By Piper S.

I saw her dance for the first time only a few months ago at the Pole2Pole US Championships, and since then Greta Pontarelli’s grace, movement, and skills have been stuck in my mind. I was so fortunate to catch a moment of her time, and from the second she said hello I could feel that this woman is a gift to the pole community.

Like many who have had their lives changed by pole, Greta accidentally came upon it. While looking to increase her fitness in a way that had little impact or strain on her body, Greta came across a pole class. Coming from a background in gymnastics and dance from a very young age, and realizing that her body wasn’t able to do gymnastics like before, pole quickly resonated with her body. While she never foresaw herself becoming a pole competitor, Greta soon realized that pole got her into the best shape of her life and that greater changes began occurring. She began a holistic change in her life in which she enhanced herself at all levels, was eating healthier, and taking care of her body in ways that she never had.

While Greta is a mother, a wife, and a dancer, her role as an inspiration to others is what is having the greatest impact. With a mission to use pole art as a means to inspire and encourage others to reach their goals, Greta’s dances captivate and entrance any audience with her energy and movement. At the age of 61, Greta is breaking stereotypes, boundaries, and ideas about what older people are able to do. Greta exemplifies that age is simply a number. As she explained to me that she wants to “share and inspire people, especially older people to follow their dreams”, I had a flashback to her dance and how immediately following her last spin the audience sprung to their feet, because not a single person in there was short of feeling motivated and inspired to follow their unique goals.

Let’s be clear, Greta’s ability on the pole isn’t amazing just because of her age. She is competing against women who are decades younger than her, and holds her own despite any age differences. As she tells me that she never imagined competing or being at the level of ability that she is at today, she says “people’s only limitation is not believing in themselves…we always say the word can’t instead of how could I do this” and thus she continues on this journey with the hopes that maybe someone will see how she has followed her dreams and feel motivated and inspired to reach theirs. Drawing on inspiration of archetypes of humanity, Greta is motivating people to “have their reach exceed their grasp.” For Greta, pole is an art form because it expands boundaries. It has become a catalyst and a means to convey a message that is so important to her, and one in which that drives her to continue inspiring others.

Greta is a firm believer that there is really something for everyone in pole. “They can do their own artistry” she explains to me in a voice that conveys she truly believes in each person’s unique beauty and ability. “It would be fabulous if there was a sport that older people could flourish in”, Greta shares with me, which led us into a discussion of pole becoming an Olympic sport. Providing me with a way of thinking that I hadn’t considered before, she describes how “fabulous” it would be to have a sport in which older people could be winning medals. With most Olympic sports dominated by younger people, Greta believes that if the artistry of pole was maintained in the Olympics there would be no age limit on the possibility of competing and winning medals in the Olympics. Once again, Greta’s perspective breaks boundaries and puts no limit on reaching ones dream.

As she follows her heart and enjoys the journey, Greta hopes to reach more people via her website at aerial-zen.com. As a platform to uplift others (aerial) and inspire them to find the perfect harmony within themselves (zen), Greta looks forward to having her own reach exceed her grasp.