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Former Spearmint Rhino dancer to defend title in national pole dancing contest

Woman, who got her start in West Palm Beach, won Miss Trixter last year.
March 18, 2010|By Nick Sortal, South Florida Sun-Sentinel
A former Boynton Beach resident is trying to repeat her success in last year's U.S. Pole Dance Federation competition.

Sarah Cretul, 22, won the title of Miss Trixter last year. The second annual competition starts Friday at the Symphony Space Theater in New York City.

"I've been working on my routine all year," said Cretul, whose moves include a "twisted handspring." "I think I'm ready."

Last year, she won Miss Trixter after she vaulted herself into a "Superman" position, parallel to the floor. She then wrapped her legs around the pole and suspended herself more than 6 feet from the ground upside down, holding on with just her legs.

Cretul, who said she has always been athletic, started pole dancing under the name of "Bambi" about two years ago at the Spearmint Rhino night club in West Palm Beach. In November she moved to Redlands, Calif., and dances at the Hustler club there.

"I need to keep in practice," she said. "Dancing without a pole would be like trying to practice football without a football."

Pole dancing has grown as a fitness activity in recent years with some health clubs offering it as a way to build strength, flexibility and coordination while having fun. Most of the entrants are fitness professionals.

"Outside of gymnastics and break dancing, there's no other sport or form of dance that challenges your body in the same way as pole dancing," said Wendy Traskos co-founder of theU.S. Pole Dance Federation and owner of the New York Pole Dancing studio. "With its intense focus on core strength, flexibility, and the upper body workout, pole dancing is becoming less of a taboo subject and more of a way to experience 'fun' fitness."

The winner will receive $5,000, travel expenses to perform in the October 2010 Miss Pole Dance Australia event in Sydney, and a tape will be sent to "America's Got Talent" producers for consideration, organizers said.

Before heading to New York this week, Cretul visited her parents in Ocala, where her father installed a pole in the family barn for her to practice on.

"I have a great, great father," she said.

http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2010-03…

3 comments

  • zipman68
    15 years ago
    I wonder if her father is Larry Cretul - Speaker of the House in Florida and a state representative from Ocala. Unfortunately, I doubt it. Putting a pole in your barn for your daughter could be fucked up, or it could be cool. Politician Cretul is definitely fucked up -- see below:

    Speaker Cretul ignores e-mail from husband of botched 911 call murder victim

    by Dara Kam | March 10th, 2010
    Denise Amber Lee’s six-minute 911 call that helped convict her killer is among the most notorious examples of 911 calls gone wrong, the calls that are now in House Speaker Larry Cretul’s crosshairs as he tries to create a public records exemptions for them.

    Her husband Nathan Lee sent an e-mail to the sponsor of Cretul’s bill, House Government Accountability Policy Council Chairman Rob Schenk, pleading with the committee to shoot down the measure that would make 911 call recordings secret except for transcripts that could be available after 60 days. Lee also asked that his message be read at Schenk’s committee hearing the bill (PCB GAP 10-03) before it was voted on this morning.

    Schenk made no reference to Lee’s message and did not read it before the measure passed by an 8-5 vote. And Cretul, who used a procedural maneuver to ensure the bill passed, never read it at all. He said he received it last night. Public records show that Cretul, his spokeswoman Jill Chamberlin and Schenk received it around 3:30 p.m. yesterday.

    “I haven’t read the e-mail. I’m sure that he makes some excellent points,” Cretul, R-Ocala, said shortly before the House began session at 1 p.m.

    Nathan Lee and his parents are pushing a separate 911 bill that would require uniform training standards for 911 dispatchers throughout the state. His wife was killed despite five 911 calls made in two counties, including one from a witness whose call was ignored.

    Lee’s e-mail uses the botched handling of the eyewitness’ emergency call made on the day his wife was killed in 2008 to demonstrate why the calls should be available to the public.

    “She provided the exact location of this event and even though there were, by all accounts, 4 police cars within a mile of this call, it was never dispatched. This call was, obviously, grossly mishandled and would have resulted in the saving of Denise’s life. Two days after this call, she was found in a grave, naked and with a single gunshot wound to the head. This call was hidden from the public and myself. And even hidden from the police department who was actively investigating the case and searching for my wife for two days. The subsequent internal affairs investigation shows the communication center and agency who took this crucial call were immediately aware that the call was about Denise. The call was suppressed. Had the eyewitness not contacted the North Port Police Department we may never have known about her call. And the prosecution would have lost the last eyewitness to see my wife alive,” Lee wrote.

    Cretul said he supports the training and certification bill.

    “But my whole interest in this issue has been watching what it also does to families and what it does to people that call in. They become suddenly out there for all the world to see,” Cretul said in an interview. “This is a very tough, very difficult issue. Very sensitive in all respects.”

    Read the entire text of Nathan Lee’s message after the jump.

    “Dear Representative Schenck,

    I am writing to you about PCB GAP 10-03 that has been suggested by your
    committee. Unfortunately, I am unable to attend your meeting this morning.
    But I would appreciate you reading this email to the committee. Thank you.
    As you may or may not know, our foundation was formed out of the tragic
    abduction, rape, and murder of my wife, Denise Lee.

    Five 9-1-1 calls were made the day she was taken kidnapped from our home
    by a complete stranger. One call was made by Denise herself when she
    dialed 9-1-1 with her killer’s cell phone without his knowledge. During
    the recent murder trial, we had to listen to over 6 minutes of this painful
    call where she begged for her life desperately pleading to come home to me
    and our 2 boys. I understand the pain and suffering of having to listen to
    tragic 9-1-1 calls.

    Another 9 minute 9-1-1 call was made that day from a bystander witnessing
    the abduction. She provided the exact location of this event and even
    though there were, by all accounts, 4 police cars within a mile of this
    call, it was never dispatched. This call was, obviously, grossly
    mishandled and would have resulted in the saving of Denise’s life. Two
    days after this call, she was found in a grave, naked and with a single
    gunshot wound to the head. This call was hidden from the public and
    myself. And even hidden from the police department who was actively
    investigating the case and searching for my wife for two days. The
    subsequent internal affairs investigation shows the communication center
    and agency who took this crucial call were immediately aware that the call
    was about Denise. The call was suppressed. Had the eyewitness not contacted
    the North Port Police Department we may never have known about her call.
    And the prosecution would have lost the last eyewitness to see my wife
    alive.

    We believe 9-1-1 issues need more transparency and not less if we are ever
    to learn from past mistakes.

    In the aftermath of our tragedy, we have been invited around the country
    to speak at state and national 9-1-1 conferences on the need for a
    mandatory, uniform training standard that all 9-1-1 telecommunicators
    should be required to take. There is no reason for the general public to
    support or demand additional fees be approved for 9-1-1 if these types of
    calls are suppressed from the public discussion. The public needs to know
    the challenges of the system in order to vote for additional funding to
    improve it. This bill would be totally counter-productive to that end. It
    only serves to shelter the agencies from scrutiny. We are victims that
    this bill purports to represent but we feel saving another family from the
    pain and suffering that we have endured is far more important than saving
    us from hearing Denise’s last words. Forward thinking legislators with
    integrity and vision would see these calls are valuable training moments
    and powerful emotional tools to change public policy to improve the system.
    Please do not pass this bill.

    Thank you for your time and thank you for reading this for me.

    Nathan Lee
    Chairman/Co-Founder
    Denise Amber Lee Foundation
    www.deniseamberlee.org”
  • Dudester
    15 years ago
    Back on topic-actually, I find pole dancing boring, unless the contestant is fully nude and hot.
  • MisterGuy
    15 years ago
    "'I have a great, great father,' she said."

    I'm not so sure of that. How did this conversation go:

    Sarah - Daddy, will you build me a stripper pole in the barn so that I can practice?
    Mr. Cretul - Sure sweetheart, as long as I can get my usual discount on lap dances!
    Sarah - 2 for $20?
    Mr. Cretul - That's my girl! And you know that you have to give up the pussy to be on Daddy's favorite's list...
    Sarah - For you Daddy, always...

    Ugh...
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