Competitive pole dancer born with one arm hopes to inspire and move others

Описание: (21 Feb 2026)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:

ASSOCIATED PRESS
Tel Aviv - 19 February 2026
1. Various of Luba Kanter, 24, born with one arm, training on pole in studio
2. SOUNDBITE (Hebrew) Luba Kanter, competitive pole dancer:
“So, since I was a little girl I dreamt of dancing, to be a dancer. I dreamt of becoming a ballerina, but it didn’t work out. For years this dream was still really in my mind, and when I was around 19-20, I saw someone dancing on a pole and I told myself, oh, this is interesting, and I told myself I would try. I went to a trail lesson and I just fell in love with this sport.”
3. Kanter training on pole
4. SOUNDBITE (Hebrew) Luba Kanter, competitive pole dancer:
“Even without (people) knowing I’m pole dancing, I always get comments like - what, you don’t have an arm, how do you manage - like, people are very afraid of this, they don’t know how to react. I received so many comments in my life due to this. Sometimes I even wait for a comment so I can... or just for a laugh, because it’s always a different reaction, and when I say I am pole dancer, people are like in real shock, they are like - what, how do you dance on a pole with one arm?”
5. Kanter stretching while using sponges for balance
6. Kanter stretching on floor
7. Kanter with her trainer and studio owner, Jose Rodrigues
8. SOUNDBITE (English) Jose Rodrigues, trainer and studio owner:
“She did it without an arm, with a small fraction of her elbow that can grip the pole by 20%-10%, and she has done tricks and flips, and drops and gymnastic movements which full body abled people work years to achieve.”
9. SOUNDBITE (Hebrew) Luba Kanter, competitive pole dancer:
“It builds strength, it builds character, personality. It shows you things you have not seen before, and teaches you a lot of things. It just opens your eyes to self-love and how capable you are if you really want to."
10. Kanter on pole
11. SOUNDBITE (Hebrew) Luba Kanter, competitive pole dancer:
“People who may have disabilities, difficulties - I really want to show them that they can really do anything they want, if only they believe.”
12. Kanter wipes herself with towel
13. Kanter on pole
STORYLINE:
Luba Kanter dreamed of becoming a dancer. Being born with one arm wouldn't stop her. Kanter twists and slides on the dancing pole with one arm, fulfilling her childhood dream.

While training in a studio, Kanter, 24, said that since she was a little girl she dreamt of dancing, “I dreamt of becoming a ballerina,” she said but “it didn’t work out.”

The 24-year-old Jerusalem resident is a competitive pole dancer, a sport that demands heavy lifting, yet which she performs despite having a disability.

In her 20’s, she saw on Instagram a pole dancer and she was hooked. “I told myself, oh, this is interesting, and I told myself I will try. I went to a trail lesson and I just fell in love with this sport.”

Since that moment, Kanter says she is training at least three times a week in a studio.

Kanter says that people react in disbelief when she tells them she’s a pole dancer. “I always get comments like - what, you don’t have an arm, how do you manage - like, people are very afraid of this, they don’t know how to react.”

“When I say I am pole dancer, people are like in real shock, they are like - what, how do you dance on a pole with one arm?,” Kanter said.

“She did it without an arm, with a small fraction of her elbow that can grip the pole by 20%-10%,” said her trainer Jose Rodrigues.

Rodrigues added that Kanter performs with “flips, and drops and gymnastic movements which full body abled people work years to achieve.”



Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork
Twitter:   / ap_archive  
Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​
Instagram:   / apnews  


You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...