On preforming

Last night I was privileged enough to attend my studios winter showcase, the theme (being so close to Valentine’s Day) was Cupid’s Pole Show and they encouraged all of the performers to theme their dances around love. And it was amazing, I got to see some very talented women and men grace that stage and blow me a away. I love going to these show cases because they just show everyone’s personality so well! You can tell the more dance oriented people apart from the athletic ones, the serious personality’s from those who are a little more quirky. And they are all amazing!  I am so blessed to be surrounded by such talented people!  And I just love going out and supporting them.

And then people start looking at me (who has only been dancing for two months!) and asking “so are you preforming at the next showcase?” “When are you preforming?” “would you do more burlesque or more pole stuff?” and while I love that these people obviously support me enough to think that I can perform inform of a packed opera house I get a little panicked and say something like “ well, I’m not really there yet… maybe soon, or in like a year. I don’t know. We’ll see.”  

But inside of me is a dancer that longs for the stage!  And I think most people who take up this kind of dancing have a part of them that just wants to show off. Maybe not to a auditorium full of people, maybe just for their pole sisters and brothers or even just for their hunny or close friends but I believe that performer is there in all of us. And for me it took me about 1 second into my first class to begin thinking of preforming, and with that what songs I would like to preform too. Because we all know the song is everything.

So for your enjoyment, Sephy’s  Burlesque and Pole songs:

First of we have Circus by Britney Spears. I can’t help it! I LOVE this woman, and her music. This would most likely be the first song I’d ever preform too. It is a song that I could really get into and include a lot of chair and floor work into and don’t have to rely so much on the pole. And not to mention it would be a perfect excuse to buy some vertical black and whitestriped leggings from Derby Skinz and a coat with tails.  I mean what girl doesn’t want those?

The second song is a big gear change, it’s Come Round Soon by Sara Bareilles. I love this song and this is a song I would love to do my first full pole routine too. I just love the feel this song, dark and a little dirty and maybe a little bit passive aggressive. Not sure why I like the idea of pole dancing to this song so much, I just do.

Another song I would burlesque or polesque too would be Feeling Good by Michael Buble. That song is just sexy as all hell.

And just about every song Florance and the Machine song, not sure what it is but i think that woman's sound is just PREFECT for pole: Howl, Spectrum, Seven Devils, No Light No Light, Shake it Out, Drumming Song, Rabbit Heart. I mean I could go on but I think you get the point.

Some songs I would be doubles to, Jessie's Girl by Rick Springfield. Mostly beacuse one of my best friends is married to a man maned Jessie and I tend to bring this song up around them a lot so i think it would be prefect to do a doubles to this song with her. and it would be amazing. Maybe we could even get Jessie in on it. Another song I think would be beautiful to do doubles to would be Skyfall by Adelle its just such a sexy song and the use of the world "we" just makes me think of doubles.

And now a few songs I always joke about preforming to, who knows it might happen *wink*

Sexy and I know by Ricky Martin, the version he did on Glee. I don’t know, this song is super ridiculous but Ricky makes it fun! Also I am the whitest girl on the planet and the thought to dancing to this song fills me with a sort of perverse glee, also embarrassment.  

And then there is Sexy Back by Justin Timberlake. I mean, this song always makes me smile and I joke about it all the time,  but I don't think I could ever really preform to it in front of more then just a few friends for similar reasons as I could never really preform to Sexy and I know it. 

So those are a few of the songs I think about all the time, what songs to you dream of preforming to? I'd love to know! 

and for an added bonus, I got my angel crucifix last Wednesday and here it is! 

Stating to Click

So last night I had my first pole class in a few weeks, with my beginner series ending and going to vacation a few weeks slipped by but I finally got my booty into class last night. And I am so glad I did. Perhaps a few weeks off was just what I needed because last night things just started to really click for me. I was able to hold my ice skater spin around the pole for the whole time, it only took me one miss start to get into my head stand and for the first time I also got my head off the ground. My mount into my climb was effortless and for the first time I felt like I might actually be able to climb. (We didn’t climb thought yesterday because it was the first time most of the girls were learning their mounts, next class we will see if I can get that climb though!) and I also got both of my feet of the ground at the same time for my fan legs! This is huge for me! they are still tiny, not very attractive fan legs but they are on their way!

Mostly though I was just amazed at how natural everything felt, amazed at how my body is learning and growing and strengthening in such a sort amount of time. I left class just feeling amazing and I cannot wait for my next class. I think I am going to sign up for my first mixed levels class soon. Up till now I have been in classes full of people in my level and the idea of taking a mixed level class intimidates me, but I think that is just why I need to do it. There is one on Saturday night that is a full range class Beginner to Advanced taught by the owner of the studio that I am thinking of doing. Actually, no, that  I am doing. I just signed up for it right now *deep breath* I really like Mel (the owner) and I’m sure the class will be wonderful, I think I’m just scared of being judged. Which is silly, every girl I have ever had class with is amazing and supportive. Also they will be working on their own stuff, why would they worry about what I am doing?

Sometimes, I think, as humans we have this idea that we are the center of the world. That people cannot help but notice us and think about us all the time. This is not true. And I have to remind myself of that. Even strangers who really annoy me don’t get more than a passing thought in the moment of annoyance. I need to remind myself that.

On a side note, I just noticed that one of the series I won is going to expire at the beginning of February and I need to ask Mel if I can extend that or something cuz I never got a chance to use it because of the class schedule. If not, I totally understand it was a prize after all they are not required to make sure I use the classes, but really, I’d love to have those 4 free classes. I mean who wouldn’t?

Pole Goals for 2013

Happy New Year!

So I just started pole obviously, but I want to set some goals for myself to achieve in the next year. Some of them might take a year; some of them might just take a few more months of work. But, I think having a list of things I know I want to do that I can cross off and feel achieved when I do is important.

The list:

- Achieve a full climb to the top of the pole

- “Prefect” my Push-Pull so that I can hold myself in spins such as Chair or Sun Wheel

- Invert  

- Turn that head stand into a hand stand

- Splits? (I only add the question mark because I have no idea if it is even possible to get your splits from noting to full in a year, but general flexibility is a must!)

So there is the list, Wish me luck!

The first few real classes.

So over the last few days I have had 2 more classes! One on Thursday  and one today (Saturday) and let me tell you, I don’t think I have ever felt this way before. For one thing I am SORE. But even though it kind of hurts it kind of also feels good because it tells me that I am working things that have not been worked in a long time, or ever.  But I learned a few very important things:

 1.) At this point I cannot do two pole classes with only one day between them. Perhaps one day I can, but right now there is no way. My first class on Thursday was great and I felt very accomplished. After my class today however I just felt belch. I knew I gave it my all but I really just felt very lame. And I really couldn’t do anything on my “special” side at all, at least on Thursday I was doing thing on my “special” side even if they were not very good.

2.)I need grip assist. On my class on Thursday I was getting very down on myself because I felt like I could not hold myself up at all. It was really the beginning of a downward spiral in my mind. But my teacher, Kristin, saw me and I think she saw what was going on in my head, and without even really asking she said “Hey it looks like you are slipping a lot, come here try some of this.” And she gave me some grip helper and told me to try again and I did and it was about 100% better and she just smiled “See, you have the strength to do it, your hands are just slippery like mine, really I have to use super-duper grip to even get anything done at all.” And class went a LOT better after that, and I actually did not get down on myself at all after that. Cuz I could do it.

3.) Walking into my spins is SOOOO much better than doing them from a stand still. I swear, I could be having a lot of problems with a spin and the second I walked into it I could actually do it. Momentum is a magical thing.

4.) I need to be better at the cool down. While both classes had a nice cool down I think I need to make sure I take a few more minutes of my own time to fully stretch out. More stretching out after = less stiffness after and that is good. 

Over all I’m really likening the classes even if I was a little dumb and tried to do two classes just a day apart. I really like the Fort Collins studio, its bigger and more open. The Longmont studio seems very small to me and kind of squeezed into its location. But I think for this 5 week course I am going to try to transfer from the Saturday classes in Fort Collins to the Thursday classes in Longmont because while I like the Fort Collis studio better the Saturday class today was PACKED. I mean there were more girls then there were poles, and the Thursday class was only the teacher, my friend Tausha and I. and I think I liked the personal attention a lot. What can I say, I’m selfish. But I figure if this is something I’m doing I might as well do it on a more personalizes level if I can. I’m still waiting to hear back from the studio to see if I can do that. But I don’t think it should be a problem at all since this week was the first day of the series for both classes and I did both it should be no problem to just change the day I go to class. 

Also it doesn’t hurt that that Thursday class has my friend in it. Actually that helps a lot. Not that the girls in my class today were not nice, it is just kind of hard for me to make friends while I’m still feeling super self-conscious. Being with a friend just completely takes away the self-conscious part and then I can just have fun and learn and work out. 

Spins I know how to do now:

-Closed front hook spin

-Fireman’s spin (and about 3 variations of)

-Prep work for fan legs (that one I’m not strong enough to do yet, but I am working on it)

-Open back hook spin

-Girl on top

And to finish things off Sephy’s inspiration corner!

So today I arrived to class a little early so I was just hanging out. One of the poles was a little weird so the owners husband was fixing it and the owners little girl was dancing with one of the pole’s. I’m not sure how old this girl was but I swear she could be no older the 5 or 6 and she was amazing. Just in her party dress climbing the pole (her mom and her dad had to tell her sever times “Not to high!”) and inverting and spinning and it was just amazing to watch. I congratulated her, saying that she could teach me a lot, and asked if her mommy taught her and she was a little shy but told me “No” and went on dancing and her dad chuckled “I think she just learned by watching her mom.” And at this the little girl who had been in the middle of a trick stopped mid trick and looked at her dad and in all the seriousness that only a 5 year old can have, said “No, dad, I watch her and then see how to do it in my mind and then I do it. My mind teaches me to dance.” And I think my jaw dropped to the floor.  From the mouths of babes, I swear. She just went back to dancing but it gave me something to think about all throughout class. Because I think it is just as simple as that, and just as hard.