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Dancing VS Tricks
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I do and watch more dance and transitions than tricks. Like some say, anyone can do tricks but not everyone can dance with that fluid movement.
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My absolute favorite pole dancer to watch is Felix Cane, because she is so fluid and graceful that while her routines are mostly tricks, they look like dance to me. (This video is a great example of what I mean: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YUOmIQ269-E) Plus, even when she is on the pole for a while she really knows how to grab the audience's attention through her stage presence and eye contact, which is normally what the dance part of the routine is supposed to do (I mean as far as making the audience feel like part of the performance, aside from wowing them with trick after trick).
It is hard to say that a routine should be this percentage tricks and that percentage dance because every dancer moves differently, and everyone is at a different level – I know that part of Felix's skill in making the tricks look like dance is that she's so advanced (and flexible!) – she has a lot more moves in her repertoire and has had a ton of experience performing for large audiences. It's much harder when you only know a couple tricks. But still, everyone can work on stage presence (eye contact!) and flow, which I would argue doesn't necessarily have to be in the transitions – it's also how you perform the trick itself, and how the timing of it fits into the routine.
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On the subject of dancing, I must first say that I do not hold with those who feel that dancing is something which is only performed on the floor. Just because one does not have feet on the floor moving oneself does not mean one is not dancing. By this logic, we could also consider the traditional movements in Ballet, such as "arabesque," "pirhouette," or the numbered foot positions to be ballet "tricks." In general, I try to avoid the word "trick" in my pole dance vocabulary because I feel that it can be easily misconstrued.
When I think of a routine which is "all tricks and no dance," I think of a particular competitive routine I watched which followed a rigid trick, floor, trick formula. I remember watching the routine and thinking, "does this woman think her audience is stupid?" I do not enjoy watching trick reels, but I greatly enjoy watching smooth transitions between a sequence of different aerial poses, and I consider a sequence of aerial poses strewn together to be a "dance."
So the differentiation I'm making is that , for example, after performing any kind of handspring from the floor (such as cartwheel, phoenix, tg lift), I can do a handstand sequence and then bring my feet back down to the floor, or I can hook a leg on the pole to use that handspring to initiate a combo. In other words, I feel that if someone touches the floor in between all of their "tricks," this is not dancing. On that same note, when trying to understand the mentality of those who feel that the aerial acrobatics of pole are not dancing, and I watch the pole dancing floorwork which is most common and popular, I on the other hand ask myself, "which part of this dance is the 'pole' part?"
Lately I have been challenging myself to spend more time on the floor and to do more interesting things with my floor time, rather than using popular floor maneuvers as a way of staying in motion to help myself feel less awkward there. However even if my performances became 50% floor and 50% aerial, I would still hope to see the video thereafter and feel confident that I "danced" through all of the performance. In fact, I have started specifying between "aerial dancing" and "grounded dancing" with students and other people. So in short, I enjoy aerial dancing and I enjoy grounded dancing when they are executed fully, instead of a trick reel or instead of a grounded dance using a pole as a prop.
Last, I think its somewhat sad when I see video comments (usually by women and on other women's videos) which are to the effect of "this is an amazing video, but it isn't sexy. Where's the sexuality in this?" This implies that pole dancing isn't merely a dance which integrates a specific apparatus, but it's a dance with that apparatus designed to be seductive. I find it a bit disheartening to see women make these remarks about one another and equally disheartening that there seems to be a double-standard which allows men to be primarily acrobatic while women are expected to do seductive dancing. In general, I feel that the (intentionally) sexy part of pole dancing is usually done on the floor, and that the actual pole part of the pole dance does not lend itself to coital or anatomical suggestiveness/mimicry. But I feel that expectations should be across the board instead of promoting old neanderthal ideas about gender roles which have kept women opressed for aeons. It would make me happy to see more women being more supportive of one-another and their individual pole dancing styles regardless of whether they are more acrobatic or more suggestive, and do less "excusing" of men just because we are presently a minority in the pole community. As artists and athletes who have chosen the pole as our medium, it seems logical that we would all want to become very well rounded in all our movements, whether we are dancing on the floor or some distance over it.
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I agree with StellarMotion, the dance is in everything. Doing tricks is one thing, dancing them is another. Being able to link them together on the pole and with floorwork is pole dancing. Otherwise it's just pole tricks and that might be impressive but not that captivating to watch as a show.
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I personally love the dance "expression" on the floor as floorwork and also as transitions. BUT now that I can only dance with one foot, I have decided to challenge myself to try and "dance" or express myself while ON the pole. I now have the height on my pole for it so I'm hoping to accomplish that. https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_cheers.gif
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V, I have always loved watching you dance, and have always felt that you "dance" with grace and fluidity whether on the floor or not! So in that sense, I think you already have accomplished it. 🙂
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"even if my performances became 50% floor and 50% aerial, I would still hope to see the video thereafter and feel confident that I "danced" through all of the performance. In fact, I have started specifying between "aerial dancing" and "grounded dancing" with students and other people. So in short, I enjoy aerial dancing and I enjoy grounded dancing when they are executed fully, instead of a trick reel or instead of a grounded dance using a pole as a prop."
StellarMotion I really like how you put this! I totally agree with you and I love the term "arial dance" 🙂
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*aerial
;b
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StellarMotion said some really interesting things about dancing even when tricking… and I like Veena's term "expression" – I think that's a big part of dance. Regarding StellarMotions concern about some expectations for women's dancing to also be sexy, I think that sexiness while it can add something to dance, isnt necessary. It just depends on everyones style and interpretation. Apparently I tend to dance sexy/sultry even when Im feeling emotional and sad…. Others might find one dancer's style sexy while others may not. I agree that sexiness shouldnt be a requisite for pole dancing. But I do think a touch of sexy can add some great spice 😉 Oh and floorwork isnt all about getting down n dirty – it can be just as artistic and acrobatic as footwork/pole work. Also, you dont need to be on the floor to be sexy…. some classic pole tricks and poses can be astonishingly beautiful and seductive. I refer to ALethea Austin's dancing (youtube) as evidence. 😉
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Also individuality is important, to be yourself and do what makes you happy in a routine really shows. If its very mechanical and rigid or repetive it shows i love good flow and effortlessness i also like new moves and tricks keeps things exiting and fresh to watch https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_biggrin.gif
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I've seen some beautiful pole routines with absolutly no aerial moves what-so-ever! If you do what works for you, and stick to moves you know and are comfortable with ~ You will amaze people 🙂
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This is a great discussion! I most appreciate seeing creative expression through dance balanced both on and around the pole. I do want to speak up for those of us who are not very advanced and yet still put a lot of heart and soul into our dance–I find I cannot smoothly perform several aerial combinations without coming down to the floor in between…with more strength that will come.
I also want to say that music choice for me is HUGE as so much feeling is found there as well. -
I agree with Flexx10. I’ve seen some performances where the girls are so caught up with nailing their tricks that you notice their concentration and effort more than anything else. But if a dancer is confident and focused on engaging her audience, even watching simple floor work and half spins is a pleasure.
That said, I think a 50-50 ratio keeps the audience more appreciative of the tricks that a dancer does land, cos people can lose perspective of how much it takes to actually pull off a good trick. Kinda like how you can get desensitized to the violence of fight scenes in a war movie cos of all the blood and guts flying around every few minutes?
I think when people watch trick after trick for more than a minute, they can sometimes lose the appreciation. But if you are absorbed in the beauty of a dancer’s graceful movement, then suddenly tricks can ‘surprise’ your senses all over again
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I am with https://www.studioveena.com/users/view/bc92cfd4-d89d-11df-ab19-12313b090e12! Also agree with HollySatine as Felix comes to mind as someone who does a lot of "tricks" but dances through all of them so what one watches is, using StellarMotion terms, aerial dancing.
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Well said Hotpinksugar! A handful of my students are working exotic dancers and I always tell them to make their audience "earn" pole tricks ~ Really I just mean "make them pay for it" (and they will)! If the audience is constantly seeing "tricks", they get used to it and they won't want to pay money to see them. Please keep in mind that my exotic dancers come to me to learn moves that are going to make them $$$$, so the concept of making the audience "earn" seeing the advanced moves will not apply to everyone or every performance 🙂
I also tell my girls to "pick music that moves them". Some songs lend themselves better to floor work while others are better suited for aerial performances.
All-in-all, I really hate to say that a "better" pole performance is one with (or without) "tricks" as I know there are dancers who are just beginning or (for whatever reason) can't physically perform the more advanced moves. But I will say that the BEST pole dancers are the ones with CONFIDENCE!
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I personally prefer tricks rather than dance myself but that is because I've not graceful or fluid. I do pole to keep in shape and for the sense of accomplishment when I nail a trick I've been working hard at. I like watching videos that have some dancing in them but mostly watch them to spot new tricks or combos to learn than anything else.
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For anyone who has seen my dancing, it's obvious that I'm more of a dancer… as many others have said, I just don't have the strength yet for the advanced tricks (and let's face it, it takes more strength to haul a plus-sized butt upside down on the pole… :P)… but also, having been trained at S Factor, pole dancing is more focused on emotions for me, and most of my emotions can be better expressed on the floor… but I will agree with those who have said that a generally even split between dance and pole is the best to watch… HOWEVER… if someone is *really* involved in what they are doing whether it be all on the pole, or all on the floor, it's going to be amazing to watch! 🙂
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