Pole Dancer, Aerial Artist, Choreographer, Performer, Teacher, Champion, New York City, USA

It was a mix of emotions at the Seven Deadly Sins performance in the New York City. Broadway, ballet and music shows were just starting to get an inkling of reopening after the COVID lockdown. The New York artist community was struggling and itching to come back.

The play, Seven Deadly Sins and our WOW Woman were exactly what New Yorkers needed, a cultural relaunch. The storefront windows in the Meatpacking District in Manhattan served as brightly lit “stages” for the Seven Deadly Sins. They gave a break to the out-of-business signs and gifted us, the audience, the ability to feel part of something creative again. We were sitting outside, visually taking it all in, listening through the remote headphones. The set up was seamless: we met on the sidewalk, at sundown, and proceeded to walk between stages, enjoying seven 10-minute performances with the backdrop of New York City. The audience soaked it up, cried, laughed and marveled.

There was one actor’s performance that stood out to me. Ms. Donna Carnow played an exotic dancer who recognizes her abuser in one of the club’s patrons. In the audience we were privy to the dancer’s inner monologue, voiced into our virtual headphones by the fabulous Cynthia Nixon. What starts out as a mundane list of daily chores (“buy milk, change oil and get cat food, did I call Leslie back?”) turns into a powerful acknowledgement of the attacker and recollection of the pain he inflicted.

Much of Donna’s performance was a harrowingly demanding physical outpouring. She gave this woman her all, spinning, pulling herself up and every which way. As the New York Times reviewer wrote: “Carnow’s dancing is the production’s true showstopper. When she’s upset, her heels violently stomp down to the floor, and when she’s caught in an anxious spiral her body likewise spins around the pole.“

To the passers-by, the LUST performance looked like a strip club act. We, the audience, knew better. As we watched and listened, we experienced a mix of awe, the rawness of the dancer’s fury, her sadness, terror and anxious despair. Some women in the audience cried. We all sat there, stunned. Such was the power of Ms. Carnow’s outpouring.

In real life, Donna Carnow is joyous, positive and hilarious. In the work mode, she seems to thrive on choreographing pole and aerial performances, and boasts numerous awards and recognitions for her craft. On a personal note, I’d like to add an Athlete to the title of this feature. Donna’s emotional routine was demanding, but the strength and sheer intensity of repeating the performance for many hours, and weeks must have taken some serious discipline in the off-hours.

I am inspired by Donna’s dauntless courage to put herself out there, her willingness to show up, even in front of those eager to judge, ridicule and shame. She teaches me about persistence, keeping an eye on the prize, honing in on my skills, just like she does with the pole dancing and teaching. Through the disciplined dedication Donna conquers much judgement held by the society for her art form, her body serves as a symbol of strength, endurance and sheer power.

1. Name.

Donna Carnow.

2. Where is your hometown?

Wilmette, Illinois - just 15 minutes north of Chicago.

3. What is your profession/career/title/self-label/designation? What does your average day look like?

I am a pole dancer, aerial pole artist, choreographer, performer, teacher, pole champion.

My average day is usually filled with teaching pole dancing all over New York City. I teach both out of my own space in Brooklyn and in Manhattan at one of the largest pole dance studios in the world, Body & Pole. I teach pole dancing at all levels, flexibility training, and handstands. It is my favorite thing in the whole damn world - I love all the people I get to work with and how empowering this work is.

I also perform in the evenings at a variety of venues, from off-Broadway shows in storefront windows to nightlife spaces to circus tents. It depends what projects I am working on. I have been extremely fortunate to secure incredible contracts; it is through these fantastic experiences I met a variety of super talented artists and friends.

Most recently, I starred in the off-Broadway show Seven Deadly Sins NYC in Bess Wohl’s play LUST voiced by Cynthia Nixon and was described as the “production’s true showstopper” (by the New York Times). This show was probably the most physically demanding thing I have ever done so far in my career. I performed nine ten-minute pole sets per night, six nights a week for almost two months. I literally slept for a full month straight after completing the run.

I also just finalized a contract that will take me upstate New York, to Rochester Fringe Festival. I performed a pole act with the headliner of the festival, Cirque du Fringe and some incredible circus artists from all over the world.

4. What did you study in school?

I received my Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2017 and graduated as a James Scholar, with Honors. I also studied pre-med (I am a huge anatomy nerd), which has deeply informed my teaching practices.

5. What was the journey like to get where you are (in life and career-wise)? Write about some of the achievements that you are most proud of. What was the moment for you that changed your life (in your personal life and/or career?) that set you on the current path in life?

Ohhhhhh, where do I start?!

Professional Life - I moved to NYC when I was 22 with an unpaid internship at Movement Research and a whole lot of passion which unfortunately does not pay the bills. I had saved up in college working at a bar for years that supported the initial process of getting to New York City. When I got here, I eventually found a job as a server at a bar and also taught power vinyasa yoga all over New York. I also took pole dancing classes, modern dance classes and participated in a year-long work-study program at Body & Pole (NYC's largest Aerial Dance studio). I also worked as a nanny three days a week.

I was juggling five jobs, sleeping five hours a night, and working seven days a week, working toward becoming a teacher at the Body & Pole. It was a long and exhausting year, but I eventually was hired to teach and became a full-time instructor at 23. I also traveled with the aerial dance company, AERA, and performed in Vegas, around that time I started breaking into the nightlife scene in NYC. I was able to focus my energy and attention to teaching pole, power vinyasa yoga, and making lots of art. I also became an Open Performance Coordinator at the Movement Research that same year; I still hold that title! Open Performance is a weekly, work-in-process showcase for experimental artists to share their artistic craft and receive feedback from the audience as a means to help them to continue developing their work.

A major moment in my career happened when I won the Pole Sport Organization’s Central Pole Championship in 2019 (video link here). This competition explored repetition of movement inside of rhythmic structures, integrating modern dance and pole dance vocabularies to create a unique hybridization of materials. This win really put me on the map in the pole community. It was an incredible experience to work towards, with much background research; it is a piece of art that I am very proud of.

After this, I stopped teaching yoga all over the city and took a management position at CorePower Yoga when I turned 24 to find more financial stability. In theory it was a great idea, but as a result it gave me much less flexibility to make the art I was passionate about. That job took me out of my body and into my email inbox all day, which is my own personal form of hell. I ended up quitting this job to teach pole full time and compete at the USA Nationals. That experience was a formative and incredible moment for me as a pole dance practitioner and performer. After this I planned a tour of workshops all over the US, but unfortunately it all had to be cancelled because of the pandemic.

During this past year another major formative experience in my career happened when I secured my first long-term performance contract performing in the Seven Deadly Sins NYC. It was such an incredible experience being a part of a major production in the heart of Manhattan as a pole dance artist with so much visibility after 1.5 years of not having any major Broadway or off-Broadway productions. I was so empowered as a performer, practitioner, choreographer, and a human-being. There are whispers about the play getting extended or going on tour, but for now it will be an incredible moment in time that will live on in my memory forever.

I also recently booked a contract this summer to go up to Rochester Fringe Festival, performing a pole act every night with Cirque du Fringe. They are such talented acrobats, circus artists, and creatives that are also a damn good time. It was awesome signing up for a role of a pole dancer in a circus setting, to be performed every night. Often pole is not seen in circus venues due to different lineages and histories, but it was exciting to experience sharing my pole art in a new space and community.

Personal life - I feel so thankful to have met the love of my life, Brandon, when I was teaching yoga in my early 20’s on the UWS (he was my student! It was wildly inappropriate ). We have been together now for almost three years. He is the sweetest, most empathetic, mindful, and grounded human I know. He is also a very talented architect and a visual artist. He is very passionate about sustainable architecture and climate change and I am always inspired by his work. He truly makes me a better human and an artist and I love him with my whole damn heart.

6. How is your life different from what you pictured at 20?

I always pictured it in some way being like this, but never really imagined how quickly it would happen and the degree of success I would have as a teacher, practitioner, and performer. I feel so thankful for the ability to do what I love and teach what I love every day - I have worked in the service industry and have had all the “survival” jobs you can think of that most people have to keep to continue making their art, so I am so thankful for spaces like Body & Pole that offer sustainability for pole dance artists and instructors. My job also offers me the flexibility to take gigs, performance jobs, and contracts that could potentially take me away from the city; Body & Pole want to support their teachers and their artistic ventures. Plus they offer me dental and health insurance; that’s unheard of!

7. Was there a time when life knocked you down or out and how did you get back up on your feet?

My dad was an absolutely incredible human being. He was also terribly ill with Multiple Sclerosis and Parkinson’s Disease entire time I was growing up. These two chronic neurological diseases have no known cures.

He had to retire on disability (he was a doctor) when I was three, he stopped driving when I was in 2nd grade, and in the last few years of his life he was so ill that he had to be fed through a machine attached to his stomach. He was physically debilitated, had a hard time multi-tasking and moving through things quickly, which as a teenager always tested my patience. My mom dedicated her life to taking care of him, me, and my twin sister - she gave up her private practice to do so.

Because both my parents were always home, we were able to have a close relationship and developed a strong bond. I was so close with my dad, inspired by his ability to be a lifelong teacher and support system for all. He changed so many people’s lives for the better and was such a selfless man. He also advocated whole-heartedly for me to pursue my art and to dance rather than study medicine - he was so proud of all the work I have done in my dancing and saw it for what it was: my true passion that made me feel most alive.

My dad died when I was 20 years old, in my junior year of college during the spring break. He was in and out of the ICU, battling an aspiration pneumonia for months. I luckily was able to hold his hand and be with him during the last few moments of his life. It was single-handedly the most earth-shattering thing I have ever experienced.

Dance saved my life after this. Everything felt completely hopeless and the grief was viscerally beyond anything I have ever experienced in my life. The colors felt brighter; the sounds felt louder; the temperatures in the air felt more extreme - it was like every sense was heightened beyond recognition.

I dove headfirst into movement and dance and it became what made me want to keep on growing, going, and living. I feel the reason I have worked so incredibly hard and relentlessly in my early 20s was a way to cope with the loss of my dad. I imagine that I kept going and working towards my dreams so I would have to feel and face the pain of losing my dad. I now know that it was a wildly productive and simultaneously masochistic coping mechanism, but I wouldn’t change any of it.

8. Where in the world do you feel “tallest” (i.e. where is your happy place)?

I feel like the fullest and fiercest version of myself when I am pole dancing. Pole dancing to me is a vehicle to embody both my strength and vulnerability; athlete and artist. I use pole dancing as an entry point to harness the power of both being human and super-human.

9. What extracurricular activities/hobbies are you most proud of? Why?

My passion for movement stems from my studies in modern dance and release technique. I love intermixing experimental choreographic techniques with pole dancing and integrating my work with modern and pole together.

I also have a very strong collaging practice. I like to collect images from the New York Times and magazines I read and layer the images together to create art.

10. What do you want to be when you grow up? Future goals/challenges?

I am so ridiculously happy doing what I do. I hope to continue pole dancing, moving, teaching, and performing for the rest of my life. I plan to one day earn an MFA in dance and become a dance professor at a university, teaching both pole dance techniques and modern dance, while continuing my research of integrating the two forms together. I love school and educational spaces because so many people are hungry to learn, to experiment, to explore, and to invest time in their art. There are many resources available for professors in the large research institutions, such as space and time; two of the most valuable commodities in New York City and the two things I’m constantly fighting to uncover here.

Finally, I hope to make an impact on students’ lives and offer pole in an academic setting. It changed the trajectory of my life and I know it can do the same for others.

11. What fears are you still hoping to overcome?

My worry is that I won’t take enough artistic risks because of the fear of failure. I also fear that others will not respect or understand my art. I sometimes have to remind myself that at the end of the day, not everyone is going to be a fan andd that’s ok; life is too short to make the choices in how you live and what you do for anyone else but yourself.

The way we train our bodies also impacts the ways in which we train our minds. Coming from an experimental modern background, I was surrounded by artists and mentors constantly researching how to further form and create innovative art. Now as primarily a pole dancer, I am training my body specific skills which are high risk, so my learning / training practice is quite regimented and repetitive involving demanding techniques. I often fear artistically that I do not invest enough time into creative, unique, and bizarre applications of techniques.

I have trained my body to continue researching, experimenting, and furthering form. Pole is often seen in entertainment spaces as opposed to experimental art spaces, so the financial drive to invest time and research into this kind of work is a barrier that I am continuing to work through as a maker. Here are some experimental works I have created with pole: experimental, championships, national championship, tell-tale-trick.

12. Anything you'd do differently, if you had another go at life?

I have always believed in working hard and have respected the grind of a working artist, especially in New York City. I have given up opportunities to travel to see the world because of the fear of taking time off work and not being in the city. It has taken me years to learn that the jobs will still be there and that part of the work of being a creative artist and well-rounded human is not to be afraid to take the time to see the world. I must learn to not be afraid of working a little less even if it means being a little more broke. I am now actively working toward scheduling more trips to see more of the world when I have the freedom and ability to.

13. What inspires you?

Here is my artist statement - I feel it covers this question:

I BELIEVE IN THE MAGIC OF MOVEMENT AND THE PEOPLE WHO CONJURE IT. My work is a vehicle for all to witness the embodiment of both strength and vulnerability; athlete and artist. I use pole dancing as an entry point for all to harness the power of both being human and super-human.

I am interested in the bound muscularity of pole dance coexisting with my histories of release technique. I explore how these two forms collide and co-exist in both my body and my choreographic tendencies. I chase the sensations of momentum, spiral, torque, and centrifugal force both inside my body and around a metal apparatus. I indulge in the sensation of swelling momentum; in the feelings of both falling down and rebounding back up again.

I am passionate about experimentation, furthering form, and reimagining codified techniques in abstract applications on/with/by the pole. I am inspired by the virtuosity and alien experience of seeing a body move in the sky.

My art hosts a generous environment that offers the opportunity to explore, feel, empathize, and stretch both the brains and the hearts of those participating. I desire to stimulate thought, redefine expectations, challenge the forms, and unearth questions.

14. What are you hopeful about?

I am hopeful that everyone in the world will all take more responsibility for the way we treat our planet and the other animals we share it with. Global climate change is so incredibly horrifying and important to address, and it requires all humans to do their part to save this Earth. We are all responsible in some kind of way to make the changes we want to see in this world, and I am hopeful we can together make a major impact before it is too late.

15. What are some ingredients to a good life? Has the global pandemic changed your perspective about the world, about your life, your goals and dreams?

- Surrounding yourself with people the lift you up and encourage you to be the biggest, baddest, and most ambitious version of yourself. Whether it is your friends, co-workers, partner, whoever! Surround yourself with kind, passionate, driven people that inspire you to be and do better.

- Rest is also part of the work. You cannot perform at your fullest with no time for your body and/or your mind to recover. Sometimes I have a hard time distinguishing when to rest and when to work, especially when my passion and creative outlet are also my job.

- Anything can happen, as the pandemic has taught us. It’s important to never be afraid to take things into your own hands and make things happen for YOU. Don’t be afraid to make opportunities for yourself. After I got temporarily laid off from all teaching + performance jobs during the pandemic, I taught virtually through my own personal platform, initially through Instagram live. It was so overwhelmingly successful that these online classes eventually turned into my own teaching + performance business. I got my LLC this year and it remains a massive portion of my work and income.

16. What are (at least) three qualities you most love about yourself and why? What are your superpowers?

PASSION - I am so deeply passionate and driven about everything I do/ Whether it is performing, teaching, or about the people I work and connect with, my friends, my family, my partner or the food I eat. I try to live life to the fullest and love as fully and as hard as possible everything that I do

CONNECTIVITY - I deeply enjoy working and connecting with people. I love human interactions and watching people navigate challenges and experience personal growth through the work that I do. Teaching requires a lot of performance and holding space, but also simultaneously a lot of patience, empathy, and listening to others.

PLAYFULNESS - Life is too short to not do what you love or smile along the way. I try to approach all things in life with an open heart, be kind to others, and have a good laugh along the way.

17. What advice would you give your 14-year-old self?

When I was a teenager I would often warp into a smaller version of myself. This was my coping mechanism to fit in, avoid bullying and ridicule from others (teenagers are the fucking worst!).

I would tell myself and every other young woman this:

18. What are you reading now? (what books do you gift most and what are your favourite reads?)

I’m currently enjoying “Dopamine: Finding Balance in the Age of Indulgence” by Anna Lembke. It explains how dopamine rules the pain and pleasure centers of the brain. The book frames all this information in the context of our current societal predicament: living in an era of overconsumption and instant gratification. It has been quite illuminating. My most recent favorite is called “Originals” by Adam Grant. The book highlights current research in creativity and originality in all aspects of work and life. I highly recommend it.

19. Where can others find you/your work (links to websites, blogs, etc.)?

website: donnacarnow.com and IG: @donkakong