SHAWNEEN Burkes started this discussion ·
Hi Veeners! In our community here, we just have a bunch of gorgeous dancers. I'm wondering what, if anything, you did/do to work on your flow. I see you looking all sexy, but I can't seem to find it in myself. I feel all hurky-jerky, lol. Million of thanks! :)
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I forced myself to freestyle, and then to freestyle some more, and then to freestyle some more. Then I forced myself to try variations of moves I already knew.... what did it look like if I turned my hand upward? What did it look like if I bent one leg? Not too long ago I blogged about this http://ginadances.wordpress.com/2011/09/08/developing-your-style/ http://ginadances.wordpress.com/2011/04/28/flow-and-fluidity/ And I'm pretty sure Aerial Amy has as well. :)
Veena ·
I agree we have so many beautiful dancers! Practice, practice!!! I work on Flow and dance more than tricks, it really takes a lot of practice and time. Here are a few suggestions: Don't be afraid to look silly or make mistakes. Record yourself, you don't have to ever show it to anyone if you don't want to. Move slowly, focusing on controlling every part of your body, even the hands and fingers and toes! If thinking about every body part at once is overwhelming, break it up into days. So one day focus on pretty feet all practice, then next practice the hands, ect. If you are uncomfortable with freestyle, write down 2 spin, 2 tricks and 2 transitions. work on moving through all six. BREATH, we tend to rush or look stiff if we hold our breath. 🌸
Thanks, polergirl! I'll read up on what you've provided. Open to all suggestions for sure. :)
Thanks, Veena! I pretty much only dance slowly while thinking about every body part. My freestyling has never really been strong (although I can throw choreography together - doesn't make sense, right, lol) and I know my movements have improved since I started, but I'm kinda feeling like when I watch others, I can see their inner sex kitten. I have an inner sex elephant. There's the all too real possibility that this is in my head, as others might find my dancing pleasurable to watch. I just want to figure out how to join them. :-)
hehe inner sex elephant, that made me smile on a day where there hasnt been much smiling! For me, I came into pole with no dance background and dancing has come the hardest. But I love working on it and have improved so much in the last bit that its unreal. I know no one likes to hear it, but it takes time and the journey can be so fun, so don't hate it, enjoy it! When I moved from the mainland, I did not have a pole, and wasn't taking classes. So I filmed myself just dancing floorwork, wall, couch, and chair transitions, whenever I had a moment to work on dance. It was amazing how doing that translated to pole work. And how much fun I had doing it.
I'm glad you had at least one smile today, corby! :-) I'm the same as you (because I don't count those mandatory couple of years my mom forced me to take ballet when I was about 8 - now I wish for those years and more, lol) with no dance background. I was the biggest tomboy ever! Looks like from what I'm reading that it'll be time to get the video camera out more often. I dance around all of the time, when I'm cooking, cleaning, walking down the hall at work. It just hasn't translated to anything that looks nice. Yet! :-)
Kyrsten ·
Flow is one of my weak points, and when I'm working on it, there are two things that really help me: 1 - Find a song that you FEEL -- won't work if the song doesn't make you want to dance! 2 - Go sloooow and really feel your way through each movement. It makes such a big difference for me, if I watch a video of myself where I was making a point to really feel my way through each movement and then one where I'm just busting moves.
ditto everyone else. When I'm 'feelin' it' to a song I love, the moves flow from a place that otherwise remains pretty untapped. It seriously makes alllll the difference. To me, the music and the repetition is KEY. Passion, practice, and pointed toes!
When I think of flow I think of a flower blooming in the morning sun. You want the "movement" to have a start and unroll it through your body to the very tips of your fingers, toes, and even hair. Like a flower trying to absorb every ray of sunshine...then it will roll back into itself.. You extend the body..then flex. As you extend..inhale...as your flex...exhale.. Also. make a committement to the movement until the end of it. And yes this is all easier said then done, but I think it is what makes a simple movement beautiful.
Everyone is so helpful with their tips. I appreciate it more than words can say. I'm going to try to put all of your tips into practice. I will try to do a video for comparison purposes. This video is from an impromptu choreography class where my student is outdancing me by miles, lol. So when I say flow, I think I'd like to move a little more like she does and a little less like I do, lol. HTTP://tinyurl.com/72lxsm6
Love the 'inner sex elephant' comment, haha that made me laugh so hard! I agree with all above ^^...I practice more flow and dancing than tricks. Someone paraphrased alethea Austin on here once and said that she believes that if you can't do it on the floor, you can't do it in the air. And that floorwork and transitions are the meat and bones of the dance while tricks were just the skin (something like that anyway lol). Since I heard that its been my mantra! I've found the more I practice floorwork and transitions, the better and more elegant my tricks look! Definately definately record yourself, adapt different movements to suit your body shape. One thing I really struggled with for a long time was rushing all my movements to get to the tricks part, which made my videos look hurried and jerky . Someone above ^^^wrote commit to your movement until the end, I can't stress this enough!!! Lol - sooo right!! My suggestion is to make a couple of videos to a song with a nice slow tempo and focus on dancing for the entire song with only transitions and floor work- no tricks. Helped me immensely! Good luck- cant wait to see your progress!
Polegirl just put up a video today that was amazing! She has a red flowy dress on. Great flow in that performance.
Wow what a great discussion! I have a hard time with floor work (no dance background either) and I feel so stiff and unsexy ugh! There's a lot of good advice on here (thanks for sharing everyone) so I'm definitely gonna try to incorporate that from hereon out. I actually feel more comfortable when the camera is not recording. I feel with the camera I'm on the spot and it's catching every move and mistake I make. It makes me feel more self conscious. It's like I know in the back of my mind the camera is rolling so I can't really "let myself go and get lost with the moment and music" like I can when it's off. Less pressure when it's off. But then when you don't record yourself, you can't see what you look like and what you are doing etc. Does anyone else feel that way?
I love all of you guys so much!!! I can't even express how awesome it is to have this community to supplement my in-person pole community. :) I'm going to be watching a lot of videos! Also, @Malcious, your avi pic is gorgeous, i.e, you are gorgeous!!! :-D
Of course...leave it on and forget about it. You would be surprised in what you see and sometimes it's a little bit of greatness. And watch yourself as if you were watching a good friends video. Leave the judgment out and just enjoy the sharing of someones soul.
oops typo.... polergirl.
Thank you, pegasusaerialfitness! That's so sweet of you!!! I definitely agree with the wisdom of recording practice sessions. I grew a LOT as a dancer when I started watching myself dance. I started paying better attention to lines and angles and what showed off my body to its best.
Veena ·
Here's a video that might be helpful. It's not perfect by any means, but I was going for flow! So this is my take on it. https://www.studioveena.com/videos/view/4fac35c1-a748-4c50-88cc-16c60ac37250
Former member ·
What great tips!!!! It's silly, but I pretend I'm on stage and people are watching me, that forces me to stop being such a perfectionist and not stop every two minutes because I think I've messed up. I learned a lot in this thread, thank you guys!!!
