Memorable events of 2015

Gymnaestrada

Gymnaestrada is an international rhytmic gymnastics event, which is organized once every 4 years, always in a different city. Professional and amateur gymnasts from all over the world come to perform and watch for a period of two week. Their age varies from preschool to pensioners, but "prime hobby age" people around 20 form the biggest block of participants.

To describe the atmosphere, Gymnaestrada is a superior alternative reality where everyone is more organized and active than normally. The infamous viharatikka 9, which often carries loud drunks and lowlife among its passangers, was for once clean when it was half full of people in their Gymnaestrada jump suits, which seamlessly combined national pride with international co-operation. While the Gymnaestrada area did have a beer stall, it was a minor sideshow unlike in rock festivals. The event also blurred the line between audience and performers. Each performance started and finished with the gymnasts and audience together performing playing the Official Choreography of the event, and when I talked to people next to me, more often than not they had participated in some performance of their own, even the over-50 ones. As Urho Kekkonen said, "All reasons not to exercise are excuses." In the Gymnaestrada alternative reality, even the elderly maintain their fitness with regular exercise and men and women can meet without excessive alcohol consumption (at the end of one perfomance a male gymnast proposed to a female gymnast.)

Sexhibition 2015

This porn festival feature a main stage, a side stage and lots of sales booths tangentially related to sex (from which I bought nothing.) Mr. Lothar's side stage had traditional striptease performances relying on nakedness. That was boring and I don't remember anything worth mentioning from it.

The main stage had well-scripted, intricately costumed striptease and burlesque performances. The most memorable was a pole dance performance by Zara & Tiina (the video is about the same Tiina in different show.) The cheesy script was about batgirl facing off supergirl, ending in nakedness in the end like a good striptease is supposed to. I was often the first one to clap at demanding pole tricks, as others didn't identify them as anything special.

This was also the first time I saw male striptease. A "South American exotic" dancer dressed in gladiator suit took a voluntary woman from the audience and performed various striptease moves. On the one hand he had sex role differences clearly thought out (performing a masculine "defender of the loved ones" role, and using calm, measured, self-confident movement language), on the other hand it surprised me how showing off her body and shaking ass in front of the female volunteer played such a big role. I thought that purely meat-based arousing only works when a female does it for a male, but apparently it also works the other way. The lessons learned might turn out useful if I ever reach a level of skill in seduction and pole dancing where I can invite a girlfriend candidate to watch a hot pole show in my apartment.