Spins, spreads and pole positions

Upside down...this dancer slid down with her legs spread open while balancing on the pole

They slid up the pole and did their awesome stunts - fireman spins, cross-leg slides, hooks and some sexy stuff that even striptease pros would be proud of.

They also thrilled the crowd with their acrobatics. Some spread their legs up to 180 degrees while gripping on to the pole.

And they seemd to do all this effortlessly, much to the amazement of spectators.

Such was the performance of finalists at the Pole Idol competition in the clublounge NEO at Jalan Sultan Ismail, Kuala Lumpur Saturday night.

None of the women was wearing thongs to expose chunky cheeks but the ladies in pole positions were nevertheless sexy in their two-piece sequined and bejewelled outfits.

Out of the 11 participants, two were men. One showed off a well toned frame while the other thrilled the crowd in his basketball shorts, matching red T-shirt and Nike shoes.

While dressing helped the contestants earn extra marks, it was the finalists’ flexibility, confidence and poise that got the judges’ attention.

Japanese participant Naoko Enomoto, 29, an IT engineer from Singapore, stole the show with her slick and sprightly moves on the pole to emerge as the Pole Idol 2009 grand champion.

She has only been a pole dancer for six months but her 15-years training in ballet gave her an edge over the others.

Naoko who also does contemporary dance in Singapore was speechless when she was named the top winner.

“It was definitely difficult when I ventured into pole dancing but I was inspired to learn the dance after watching a video of World Pole Dance Champion 2009 Felix Cane.

“When I first started I had bruises on my legs. It was painful because you have to learn how to slide up and down and grip your legs on the pole.

“It was a small sacrifice to make but the constant hours of practicing made me better as a pole dancer,” said the soft spoken Naoko who only sent in a video entry of herself for eligibility to the contest.

Naoko Enomoto, 29, an IT engineer from Singapore emerged as the champion

Australian Samantha Lee, 27 who also works in Singapore as a dance instructor teaching jazz, hip hop and salsa was first runner-up.

Naoko will be the Malaysian representative to the Asian Pole Summit in November.

The first ever Pole Idol 2009 was put together by Time Out KL and Expatriate Lifestyle magazines and The Hanging Garden.