It’s that time of year again! (and no we didn’t mean Christmas)!
In just under a month we will be hosting our annual Pole Dancing Winter Showcase! We are now onto our 3rd Winter Showcase and so happy that the society continues to grow and we can keep this up!
Contrary to popular belief, pole dancing is a workout and training exercise for toning your body and strengthening core muscles. Most of the moves are mixtures of ballet and gymnastics techniques, with modern and contemporary dance being incorporated into routines.
Our performance hopes to showcase the skills required to be a pole dancer and show the progress of our dancers from beginners to the more advanced.
So come support our dancers in an exciting celebration of the art of pole sports!
Need to blow off some steam whilst having fun and getting a workout?
Cambridge University Pole Society (CUPS) has classes running throughout Easter Term, to help you destress, get some cardio in and build your self-esteem.
If you have never tried pole before, why not start now? We have Taster Sessions running every Saturday from 1-2pm at Queens College. No dance experience needed and you don’t have to be “strong” to try out pole. The best way to build up strength is to come to the classes and try out some cool pole moves!
For those more seasoned pole dancers, we have regular classes running all term and if you haven’t yet bought your yearly membership for discounted classes, we have reduced membership to £10 for the remainder of the academic year!!
So book a class! Your mind and body will be grateful!
Hi everyone, we have been contacted by Creatures of XIX with the possibility of doing a large order at a discounted price. If we make an order that exceed £500, we will get a 35% discount! It is possible to order any product, in any size.
For those who are interested, here is the brochure!
2018-2019 has been a very successful year
for CUPS, which was capped off at our third AGM and celebrated at the annual
dinner. Despite only having been an official University of Cambridge society
for three years, the club has continued to grow in popularity, with the
majority of classes sold out and great engagement with our performances.
The AGM was held on Saturday 9th
March in Queen’s College Bar. We looked back on the events of the previous year,
which has been jam-packed. Our performers wowed spectators at a variety of
events: several may balls, the Rainbow and Law Soc balls, and the Venetian
Magic Carnival. The Christmas Showcase which was pioneered last year also
became an annual event in 2018 in Michaelhouse church. There was a great spread
of performances from very recent beginners to some pole veterans, all cheered
on by an intimate audience. Our very first showcase at the ADC theatre was also
a huge success, with a large and enthusiastic audience and a glowing review
from the student press!
The society has also done well in
competition, as we entered the South-East Inter-University Pole Dance
Competition. Competitors in all categories smashed it and they came home with 3rd
place in group and semi-pro categories and an amazing 1st place in
advanced.
After taking stock of the previous year we looked to the future and elected a new committee to see us through the year 2019-2020. We introduce the new committee:
President: Katy Bielena
Vice-President: Hanna Martin
Treasurer: Alexandra Souly
Competition Sec: Natalie Singhal
Showcase Organisers: Laure Talarmain & Liam Ives
Social Secs: Nia Griffiths & Laure Talarmain
Publicity Officers: Kate Barber & Cloé Legrand
Sponsorship & Health and Safety Officer: Natalie Singhal
Stash Secs: Helen Llambias Maw & Alkisti Kyriakopolou
Welfare Officer: Ruby Coates
Webmaster: Hanna Martin
Taster Class Organiser: Camila Betterelli Giuliano
Later that evening several members of the
society met to celebrate the year at the CUPS Annual Dinner. This year the
dinner was at Revolutions bar and featured delicious food and cocktails, as
well as being a lovely, friendly event. It was a great opportunity to hang out
with pole friends and to get to know those we didn’t know quite as well.
The coming year is expected to be no less
rewarding than the previous one, as we look forward to the Varsity competition
between Cambridge and Oxford universities, this year hosted in Oxford. We are
also set to perform at several may balls and are also excited to repeat our
CUPS Christmas showcase. Alongside all these exciting developments you can also
expect the continuation of classes, workshops, and socials on a regular basis!
On Saturday 23 February 2019, 5 competitors set off for the South-East Regionals of the Inter University Pole Dancing Competition (IUPDC), hosted by Sussex University. 2019 sees the first year of Cambridge University competing in the South-East Regionals (in previous years we had competed in the Midlands Regionals).
Upon arrival, we were immediately intimidated by the other competitors’ professional demeanour. Their team stash, performance costumes, and incredibly strong, bendy warm-ups left us feeling like lost little lambs. Dead lift hand-stands and putting your feet on your head were made to look effortless! But we all worked incredibly hard to get here and tried to stay calm, and soon enough the competition was underway.
The South-East Regionals had us competing against the University of Hertfordshire, Kings College London, University of East Anglia, Imperial College London, London School of Economics, Royal Holloway University, University College London, University of Sussex and University of Kent. Throughout the day we were also extremely lucky to see performances by two of the guest judges: Chloe Anderson and Andi Cherry Ariseanu, as well as a guest performance from Luke Wassell!
Luck of the draw had Cambridge competing first in each category, which meant that our beginner, Helen Llambias Maw was the very first competitor of the day. This was Helen’s first competition and she performed to Touch the Sky from Brave, by Julie Fowlis.
Next up in the intermediate category we had Natalie Singhal. She performed a routine to Castle by Halsey. She is not a stranger to stage and competition life and put on a very entertaining show, packed with back-to-back pole moves and incredibly well thought out dance choreography.
After lunch, Cloé Legrand started off the Advanced category. This was her second time competing in IUPDC, where she placed second in the Advanced category in the 2017 Midlands Regionals. An unfortunate music mess-up half way through her performance, had her rerunning her routine later in the category… but it all worked out in the end and she brought home the gold!!!
Four of our ladies got together to compete in the group category: Ruby Coates, Katerina Bielena, Natalie Singhal and Cloé Legrand. They performed a sassy routine to Supermassive Black Hole by Muse. The crowd loved the performance and we were delighted, having never managed to run the routine properly before the competition. To top it off, Cambridge took 3rd place in the group category!!!
The last category of the day was Semi-Professional. This is a new category included this year for the first time. The category was introduced to cater for students who have their teaching qualifications in pole and are paid performers. Cambridge however doesn’t have any “Semi-Pro” students and Katerina Bielena, after just a year and a half of pole, took on the challenge of competing in this ridiculously difficult category. She absolutely smashed it with an emotional routine to Secret Love Song and managed to place 3rd!!!
Overall our team did superb and we are so proud of each and every competitor. This was an incredibly strong regionals to compete in and we rose to the challenge, placing 4th overall! Sadly we won’t be going to Nationals, but we will definitely be there to support the other teams and Liat Adler (founder of CU Pole Society) who will be competing in the semi-Pro category for Edinburgh. Nationals will be hosted by Imperial on the 23rd of March, so listen out for more details if you wish to join us spectating for the day.
Lastly, a huge thank you to Sophie King and Sussex University for putting together this event!!
On 26 February 2019 , CUPS hosted their 3rd pole dancing showcase in Cambridge and the first ever showcase at the ADC Theatre.
If you weren’t there, you definitely missed out! The showcase aimed at removing the stigma that surrounds pole dancing, and showing its true colours as an expressive, beautiful sport and dance style. We had a range of performances aimed at highlighting the different types of pole dancing, including: lyrical pole, pole sport, exotic pole and pole theatre. Routines ranged from beginners to advanced and included solos and duets. We even took you back to the very origins of pole dancing, with a Jurassic Park inspired routine.
Pole dancing is a highly eclectic and impressive sport and dance style and the show gave each of our performers the freedom to express themselves in the manner in which they saw fit. Routines were choreographed by the students themselves and it’s hard to believe how the cast members are not professional dancers! Just your ordinary, everyday students performing extraordinary gravity-defying feats on stage. Simply mind-blowing and inspiring.
A big thank you to Laure Talarmain, Helen Llambias Maw and Ruby Coates for organising the event. Additional thank you’s to Jaime Hidalgo our Stage Manager and James Drummond our Stage Technician, as well as all the tech helpers and pole cleaners. Our showcases are always a team effort and would not be possible without all of you!
We will be performing in the Late Show at the ADC Theatre on Tuesday 26 February 2019!
This one night only event will showcase a range of pole dance performances from members of the Cambridge University Pole Society (CUPS). As a society, we are dedicated to removing the stigma that surrounds pole dancing, and showing its true colours as an expressive, beautiful sport and dance style. As well as solo performances, the showcase will include group dances. This showcase will be a highly eclectic and impressive demonstration of the talents of the CUPS performers.
Tuesday 27 November 2018 saw us hosting our second annual pole dancing showcase and it was just magical. We performed in the beautiful Michaelhouse centre, surrounded by stained glass windows, paintings and fairy lights.
13 of our students put the show together, choreographing their own routines and designed their own costumes. All together we had 3 group performances and 8 solos with a variety of skill levels showcased.
If you missed the show, you definitely missed out! But don’t worry, we have another show coming up at the end of February, so keep your ears peeled! For now, some pictures to heighten that FOMO.
In just two weeks we will be hosting our annual Christmas Showcase! well this is only our second showcase, but as our society continues to grow, we are certain it will be at least a yearly occurrence.
Contrary to popular belief, pole dancing is a workout and training exercise for toning your body and strengthening core muscles. Most of the moves are mixtures of ballet and gymnastics techniques, with modern and contemporary dance being incorporated into routines.
Our performance hopes to showcase the skills required to be a pole dancer and show the progress of our dancers from beginners to the more advanced.
So come support our dancers in an exciting celebration of the art of pole fitness!
Date: 27 November 2018 Time: 7pm Locations: Michaelhouse Centre, Trinity St, Cambridge, CB2 1SU Tickets: £4 CU student, £6 other. Tickets can be purchased from Agora via the link: https://joinagora.com/events/26711/#/event-details?_k=l9h0bu
CUPS would like to welcome you to a new academic year!…and what better way to start it than with some pole classes. We offer classes for students of all abilities. If you have never tried pole, perfect, now is the time! We will be at the Freshers’ Fair on Parkers Piece on Tues 2nd and Wed 3rd October, so come check us out and sign up for an incredible workout and community of friends. We will also be hosting some FREE taster sessions! See times and dates below, along with this terms schedule.
Membership for the year will cost you £15 and this will get you classes for £3. Otherwise classes will be £5. Membership also allows you to come to our Open Practice sessions on Saturdays (see below). Class bookings are essential as we have a limited number of poles. More information can be found on our website http://pole.soc.srcf.net
Class schedule 2018:
Taster sessions:
FREE taster sessions for first time polers or experienced polers who would like to check out the society. Book via the doodle poll:
If there are no spaces left, leave a comment on the doodle poll and we will put you on a waiting list. If enough people express interest, we will hold more taster sessions!
Sat 6 Oct, 14:00-15:00, Bowett Room, Queens College
Sat 6 Oct, 17:00-18:00, Bowett Room, Queens College
Sat 13 Oct, 14:00-15:00, Bowett Room, Queens College
Sat 13 Oct, 17:00-18:00, Bowett Room, Queens College
Beginners Classes
Tuesdays 17:30-18:45 (starting 2 Oct 2018), Studio 2, University Sports Center
Fridays 18:30-19:25, Studio 1, University Sports Center
These practice sessions are not teacher lead and will not be open to first time beginners. But beginners with a good level of pole competence both on the pole and in setting it up are welcome, and anyone of higher levels. These sessions are available for members for FREE (no need to book) to work on routines or practice what you have learnt in classes.
Saturdays 15:00-17:00, Bowett Room, Queens College
*please note there will be no session on Saturday 27th October 2018
