hula hoop

Hey all!

I finally have a month off from school, and I’m on the mend from an illness that took me out of commission for the holidays, but I’m excited to start training again!!

No goals or resolutions as of yet except to get back on the horse. I want to focus more on dancing and quality of movement in general this year, not trying to beat my body into submission to perform tricks like show pony. That way of looking at pole just kind of makes me dread class, ya know?

I want to focus on flexibility and conditioning, and maybe take some modern dance/more ballet to work on that. My gym now has BARRE (did I mention that? I feel like I’ve been prancing around telling everyone who will listen) so it’s been really great to get that kind of conditioning in before and after work with my regular month membership, and without stressing about class packages at the pole studio.

How was everybody’s holidays??? Any pole goals or dope gifts? Tell meeee.

And to prove I’ve been busy, btw, check out the movies I’ve been making! Like seriously. I shot all of this footage and I edited it into videos. I had to buy microphones and shit. This has been so new and seemingly out of my depth, but it somehow got done. You’ll be amazed at what you can do when you have to!

This one’s a “journalism” style piece about a burlesque dancer I had never met until our first interview–and who I had two days only to shoot because my professor made me change topics last minute. Imagine my delight when I got to her rehearsal and realized she’s not a lyra-er trying burlesque for a the first time (a mutual aerial friend told me she was a “hooper”), but rather a long time hula hooper trying burlesque for the first time while incorporating hoop into her routine!

This chick was a total pro and an absolute joy to shoot and watch. Sadly this video captures only an iota of her talent, but still worth looking at!

And again, here’s the final cut of that PSA I made about women walking home at night (based on the true story of that time I got followed home in my neighborhood and my dad’s suggestion that I wear men’s clothes on the street to ensure my late-night safety).

Missed all of y’all, hope everybody’s doing well, in the studio and out!

Quick, enjoy this clip of 1980’s Xanadu while I come up with some stuff to tell you about!

I hope that was sufficiently weird for everyone.

So. HAI!!! I MISSED YOU GUYS!!!

You know how sometimes you go through periods of talking about stuff and not really doing it, and then you go periods of doing stuff and not really talking about it?

I have been doing the latter, and you guys would be SO proud of me. I feel like an actual… dancer. This is sort of what my schedule has been like (post day-job, naturally):

Mondays: 2 hours belly dance (class and a Fireblossom’s rehearsal)

Tuesday: Night job… with a little stretching and Fireblossom’s routine running as soon as my shift is up (I work in a gym with small dance studio area)

Wednesday: 3 hours Bellyqueen rehearsal (for the upcoming Silk Roads show), followed by an hour of pole class

Thursday: Night class! I’m learning Digital Marketing, you guys! No dancing 😦

Friday: 3 hours Bellyqueen rehearsal, an hour of pole class

Saturday: Flexibility class, pole class, Fireblossoms routine drilling with K

Sunday: Pole class, hoop class, hula hoop class (this is my work study day so I hang out at the studio for several glorious hours and sneak into classes, muhahahaha)

…And then I wake up very sore on Monday and do it all over again. Oh and I’ve been RUNNING. Wat?!!! I truly have no idea what’s gotten into me lately. I just feel very in my body and out of my head lately. It’s cool.

Anyway, here’s some stuff I learned about constantly exercising:

1. Stretching after is MANDATORY

I’m not really a huge fan of stretching before a workout unless it’s part of an official warm up. But after, when I’m all warm, and I know I’m gonna be stiff for the next very full day of stuff tomorrow? You bet your ass I’m stretching. Also, not stretching when you’re all warm and don’t have to be anywhere? Wasted flexibility-building opportunity.

2. Eating is TOTALLY mandatory

I started noticing that two hours into Bellyqueen’s 3 hour rehearsals is impromptu dancer lunch time… and I was the only one not eating while everybody else was busting out sandwiches and fruit salads n’shit. These girls dance for a living, so I think it’s safe to take their cue on making time to fuel up.

3. You really have to listen to your body

I have so much physical stuff going on that I really can’t afford to get injured right now. I’m learning to take my ego out of it and walk away from a pole move if I can feel I’m not getting it and it’s straining the wrong places. You can always try again tomorrow, it’s not that serious. And it’s certainly not worth having an arm or a leg out of commission for a week.

So what has everybody else been up to?! Any new developments? I’m working on my extended butterfly, flying choppers (yes, the ones that gave me a car crash bruise last year), some spin combos, and my archnemesis, aerial choppers (I think I finally have it on my left side, it’s just… very slow). I’m also trying to trap/shoulder-mount out of inverts instead of sliding to help build those core muscles up and get more control. So far so good!

Anyway, FILL ME IN–what’s new?

XOXO,

Cathy