AN ITALIAN WITHOUT HANDS FINDS FREEDOM IN ACROBATICS

MAGIONE: Fifteen-year-old Francesca Cesarini was born with no hands and with only one leg. So her mother was more than a bit surprised when her daughter told her she wanted to be an acrobatic pole dancer.

“I don’t know if maybe I saw it on social media first, or I dreamt it, I don’t know. I just know that I (woke up and) went to her and I said that I wanted to do pole dance,” Cesarini said.

Three years later, in 2021 she competed in the International Pole Sports Federation’s virtual world pole and aerial championship.

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, pole dancers from around the world submitted videos of their performances and were judged virtually. She was the only athlete to compete in the disability category and was awarded the gold medal.*