Evaluation panel
Competition panel
- Elena Gibson (First world Champion 2005, UK)
- Mariana Baum (Organiser of annual French championship, France)
- Laura Gröhn (Expressive pole art professional, Finland)
- Marco Bjurström (Professional dancer, choreographer, director; Chairman of IDO Performing Arts Committee, Finland)
- Marina Cavallini (Pole performer, teacher and classical dancer, Sweden)
Appearance of Judge Bjurström is courtesy of Dargon Ltd, Finland
Application panel
- Nelle Swan (North Pole Studio, http://poledance.se/)
- Tanja Suni (Aerial Dancing, http://aerialdancing.fi)
- Elena Gibson (Pole Dancing School, http://poledancingschool.com)
Panel profiles
Elena Gibson
Elena founded Pole Dancing School and is also its principal dance teacher and choreographer. She trained professionally in classical ballet from the age of 9 and has danced extensively for The National Ballet of Canada and the Bavarian State Opera House in Germany, as well as in numerous other theatre productions as a guest artist in both North America and Europe. See Elena's full career biography.
She developed her passion for pole dancing after using it as her way back to fitness following a serious car accident. As a pole dancer and choreographer, she combines the elegance of classical ballet with extreme flexibility and acrobatic pole work; a combination that has won her awards at both national and international level, culminating in being crowned Miss Pole Dance World in 2005.
She has over 15 years' experience as a professional dancer and over 10 years' experience in dance teaching disciplines.
Mariana Baum
Mariana Baum, born in Argentina, has been a professional actress and director in the Parisian theatre scene for 16 years. She has studied dance, especially classical and modern jazz, and teaches pole dance in her own school, Pole Dance Paris. Mariana's style combines the theatrical, the artistic, and the athletic. She is a member of World Pole Dance Federation and has participated in the evaluation panel of Miss Pole Dance Europe. She is the founder and organiser of the highly esteemed annual national championship in Paris (http://www.poledancecompetition.fr).
Laura Gröhn
Laura Gröhn, a pole dance professional with background in gymnastics, is a widely recognised expressive pole artist. After her competitive and coaching career in gymnastics, multi-talented Laura experimented with many sports from pole vault to tennis. She found pole dance in 2008 and knew she had found something special. Pole dance combines her two favourites: challenging acrobatics and expressive artistry. To Laura, the most important aspect of pole art is bringing one’s personal style to the performance, and indeed, Laura’s own choreographies are always filled with personality, spanning from moving and heartbreaking to energetic rock’n roll or to funny and playful, always capturing the audience and offering something new and surprising. Laura is an experienced performer and competitor, and she finished fourth in both PoleArt 2009 and Battle of the Pole 2010 and 2011; in the latter, she earned also the title “Miss Creativity”. Currently, Laura teaches at Rock the Pole in Helsinki, Finland, in addition to her full-time work and university studies to become MSc (Techn.) in urban planning.
Photo: Carl Oscar Aaro.
Marco Bjurström
Marco Bjurström, the most widely known promoter of dance in Finland, started dancing in 1978 and became a professional instructor, choreographer and director of numerous musicals and shows. He founded one of Finland’s foremost dance schools, the StepUp School, and was actively involved in forming the Finnish Dance Organisation (FDO). He is a former Vice-President of International Dance Organisation (IDO), and currently he acts as the Chairman of the jazz section in the IDO Performing Arts Committee. IDO is a World Federation with a membership of over 90 nations, representing more than 250,000 dancers from six continents.
Marco has always strived to bring the whole spectrum of dance to the reach of the general public. For several years, he has hosted the Finnish version of Dancing with the Stars and, in 2010, he was invited to act as Chairman of Judges int the Finnish version of So You Think You Can Dance. Marco has always felt it a great privilege to be part of building a stronger presence and recognition to dance in Finland and abroad, and in this regard, he is very happy to be acting as Head Artistic Judge of Pole Art 2011.
Marina Cavallini
Marina Cavallini, a pole dance performer, teacher and a passionate dancer, has trained classical ballet since her childhood. She teaches pole dance and stretch classes at North Pole Studio in Stockholm. Marina is exceptionally dedicated to her students and her profession as a dancer. She instills her students with the same passion in her pursuit of perfection.
Marina has performed and successfully competed at various competitions and fashion show events in Europe and the US.
In her performances she strives for artistic grace in motion and power in beauty revolving around the pole.
Tanja Suni
Tanja is the founder of Aerial Dancing, a Helsinki-located company that teaches pole dancing and organizes international pole dancing events. Tanja started learning pole dance in Australia where she worked in 2004-2007 in a research organization. She fell in love with the sport and after returning to Finland has worked towards creating links among Finnish and international pole dancers.
Aside from being the event organizer of numerous workshops, showcases and competitions contributing to the burning interest for pole dance in Finland, Tanja has been invited as judge in the following competitions: French Pole Dance Championship (Paris) - September 2009, British Isles Pole Dance Championship (Essex) - October 2009, Battle of the Pole - North European Championship (Stockholm) - January 2010.
At the moment, Tanja teaches classes at Rock the Pole, Helsinki, and is a tentative member of the yet developing World Pole Dance Committee.
Nelle Swan
Initially a self taught enthusiast, Nelle founded Scandinavia's first pole studio in early 2007 because she was tired of the long wait for a Swedish school to open. The public response was overwhelming and North Pole Studio has since grown to house seven instructors and weekly be teaching hundreds of students in the skills of pole, strength and flexibility.
After turning her hobby into a career Nelle has gone to study ballet and aerial circus arts to develop her artistry on the pole, as well as fitness and physiology at the university to deepen her understanding of the human body and physics of exercise.
To encourage and broaden her own skills as well as those of fellow Swedish dancers Nelle often invites and hosts workshops and events with accomplished international instructors and travels to take classes whenever possible.
Together with her passionate Finnish colleagues Nelle is proud to be hosting Pole Art 2010. An event that strives to inspire and contribute to the same pole community that constantly inspires us.
