Pole Dancer Amazes America's Got Talent with a Stunning Routine

Pole Dancer Amazes ‘America’s Got Talent’ Judges With Visually Stunning Routine

By Kirsten Miller on September 13, 2022

It isn’t every day that you see a mother-of-three pole dancing on national television, but Kristy Sellars might be changing that, one visually stunning performance at a time. The Australian performer—who has studied just about every dance form imaginable—has got audiences momentarily mesmerized with her pole-dancing routines on America's Got Talent. The judges and the audience have been brought to their feet in a standing ovation, validating Sellars’ skills and creativity, while simultaneously shattering stigmas associated with pole dancing.

Sellars combines her agility and flexible brilliance on the pole with wonderment and illusion that instantly takes us into another world. The performer begins her stand-out routine with beautiful amber lighting, used interactively to incredible effect. As the tension in her performance builds, she peels away the golden backdrop to reveal a seemingly natural world of psychedelic colors and other-world imagery.

Sellars embodies a different persona when she's on the pole, and she takes the audience with her on a visual journey. In one performance, the gifted pole dancer constructs her story to become an Alice in Wonderland-like figure, falling through different layers of color and experiences. At one point, a picture tips, pouring the illusion of water over the stage, and she uses the pole to effectively “swim” beneath the “ocean” that is created around her.

She says that her ideas usually start as something small, like a place she'd like to explore, or a feeling that she wants to bring across. Once she decides on the music, she has the songs edited together while discussing what she has in mind for the character with her costume designer. She then breaks down the storyboards further, and gets specific about what she is trying to create, before she begins to piece the choreography for the routine together. She works with an animator who helps her create her vision, and her physical training focuses on stamina as well as lining up with the visual.

“I film every rehearsal, every run through, and then make notes on what needs to be improved,” Sellars explains. “Then I will work on the facial expressions and start practicing in the costume to see if any alterations are needed. By then, it's usually show day and I do my best to bring it all together on-stage.”

Sellars started training for America's Got Talent auditions back in March, and says she has pushed her body harder than she had ever done before. Given the reception, it seems it has paid off. However, before he first watched her perform, America's Got Talent judge Simon Cowell referred to pole dancing as “pointless.” After watching Sellars’ breath-taking routine and visual mastery, he's had to eat his words. Cowell had to admit that her performance was “one of the most astonishingly brilliant, creative acts we’ve seen on the live show.” He and the world have recognized that Sellars is no ordinary pole dancer. She creates illusion and magic with lighting, visuals, and her whole-body performance, and she has brought America's Got Talent audiences and the judges to their feet.

You can see even more of Sellars’ pole dancing strength and flexibility and the incredible fantasy routines she creates on Instagram and Facebook.