Chris Zürcher

I discovered Pole Dance during the most difficult time of my life, when I was on the brim of committing suicide. It was on Monday, 12 July 2021 that I walked into a pole room for the first time. Before I entered I swore that I would never ever put my foot back there (this is only for girls – or so they say), but I stepped out that evening with the conviction that I would never ever leave it again. The sheer amount of kindness and acceptance I was met by was overwhelming. And how lovely she was, my first coach, with her hair tinted in green on the one side, and purple on the other. I couldn’t get enough of these beautiful colours, I who had been raised in a world where everything was interpreted and judged on a gray scale between black and white, at its best (tinted hair would have been somewhere between dark gray and black, for sure). Marie-Elise was her name. Without Pole, I don't know if I would still be here. Pole being the most extreme sport I have ever practised, I had to contend with many injuries and inflammation since 2021, due to my exhaustion accumulated over years. And to be honest I am still recovering, both mentally and physically, from 4 decades of my previous, crazy life. The themes I alluded to in my choreographies of 2024 (through hell) and now 2026 (rise) both hint to my past. Pole is more than just dance, art or sport, it's also a therapy.