From Victoria to the Big Stage
Alicia is heading off to Miss Pole Dance Australia (MPDA) after taking out the title of Miss Pole Dance Victoria (MPDV) for the second year running. We had a chat with her to see how she was feeling in the lead up to Australia’s biggest competition.
“Crazy, I’m so excited!” She replied while laughing. When we had this chat, it’d been just over a month since the Victorian heat. “It’s finally sunk in now. Initially it hadn’t, but now it’s like ok this is happening, let’s get ready for finals. Plus, we now know everyone else who is in so that helps.”
And what an amazing line up it is! When asked who she was most excited to see on stage herself, Alicia replied, “Indira Storm from WA. I’ve done a few comps with her now and she’s just very different, really cool contemporary style so I’m excited to see what she brings and also just catching up with her. She’s very creative and innovative, very different to what a regular Miss Pole would be, so I’m really interested to see what she creates.”
Alicia performing at Miss Pole Dance Victoria 2025
Behind the Prep: Training Like a Champion
So, what does comp prep look like for Alicia and is it different for Miss Pole prep compared to other comps? “It’s pretty much the same, Tuesdays are dedicated to comp training, always, Thursdays are usually the same as well. I then run my routine at least once a week with heels on. However, due to Flaunt It I haven’t finished my Miss Pole music yet, so I technically haven’t started doing full runs yet. I’ll be kicking off with that next week and running through both comps for that week.”
As if prepping for one comp wasn’t enough! Don’t worry though, even while doing a double prep, she went on to place 2nd in Flaunt It’s professional division. Honestly, what can’t she do?!
Then, Alicia dropped some very interesting news. “So I’m not doing my Miss Vic heat [routine] at Miss Pole.” When we asked why – because, c’mon, it was phenomenal! – she replied, “First off, I just really loved how my routine [at MPDV] landed, I got off stage and minus a couple of acro things it went perfectly – face, tricks, it all just landed perfectly, and I just don’t think I could do that high standard again. So, I’ll leave that one there, I feel really good about leaving it there. I’m also really having fun with this routine, and I’m really excited for this one, it feels really Miss Pole.”
Alicia performing at Miss Pole Dance Australia 2024
Props, Performance & Reflection
While Alicia is not new to the Miss Pole Dance Australia stage – this will be her 3rd time performing at the Enmore Theatre – we were curious to know if this year feels different to her previous years. “I feel more comfortable. Last year I was still pretty nervous, I still felt like a bit of a baby on the stage and actually went into it like I think I’m just a filler, I’m just someone in that back half.” Something we, of course, deeply disagree with! “But this year I feel more confident, I don’t feel like a filler anymore, I feel like I’m worthy of being on that stage. It’s such a big stage, so I think it takes a few times to get comfortable there for sure.”
“First year I was there, I didn’t realise how big the stage was, like it’s huge, so I really felt like a small person on the stage. So last year’s routine filled out the stage nicely and then this year is figuring out how to fill the stage like that again.”
And nobody fills a stage like Alicia! This is why we LOVE her routines! Not just because she’s a Diva and an incredible pole dancer, but because she always brings the full package – out-of-this-world props, costuming, hair, and background videos that all come together to create a full story on stage. So how does she come up with all of it?
“A lot of [the props] come to me actually. The treasure chest I found on the side of the road! Originally, I used it for my mermaid routine for Frisk in 2022. I found it the week before, and I had had a different idea [for a prop] but I just thought that’s too perfect, then of course it worked so well for the pirate show, and it was perfect for the Enmore because big prop, big stage.”
“Then for Vic, once I had my theme, it was easy to create my story and [from there] the ideas were even bigger than what they came to be. Sometimes you have to reign it back – I’m not creating a giant vault!” she laughs. “Then I’m lucky to work with Kikki Creative who makes my projections that help bring it all to life, so I’m very lucky it’s not just me making up ideas, everyone comes to the party which is cool.”
Alicia performing at Miss Pole Dance Australia 2023
Looking back at her first time competing in MPDA, we asked Alicia if she remembered what it was like finding out that she had got in. “I had been wildcarded and it was 6 weeks away and I also had a trip to Queensland booked in the middle of that 6-week prep.”
“I didn’t expect to get wildcarded and then I did which was amazing but while on holidays I had to find a studio so I could train, so didn’t quite get a relaxing holiday. Then after MPDA I had APC so went straight into prepping for that.”
“This last two years, knowing I was in, so much less stress. Especially with last year doing the same routine so that was even less stressful. There’s a little more stress this year just because I haven’t finished the routine yet. But knowing you’re in, you can just keep your strength and stamina up and that does make it a lot easier. Plus, it meant I could book my holidays for afterwards, so very excited about that.” Alicia will be heading off to Japan post-MPDA, which sounds like the perfect reward to us!
Alicia performing at Miss Pole Dance Victoria 2025
Alicia’s Advice for Aspiring Miss Pole Dancers
Before we finished up Alicia wanted to pass on some advice to students, and even instructors, who one-day dream getting onto the Miss Pole Dance Australia stage themselves. “Plan. Planning is number one.”
“If you’re amateur about to head up to the Miss Pole Dance level, obviously just starting to work on things like stage presence, show girl presence, performing to the audience. You can have all the best tricks in the world but they don’t mean anything if you don’t know how to perform them to people and connect with them to make them go ‘wow’.”
“Same with dance, expand your dance repertoire. We love a knee pop and a wiggle but you need more and need to have a little more sophistication with your transitions. Don’t hesitate to try new classes and really broaden your horizons.”
“Don’t rush into it as well. Don’t go, oh first pole comp, let’s try for Miss Pole Dance. It’s a bit different these days, five, ten years ago that was the only option I guess but now you’ve got the amateur MX level before you come up.”
“Finally work with someone else, don’t try to do it on your own. It’s really important to have other people’s eyes, whether that’s the encouragement of a friend or a coach, you need to have someone else’s oversight. What you think you see in your head doesn’t always resonate with what you’re trying to portray. Especially as someone who does very heavy themed routines, you need to make sure people understand what you’re portraying.”
“I think it’s good to work with different coaches as well. I think [you should] keep your own style when it comes to performance and stage and all of that, but work with different coaches for your transitions, the intricacies of getting on and off the pole, floorwork, acro, all of that. Build up your repertoire of things you can pull from and then once all that’s in your system, work on it, make it your own.”
Alicia will be on the Miss Pole Dance Australia stage at The Enmore Theatre on the 1st November along with our other Divas, Mischka and Tiana. We’re so excited to see them kill it in Sydney, so go grab tickets or have a streaming party with your Divas and get ready to cheer them on!