Chinese poles are vertical poles on which

circus performer A circus is a company of performers who put on diverse entertainment shows that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, dancers, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, magicians, ventriloquists, and unicyclis ...

s climb, slide down and hold poses. The poles are generally between in height and approximately in diameter. Some poles have a slightly larger pole that rotates around the static central pole using

ball bearing A ball bearing is a type of rolling-element bearing that uses balls to maintain the separation between the bearing races. The purpose of a ball bearing is to reduce rotational friction and support radial and axial loads. It achieves this ...

s. This rotating pole allows a performer to spin on the vertical axis, giving a performer the ability to incorporate rate of spin into a performance. Bringing the body closer into the pole causes the performer to spin faster. A few Chinese pole tricks have been incorporated with

pole dancing Pole dance combines dance and acrobatics centered on a vertical pole. This performance art form takes place not only in gentleman's clubs as erotic dance, but also as a mainstream form of fitness, practiced in gyms and dedicated dance studios ...

techniques. The poles are sometimes covered with rubber to improve grip. However, the rubber can cause

friction burn A friction burn is a form of abrasion caused by the friction of skin rubbing against a surface. A friction burn may also be referred to as skinning, chafing, or a term named for the surface causing the burn such as rope burn, carpet burn or ...

s on parts of the Chinese pole artists' bodies. Acrobats often wear multiple layers of clothing to prevent such burns and bruises. The most famous trick is " the flag", where the artist hangs straight out from the pole with his or her hands. This requires a very strong upper body. A few people are able to do pushups in this position, and even fewer can rotate the legs around in a circle—this requires enormous

core strength In kinesiology, core stability refers to a person's ability to stabilize their core (all parts of the body which are not limbs). Stability, in this context, should be considered as an ability to control the position and movement of the core. Th ...

. Chinese pole acts have been featured in the

Cirque du Soleil Cirque du Soleil (, ; "Circus of the Sun" or "Sun Circus") is a Canadian entertainment company and the largest contemporary circus producer in the world. Located in the inner-city area of Saint-Michel, it was founded in Baie-Saint-Paul on 16 Ju ...

shows ''

Saltimbanco ''Saltimbanco'' was a touring show by Cirque du Soleil. ''Saltimbanco'' ran from 1992 to 2006 in its original form, performed under a large circus tent called the Grand Chapiteau; its last performance in that form was in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, ...

'', '' Mystère'', ''

Zed Zed is the pronunciation of the letter ''Z'' in Commonwealth English ("zee" in American English). Zed or ZED may also refer to: Entertainment Characters *Zed (comics), a character from the ''Hellblazer'' comic series *Zed (Kiba), the main chara ...

'', ''

Amaluna ''Amaluna'' was a touring show by Cirque du Soleil. It was created and directed by Diane Paulus and is loosely inspired by '' The Tempest'' by William Shakespeare. It opened in Montréal, Quebec, Canada, on April 19, 2012. The cast is 70% female ...

'', '' Luzia'', and ''Messi10''.

Gallery

File:Chinese Pole Dance.jpg, Example of Chinese pole dancing from China File:Chinese Pole example.jpg, Demonstration of the monkey sit File:Leosvel et Diosmani - 4.jpg, Cuban acrobatic artists Leosvel and Diosmani on the Chinese pole

References

Circus equipment {{sport-equipment-stub