“When you feel comfortable, it’s because you found your own style” … are the words of MARLO FISKEN, who with more than 10 years of experience in the discipline of Pole, tells us how she fell in love with the activity, and in what way It keeps its successful image in the world. 

For POLEGOOD, from the United States of America, MARLO FISKEN.

Marlo, what motivated you to approach the Pole Dance?

Initially, about 11 years ago, a friend of mine mentioned that she went to a pole class and I thought that sounded interesting and it mostly sounded interesting because it sounded like sexy, it sounded like a place to explore a type of movement that I didn’t usually get to explore which is the more erotic sensual movement, I was a professional dancer at that time and go to the dances that sometimes you might do in a class, I have some sort of sexy element there, they’re not really what I wanted to explore and that I had often been told as a dancer that I needed to tone it down because I was little bit too much in that area so it seemed like the right place for me, so ultimately I was motivated because I wanted to I have a place where I can play with this sexy and exotic movement and studying.

 How is your life outside of sport?

well my entire life is based around my love of movement, I’ve been teaching movement for 18 years and I basically spend my free time learning about things related to moving and teaching, I find reading about various areas of interpersonal psychology which is very relevant to how you would teach a class or I am studying anatomy something because all of those things I’ve been very passionate about and they just feed my career teaching so my life outside of it’s a sport I don’t really consider what I do is bored at all it’s just I love to move and my life is based around it, that’s there isn’t much outside of it. which might sound sad to some people but when you really your absolute passion is your work it’s hard to say when you’re doing it or when you’re not because it feels like from every meal I eat nourishing me in a way that would allow me to perform my faster going to bed early so I have enough energy to be fully present and focused and vibrant the next day and it gives me framework in the motivation for the choices I make in all areas of my life that doesn’t mean that it’s strict I’d people often ask me if I have some sort of strict diet of balance and perspective and my relationship to moving and dance has given me a sensitivity and an awareness for how I should take care of myself to be the best possible.

 What were the best moments of your artistic career?

Well…if you ask other people that usually say it was my 2011 Ariel Pole National routine or the Boston Ballroom performance which happened I believe the next year and because those performances I think at the time they did push pole dance up a level because I brought in motion and flow ultimately to both to are in the ground and was regularly introducing shapes  that were new to the world at the time I like to think that the my best moments of my artistic career that it’s that there aren’t just moments that stand out that’s how it feels for other people like they have favorites but for me, the best moment of an artistic just anytime that I’m so excited about what I’m creating which likely happens a lot when I’m home.

   According to your experience, what are the benefits that the discipline of Pole Dance brings to the athletes who practice it?

I think for a lot of people it provides motivation and a source of passion which is really important that there’s something in your life that you are passionate about and that motivates you, because without that you feel lost and so pole dance for a lot of people just help them become more connected to them self. Of course there’s benefits such as being stronger, more flexible, but I mean you can do that through a lot of different modes of movement, but pole dance is a generally a solitary activity like it’s one person at a time on a pole, of course there’s doubles but, the that focus and it makes people challenge themselves and learn to pay attention to what they’re doing on the downside of that I think that pole dancing we have this community where there’s lots of pole dancers but I actually don’t spend enough time working together in classes and that’s something that I try to encourage because we can get very attached to  like this is my space and this is my pole and that is my move and that is unhealthy movement throughout human history has been something to communal it’s something to be shared and to celebrate it be celebrated together. Honestly I am alone most of the time I’m traveling I’m with can my partner but like we are alone or I am home alone training and it can be sad at times it can feel like I wish I had some friends around 2 just to be with and to move and so when with working relationship with their friends at something that I value and I think that it’s an important part of also the benefits of pole dances finding people who understand you feeling understood is also very important.

 How do you perceive the development of the Pole discipline in USA?

Well… I started before there was even a pole competition outside of a strip club; I went to the first pole competition that was outside of the strip club as a spectator in the audience, and the movement forms have diversified a lot since then and you can see people moving in many different ways with the pole which I think is great. There’s I think that a lot of people big head grumpy over the like the one with the way the sport evolved or how it gets divided and I think if you need to look outside of pole dance and look at other movement forms martial arts dance things that have been around a lot longer and you have innumerable approaches and that is okay it makes it rich you can be friends with people who pursue movement in a different way than you do, and you can respect what they’re doing even if you’re not interested in doing it yourself is absolutely no need to disparage or say negative things about the way other people approach their movement.

  With what other disciplines do you complement this activity?

I am just moving all the time, I go to the playground, I hang on the bars, I roll on the floor, but it’s in some ways I don’t look at mine on pole movement as separate from my whole movement I am a mover who is constantly learning studying going to dance workshops I’ve been dancing for 30 years and down Ike the desire for me to be a student until learn has never stopped so if I see someone who looks like a wise teacher who’s who moves in a very intelligent they’re using movement patterns that are sustainable and they’re based on very natural connections in the body rather than something that looks like it could be a bit too aggressive or damaging long-term that I’m interested in learning and studying.

  A message that you want to leave us?

…Well… first thank you for messaging me I think the messages that I like to share about pole or the people are sometimes too focused on finding their own style and sometimes that we like mystify style meaning that it’s like it’s something to search for and to look for but the reality is that it’s style is just what happens when you’re really comfortable with something, so when we see people that appear to have a very well-developed style, what do you see? You see practice, you see that they’ve spent a lot of time doing what they’re doing, doing their thing and not a lot of time spent trying to copy others so sure you might learn something in your practice it but the majority of the development actually comes from your own rather than trying to match what you’re doing to someone else when our focus is on what everyone else is doing then you’re moving into maybe a less authentic way of moving and also potentially a way of moving that’s not right for your body and I  don’t like it when I see people having serious and chronic injuries from pole or because they’re doing a lot of competitions their attitudes towards training are ultimately negative, I think movement and pole dancing you know it should be the happy place and if for some reason it’s not being is not a happy place for you right now it’s a good idea to step back, think about why you’re doing it and find a way to enjoy it, make it pleasurable move and shoes to pole dance in a way that is pleasurable for you if that means you stay on the floor the whole time cool, that means you never touched the pole, cool ,and also love being able to take pleasure in the movement means that you’re taking care of yourself outside of pole if you only pole dance if it’s a exercise taxing on your body because the nature of it is in balance we need other movement to keep us optimized for our dancing, so I can be seen at Marlo fisken on Instagram, flow movement of course.

   Awards, mention them:

Them they’re all old I was the 2010 American Pole Fitness Champion, the 2011 Aerial Pole International Champion, and I was IPDFA Instructor of the Year couple years ago, but those are all like I said a pretty long time ago I think that my ability to maintain a consistently successful teaching career in this industry for 10 years and travel the world and I’ve taught in 70 countries now that to me seems like the biggest award that I’ve received because that’s shows work, hard work for a long period of time.

CREDITH PHOTOS: Kenneth Kao, Pole Ninja Photography.

PERSONAL INFORMATION

MARLO FISKEN

• Where were you born?: I was born in Virginia
• Birthdate? My birthday is June 1st
• Where do you live?: I live in Boulder, Colorado.
• Zodiac sign?: My zodiac sign is a Gemini
• Music you prefer ?: The music I prefer is anything that makes me feel like dancing.

Thank you very much Marlo, for allowing us to spread a little bit of your story.

Vanesa S. Zylinski- POLEGOOD Magazine