BIO
ABOUT
BIO
ABOUT
Donna Carnow (she/her) - is a Brooklyn-based pole dancer, aerial pole artist, national pole champion, and human pretzel-tornado.
Donna is the 2022 US National Pole Art Champion where “she POLE the show” (New York Post). Her performative abilities have been described as the “production’s true showstopper” (New York Times) and celebrated in Variety, The New Yorker, The New York Post, Theatermania, and more. Recently in world-renown Circus Flic Flac Duisburg she “performs aerial contortions that look completely unreal - all with perfect ease” on aerial pole. Other notable performance credits include Company XIV, EUPHORIA at The Hard Rock Casino Atlantic City, Virgin Voyages, and her Drama Desk award winning performance “LUST” in Seven Deadly Sins NYC (Off-Broadway) voiced by Cynthia Nixon. Donna is a resident performance artist at internationally renowned venues like The Box, House of Yes, The Slipper Room, and a regular performer in variety + circus productions worldwide.
Donna teaches pole at the infamous Body & Pole in NYC and around the world via workshops and teaching residencies. Her technique-focused classes are creatively activated by her fiery energy, anatomical knowledge, passion for her students’ growth, and her belief in the magic of movement. Originally from Chicago, Donna hails from an experimental modern dance background and holds a B.F.A in Dance from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. There she discovered pole dancing 10+ years ago and fostered her love for experimentation. She shares her passion for teaching as a Master Trainer with ElevatED Pole + Flexibility Training programs and power vinyasa yoga teacher trainings (E-RYT 200).
Additional Performance credits:
Viktor & Rolf (L’Oreal), The Box, Reinard International FZE, The McKittrick Hotel, Kaleidoscope Entertainment, Reykjavik Fringe Festival (evening length show VERTICAL DREAMSCAPE), Schtick a Pole In It, Rochester Fringe Festival - Cirque du Fringe, Hupstate Contemporary Circus Festival, Virgin Voyages Scarlet Lady, Alternative Assembly Reykjavik, House of Yes, The Stranger, Hard Rock Casino Las Vegas, Cirque Central, International Pole Convention, DROM, The Wondershow, AERA, PoleSpeak, Pole Theatre USA, Let Them Eat Cake, Caché Life, Parlor Particular, and more.
Additional competitive titles:
PSO 2021 Northeast Pole Art Champion (Boston)
PSO 2019 Central Pole Champion (Chicago)
Showstopper
“Carnow’s dancing, however, is the production’s true showstopper. She does splits and body rolls, windmills herself around the pole and performs aerial contortions that look utterly unreal — all with perfect nonchalance.”
-The New York Times
Showstopper
“Carnow’s dancing, however, is the production’s true showstopper. She does splits and body rolls, windmills herself around the pole and performs aerial contortions that look utterly unreal — all with perfect nonchalance.”
-The New York Times
Artist Statement
Artist Statement
ARTIST STATEMENT
I BELIEVE IN THE MAGIC OF MOVEMENT AND THE PEOPLE WHO CONJURE IT
My work is a vehicle for all to witness the embodiment of both strength and vulnerability; athlete and artist. I use pole dancing as an entry point for all to harness the power of both being human and super-human.
I chase the sensations of momentum, spiral, torque, and centrifugal force both inside my body and around a metal apparatus. I indulge in the sensation of swelling momentum; in the feelings of both falling down and rebounding back up again.
I am passionate about experimentation, furthering form, and reimagining codified techniques in abstract applications on/with/by the pole. I am inspired by the virtuosity and alien experience of seeing a body move in the sky.
I am interested in the bound muscularity of pole dance coexisting with my histories of release technique. I explore how these two forms collide and co-exist in both my body and my choreographic tendencies. My art hosts a generous environment that offers the opportunity to explore, feel, empathize, and stretch both the brains and the hearts of those participating. I desire to stimulate thought, redefine expectations, challenge the forms, and unearth questions