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 Taiwan’s Next Media Animation takes aim at a Duncan, B.C. dance studio that’s offering pole-dancing classes to girls as young as five years old. The 90-second video — just one example of international criticism the studio has drawn — depicts computer generated children dancing at a strip club after taking pole-dancing lessons. (SCREEN GRAB) |
VANCOUVER – A Vancouver Island dance studio offering pole-dancing lessons to young girls has become the subject of international ridicule with everyone from Taiwanese animators to American news agencies weighing in.
On Tuesday, the Taipei-based Next Media Animation released a video depicting computer-generated kindergarteners prancing around a pole in a strip club as older men hoot and holler at them. The video went on to suggest the next step for the girls was prostitution.
The animators have previously gained international recognition for recreating sensational news events, such as the Tiger Woods sex scandal and Conan O’Brien-Jay Leno alleged feud.
Twisted Grip owner Kristy Craig told QMI Agency she’s shocked by the amount of negative attention the story has received.
“It’s nothing new,” she said, noting pole-dancing competitions are already offered in Russia and the U.K. “People need to really look into it before jumping to any conclusions about what I’m offering.”
Craig said her classes will emphasize gymnastics techniques, but she simply uses a vertical pole instead of parallel bars.
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University of B.C. Okanagan professor Susan Hillock noted girls who take part in these classes could end up thinking their only self-value is through using their bodies.
“There are probably better exercise and sports options to lift a girl’s self-esteem than pole-dancing.”
Hillock expressed her concern about the over-sexualization of young girls who are feeling increased pressured from the media to look a certain way.
“It’s no longer 17-year-old girls. It’s seven-, eight- or six-year-olds worrying about their body image and talking about dieting.”