» Behind Australian Pole Dance

The Australian Pole Dance company has been developed from a collaboration between several organisations from all over Australia.

With expertise in running national / international conferences, running competitions, co-ordinating pole dance events & international marketing. This team has combined its skills to bring you a national competition that is run for the elite of the industry.

The Australian Pole Dance Championships offers opportunities to all professional dancers to take out a title that represents their superior ability. Awarded by your peers in the industry, an APD title symbolises national recognition of your talent & hard work. This is a competition designed by pole dancers & industry professionals to ensure that the title you win – you own. Endorsed by the International Pole Federation, this event promotes the artistry, whilst maintaining the integrity of a sporting competition.

We welcome your feedback & your support in bringing elite professional dancers a competition run to benefit the pole dance community as a whole.

Sarah Martin

Sarah has been dancing for over 20 years, and pole dancing for 5 years. Sarah is heavily involved in the Australian pole dance industry; as a pole school owner, a teacher, a performer and a competitor, and is a positive influence within the community. Having successfully competed in numerous rhythmic gymnastic competitions and dance eisteddfods throughout her dance career, she brings a wealth of knowledge and experience in this field to the team. With this experience, she has helped train many competitors for amateur pole dance competitions in Sydney. She also runs a monthly performance revue in Sydney and knows what goes into putting an exciting and entertaining event on.

Kym McGowan

Kym is a pole dancer who has competed at a national level and performed Australia-wide and internationally over her four years in the pole dance industry. She has moved into the specialised area of sharing her skills with others through pole tricks workshops and professional performer and instructor training. Kym was one of the Pure Pole Angels who brought the sport of pole dance to the public's eye when they made it through to the semi-finals of Australia's Got Talent in 2010. Her involvement in the pole dance community extends internationally to the online community where she regularly contributes.

"... with a background in fitness and circus styles of pole dance, I'm excited that we can break ground by offering an avenue of competitive performance for these styles, within a national competition. It's an area of pole dance that has not had a place of its own in the Australian competition arena before."

Founding members & shareholders:

Natalie TeKanawa

Natalie TeKanawa (founding director of APDC) is stepping back from her role as an active Director to focus her time & energy on her exciting new role as the Vice President of APPSA (the Asia-Pacific Pole Sport Alliance) as well as continuing to run the Girlfriend and the Pure Pole Academy companies. APD Pty Ltd publically acknowledges Nat's contribution to the team over the past years & we are looking forward to working with both APPSA & the IPF in relation to our judging criteria & standards.

Bringing experience of nine years in the pole dance industry, Natalie has been involved in both a managerial and training capacity across all aspects of pole, from clubs, competitive pole dance through to the fitness industry. Natalie is one of the first pioneers of professional pole dance training, covering all styles and levels, both exotic and fitness. Natalie not only provided specialised training to professional dancers, but she recognised the need for gaining formal fitness training, which she did in order to present pole dancing as a sport and form of fitness to the mainstream public. Natalie brings management skills from within the pole dance sector, combined with several years of experience in runnning pole dance competitions, training and choreographing elite level performers and professional competitors.

"... when I developed the concept for the Australian Pole Dance Championships, I had three goals that I wanted to achieve. The first was for the competition to be accessible to all pole schools and competitors. The second was for it to provide a competitive platform which caters to all different styles of pole dancing and pole dancers - from male to female and first time to professional competitors. Thirdly, to avoid bias and unfair judging, it was important to provide professional judges and judging criteria independent to the body that is running the competition. After years of developing the concept, we are proud to now be able to bring the Australian Pole Dance Championships to every dancer."

Jessie Dee

Jessie Dee (founding director of APDC) is stepping back from her role as an active Director to focus her time & energy on her other companies. Jessie is exceptionally proud of the APDC event & remains a committed supporter of the Championships.

Five years working in the Australian Pole Dance market, running one of Australia’s leading pole companies. Jessie has a background in management with 10 years International Marketing, Project Management & Brand management experience. Having worked in corporate environments internationally, Jessie brings her trade & conferencing skills to the team. Along with her extensive knowledge of the national pole dance market, Jessie works with all the most well respected pole schools nationally. Jessie is committed to involving schools & professionals from all over Australia to ensure the APD championships are a fully integrated competition.

“…the objective of this competition is to run a national championships for elite dancers only – the best of the best. We are running it for the industry as a whole, not to make a quick buck. The APD company wants to be known for its integrity. I personally, am thrilled to be a part of such a motivated, experienced team. This event will be unlike anything seen before in Australia!”