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Pole-dancing senior citizens return to the stage at this year’s Night Festival

SINGAPORE — A group of pole dancers — most of whom are senior citizens — will be returning to the Singapore Night Festival (SNF) this year.

SINGAPORE — A group of pole dancers — most of whom are senior citizens — will be returning to the Singapore Night Festival (SNF) this year.

The six dancers from cancer survivor support group The Rose Diamonds will take centre stage at pole dancing studio The Brass Barre.

Four of the women are aged from 57 to 61 and are unabashed about showcasing their skills. The remaining two are aged 26 and 43.

Sudha Muthukrishnan, who has been pole dancing for about 6 years, said: “I am proud to be (approaching) 62, to (be able to) pole dance and be able to perform in front of the audience at the Singapore Night Festival... It’s something I have conquered and I am very proud of it.”

Sudha, an administrative officer at the Singapore Cancer Society, is the group’s oldest performer and this year will be the second time she is performing a pole dance routine at the SNF.

A breast cancer survivor, Sudha joined The Rose Diamonds after she was introduced to pole dancing as a form of the exercise by a friend, Tan Li Leng, 60, who is also the group’s instructor. But it was not without reservations.

It was “unthinkable” at first, Sudha said, especially for someone in her 50s (at the time) and who was not as flexible, nor open to wearing “short shorts”. But, she soon warmed up to the idea of it being “a form of exercise”.

“At first, we thought pole dancing is for young and sexy girls but we don’t belong to that age group anymore,” said Sudha.

While Sudha’s husband and 33-year-old son were shocked at her decision at the time, they remained both supportive and proud of what she has accomplished.

“When they went for (my) first performance, they thought it was awesome... Somebody next to my son was taking a video and asked, ’Is that your mother?’ Then (my son) said, 'Yes, that’s my mother!’ He was so proud of it and it’s a very good feeling,” she quipped.

Currently in remission, she went through multiple rounds of chemotherapy and five-year hormonal therapy, but calls her cancer episode a “blessing in disguise”.

“My life was very routine and quite boring before cancer. After I got it, my life totally changed… I joined (weekly) zumba and pole dancing,” said Sudha, who also occasionally does dragon boating.

Sudha, who said she hoped to gain “fitness and confidence” from pole dancing, has achieved more than that, and has even influenced some of her friends and office colleagues to join her.

“If we see pole dancing as sleazy, like bar top dancing, it will forever be that way,” said Sudha.

The Rose Diamonds started in 2010 and was made up mainly of cancer survivors and supporters. Now, it is open to any senior aged 55 and above, and currently has about 15 female members.

Its name was inspired by its feminine and strong connotations; “rose because they are hardy” and diamonds because they “can cut glass”, said Tan.

The group meets for practice every Sunday morning for one-and-a-half hours in a sponsored studio at The Brass Barre, where they would pole dance to a variety of “lyrical tunes” ranging from songs by Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston to Bette Midler.

Tan, who is a deputy vice president with an insurance company, teaches free-of-charge. The group first started out doing cardio exercises such as kickboxing and aerobics. “After a while, the poles get in the way when you do aerobics, so we said, ‘why don’t we try (pole dancing)?’ So we started in 2010, and the girls got hooked,” said Tan.

“Doctors believe that upper body strength and fitness is very good for breast cancer survivors, because it helps with recuperation after the surgery and chemotherapy,” Tan added. “It also helps to reduce the chances of recurrence... I wanted them to be strong and pole dancing uses a lot of upper body strength.”

Of course, pole dancing at an older age does have an effect on the body.

“There are times where I wished I was 20 years younger, especially when it comes to the aches and pains.

“Frankly, every week when we go back, from neck down, everything hurts. We get a lot of bruises, but we still come back,” Sudha said. “We find the exercise makes us feel good and sexier. People should try it, and not think it’s just for youngsters.”
 

The Rose Diamonds will be performing on Aug 24-26 at The Brass Barre, 222 Queen Street, #02-01. Parental discretion is advised.

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