Jamilla Deville

Australia

Pole Dance Instructor of the Year 2009 and 2010!

One of the first pole instructors in Australia, and Australia’s original Pole Dance Champion, Jamilla Deville’s background in dance is rich. Having trained in jazz ballet, adagio, trapeze, corde lisse and silks, her understanding of the principles of pole dancing are unparalleled. She performed at the Sydney Olympics Opening Ceremony in 2000 as well as at the National Circus and Theatre Conference later that year, and, as a core member of the Fantasy Las Vegas cast for over three years, Jamilla became renowned for her strength, athleticism and grace.

When Sydney’s first school opened Jamilla was instructing from day one and continued to perform regularly, giving her students the opportunity to learn and be inspired by the possibilities of pole dance in full flight.

In May 2005, Jamilla won the Miss Pole Dance Australia competition. In the same year, she became the face of X-Pole Australia.

In 2006 Jamilla created the International Pole Federation, an organisation designed to address standards in the pole dance and fitness industry, and founded her own school, The Art of Pole, which continues today with a student base of hundreds of women who have been inspired by Jamilla’s own passion for the art of pole dancing.

Since opening her own school, Jamilla has been invited to instruct in other schools across the world, including the US, the UK, Europe, and South East Asia. To date, she has toured her classes to the USA (twice), Singapore, Thailand, and New Zealand (also twice). Further instructional tours are planned with a possible European tour later this year. Jamilla has also trained instructors from all over Australia, including Tasmania, Western Australia, Queensland, South Australia, Victoria and New South Wales.

Jamilla’s crowning glory came in 2007 when she created the first two highly anticipated volumes in her instructional DVD series, The Art of Pole. The series broke new ground and was praised internationally, even being described as “the pole dancing bible”. In 2008 she continued the series, adding three new volumes, bringing the series up to advanced level and supporting the many students worldwide who were ready for more difficult moves. The Art of Pole DVD Collection has grown to five full-length volumes ranging from absolute beginners to advanced and is selling worldwide to countries as diverse as Argentina to Finland to New Zealand and everywhere in between, through the official website, http://www.artofpole.com. Jamilla is looking forward to creating further volumes in the series.

Jamilla’s understanding and mastery of such crucial elements of pole dancing as safety, body alignment, aerial fitness, and balance set her apart as a leader in her field and have made her offerings as an instructor invaluable to students the world over.