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 she “performs aerial contortions that look completely unreal - all with perfect ease” on aerial pole and “gives the powerful art of pole dancing a new, enchanting dimension”. Other notable performance credits include P-VALLEY STARZ, Company XIV, Virgin Voyages, EUPHORIA at The Hard Rock Casino Atlantic City, 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, The Slipper Room, House of Yes, and a regular performer in variety + circus productions worldwide.
Donna teaches pole in NYC and around the world via workshops and teaching residencies as a master-trainer. 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 12+ years ago and fostered her love for experimentation.
12+ years of pole dance industry experience
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CORPORATE // Viktor & Rolf (L’Oreal), GABRIEL RIZZI LAB, The McKittrick Hotel, Hard Rock Casino Las Vegas, Cirque Central, Kaleidoscope Entertainment, Evgeniya Events, Elán Artists, Caché Life
TV/MUSIC VIDEO // STARZ PVALLEY, “NO POLE” x Don Toliver Music Video (Movement Director)
NIGHTLIFE VARIETY // The Box, Reinard International FZE, House of Yes, The Box Soho, The Stranger, Stage Time NYC, The Slipper Room, The Wondershow, Let Them Eat Cake, Parlor Particular, Alternative Assembly Reykjavik, Purrlesque Reykjavik, Zia Productions
DANCE + THEATER // Company XIV, Seven Deadly Sins NYC, Vertical Dreamscape, AERA, PoleSpeak,
Tjarnarbio, Tell Tale Trick, Exquisite Corpse, SuspiriaCIRCUS // Circus Flic Flac, World Circus Arts Championships (Viva Fest 2025), Reykjavik Fringe Festival, Rochester Fringe Festival - Cirque du Fringe, Hupstate Circus Festival, FinFringe, Cirque Haus Festival
DINNER SHOWS // Schtick a Pole In It, It’s A Ship Show, DROM
CRUISE SHIPS // Virgin Voyages - Scarlet Lady
POLE SPORT // International Pole Convention, Pole Expo, Pole Sport Organization (Chicago, Northeast, US Nationals), Pole Theatre USA
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PSO 2021 Northeast Pole Art Champion (Boston)
PSO 2019 Central Pole Champion (Chicago)
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ASIA
Intuitive Living & Moving (Mumbai, India)
EUROPE
Erial Pole (Reykjavik, Iceland)
North Pole Studio (Stockholm, Sweden)
Poleland Dusseldorf (Dusseldorf, Germany)
Pole Studio Donostia (San Sebastián, Spain)
Sometimes Pole & Aerial (Oslo, Norway)
Studio NoXcuse (Ghent, Belgium)
Uden Aerial Arts Studio (Uden, Netherlands)
Venus Pole (London, UK)
NORTH AMERICA
Ly Le’s Pole Studio (CA)
Kalabante Productions (MTL)
Aloft Circus Arts (IL)
Defy Gravity Pole Fitness & Aerial Arts (IL)
The Brass Ring Chicago (IL)
NEXXUS Pole (IN)
Boston Pole Fitness (MA)
Pole in the Wall (MA)
Aum Polarity (MI)
Aerial Loft (NY)
Body & Pole (NY)
Cirque Haus (NY)
CorePower Yoga (NY)
Everybody’s Nimble (NY)
Fit Factory Long Island (NY)
IncrediPOLE (NY)
OM Factory (NY)
Sweet Water Dance & Yoga (NY)
The Chrome Barre (TN)
I am a high octane aerial pole artist
I believe in the magic of movement and in 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 chase the sensations of flight, swelling momentum, spiral, torque, and centrifugal force both inside my body and around a metal apparatus. Through contorted concoctions, dynamic physicality, and steely grace I pursue pathways that allow me to swim through the sky and dance in the air.
