Meet Perth’s stiletto-wearing pole dancing supergroup

They wear towering eight-inch heels and have a level of strength and flexibility that defies belief.

Meet Australia’s first pole dancing supergroup.

Perth-based pole performers Ruby Lai, Mel Grace and London James are all champion athletes in their own right, with a trophy cabinet of titles between them.

Now they have banded together to form the ultimate trio in a bid to take out the crown at the biggest global showdown of its kind, Pole Icon — just as long as they don’t take each other out in rehearsal with the aforementioned stilettos.

“We kick each other all the time,” Grace laughs.

“It’s a lot of problem-solving and repetition to build up our strength and cardio. Especially with a routine like this, we work a lot on our musicality and choreography.

“We are all really creative so we put forward our ideas and then we practise over and over for it to be perfect.”

A group act of this complexity has never before been attempted at Pole Icon, which will bring together the top names from the Australian pole dancing scene in Sydney on June 24.

The WA trio all have careers away from dancing, in addition to being instructors at Bobbi’s Pole Studio, and are passionate about teaching others about how empowering the art form can be.

Lai says there is still a divide between how male adult entertainers and their female counterparts are viewed.

“When I performed with Snoop Dogg in February at his Perth concert, there were a few articles where they called me a stripper and talked about me wearing scantily clad clothing while Snoop threw fake notes out of money guns at me,” she says.

“I think there’s always going to be that negative stigma in society that reduces what we do. It has lessened over the years, but there are still some very narrow-minded people out there. It’s definitely the minority now, though.”

James says people are always shocked to discover how much strength is required for their tricks, while Grace believes there is a growing level of appreciation for pole dancing in the community.

“It’s strength-building, confidence-building and is great for all-round fitness,” Grace says.

“But I think it’s important to respect the roots of its origins in strip clubs and embrace our femininity and sexuality. That’s the fun part of pole dancing. It’s hard, but it’s really rewarding.”