A French pastor said he received death threats after a sold-out pole dance performance at his church. Daniel Boessenbacher, pastor at the Saint-Guillaume Evangelical Church in Strasbourg, told AFP news agency that he had alerted the police after receiving two anonymous letters. There is “no doubt” that the threats are related to the pole dance show, Boessenbacher assured.
A group of Baroque music and performing arts artists called Passions Croisées (Crossed Passions) rented the church a week ago for two performances of Giovanni Battista Pergolesi’s setting of the Marian hymn “Stabat mater.” Dance and pole dance interludes were part of the performances.
The tickets for the shows were sold out very quickly, the artist group explained. The vicar described the program as “flirty but soft” and acknowledged that some viewers “didn’t like it”.
The Dernieres Nouvelles d’Alsace newspaper described the performance of gymnast and former French pole dance champion Vincent Grobelny as “skillful, athletic, graceful, cheeky and, some would say, sexy”. The spectators “gasped”.
One of the threatening letters demanded that the parishioners be “beheaded.” “This is not a church, it is a cabaret,” the letter said. The other letter said of the priest, “his head must be cut off because he has presented the keys of our holy church to a dancing serpent”.
Boessenbacher said programs for the show with phrases like “You’re going to die” or “You’re going to hell” scribbled on them were slipped under the church door. “We’re used to getting reactions, but not death threats,” said the 54-year-old.
However, he was not deterred by the threats. “I believe the Church needs to open up to the world,” he said. Two more performances are planned for late May and early June at the Saint-Guillaume church, combining pole dancing and opera.
Pole dancing is an athletic sport that requires a high level of fitness and dedication. There are many national and international pole dance competitions, and the International Pole Sport Federation strives for recognition as an Olympic sport.
