I got to see Amber pole dance in-person at her studio’s student show for the first time last night (save for a little bit of practice I got to see her do on the pole we set up in the apartment earlier this week). And..wow!

Anybody who says pole dancing isn’t hard doesn’t know what they’re talking about. She was flying around, upside down, sliding and spinning down, generally defying gravity with a lot of the things she was doing.

Aside from the energy level of her routine and the acrobatics involved, impressive enough on their own, I was also impressed by the swagger and confidence Amber had. If you know her, you know she is fiercely intelligent, but you probably don’t think of her as physically imposing. Well, she looked ready to boot some unruly customers in the face if they broke the house rules last night.

It’s no small thing to get up and perform in front of a group of people. It was her first time dancing in front of a group of strangers, and she was a little nervous going in. I’ve been telling her the whole time leading up to the show she was a gamer, and she proved me right last night. I’m proud of her!

Here are some photos I took of her afterward (it was too dark for photos during the show):