Love what she says about how pole keeps you in shape while you’re distracted 😀 that’s my MO!
I also second the notion to go slow and listen to your body. There’s no reason to be pushing past your limits right away, especially when you can make basic moves so beautiful. And if you work at extending (or like she says, doing everything “higher and bigger”), you’re still going to be building strength and flexibility, without hurting yourself.
Speaking of hurting yourself…
.
HT,
Cathy
LEFT SIDE SPLIT. BOOYAH.
Sorry about the weird angle and general nastiness (work at the gym, Krys took the pic on his phone).
But damn. It feels good to be a gangster 😀
So Angela did a great post about her favorite non-obvious pole-cessories.
Which made me think: I should do a post of my favorite TOTALLY OBVIOUS pole things!
Because why the hell not. In pictures, here’s some pole stuff I like a lot (and one thing I’m not crazy about):
1. Grip
Especially because my pole is the slipperiest thing ever (seriously, I’m starting to think they coat them in Astroglide at the X-Pole manufacturing plant), I could not live with out this stuff.
2. Shoes
Okay, I have a love hate relationship with these, as I am forced to teach my choreo classes in them.
I hate heels, but goddamn do they look good. (You’ll notice that the gallery has a ration of 15 to one pics of me in heels).
Weirdly, insanely high heels are much easier to pole in than normal heels. I think 6 inches just happens to be the perfect height and angle for pirouettes, grinds, etc. as I find myself performing these moves on my tippy-tip toes all the time anyway. So in a way, they help you keep form. Also, rubbers soles=hella traction. Oh, and top of the foot protection for when you do toes slides.
One caveat: how is it so expensive to look this cheap?!! These were seriously pricey. And I had to go to a sex store to buy them. (They were next to booty shorts with dollar signs on them).
3. Gloves
Yeah, I’m actually not loving these. I got them to save my hands (mad callouses, yo) but I’m finding my own grip is better than tack. Go figure. Also, the second your hands get sweaty they slide off. Then it’s just one velcro strap away from oblivion. Oh well, they look cute.
4. Humidifier
I just feel like humidity helps me stick, OKAY?!
5. Towel
Sweaty hands.
6. Music
I don’t always listen to depressing music… but when I do, it’s probably Al Green. And I probably have something in my eye. *sniff*
7. Ipod adaptor
See gallery.
8. Toe separator sock things
Because the lady at the shoe store said the plastic would stretch and give my toes more room, but that hasn’t happened yet. And I’m worried they’re going to permanently get stuck in the shape of a triangle.
9. Tripod
For recordin’ and shit.
10. Pole goal whiteboard
To remind me of what to work on, and give me ideas when I’m stuck.
What are your favorite pole things?
Please do share so I don’t feel like a weirdo.
DRY HANDS FOR LIFE!
~Cathy
So I was having a beer with a friend the other night.
Okay a couple of beers.
Okay, four.
But, he has a smartphone (like everybody else in the world, but to me that’s like having Google Glasses), and since he missed the February belly dance show in St. Mark’s Place, we looked up the video.
So, full disclosure, I had not watched the video.
This is not an accident.
I am terrified of this video. K has seen it and had a few mild criticisms (timing was off in a few places, hands didn’t match, she’s very contained in her style and I’m very showy). But every time I think of the show, I think of something the girl going on after us said backstage, as soon as we came off.
“Oh heeeey… that was really…. cute. How long have you been dancing for?”
If you speak dance you know that the translation back into normal English looks something like this:
“Oh heeeey… you guys are total amateurs. When did you take your first class? A week ago or just a few days? Now outta my way bitches, the show’s really about to be on.”
Okay, I’m exaggerating, but that’s how it feels when you’re already nervous to be half naked, you KNOW you blanked out on at least 4-5 seconds of choreo, and you’re having a fat day.
No bueno.
Anyway, I finally watched the video, and I saw some things that weren’t perfect, but I also saw a big smile on my friend’s face.
He liked it.
And you know what? I liked it too. It was cute, damn it.
The best part was, K and I looked like we were having fun. Somebody in the audience kept screaming “ME LIKEY” and I couldn’t help cracking up, which is so awesome and totally visible in the video. I think that’s what I’m going to remember most about this experience: being terrified under blinding lights, feeling nervous and shaky as hell, and then suddenly letting go and laughing at “ME LIKEY.” Because IT IS FUN TO DANCE. Go figure… through all the sweat and anxiety,long hours of practicing and criticizing and agonizing, it all becomes fun again when you share it with people.
Anyway, here’s just a short clip because this isn’t a pole show, but, it is performance oriented, and I learned a lot about enjoying dancing, regardless of perfection. (It’s surprisingly hard to remember sometimes that we do this because it’s fun, amirite??)
HT!
Cathy
…and I kind of want to hit her.
Okay, first off, I get that Prudence’s duty is to this woman and her life, and not the sport of pole dancing.
But, on behalf of the sport of pole dancing, how are we ever supposed to be legitimate when awesome, reputable people are hiding that they do it?
I mean, I get scared of what people will think sometimes. But then I remember why I do it, why I love it, the positive changes I see in people who take my classes… and I pick my head up and say “Yeah, I pole dance, and there’s nothing wrong with it.”
To be fair, I haven’t tried hoops or silks or other aerial arts. From what I’ve seen, aerial pole and these sports seem to have very similar moves.
But, not everybody is all about aerial with pole. I know I’m certainly not. Flow it my faaaaaaaaaaaavorite. If I couldn’t pirouette, sway, do some fancy footwork, spin… ew, I wouldn’t even want to do pole.
But I’m guessing Prudence (or anybody else who’s got very firm opinions on pole but who’s never tried it) would not understand that.
I believe that intent comes through, in any manner of expression, especially dance. If you use pole to express your sexuality, it’s going to look sexy (unless you’re doing something very wrong).
But if you’re using it to express, oh, I don’t know, any other color in the whole rainbow spectrum of human experiences and emotions, I think that will come through too.
Costumes can also project a lot onto a performance.
I don’t know. I think my advice to this girl would be to enter the competition, dance her ass off in the manner that suits her, and hold her head high about it.
But maybe I’m biased. What do you guys think?
No class tomorrow–we start the new schedule next week!
HT,
Cathy
I can’t even take credit for the only truly indie song on this list, which is courtesy of a guy from work whose taste is way higher-brow than mine. (Case in point: I listened to a Backstreet Boys CD last night. 80% non-ironically. I KNOW).
1. The Gaudy Side of Town, The Gayngs
I feel like this is audio softcore porn. In a really, really good way. I love how every new verse, new layers of tones/beats/general complexity (i’m not a music writer okay?) keep developing and it gets more interesting. Just listen, I promise it won’t be just once. IT IS THE PRINGLES OF POLE SONGS.
2. Shadows, Rufus Wainwright
I recently discovered a CD I burned (yes, this was from 2004) of Rufus Wainwright’s Poses and Oh. My. God. Such beautiful music. Most of it’s totally not suited for dancing, but I’m partial to this track. I stopped dead in the middle of doing dishes to flow to this. That’s how you know it’s good. Also, that was a dead giveaway that my pole is totally in my kitchen.
3. Straight to Video, Mindless Self Indulgence
So this one’s a little creepy/dark/emo, but I dig it. It’s refreshing after all the hip hop.It’s also really slow, so hello dark, creepy, sexy dancing!
4. Psychotic Girl, The Black Keys
Another slow jam. Love the raw vocals on a mellow bass groove. Yum.
5. Every Day Is Exactly the Same, NIN
Wow, this got dark, huh? Sexy/Depressing is definitely one of my favorite combinations. It’s like sweet and salty! Anyway, heavy percussion, lots of distortion, hot.
BONUS:
A Backstreet Boys selection courtesy of a very weird night for my neighbors.
New schedule guys!!!! My 4-week course starts Tuesday, so sign up before it fills up (see what I did there?). Class is 1.5 hours and includes some killer core and upper body work in addition to choreo, spins, transitions that progress each week into a full length piece by the end of the course. Also, 1-1 ration of people to poles for this one, so, good stuff.
Happy twirls!
Cathy
So, who has a pole? Raise your hand!
Now, who actually USES this pole? Twice a week? Once a week? Once a month?
Yeah, guilty.
Until very recently, the most contact I’ve made with my pole this past month has been crouched over, looking for a lost earring. I hit my head on it.
Which is a shame, because I’m always annoyed at myself for blanking out during freestyles. Whyyyy do I keep visibly pausing can’t I think of anything to do? Why are my transitions so rocky? Why do I space out and do the same moves over and over when I know lots of of other stuff (that I need to practice!!)?
The reason, obvs, is lack of practice.
Don’t get me wrong–I’m on the pole a lot. But, teaching. Stop and start. The same moves every class, for the most part. It’s great for refining technique in general, but not so awesome for stringing together an inventive freestyle.
Here’s what I’m working on–I think it might help you guys too. Even if you just spend 20-30 minutes on your pole once or twice a week, I think if you stay focused, you’ll get a lot out of it.
Elements of a productive practice session:
1. Attempting to do the stuff I hate and can’t really do yet (5-10 mins)
It’s really tempting to just to the fun, easy stuff, but there’s only one way to have more fun, easy things to do: master the hard ones you hate now.
If I can’t fully get into a move, I get as close as I can and hold it for several seconds, a few times.
This can mean holding an invert move with your hands still on the pole (or maybe testing one hand off… then maybe the other… just for a second), trying push pulls just for a second before grabbing the pole again with your feet, or holding a pole crunch if you’re not choppering yet.
None of us are going to wake up magically falling into fabulous tricks we’re lusting after, so pushing our boundaries (safely!) in increments is the only way to get there.
2. Inventing combos (10 mins)
I try to dream up two or even three move combinations per session. Maybe a fan kick into a pirouette, into a fireman? A chopper into a one leg hang into a superman? A dip into a back hook spin into a showgirl?
Do this expecting only a few to work, but stay creative and keep trying. You might hit on some really cool new ways of transitioning what you know—and at worst you’ll be practicing staples. Find something you like? Drill it so as to commit to memory for a freestyle.
3. Building strength and control (5 mins)
Try modifying a few movements you usually do while dancing to make them harder–voila, EXERCISE! But like, specific to the muscles and moves you’re going to use while dancing, which means better pole-results than boring old push ups and crunches would get you.
For example, you can try an arm-only climb. (It’s just like the transition you make from a climb into a sit, but over and over–with straight legs and straight arms, you pull yourself up the pole from a sit and then immediately clamp your legs, all the way up). Sound hard? Yes, it is. But dang is it effective. You’ll notice an improvement in your control pulling into aerial moves, and also form: I’m finally kicking my bent knee habit with these, in addition to building upper body strength. (I CAN DO A PULL UP YOU GUYS).
Death lay crunches are good too (just, ya know, close to the ground and with a rounded back and tucked chin, because your neck looks sexier not broken), and so are straight leg choppers, which I’ve been working on to hopefully make my regular choppers a lot stronger.
4. A “Just Keep Moving” song or two (5-10 mins)
The best way to keep from blanking out during a freestyle: freestyle regularly. You hate me, don’t you?
Every practice should include freestyle time in which stopping is not allowed. It doesn’t matter if you forget everything and body wave for two and half minutes, just keeping moving until something comes to you.
The point of this exercise in frustration and fear is discovery–you might find yourself flowing new moves together that work especially well, or hit on a pose or transition works great for a dramatic moment in the music.
It’s also good preparation for this Oh Shit moments in pole when you mess up and have no choice but to recover, or completely ruin your dance. Dancing through awkwardness and mistakes (like botching a pirouette) and not stopping, in my opinion, makes the difference between the dabbler and the Dancer with a capital D. Freestyle a lot. Be a Dancer.
5. Strictly business (5 mins)
Pick 2-3 tricks per practice that you’re going to drill, the simpler the better. Do a set number on both sides, in a row. Make the transition into the moves as clean and consistent as possible, aiming to improve extension, control, and overall form each time you repeat the move. This is “make everything look better” time. Use it wisely and be strict with yourself. If you mess up the move, do it again, maggot! ARMY/POLE STRONG.
6. Floor work/stretch
I use floor work to trick myself into stretching. If I do a few hair tosses or kick my feet around, it makes it a lot easier to do boring old flexibility training. But yes, this is important, because, like everything else in pole, splits are not magically happening for me. No one is exempt from those annoying floor lunge things.
What do YOU do every practice? What do you want to work on? What’s your current archnemesis? Do you have a pole at home, and if you do, are you kind of scared to do hard stuff on it in case you break your neck and then starve to death because you can’t get to your phone and you live by yourself? (This is my new fear. Thanks mom).
Anyway, I have so many questions. Fill me in!
New schedule on classes! My 4-week is filling up fast so grab a spot! Schmedule here.
Happy twirls for the new week!
Cathy
I’ve been recording practice sessions lately because my mirror-o-walls doesn’t fit at the new place, and I have no idea what I look like dancing anymore. So I have all these funny little clips, and I feel like sharing them, even though, gasp, they’re not perfect.
My OCD is itching.
Anyway, here they are!
1. Iguana mount
Excuse the ugly feet… but dang, I was so proud that I finally got up!
2. Leg hangs
Yes, sadly, I’m only just getting the “hang” of these (SEE WHAT I DID THERE) after a year of dancing, for the simple reason that I just didn’t bother trying them for a long time. So, I’m attempting to teach myself, because it’s getting embarrassing.
3. Freeeeestylin’!
It’s a picture of New York! It’s a picture of New York! Ooooooooooooh! R-r-r-RANDOM!
(Too much Flight of the Conchords, sorry).
But seriously, here’s a video in which I intended to practice headstands, but got the bright idea to see if I could get incorporate them into a dance along the way. Spoiler alert: not really, it’s awkward. But I tried.
Intro is this Saturday at 3pm, snitches! Sign up 🙂
Happy twirls,
Cathy
Uhhhhhh…. dedicate 5 or 6 years of your life to pole and develop a taste for pain?
For somebody who’s literally never been on a pole before, I felt like it would be mean to let her think getting to that level is anything but extremely difficult and physically painful. (Think back to your first pole sits–remember how much that hurt? And how annoying it was that it didn’t even look impressive?)
This is what bugs me about pole, kinda–I’m really, really glad people like JB are rocking out and getting respect for our sport. But, people like her are essentially Cirque de Soleil performers. They’re freashishly masterful. FREAKISHLY.
And I feel like people don’t understand that. So you’ve got the people on one hand who equate pole with stripping, and the people on the other hand that see Jenyne Butterfly and think, oh, okay, she’s a few classes in.
I mean, I have a pole at my house, I teach beginner classes 3 days a week, and I practice on my own at least 3-4 days a week. And only now am I getting my knees straight on aerial stuff. After a year and a half of total obsession. A clean climb and nice, straight layback are the only things I have in common with JB’s aerial stuff, and I freakin’ teach (though, to be fair, my classes are completely on the ground, and I’m quite proud of my clean, consistent spins, transitions, flow, and floor work… or I wouldn’t be teaching it).
But I don’t think a new student wants to hear about that stuff. They want to skip walking and go straight to inversions like Jenyne Butterfly.
Oy.
On somewhat related note, do you guys feel like there are two camps of pole: spin girls and strength girls? If so, I’m definitely the former. Are you one or the other? A tasty blend of both, but with a secret favorite? You can tell me, I won’t say anything, I swear.
It’s funny, I remember watching a lot of Leigh Ann Orsi (I think she has a new last name now…) on YouTube before I started dancing, and being totally bored with the upside down stuff. I just wanted to see her walk and pirouette. Even though she’s at a serious competitive level now, I still like her early videos best because she flows like a MOFO. For me, it’s really the distinguishing characteristic of pole from other forms of dance… the way you move around it is just hypnotic. Gah, still gives me chills.
Is that weird?
(Yes, probably).
(I’m okay with it).
Anyway, I can’t wait to post a video of me busting my ass trying to teach myself an iguana hold, but I left my camera cable at work. So until tomorrow…. here’s a video of Recent Leigh Ann Orsi doing her thing. Which is apparently a shoulder mount flip into a split. Jesus Christ I hate everything.
Happy twirls!
Cathy
1. Enough of No Love, Keyshia Cole
I love me some KC. This chick is the queen of songs you can dance to while simultaneously crying a little.
2. Outside, The Weeknd
Is this technically R&B? Don’t know. Don’t care. The Weeknd, I’m not even going to complain that you’re missing an “e.” That’s how hot you are.
3. F***ing You Tonight, Biggie
Okay, so you know there’s always one that breaks the rules on misogynism… but come on, this is vintage. And it’s so smooth, guys. So very, very smooth.
4. Touch Me, Tease Me, Case
Like, was 1996 a really good year for me or something? I don’t know, but music from this era always makes me feel good. More vintage! Also, gotta love an Isaac Mizrahi shout out.
5. Can’t You See, Biggie and Total
Ahhhh, I can’t help it, I’m sorry.
BONUS: You Don’t Have to Be a Prostitute, Flight of the Conchords
I mean, it’s an inspirational message. And there’s a little pole dancing. Also, JEMAINE.
Didn’t sign up for classes yet? PREPARE TO DIE. Just kidding. But, ya know, you might want to check the schedule.
Happy Twirls!
Cathy
The Spin Diaries: Your Guide to Everything Pole and Aerial 