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2013 May Challenge
This challenge is a bit different! I'm Challenging all of you to tell the world what Pole Dance is to you. What does it mean to you, how has it changed your body, your mind, your life, what do you want others to know?
The only requirement for this challenge is to start off by saying "Pole Dance is"…… If you would like to add a short dance feel free. Let it express what you love about your pole dancing. I'm looking forward to this one, it's always a treat to see people up close and learn more about their pole journey!!
So let's tell the world what Pole Dance is……..https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_cheers.gif
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27 Replies
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Pole dance is liberating, individual, expressive and has totally opened up my world. I have met fantastic people, learnt a lot about myself and first time have new confidence in who I am. I feel fitter that I have ever done before and now challenge myself with new moves as I always remember that the first time through the studio door I had never touched a pole before let alone climbed one. There is no such word as 'can't' in pole its just 'not just yet'. People come to pole for all sorts of reasons, to get fit, loose weight, meet people but once they try it they soon find out we all have so much more in common. We love pole! https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_heart1.gif
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Pole dance is something positive for me to focus my energy on. It's not as easy as it looks and there are so many different things that go into it and it requires a lot of learning and time which doesn't leave room for negative thoughts or self-destructive behavior. It gives me a wonderful endorphin release and since I have started I feel that it has helped me with things like bi-polar disorder. To me I feel like if I can keep this in my life for as long as possible then it will benefit me greatly. When I feel down it helps me back up by focusing on something positive I can work on and it makes me feel proud to see little changes in progress each day. When I am feeling too keyed up, angry, aggressive, basically adrenaline filled, pole gives me a healthy outlet to release that tension.
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Both very inspiring and lovely replies!! I want to make it clear however that this is a Video Challenge, just like our regular monthly challenge. These replies are totally what the spirit of this challenge is about, but it would be even more powerful in video form. https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_flower.gif
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I may be a cry baby actually. Pole dance has brought the real me back. I feel sexy and strong again! Its so hot.to me walking around normal people knowing my dirty little secret;) heehee!!
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SV- I am just finishing off putting a routine together with the Polesilks, as soon as its done I will post a video. Thinking about it I sometimes film my ladies in class when they are having their random moments with lots of smiles and giggles so will see if they agree to loading this up too!
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Would do a video if I could. So, I’m gonna have to do mine in text for now and hopefully sometime here I’ll be able to record and upload a video. I really love this chalenge, GREAT idea!
Pole dance is one of the only things that saves me from myself. W/out going into detail (because I really am not even sure wth my deal is), pole stabilizes my moods. It gives me a positive outlet to channel all this built up emotion, aggression, and creativity within me that really has nowhere else to go. I’ve had many hobbies in my life, I’ve tried many workouts…pole has stuck w/ me the longest as it is now a part of my lifestyle.
Pole dancing is the opportunity to not only create but to become poetry in motion. To soar heights and swim depths simultaneously. It is a floating world between reality and fantasy, one of great beauty and chaos. The best part? It’s YOUR OWN world that you designed yourself. …And it always has your favorite music playing when you go there. lol
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alllllllllllllllllllllllright now for the may challenge! \o/ I so look forward to seeing all the posts
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This is such a good idea, i'm quite shy so will have to build up a lot of courage but it will be really nice to get to know everyone a bit more. Everyone on here is so nice and supportive anyway, i'm looking forward to it.
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Pole dance is part of my journey in to self. It challenges me and helps me to realize tangibly and intangibly that I am beyond my imagination! I’ve become stronger, more motivated to condition to be able to reach my daily, weekly monthly yearly and life time goal- this is to create of me more than I was yesterday. This is done by creating me in the present moment. POLE DANCE ROCKS MY WORLD!!!
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Pole dance has became my world. I feel stronger ,sexier, and more of an individual. Pole dance has nurtured my creativity and allowed me to find my calling, and gave me my focus where there was none before. Before i was a college student on the verge of dropping out because i had no drive to become anything. But now pole has taught me to utilize all that my school has to offer n to take advantage of every opportunity to perform. Im able to set goals and achieve them. Im more confident and daring in my clothing choices that for sure. And when i struggled for almost 10 years with poor body image and an out of control eating disorder, i can finally feel like i free of the disease and Im in more control of my body. Most people aren’t taught how to be sexy or know where confidence comes from, but pole helps you find it on your own…not as if it was missing before, but it reveals that god/goddess within u
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I'm posting links to the challenges so far so everyone can also find them here! As you post your videos feel free to add them to this discussing too. https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_cheers.gif I am just LOVING these videos!!!! https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_heart1.gif
https://www.studioveena.com/videos/view/51888332-28d4-4bd1-9b71-7ac80ac37250
​https://www.studioveena.com/videos/view/5189e6fe-29f8-409a-8db8-70220ac37250
https://www.studioveena.com/videos/view/518c3440-0844-4fc1-914b-37360ac37250
https://www.studioveena.com/videos/view/518c645c-1964-4a21-812e-45580ac37250
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What Pole Dancing means to me? Pole has been the catalyst for personal change (a different story for a different time https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_cool.gif). Below is a copy of a letter I wrote to the owner of my local pole Studio.
Dear Amber,
I just arrived home after three classes tonight, the last one with you as the teacher. I am tired, sore, bruised, achy, but most importantly, happy. I am writing you this letter to let you know how impressed I am with you and your studio. After three weeks, I want you to know that I noticed from day one that the atmosphere you project is one that is warm and welcoming. Impressed because each person that walks through your door is treated the same — age, size, background, profession, it just does not matter. As a “50-something” woman, I feel at home in your studio and I cannot thank you enough for your genuine hospitality. Your enthusiasm is infectious and it reflects in your instructors as well.
I get a predictable reaction when I tell people that I am taking pole class. They say, “Oh, a strip class!” It’s interesting to note in that although your students are treated equally when they walk through the door, the differences in their personal dance styles are encouraged by your instructors as dancing is different for each person. My classes are not about stripping, sex, empowerment, or pleasing my man. When I’m at your studio, it is about getting back to the heart of me, for me.
I had an interesting experience after my first class. I left your studio with “happiness.” There are different kinds of happiness. However, this was the kind of “happy” that I do not think I have experienced in probably 40 years. The experience took me back to a place where pure happiness used to live, where there were no cares in the world, no responsibilities. A feeling long forgotten now returned. The pure happiness of a 5th grader hanging upside down on the monkey bars. It was wonderful. It is wonderful.
Amber, I want you to know that you have made a difference. Thank you for creating an environment that is safe and non-judgmental. Where, after all the years that go too fast, I can remember what it is like to feel like me for me.
SV: Your website has also made a difference in my poling. It is like the icing on the cake! You can count on me to be a loyal recurring member. There is so much helpful information here — your virtual lessons and community partner really well for those that pole at their local studio. I benefit from both!
I have a background in publishing and web development. I can see the passion that you obviously have for your work as it shines through on your website, your videos, and newsletters. I'm glad I found you!
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Adding 3 more Challenge videos!! https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_biggrin.gif
https://www.studioveena.com/videos/view/51900645-1974-4054-af9c-5d820ac37250
https://www.studioveena.com/videos/view/51904e62-616c-482e-9bc6-03390ac37250
https://www.studioveena.com/videos/view/51928aa4-cc6c-4be6-b76c-424d0ac37250
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Ill post my vid…later today. Pole dancing means to me…well it started as joke at first when I was thinking of expanding my business..so I took a few classes for the fun of it. Some styles I liked, some not so much…but I did like the fact that I was terrible at first. I think it's important to do things that challenge you…and believe me I thought it would be a lot easier than it is. I learn painfully slow. I thought I was to old to start…..I thought lots of things.. In my pole journey I found a group of ladies that have taken me under their wing…the international vertical masters…. They are inspiring and wonderful. They have given me a "place to go" as I get older. I'm 44 now.. It's weird as you get older to define yourself as a women.. Your fertility is dropping, your body changes, but your head doesn't..you still feel young and alive. With pole dancing I can't give up and give in to being "older"… I am proud of my body and what it can do.. I am comfortable in my own skin.. I didn't have that it my 20s…. So I guess with all my denial of the sexy stripper pole version…I'm on the fitness side of the fence… It helps me feels like a powerful, beautiful, graceful, sexy, capable women… Hmmm.. I guess I'm just a "sexy stripper pole" person after all…
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I’m with you, sistah!! I’m turning 47 this summer, and I feel even more sexy and confident than I did in my 20s and early 30s. Pole is a big part of my workout and its become more than that- its become my dance partner and its become my mirror to myself. My body is indeed changing and have people coming up to me with such wonderful compliments about my body. Keep it up pole sistah. May our Creator keep you healthy and blessed.
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I’m with you, sistah!! I’m turning 47 this summer, and I feel even more sexy and confident than I did in my 20s and early 30s. Pole is a big part of my workout and its become more than that- its become my dance partner and its become my mirror to myself. My body is indeed changing and have people coming up to me with such wonderful compliments about my body. Keep it up pole sistah. May our Creator keep you healthy and blessed.
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I’m with you, sistah!! I’m turning 47 this summer, and I feel even more sexy and confident than I did in my 20s and early 30s. Pole is a big part of my workout and its become more than that- its become my dance partner and its become my mirror to myself. My body is indeed changing and have people coming up to me with such wonderful compliments about my body. Keep it up pole sistah. May our Creator keep you healthy and blessed.
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By the way, on behalf of all of us inspired by the STUDIOVEENA community, thank you To the heart of this Community, Veena. Your passion, insight and amazing tutorials continue to create strong, sexy, empowered, impassioned women. Thank you!
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AW thank you HotPhlip!! https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_heart1.gif
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Pole Dancing is groundbreaking. I started pole dancing at 19 at the 1st strip club that I had worked at that had a pole. I can remember thinking, "this is gonna b so easy 4 me" and as I proceeded 2 climb that pole, I was fully aware that it was not going 2 b easy. I continued 2 use the pole, 2 learn more and more from the other girls and eventually…. I started 2 teach them. I always knew that this was something I was meant 2 do. I worked with girls that didn't have the skill and didn't care 2 have it. They only cared about making a dollar, but when I stepped out on that stage, the audience would know that being an exotic dancer was more than just showing off U'r body….. it's an art. Now Pole Dancing has expanded 2 more than just strip clubs….. it is recognized everywhere… and is breaking those stereotypes. It's no longer taboo. I always knew it would b this way, even when I was the only one at the strip club that saw the art in it all.
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More videos!!
https://www.studioveena.com/videos/view/519dd845-4d08-4305-b4b7-521c0ac37250
https://www.studioveena.com/videos/view/519ebfef-0500-4b5b-bd54-2deb0ac37250
https://www.studioveena.com/videos/view/51a0431f-7364-4239-b0d1-26cb0ac37250
​I want more!!!!!! Keep them coming https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_flower.gif
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Pole dancing to me means self-acceptance. I am not too old, fat, shy or prudish. I am able to challenge myself to become this confident, powerful woman that I never thought I could be. Of course it is so helpful that I am surrounded by the best women I have ever met at the studio who make me feel accepted and able to do the moves! Truly life changing love to you all!
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As a child I was shy and quiet. I had to be. I was not allowed to show the girl I became in my room every Saturday afternoon . As I cleaned, I would watch American Bandstand and Solid Gold. I tried with my little feet to imitate the every move of the dancers I watched. All of us as children are natural born artists. Play is the work of children and in my mind today should also be the work of adults. If nurtured properly the artist remains and thrives. We continue to play regardless of the work we do. Many of us put that artist to sleep. The dragons and fairies we danced with as children are replaced with a dance of security, insecurity, anxiety and fear. Slowly, the child dies, our spirit dies. We are programmed by society , by family, by friends to stop dancing and start marching to the melody of quiet desperation. The only music we can hear is the funeral hymn of our lullaby dreams. For many years my little feet stopped moving. The tiny ivory cells of my mind held onto beliefs that I was NOT GOOD ENOUGH and never would be. To this day these beliefs haunt me. They wake me up in the morning and sleep with me at night. They have caused me to stumble , their weight is too heavy on my soul. But, I have always been a fighter. Even as a child. Regardless of the oppression, I continued my expression, I continued to dance if even only only in my dreams.
As I got older, I ran. Literally and figuratively. I ran anywhere I could in travel and when I didn’t travel I ran on the cement floors outside, or to dance studios. It was in these dimly lit studios that I could let the brightness of my child out. When the music hit me I felt no pain. I took many different kids of dance classes. Always with a partner leading me. I have been dancing a long time, mostly with the doubts and insecurities that plague many of us. I always depended on that partner to pick me back up. Sometimes, they just stepped right over me, sometimes I had to find my own strength. It was also in these dimly lit studios where I felt oppressed once more. The little girl inside was not perfect enough once again. Or so I perceived others to believe. So, I’d run to a different studio, hoping to find one where I could be me and be accepted, perfect or not. I have tried many different dances, this year I discovered pole. No dance partner to depend on. I also discovered that high school doesn’t really ever end. Friends form and people are ostracized.
One as sensitive as I just doesn’t play in sandboxes anymore. When I began pole , I heard comments I have always heard, Maria why do you do such strange things? Maria what is the point of that? Maria that is a stupid exercise. That is for strippers. In other words, Maria why can’t you be like everyone else? Why? Simple. I am not, nor do I want to be. My child wants to play. But, she also wants to be validated. The adult wants to be strong but she needs others to believe in her potential. Don’t we all? I didn’t find that in the first studio I went to for pole dance and fitness. I found instead, Maria you can’t do this, don’t try. Maria just follow what I say, I am the teacher.
As a teacher, I know this is detrimental to all , for within all of us is a child. Whoever said that silly rhyme about sticks and stones obviously never had a bruised heart. So, I left that sandbox and tried to find a new “home”. One where perhaps the little girl could feel free without judgement, could play and reach new heights both on the pole and in body and mind. I don’t believe in coincidences, people come into your life always for a reason. In Pole I found what I was looking for. Validation from others and gentle pushing to reach my goals. There is no YOU CANT, there is no LOOK AT EVERYONE ELSE, there is no DON”T EVEN TRY IT. The only words out of the mouths of my instructors are those that slowly awaken the little girl inside of me and slowly help stitch her heart back together. The only judge I have is myself. And yes,I still do it. Childhood doubts remain. However quickly I am reminded by my teachers to respect my body, to listen to it, that I am beautiful, that I can do any move they show me. If not today, then tomorrow. I am reminded that I have to compete with no one but the Me that was there yesterday. Life like pole dancing has been, is a struggle. Once you embrace it, once you find those you can trust to allow you to fall and gently help you back up again, you can be free if even for an hour out of the day.
The other night was an extremely bad one for me. My mind was in a million different places. I am a person whose mind is always rewinding to the past or fast forwarding to the future. Rarely, am I empty. I could have stayed home to sleep with the dreams of the little girl doing pirouettes and spins in her room, or I could have pushed myself to go to Pole. I went. Somehow. The studio was the same as always. Dimly lit except with the reflection of colors from the strobe light against the walls. The colors usually which seep into my soul and bring me back to life. It didn’t and I failed or so I thought. I went home and messaged my instructor, Dance First, Think Later…It is the Natural Order. Sometimes it’s not that easy. Her response.. FIGHTER…THINGS WILL GET BRIGHTER. So, for those of you who think what is the point of pole dancing? It is to allow the artist child to awake again. To find the authentic self once more and nourish the little girl inside.
Am I just working to improve my body? No. Been there, done that. Meditation does not require sitting in a lotus position. It is a state of complete being. Achieving even for a few seconds emptiness. Out of emptiness can come everything. So, this is my meditation. For those of you who doubt your own abilities, for those of you who let fear and insecurity control your life. I understand. I also know that the greatest obstacle are our thoughts and those thoughts we grasp onto can be let go of even in dance. So, you can choose to put the dragons and fairies to sleep or to wake up the child and climb high on that pole.. as you dance with them once again. The key lies in finding that dimly lit studio,those gentle hearts that will welcome you in and believe in you as I have, where you can shine. xo
Maria Vinciguerrahttps://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10200604058758381&set=a.1519272576227.73416.1066908088&type=1&theater
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Pole dancing is… It's incredible! It's challenging, inventive, creative and so much more! I've watched so many videos, been studying it like a college course and have just fallen in love with everything that it is about. I have never felt more sexy and confident.
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I don't exactly have a pole video but i have a video of my first hula hooping session lol but I don't think that counts for this challenge.
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