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A Russian goddess in Hungary - interview with Daria Che
With almost 100k Instagram followers, she's one of the most famous exotic poledancers of the world. A cheerful, smart girl in her everyday life, while a real goddess on stage. We were happy to chat with her at Pole Theatre Hungary.
I know you started pole dancing as a hobby and then fell in love with it. I’m sure it is difficult to pinpoint one trait, but can you describe why you love this so much?
I guess I’ll start from the beginning. I did rhythmic gymnastics from when I was 4 years old until I was 16. I had to stop because I had problems with my back and for a while, I couldn’t do any sports. Then I went to university and didn’t feel like doing any specific form of exercise. Also, I keep changing my mind, I go with changes and I wanted to do something different. So I chose economics and started there. I found out pretty soon that that wasn’t my way. (laughs) At this time, I moved to St. Petersburg and started to get bored without sport in my life. I was doing fitness and I was jogging, but nothing special. I got bored and I started thinking about what I should do with my life. One of my friends showed me videos of her pole dancing and I thought is was so cool, so different. It looked difficult but I thought I could manage it, even with my back issues. So I tried and fell in love. I found the perfect studio, the perfect teacher who inspired me a lot. I started with regular tricks, and just adored it. It was so new. It was love at first “sight”.
Ok, but how did you end up in exotic pole dancing?
After a year, as we did not have exotic classes in the studio, I suggested to my trainer that we should have exotic classes as well, and she said ‘Okay, you can teach them’. I never tried exotic pole before, I didn’t expect it. I never had an exotic teacher myself so I always went in 2 hours before my class (the one I was teaching) to practise some combos and some transitions. It was very interesting as it wasn’t simply just a sport any more, it was very artistic. So I fell in love with the exotic style and I became an exotic pole dancer. In the beginning, I was dancing without heels and then after half a year I bought the first pair. :)
You mentioned that you did rhythmic gymnastics. Also, many pole dancers come from a background of RG, gymnastics or ballet and it looks like it’s easier for them to do pole than for other people. How did your RG past add to your pole dancing?
I don’t think that it would necessarily be easy for a girl who did RG to transition to exotic pole for example. I can see a lot of girls who are still in gymnastics and they try exotic... actually, it’s not super nice. Because they still have those gymnastics moves and it doesn’t look beautiful or exotic. I have my splits and a little bit of a bendy back from my RG background, so the flexibility part is easier for me. But this break from age 16 to 22 helped me, because I lost all the gymnastics “rigidity”. So for the fitness part, my background helps a lot, but less so for the dance part.
Exotic has become your signature style. What do you love most about this genre of pole dancing?
I think the fact that there is no end to the list of things you can do, there is always an area to improve your skills in. That is basically true for all styles. But I feel like I have a lot of space to show what I can do, for creativity. For me, it’s not about showing off how sexy I am, but about creating art.
You have been teaching for a while, you also have workshops here. What does sharing your knowledge mean to you?
I love teaching. I love to give people the best that I know. I think it’s the most important part of my pole life and I just love doing it. For example, I don’t love to perform that much, but I love to teach.
You don’t love to perform? Why?
I am very nervous. About every performance. (laughs) I don’t know, I’m very sensitive and my mind is always so full. I think my task, my purpose in this life is to teach others. The most important part for me is for people to understand what I want to show them.
What kind of a teacher are you? What kind of values do you represent?
I try to show them the secrets to some of my moves. Sometimes, people look at a video and think it’s easy and can easily be done, but they are missing a lot of the details. Little things, tiny movements. I try to teach these little secrets during my workshops. Even if you watch me live, these little things can be missed. I think it is the purpose of the workshops to give away the secrets.
Right now, you are judging a competition. What do you enjoy about it?
I like being a judge. I like to become a part of a performance. When you judge you are absolutely concentrated on every move and every emotion, feeling the energy and history behind the act. I am not a super strict judge but I do have my opinion. I am happy if I can share my opinion with people and they can always ask me questions. I try to give feedback and people can always come to me and ask about it. I especially love this part.
You mentioned that you are nervous before performances or competitions. Apart from the training, do you have a special routine before these events? Any secret preparations?
Actually, I try to use the energy and tension from being nervous, in a good way. I try to turn the situation around. I work on myself a lot, sometimes it comes easier and sometimes it is a lot of work. So I keep all this energy and try to take it out and put it through in the form of positive vibes. It is hard to use these emotions in a good way, but it’s a positive change for any experience in life.
So what do you do in your personal life? Off-pole?
During the winter, I go snowboarding. Actually, I love spending time with my family. We live in different cities, but when I have free time, I always try to visit my parents. I also love a nice walk. I live in St Petersburg and it’s such a beautiful city and sometimes, I forget to notice how gorgeous the city is that I live in. When I am free, I like to get up very early, like 6 am, go for a walk, drink coffee, enjoy the sunshine. The simple things.
Author: Andrea Tamás