"Pole dance! Why pole dance?"
Rashi Yadav has been asked this question numerous times.
“I have always loved dancing and experimented with different forms of dance. I have learned Bharat Natyam, contemporary and jazz too. Recently, I discovered pole dance.
“It is an amazing dance form. What I love the most about it is that anybody can do this," says the international student who lives in Melbourne.
"Many people think they are not flexible or strong enough to do pole dancing. But it allows every weight and body shape to connect with their bodies.”
“The media portrays pole dancers mostly in strip clubs or bars. However, if you go beyond, you will realise pole dance is as vast as any other dance form," says the engineering and management graduate.
Source: Supplied
“I discovered this after arriving in Australia. I came to know that it is a mainstream fitness-form. And girls in large number learn it.”
Rashi posts her videos on social media and says she receives compliments and comments.
“Most of the compliments come from girls. And when someone says that I look sexy when I am doing a pole dance, then I consider this as a compliment.”
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She says many girls want to do it and they ask if they, too, can do it.
And not just Pole Dancing, Rashi is experimenting with other forms too.
"I have been learning Brazilian Samba as well and had an incredible opportunity to perform with a lot of professional dancers at St kilda festival this year as well as last year at a private event. This dance form that I have been learning at Melbourne Salsa has also allowed me to embrace Afro-Brazilian culture as it was introduced by African people living in Brazil," she told SBS Hindi.
Rashi Yadav, originally from Delhi has chosen a road less travelled. It is not common for girls in India to learn sensuous dances like pole dance or even rumba. Schools teaching these forms can be counted on fingers.
However, Rashi says she has always walked off the beaten path.
Rashi Yadav Source: Supplied
“I have always been a rebel in my life. I have always done what I wanted and not what was expected of me. If I wanted to wear certain kind of clothes, I did without caring what others would think of me.”
Rashi says she has paid the price for her rebellious nature - she felt alienated by a few friends while growing up and extended family members have also questioned her.
“But I have always believed that this is my life, and I would live the way I want to. Freedom and independence are the building blocks of my life.”
Last year, research from the University of Western Australia found pole dancing grew in popularity in Australia with many females saying it benefitted their mental and physical health. From four studios in 2004 the study found there were at least 118 in 2018.
Joanna Nicholas, from the UWA School of Human Sciences – Exercise and Sport Science, said that pole dancing has evolved from both Eastern and Western influences.
"Eastern influences include Chinese and Indian pole which date back centuries, and more recently in Western culture within striptease and exotic dancing which is what many people associate it with, and which initially limited its uptake as a legitimate form of exercise,” Dr Nicholas said.
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Rashi says she believes others should also follow their dreams and especially women should not live by the rules that someone else has crafted for them.
She has started a podcast to spread the word.
“Last year I started my podcast ‘Let’s be Rashional’ to have an open conversation with the people from all walks of life. I wanted people to share their unique stories because everyone has a story that could inspire others."
Also from SBS Hindi:
Abandoned at birth at Delhi orphanage to being adopted, here is Sunanda’s story
