Muslim pole dancing photos cause stir in UK
A pole dancing teacher has caused outrage after travelling to Saudi Arabia to teach a woman the sensual dancing style.
27-year-old Lucy Misch has caused disapproval amongst Muslims in the UK after she was invited to the the strict Muslim kingdom by one of the country's richest and most influential families, the Daily Mail reported.
Her employment caused a stir after photos of her client performing a pole dance in traditional Saudi Arabian clothes were released.
One said: "I found your photos disrespectful towards women who wear the hijab with dignity in Saudi and who would never step next to a dancing pole knowing its hideous roots."
Misch felt it was important to distinguish her art from its other risque uses.
"I want to make it clear that pole dancing does not have its roots in strip clubs," she said.
"There has been a tradition of performing on the pole in China and India for centuries - way before Spearmint Rhino got their hands on it."
"It's vital more people see it and realise it doesn't have to be about shaking your bits."
The dancing teacher was whisked into the country, circumventing the usual difficulties faced by single Britons, to continue lessons started by the rich Saudi Arabian woman named Qahtani while she was visiting Europe.
Three X-stage poles were sent to the Saudi Arabian woman's palace, the first time such items have been allowed into the country, and set up in a dedicated mirrored studio room in her palace.
"Needless to say, there is no history of pole dancing in Saudi Arabia," says Misch.
"It's not the kind of place you expect to be invited to teach pole. But my client's sister lives in Europe where she’d discovered pole dancing for fitness, and they’d talked about the amazing benefits pole can have on the body.
"My client wanted the same things that attracted many others to pole dancing: an exhilarating workout to get her fit and toned.
"She liked the fact that it was a feminine exercise, and that she could feel liberated and sexy whilst doing it."
Misch put Qahtani through an intensive two-hour a day, six days a week, training course where she learned to climb the pol, do the splits upside down and perform a fluid routine.
Qahtani and Misch took photos of themselves in traditional Saudi Arabian garb while performing a pole dance.
"Qahtani wanted to make a point," Misch said.
"But it angered a lot of people who thought the photos were insulting".
