How much will a pole competition set you back? Why Blackstage is a firm believer in paying pole dancers well.

When I started Blackstage and I thought about having the first event, it came after a conversation with my therapist who is also a business advisor. I was talking to her about all the competitions I had applied for pre-lockdown and the cost of it all.
She was horrified by how much everything cost and responded, “but the cash prize must be good though for all of the money you invest into it right?” and I said “actually, there is no cash prize there is often just a title made up by people I’ve often never heard of”. This conversation really did make me think about how much we spend on pole competitions and if it is worth it and how it impacts the most marginalised of us.
I worked out that the average minimum cost to compete in the UK is around £420 (see breakdown below) and that is at the very least.
Most of the UK’s biggest pole dance competitions take place outside of London, away from the most densely BPOC populated part of England. According to the 2011 Census, London is the most racially diverse place in the UK where the majority of BPOC in the UK live. However, BPOC households earn less than white households on average, with Black households in the UK having 60% less wealth than white households on average, making us the poorest demographic. Considering the wealth inequality that BPOC face and the fact that so many of us live in London, there is a clear disparity when it comes to who is likely to live near enough to these competitions for the travel to not be expensive and who will be more negatively impacted by spending money on competing. Competitors who are white are more likely to be able to afford to actually compete in the first place, which accounts for one of the reasons we rarely see diversity in pole competitions.

Coming from a background of performing and being my own talent manager and thus my own rate negotiator, I understand that pole dancers are widely exploited and whilst there is such a high demand for BPOC pole dancers for music videos, there is also a higher chance of exploitation from production companies who aren’t educated in the cost of becoming of a standard to be a pole performer.

These are conversations I had in 2018/19 which led me to strive for a paid event for pole dancers.
I understand that there is a racial disparity when it comes to who is likely to be able to afford to compete, to spend a lot of money for not much financial compensation in return. I understood then that if I was to have an event, not only did I want to pay pole dancers, but I wanted to pay them well.
To be honest, I want to look back on the pay rates from Blackstage’s first event and think “wow, that was low compared to how much we are paying performers now”, that for me is the dream.

Average cost of competing breakdown:

-10 x 1hr rehearsal sessions at £20 each on average = £200
-Train tickets £50 average
-Costume £70 average
-Shoes £70 average
-Entry video £30 average

=£420 at least + The possibility of missed work for instructors, performers, freelancers and 0 hour contract workers.