Episode 32

For transcriptions and more detailed shownotes, please go to https://swordschool.com/podcast/pole-dancing-with-swords-episode32/ 

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In this week’s episode I interview Kelley Costigan. Kelley is an actor, director, pole dancer, fencer, performance combatant, adventurer and pirate, currently living in Stratford-upon-Avon, UK, home of William Shakespeare.

Listen to our conversation to discover the Shakespeare connection that inspired me to ask Kelley to narrate my audiobook, The Theory and Practice of Historical Martial Arts. (It’s out now: you can probably find it in your audiobook app of choice, or get it directly from me here: https://gumroad.com/l/ttphmaaudio.)

As a child, Kelley was told that fencing was “not something that girls do”, but she has since made up for it after taking up HEMA in her 40s.

We also talk about competitive fencing, competitive pole dancing (yes, that’s a thing,) not being a Russian spy, and what Kelley would do with a million pounds.

In case you’ve never seen someone pole dancing with a sword before, here’s one of Kelley’s performances on Vimeo.

To find out more about Kelley, her website is www.kelleycostigan.com and you can also find her on social media, such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.