moves or vice versa. Pole Fitness to me is using the pole to train to be fit or performing on it in a way that is very reminiscent of gymnastics, with little dance being incorporated and more emphasis being put on the strength and/or flexibility aspect of the moves.

Be a Dancer or Judge:	Nowadays I prefer to join a competition as a judge!

Titles I hold:	USPDF 2009 East Coast Champion; USPDF 2010 Championships 1st Runner Up - Miss Sexy; USPDF 2012 Championships - 3rd Place.

Reason to quit Pole Dancing:	I don't think I will ever quit Pole Dancing unless my body could just not physically do it anymore!

Get in touch

Official Website:	www.polepraxis.com

Official Facebook Site:	www.facebook.com/karolhelms

Pole Acrobatics Info is sponsor of:

POLE EXPO 2013

POLE FOR A PURPOSE 2013