What does dance mean to you?
Dancing is my life. It’s my main source of income—it helps me pay the bills and put food on the table. At the same time, it also feeds my soul. I dance when I want to express an emotion, when I want to deal with things I cannot say, and when I want to explore movements.
Do you feel empowered when you dance?
Yes, of course. I started pole dancing in 2013. My goal at that time was not really to boost body confidence, I just wanted to learn a new skill, something that I could use for performing—and confidence came after that. When you’re able to lift your body and defy gravity, it’s hard not to be proud of yourself. To me, managing to dance 14ft high is sexier than the aesthetics of a sexy body. Strong is sexy.
Do you ever struggle with body confidence?
I do. Some think I’m lucky for being thin, but to be honest, being thin is not fun. Whenever I see myself in the mirror, I see a weak girl with nothing to flaunt. There are clothes that do not look good on me. I’m one line without humps and curves—I even tagged myself as boring. But that was me before.
Then I realized that instead of highlighting my flaws, I should acknowledge them in a good way. Loving yourself is the first step. When you love yourself, you see the beauty within. No matter how different you look compared to society’s standard of sexy, you will feel sexy if you love yourself— and those around you will feel it too.
Do you have advice for our viewers on how to feel confident?
Celebrate your uniqueness and appreciate yourself. If you don’t appreciate yourself, who else will?
Being sexy is subjective. It comes in different forms, and believe it or not, you’re part of it. What you can do is reach for higher goals than just aesthetics. Eat healthy, find a hobby, enjoy your rest day, create a routine that values self-love, and so on. Healthy is sexy, strong is sexy, big is sexy, small is sexy, curvy is sexy, one line is sexy. You are more than a front cover magazine— you are a living version of sexy.