Whiriwhiri Pōro I Aotearoa
The history of Miss Pole Dance New Zealand is a little patchy and I will admit I have yet to research more about how we got here but I am excited to do so. I first came across the competition myself in 2013 when it was run by Amy Richardson-Impey, I entered and won the semi pro category, Karry Summers won the pro title that year. Almost no one was wearing heels or performing Classique showgirl style, we were very much on the ballet/contemporary/artistic style kick at that time. Years ticked over and MPDNZ wasn’t presented again, the Pole Legends NZ competition was launched in 2015 in its absence. Fast forward a few more years, Raha Star presented MPDNZ as part of Queenstown Pole Camp in 2018 and 2019. It was a spectacular event to travel for and so much fun! I managed to get 3rd place in 2018. At the end of 2019 the Queenstown Pole Studio closed and there was no competition scheduled for 2020, given we were about to plunge into a pandemic this turned out to be a good thing.
At this point it’s probably a good time to introduce myself for those who don’t know me, I’m Trillian. I’m a lifelong dancer/triple threat/professional show off. My life before pole was full of ballet, jazz, tap, contemporary dance, classical and jazz singing, musical theatre and drama. I found pole in 2007 whilst living in the Gold Coast, continued classes in Ireland while I was travelling and then settled back in NZ in 2011. I’ve taught, competed and performed all over the world since then. I spent 12 years in various positions on the committee of Whanganui Performing Arts, running 3 competitions a year for youth. I also worked for NZAPP for a couple of years while the OG team were having their babies. Safe to say I’m no stranger to being on either side of a competition.
The message from Raha came out of the blue in early 2023, after some consideration she had decided that she didn’t want to try and run the event from overseas and thought I should be the person to take it on and give it new life. I’d never considered running a big show like that before but after some lively discussion with my business partner Dahlia, we decided that our company would buy Miss Pole Dance New Zealand. We took our time getting a feel for how we wanted to approach things and eventually set a date, November 2nd 2024. Here we go!
We launched with a new logo, updated rules including the (often controversial) compulsory wearing of heels and also opening up to all genders – ultimately, we decided that the name of the competition should remain the same in order to respect the history of the event and the pioneers who brought it to us but the competition should be open to everyone. Whoever wins can choose their own title – Miss/Mr/Mx etc. In May we closed entries with 37 applicants who were painstakingly narrowed down to 16 finalists with an additional 5 on the waitlist. Our finalists were Death bi Pole, Noelle, Lara L’amore, Moxxi, Karyn, Katie in the Storm, Daniela, Natalia Gemini, Maqui, Myley, Laura Lockhart, Oliva, The Pole Comedian, Tia Marie, Riley Rayne and Bec Noir. What an incredible line up for our first event!
Shortly after the finalists were announced, planning came to a screaming halt when the restaurant beneath the Corps de Burlesque studio burned down. The studio suffered some catastrophic smoke damage and was closed for repairs for two months. As one can imagine, getting the studio back up and running took up every spare bit of energy and brain capacity…it was a rough time to say the least. Consequently, a great deal of planning and organizing was done in September whilst on tour in the USA and Canada where Dahlia and I were headlining the Saskatoon International Burlesque Festival.
The final stretch leading up to the competition wasn’t without its big 3 setbacks. 1. Poor Katie broke her wrist a month out. Hellish stepped in last minute to take her place which was a massive undertaking (she smashed it by the way). 2. Our host Venus Starr injured herself 5 days out. Being the consummate professional that she is, she organized Rachel Atlas to replace her, and Rachel did an absolutely incredible job. 3. One of the judges, Maree Prebensen, came down with covid 3 days out. Thankfully my most excellent business partner Dahlia Dangerous stepped in to cover her.
The day of the show ran quite smoothly. Between the wonderful management and tech team at the Globe Theatre and our Corps family running things backstage, we had a well-oiled machine, and I cannot thank them enough. The performances were nothing short of incredible, each competitor brought their very best to that stage and I was so incredibly proud of every single one of them. At the conclusion of the evening our judges Dahlia Dangerous, Skylar Leigh and Fontaine Bradbury presented our top 3 with a crown and sash. 3rd place – Noelle, 2nd place – Laura Lockhart, 1st place – Karyn – Miss Pole Dance New Zealand 2024!
Photo Credit - Summer Sparkles.
Our view for the future is to continue tweaking our processes, rules and criteria to evolve this competition into a world class event. This includes further refining our goal for the final performances, carving out our point of difference from other pro competitions and building the cash prizes up to an amount that reflects the elevated level of performance we want to promote. Behind the scenes, we are also working on building upon what we’ve put in place to support our competitors - training support and advice, performance psychology and anxiety management and professional etiquette standards. I personally have come through some horrifically toxic situations at competitions in my younger years, so a big priority is to provide the support that I wish I had back then and establish a space that is safe for everyone to be able to look after themselves and each other. Yes, it’s a competition but at the end of the day we are all in this thing together and it doesn’t have to be stressful, uncomfortable and traumatic.
The final shout out goes to the individuals and businesses who sponsored us. It was a quick turnaround due to the fire situation but we still received a tonne of support for which we are so grateful. That about sums up our 2024, mark your calendars for October 18th 2025!
Trill xx
*Dahlia Dangerous & Trillian*
*balletschooldropouts.com