From knowing the moves to Dancing

Runemist34 started this discussion · 2/4/2012

Hey ladies and gents! I've been away. It's been a very full, stressful, but ultimately rewarding, interesting and educational three months of my life. It feels like it's been a year, though. However, things are now getting easier, and I've started having the time and brain space to dance again! I checked things out juust before I got sick, and I seem to have the majority of my strength, still! I'm quite pleased with that. I do have a question, though, that's been nagging me for a LONG time! How do you turn the "moves," such as harder spins, up into things like climbs and inverts and such, into "dancing"? This has always eluded me. I suppose my major challenge is that I'd like it to fit with the music, and I very rarely find music with the right kind of pauses and such to allow the climb and pose. I find those moments to be... less exciting, I suppose? So I would imagine something a bit more downbeat for those moments. Any thoughts? Am I just going to have to get more used to getting into and out of these moves so I can do them quickly?

15 replies

Legend · 2/5/2012
I consider myself more of a pole trickster instead of a pole dancer but I think I understand your question. trying to combine music with tricks and dance used to be a nightmare. Im not a natural dancer, dancing was just another trick for me, so I was always analyzing every movement to fit the rythim... the results were far from good... so finally I learned not to over think it. First you need to be confortable with what you are doing, its dificult to look graceful when you are still struggling to perform the move/spin. Moves like climbs dont have to be performed during "less" exciting moments in a song, you can dance your way up the pole as you can use pauses in the music to hold poses or exagerate them. It's more a feeling not an equation. of course thats easier said than done... takes a lot of practice when you dont have it naturally. just dance to a song that drives you, dont think about where are you going to perform what, just let it happen. some things will work well, others may not so much at first, and there's where practice and analysing come in to fix the little things. happy poling :)
ShonaLancs · 2/5/2012
I understand this frustration. My pole instructor is a dancer and she puts together routines to music so well and looks so effortless when dancing. I am still trying to master the moves both dance and pole...so before I do that, I wont be trying to put anything together myself! Truth be known, I am not a naturally good dancer - unless I have had a bottle of wine first, then I at least believe I am good haha! I guess it is something that comes with time. When I started driving I didnt get how I would know when to change gear..now its easy peasy and I dont even think about it. Maybe the same applies to pole dancing..in time it will become natural?
ottersocks · 2/5/2012
I think it's just like anything else: practice practice practice! I just started a new class at Poletential called Pole Fusion: where tricks meet dance. I come up with about 7 tricks or move combos that we all go over (these are advanced girls who know most of these tricks anyway), and then we work on how to dance in and out of them. How can you transition them? What are good moves to do going in and coming out? And then we dance these same 7 moves for a month. At the end of it, the goal is that those 7 moves are now so second nature to you, that you can incorporate them smoothly into your dancing while still moving expressively to the music. I'd say, practice with moves you know well. The more you're used to the moves, the more you can forget about them and focus on your movement quality. And then dance to a song you know like the back of your hand. Hit the big moments, work the pauses, really focus on interpreting its highs and lows. It takes time to get good at this, but it's well worth practicing just as much as the "trick of the moment."
FuzzyNavel · 2/5/2012
Wow--Ottersocks, that class sounds amazing! I also have read on SV to practice sequences of a few moves and transitions that become second nature to you. I am such a novice at this too, and I just started experimenting with spin mode and I feel like that is a whole nother world right now! 😉 I think we all have our own styles too. I am more into dance and movement with a few tricks at most, and some rock out badass tricks, etc. Its all good...have fun!
PowerTwirl · 2/6/2012
I struggle with this too. I do not know how to freestyle. I was a cheerleader and gymnast so I always had set routines which I could NAIL !!! BUT.... I don't have a construct of how to freestyle anything. I asked Tracee from B&P about this recently and she does have a dance background but her advice was to "drill movement"... like make yourself move, practice moving between tricks in general even if you feel stupid just keep moving, do SOMETHING... and eventually you will feel more comfortable "flowing"..... and this is my goal this year. I'm sure I'mna look REAL DUMB most of the time but hopefully some flowy magic will happen and I'll be a better freestyler.
dancing in the gray · 2/6/2012
I had a problem with this in the beginning. However, I make it a point to watch every single instructor I can to try and pick up certain moves. I've learned different moves from every instructor and put them together to make my own style. We dim the lights in the studio at the end of classes and dance. Sometimes I close my eyes and just try to feel the music. It's really helped.
polergirl · 2/6/2012
I think freestyling is as much a skill as any trick, so it needs to be practiced and honed. What spin or trick felt totally comfortable and natural the very very very first time you did it? Probably not many. And unless you've been dancing your entire life, freestyling, or even just flow/movement in general, probably feels SUPER AWKWARD at first... heck, even if you *have* been dancing your entire life, it might feel strange, because you've danced largely choreographed pieces.... or because you weren't dancing on a pole. Every single time I touch the pole I do two freestyle dances to help warm me up. The first one is no spins and no climbing. Just pole transitional work and floor/wall work. The second is for easy/light spins and a little climbing if I feel so moved. I do them in reverse to cool down--so every single time I'm on the pole I freestyle to at least four songs. It has helped my flow and comfort level exponentially. And one of my resolutions for 2012 is to make myself move into/out of tricks from the very beginning of learning them. No matter how awful or uncoordinated the trick itself is, I am going to work on transitions right along with it. No hopping out of a move unless it's a deliberate, graceful hope. This comes after watching some of my most recent videos and being horrified that I did nothing resembling dancing other than my four freestyled songs.
AvaBabe · 2/6/2012
I love the above idea of the warm up/cool down freestyle, and incorporating three transitions into the persons of the moves.. Fantastic ideas!!
AvaBabe · 2/6/2012
dang auto correct... Incorporating the transitions into the lessons of moves... Sigh
tarah · 2/6/2012
there's so much good advice here! i don't know if i will ever be smooth and graceful with tricks, but i'm going to try all of these tips. i have been including freedances before my practice (always too tired after). @ottersocks - i wish i could take your class, too!
Scarlett Honey aka Lola Grace · 2/7/2012
Haha PopwerTwirl I have the opposite problem! I've always been a bit of a natural when it comes to dancing, but never had any formal training (other than pole) so freestyling is easy for me but learning routines takes me FOREVER. I get really anxious about remembering the next step fast enough to do it on time.... I am definitely more of a dancer than a trickster, and more of a freestyle child than a choro girl. I guess there are pros and cons to both... Lots of sound advice already here - drill transition/dance moves until they feel natural, and practice them in a combo so that you can easily move in and out of them. Finding music that just makes you want to move really helps too. Sometimes thats fast-paced rocknroll, sometimes emotive, instrumental, slow tempo pieces. Personally, I think that dancing to a slower song makes me a better dancer, because it gives me the time to be really precise with my movement, to extend my lines and emphasise flow and fluidity.... I know transitions like climbing or walking/spinning can seem dull, but if you tweak them just a little by adding a unique hand gesture or a bent leg for example, you can make them artistic and beautiful in their own right. My problem is that I get so comfortable with my spinny/clim combos that I really need to force myself to alter them and change something just to stop from getting too predictable! :P
ShonaLancs · 2/12/2012
So after this thread started i got thinking about what kind of poler I wanted to be- trick or dance focused or a true mix. I have been focusing on tricks and forgotten spins and transitions. So, last night i found a brilliant song that MADE me want to pole to it and so i practiced a whole hour just doing around the pole moves and thinking about my transitions... I really enjoyed it and felt a bit sexy and that it looked tidy and smooth for the first time since I started poling... Yey!
MichelleH · 2/13/2012
Hi all, I don't know if I'm understanding the original question right, but maybe this can help? Every move can be broken down into counts of 4 or 8, and music usually has counts of 4 as well. For example when you're climbing, place 1st foot for 2 beats, pull up for 2 beats. Pull knees up and stick bum out for 2 beats, pull in for 2 beats. Does that make sense? You can usually fit most moves into this thinking, get into the move for 4, hold for 4. Hope this helps!
Runemist34 · 2/13/2012
MichelleH- I had considered doing counts of 4. I learned that much about dancing a long time ago, at least! But, some things I don't know how to count. How do you count a spin? What if you can't hold something for more than one count? Everyone else- I do freestyle, actually. I just freestyle without any tricks! Because I can't figure out how to incorporate tricks into "dancing," most of it just ends up being just movement. Walks, poses, wiggles... just moving around. It's my "warm up" usually. I'd really like to bring other moves that aren't as strenuous (like a basic fireman or half spin) into it as well, and eventually, learn to dance with harder moves, too! Rarely, if ever, do I see an example of someone who is at this awkward, intermediate level who incorporates grounded moves, spins, and climbs/on the pole poses into a cohesive dance.
Veena · 2/13/2012
I think sometimes we feak ourselves out by over thinking. 🤓 Like others have suggested, practice, practice! When you listen to your favorite music close your eyes and try to picture how you would dance to it. Do this often and before you dance. This is something I do constantly! lol Then, before you actually start to dance, try telling yourself to relax, take a deep breath and picture that "dance" you saw in your head. Tricks will fit into your dances once you have become VERY comfortable with the trick. If a trick is iffy on it's own, it wont flow well in a dance.