Bringing Dante’s Inferno to St. Pete, FL: An Interview with Original Sin Show

EventInterviewArtist Recommendation
Written By Cherry Street Confessional

In a first for us, we met up in person for an interview with local artists. We sat down, in their studio, with pole performers and artists Amber Bright and Rachael Zucker of Original Sin ahead of their 2nd annual pole competition taking place on April 22nd, 2023 at Apple Jelly Studios in St. Petersburg, Florida.

We had an amazing conversation about how this show started, the role they play in alternative entertainment in the state of Florida, and what attendees can expect at this sold-out competition.

I hope you enjoy this conversation with Original Sin.

Thank you both for inviting me into the studio and sitting down with us today. Can we kick things off by introducing yourselves?

My name is Amber Bright and I'm the owner of Apple Jelly Studios. And I'm Rachael Zucker and I'm a student and instructor at Apple Jelly Studios. We co-produce Original Sin Show together. 

What is Original Sin? How did it get started? 

RZ: Last year, Amber and I thought, ‘Well, what could we do to put together something for the community that felt really special and unique?’ We sat and brainstormed all the different ways that we could amplify the joyous moments of a pole dancing competition while totally alleviating the negative experiences—or at least attempting to. 

We also love dark goth, weird, strange, odd... When we were brainstorming this event, there was no competition locally that really gave off that vibe. We really wanted to pursue putting on a show that felt more like us and gave other people, who were like us, the opportunity to be that way.

AB: I think we also really wanted to create a really high-end, elegant show, instead of just seeing how many competitors we could get through the door, something that's really immersive and theatrical.

Speaking of community, why Saint Pete? How does this type of entertainment fit into, or set itself apart from what people can find around the Tampa Bay Area?

AB: I think Saint Pete has an amazing circus arts community. There are a ton of aerialists, pole dancers, acrobats, and all kinds of talented people here. I think that that's what makes Saint Pete really great for this type of event. There is already a huge market looking for this type of entertainment.

The difference here is that you get an intimate, warehouse-style vibe without being subjugated to feeling insignificant at a big, over-the-top production. 

RZ: Yeah, absolutely. If we're talking about mission statement or goals, when we were setting out to do this, we wanted to create the best experience for our guests and our competitors. Our primary focus has always been experience over focusing on maxing out our profit.

AB: I think that sets us apart because we're not doing it for the money. We're doing it for the art. 

RZ: We were never afraid to sink everything into our (wo)man-hours and creativity. Every waking moment, other than when we’re in the studio or at work, is spent thinking about this.

AB: Nobody goes down the rabbit hole as far as we do. We'll just paint the whole studio black this year. It doesn't matter. We have no limit when it comes to what we're willing to do to make the experience great for our guests.

Saint Pete is obviously one of the more inclusive areas in Florida, probably the country, but I still think some would say that there's a stigma around pole.

AB: Saint Pete doesn’t seem to have as much of a stigma surrounding pole as other areas of Florida do, for exactly the reasons you brought up. Though, there are harsh, ever-present stereotypes surrounding pole: that it somehow is dirty compared to other circus performances and can tarnish a career.

RZ: Which is asinine. Pole originated in circus: in the earliest forms of pole dancing, performers would engage in a dance with the pole supporting the circus tent. It’s branched off into so many directions—which is a truly beautiful collection of art forms… whether for work, for fitness, or some combination of the two.

AB: I really think just let pole be whatever you want it to be. We need to stop trying to force ideas on other people of what something should be and let people just do whatever they want.

To combat this, we work incredibly hard to be inclusive. That was always a goal of ours. We have strippers competing, a drag queen emcee, LGBTQ+ vendors… a variety of body types, ages, genders, all of it. 

RZ: And if you’re not okay with that at our studio or show, you can get the fuck out.

So we talk about stigma from the one end of the spectrum: those who pass judgment onto strippers. But do you see it from the other end too: Strippers that criticize those who can practice pole without having to deal with negative criticism?

AB: I've never been a dancer myself, but I spent a lot of time in strip clubs. I’ve had many friends who are sex workers and strippers. I've done amateur nights just for fun. 

I think one of the problems that strippers have with self-described “pole fitness” is discrimination. People try hard to separate stripping from pole. That's why we really try not to. It is unfair for someone to not want to be associated with the very art form that strippers created: their shoes, their outfits, and their moves.

We need to pay homage to those roots. We need to recognize the voices of those who are consistently quieted and put down.

What are the best strip clubs in the Tampa Bay area?

Z: Amber let’s hear your insight.

AB: Well, I have gone to Scores a lot in Tampa. Scores has a good steakhouse, believe it or not. I used to go there and eat dinner with my friends that worked there. We would all go in the back and we would eat dinner in the steakhouse.

Penthouse Club in Tampa is also awesome. But there really are so many: Tampa is called the strip club capital of the U.S. because there are so many everywhere. But yeah, those are my two personal favorites to go hang out at. 

Our monthly thing is to go just check out a different club. We've done 2001, which was amazing. And then we went to Mons Venus. So those are the ones. Those are checked off the list so far.

AB: I'd say in Saint Pete, a lot of people go to Oz. Check that one out.

We definitely will. Getting back to Dante’s Inferno. How do you attract an inclusive list of performers?

RZ: Amber has been a staple in the pole dance community for ten-plus years. She has a legacy. So initially we relied heavily on Amber’s connections. Amber is a staple in the community and has always been friendly and supportive of others in the community. 

AB: Rachael is super talented at creating the graphics and videos—she manages the creative output on social media and design work for the day of show. We also rely heavily on this to attract competitors and guests.

I will say the social media presence was loud and that's what absolutely attracted me to your event.

AB: She's the one that makes all the really badass content and videos and stuff. She's an incredible artist.

The branding and the overall aesthetic that you're pushing out are amazing. How did you arrive at the theme of the overall production and then your individual shows?

AB: All of our shows will be under the Original Sin umbrella. Then we take different themes that match up with that. Our first, last year was “The Garden of Eden,” the true beginnings of Original Sin. Whereas this year we wanted it to be a little darker… so we went with Hell and Dante's Inferno to make it even more sinister. 

RZ: Dante's Inferno is a story that I think everyone is at least vaguely familiar with. We're all familiar with levels of Hell and the sins that go along with it, which connected to last year as well. Though, we’re flipping Dante’s Inferno on its head—it’s somewhere you desire to stay within, not escape from.

You describe the show as “unapologetically dark, tenfold more wicked and brimming with sin”. What can attendees expect to see this year?

RZ: This competition will not be like the others. It’s not designed to be seen by your average viewer. We’re unique in that we embrace the dark, the strange, and the parts of ourselves that our deemed sinister by others.

This year, our competitors can interact with VIPs, with pre-approved consent. We’re really pushing the limits of what traditional pole competitions allow currently.

I think this is the first event that I've signed up for where I had to fill out a consent form in order to get tickets.

RZ: Yes, consent is king… or queen, however, we want to think of it. Our competitor and guest safety if of utmost importance to us. If you’re at our show, under our roof, you’re safe.

This event sold out incredibly fast. What do you think drove such quick and high demand for the event?

AB: I think last year we were brand new and it was our first event, so people started buying tickets because they thought it sounded really cool. Then as we started producing more content on social media with those who got into the show to compete.

And so I think part of that was a driving force this year. Everybody realized we pulled it off. We not only did it, but we did it with almost perfect execution and the hype just lasted and people decided, “We’re not going to sleep on it this year.”

I literally had people message me to say that they were going to stay up ‘til midnight to get tickets. We warned everybody that the show would sell out.

How many days did it take?

AB: We did a presale on Valentine's Day that took about 12 hours. I think that was 10% of the tickets. Then we did the second release and that sold out in 24 hours.

RZ: And there's only so much capacity we can have in here, right? That's what makes the experience intimate. We’re not trying to pack as many competitors in as possible. We want the environment to be incredibly immersive and intimate. Due to this, we have to have a capacity limit.

Can we go into that a little bit more? So how is this year's competition structured? What are the rules for performers and rules for attendees?

RZ: This year we have two competitor categories: Unholy and Wicked. 

Wicked means that you've been doing this awhile, you're super comfortable, you land hard tricks with confidence, and you can invert like it's nobody's business. You're fucking experienced, right? You may be an instructor at a studio or you may have been a student forever. You might be traveling the world teaching workshops.

Unholy is for dancers that could have just been introduced to pole as a whole. Maybe they’ve been doing it for a while, but never got on stage. Maybe they can invert but it’s not executed as cleanly as it could be. Or, it could be their first time on-stage performing in a competition or event.

And then, of course, there's that weird, messy middle where people kind of overlap and we can kind of decide once people apply, where exactly they place.

AB: We also allow our audience to tip our competitors. A lot of other events will walk around with a tip bucket or they'll split up the tips. Not us. We encourage attendees to throw the cash on stage and then we scoop it up and give it immediately to them backstage, so they get all the money that they earned. Even if competitors don’t place they still walk away with the potential of a couple hundred bucks. 

So even if you don't get first, second, or third, you're still going to walk away with something that leaves you feeling like, ‘Hey, I did a really badass performance.’ 

We saw Ybor City Sirens and not knowing that tipping was encouraged was a bummer for me as an attendee. They give us the Cash App for each performer. I don't know if that's something that you're adding to the event, but that was something that I thought was a super cool alternative. 

AB: We encourage attendees to bring money with them to the show. One of our event staff here will also have cash so that people can exchange bigger bills to get ones, fives, and other bills they can throw on stage.

Do performers come into the competition with their own routines? Are there any parameters to the routine or a choice of costuming? 

AB: They do come up with their own routines. As far as parameters, the only parameter we really set was a time limit on music to control the length of the show. But other than that, we're like, go, just bring the show. We want to see costumes. We want to see concepts. We want to see creativity.

RZ: Our competitors are meant to bring Dante's Inferno to life on stage. So that was a huge thing we pushed this year for applicants. We had them write up a concept that didn't have to be cemented. They’re able to change it. But we wanted to see what they were going to do or what they can imagine bringing to life on stage. 

Who are this year’s judges?

AB: We have four total judges—three primary and one alternate judge in case there are conflicts. Shay Williamson won our competition last year—all we have to say is grapefruit. She did the most amazing performance last year which blew us away. We had to have her come back and judge this year. Her companies, PoleActive and DewPoint, are also staples in the pole community.

RZ: We also have Ikarys Noir who came to our show last year as a guest and at the end of the show won the prize for the best-dressed audience member. We pulled up on stage, gave him his prize, and he whispered to Amber, ‘Can I just do something really quick on the pole?’

AB: We're like, Yeah, sure. And then he just busts out like the most amazing pole tricks. Everybody probably thought that was staged, but it was totally not. He was amazing. He's so strong and so talented. He has experience judging and he's an instructor as well. 

And then our other judge is Leah Franklin, who is also another amazing, super-talented leader in the pole community. She's done incredible shows and competitions and performances. She's getting ready to put on her own shows as well. All these dancers are huge leaders. 

Our alternate judge is Kushina the Ninja—she was one of our judges last year. She is incredibly talented in movement and dance and just being creepy in general. She's the “Queen of Creep.” She can look you in the eyes and steal your soul. I am blown away by her perseverance. She has been through a lot. She lives in Fort Myers, so when that hurricane came through, she nearly lost her own studio.

Will you be performing?

RZ: We're not going to talk much about it. It's top secret. 

I'm looking forward to this year and next year. Is there anything you can share about next year’s event?  Any tease?

RZ: μῦθος

Well, that is something to noodle on. Is there anything else about the show that you’d like to talk about that we haven’t discussed already? 

RZ: We could not have done this alone. Amber and I may produce this competition, but we could not have done it without the help of sponsors, vendors, the community, the volunteers, and the guests that believe in us.

I just want to make it clear that you might be interviewing us, but this is not just us.

So what's next for the Original Sin crew? 

AB: We will be doing this again. And as always, it'll be better and even more theatrical, more immersive, and more creative every year. That's always our goal. How can we surpass the previous show?

How can people get involved at the studio?

AB: If you want to be a student at Apple Jelly Studios, we book all of our classes through the MindBody app. We go all the way from beginner up to advanced and me and Rachael teach most of the classes here. I have a few other instructors that teach other classes as well that are super talented. 

I always say, Apple Jelly's classes are notoriously hard, and we're not your typical pole studio. We are the misfits' studio. You're going to hear metal music, you're going to hear industrial music. You know, we're going to push you. But we're a great community here. And just like our show, we're very inclusive. And that's really important to me. We’re a welcoming environment for people from all walks of life. 

If anybody were to be maybe nervous or afraid to come to a pole class, like what could they expect from an intro class?

AB: Usually my intro class is your crash course. I'll do a warm-up, a one-minute choreographed routine where you’ll learn to spin, a couple of transitions, a tiny bit of floor work, and then we finally cool down. From there I advise people on which classes to take, depending on what their goal is in pole.

There are so many different aspects to pole: there are people that don't like choreography and they just want to do badass pole tricks, so we have classes that are specifically just trick-based or strength-training-based. 

We also have classes that are super sexy. If you just want to wear a sexy outfit and heels and feel confident, we have those classes as well. There are tons of options.

Where can people follow you to stay up to date on upcoming events with Original Sin and the studio itself?

AB: The show is @OriginalSinShow on Instagram. That's where you can stay up-to-date on the show. For Apple Jelly, it's at @AppleJellyStudios on Instagram or www.AppleJellyStudios.com.

RZ: We are extremely friendly; you can easily reach us through IG or email. We want to go out of our way to make sure everyone feels seen and heard. We’re here for you.

The same thing goes for our competition, right? If anybody has any qualms with the way that things are run or has any critiques or suggestions like we want them, right? We want to make sure that we can run it the best way that we can. Send us critiques, and tell us your ideas and visions for how we can improve. We want to hear you out.

I also want to give a special shoutout to our sponsors, vendors, judges, and talent.

  • Our Judges:

    • Shay Williamson

    • Leah Franklin

    • Ikarys Noir

    • Kushina the Ninja

  • Our Talent:

    • Emcee: Adriana Sparkle

    • VIP Performer: MaryPat Letourneau

    • DJ: Anthony Campos

    • Photographer: Sorcha Augustine

    • Videographer: Charmaine George

Cherry Street Confessional

Cherry Street Confessional, founded in 2022, explores historic and modern erotic art.

Previous

5 Erotic Artists for You to Follow this April
Next

5 Erotic Artists for You to Follow this March