I’ve been taking a break from pole to do THIS:

Posted on by Cathy Vandewater

Y’all know I’ve been getting frustrated with pole. I feel like I’ve hit a wall–I’m bored with what I know, but I’m just not building the strength for the intermediate moves I keep encountering. Aerial inverts have been wrenching my already iffy lower back, while slipping and sliding and just trying to stay off the ground while learning stuff has just been overwhelming on top of the new skill.

Layer that with  the additional constant pressure to “know this by now” because I’ve poled for a while and you get this face:

😐

So instead, I’ve been trying to build my strength and flexibility through other means–hoping to return back to pole with some new skills and a different outlook in a bit. Right now I’m doing flex, ballet, and my long lost friend…

….HOOP!

Hoop

OMG HOOP.

Reasons I love hoop:

1. So much to hang on to. Are you kidding me? The best. You can also sit and rest between moves. Are. You. Serious.

2. Very similar moves and muscle groups as pole, but without the slipping/smashing/indian burn issues (I’ve bruised a little on the bum bum and behind the knees from the pressure but it’s really not the same as those screaming friction feels from pole).

3. I’m totally new at it so there’s no pressure to be amazing/no progress shaming

It’s also really refreshing to take a break from super sexy. I’m feeling the lyrical flow of hoop, and it’s the MOST satisfying pay off for my work in ballet and flex.

Ahhhhh, just thinking about it makes me feel relaxed and so much happier. Not that it’s not hard work–it’s just the work without all the emotional baggage that’s built up for me with pole. And it feels great!

I tried hoop and here are the blurry pictures to prove it.

Posted on by Cathy Vandewater

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Several things I learned about hoop:

1. The hoop will fit neatly in your butt crack and that’s just something you’ll have to get used to.

2. OPEN SPACE OH GOD THE FALLING OPTIONS

3. Shorts are the enemy of hoop, so you have to wear pants or leggings! Except when you are wearing leg warmers then go ahead, ps. DAT ASS. (Leg warmers and shorts are a good look).

4. Sometimes the hoop turns and you get le crotch shot:

Exhibit A
Exhibit A
Exhibit B

5, THIS is extremely difficult and you shouldn’t do it unless you are named Lauryn and have been hooping for 3 years. LAURYN I HATE YOU YOU ARE INCREDIBLE.

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SHE FREAKING TURNED THE HOOP SIDEWAYS.

Gravity not applicable, nothing to see here.

But seriously, here’s some takeaways:

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Sorry about the abundance of ass in this picture.

6. Abs, you guys. This is the best pole cross training ever because it’s like HIGH STAKES pole, with a balance challenge. Like, if pole were a squat, hoop would be that squat on a wobble board. Also, the squat is performed on the ledge of a high building and you could totally die. Am I making sense?

Anyway, my core was super engaged as I performed the already tough poses with the added work of trying in vain to control the motion of the hoop. (Give up, you can’t), which brings me to my next point:

7. Swinging around is fun. WHEEEE. Except when you can’t stop it. The swinging on a hoop is not a neat, predictable motion you can sort of control like a spin pole. It is just 360 degrees of nausea. I mean fun. I mean, good, nauseous fun. It is really a blast to twirl on purpose though, and like spin pole, your extensions can regulate speed while your legs are totally free to pose. Cool!

8. There’s a definitely mind-f**k aspect to the height thing. Which surprised me, because i’m upside down on a pole a lot of the time. But as Lauryn, who also poles, said, there’s something psychologically calming about having a point of contact to the ground in pole.

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Which leads me to my next lesson:

9. Hoop is not for wimps. I hopped off like 4 times because I got spooked. BUT, it’s kinda good for a thrill if you’re feeling a little blase about pole, and bonus: you’ll never feel more secure on a pole in your life as after you’ve hopped down from a hoop. On the topic of a different kind of fear, here’s another hoop benefit: you can post your pics ANYWHERE, because no stigma! Yay! And with your pole training, you know they’re going to look dope. Sigh, hoop is so pretty. That said…

10. It’s so much harder to look graceful on a hoop than seasoned performers like Lauryn make it look. Especially transitioning in and out of poses which, SURPRISE, is one of the harder aspects of pole as well. Hoop and pole… not so different after all? LET’S ALL THE AERIALISTS JUST HOLD HANDS AND CHANT BECAUSE WE ARE SISTERS.

So, do you guys do other aerial arts to cross train? This was seriously an awesome strength workout with tons of flexibility potential, so I’d love to keep up with it. I could have done without all of the banging in personal places though, which brings me to my 11th and final takeaway about hoop:

11. Beware when choppering from the side of a hoop.

Just, trust me.

Love,

Cathy

PS. New Yorkers, check out hoop with the lovely Lauryn every Tuesday at 6! She’s the sweetest and a BEAUTIFUL dancer. Here’s the studio website, which has poles too or duh, I wouldn’t be there.

That awkward moment when a new student says, “What should I do to look like Jenyne Butterfly?”

Posted on by Cathy Vandewater

Uhhhhhh…. dedicate 5 or 6 years of your life to pole and develop a taste for pain?

...not quite Natasha Wang yet, is it?
…not quite Natasha Wang yet, is it?

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