[Fleur]

thurs
6:30 – 8 pm jenyne USPDF- amyxshi, ottersocks, Phillypolejess, PoledanceVienna
5 – 6:30 pm alethea USPDF- TrophyWife, PhillyPoleJess, PoledanceVienna

sat
10-11:30am Spinning pole with Allegra (MPD Australia)USPDF – Fleur
7 – 8:30 pm amber USPDF- amyxshi, tracee, Foxy_Rei
2:30 – 4 pm alethea USPDF- amyxshi, tracee
5:30 – 7 pm karol USPDF- TrophyWife
Brooke USPDF–ottersocks
Miss USPDF winner–ottersocks
Jenyne B&P- sandybrown
Alethea B&P- sandybrown, PoledanceVienna
Estee B&P–ottersocks, bauderlady
Contortion B&P– PoledanceVienna
Karol B&P–PoledanceVienna

sun
karol B&P- amyxshi
Leigh Ann B&P- sandybrown, PoledanceVienna, LuvlyJ
Alethea B&P– PoledanceVienna
Amber B&P–PoledanceVienna

[Fleur]

Thanks for all the awesome feedback ladies and gents!

I have added a workshop for the USPDF on saturday March 20th from 11:30am to 1:00pm and here is the description:

Amber’s Workshop "Polished Pole"
In this 90 minute workshop you are encouraged to come in with spins, climbs, inverts, and combinations which you would like to improve. Amber will show you how to make any move more beautiful by paying attention to lines, toes, hands, and timing. This workshop is appropriate for dancers of all levels who are interested in polishing their pole dance moves repertoire!

If you are interested, you can sign up at http://www.uspoledance.com, there are only 10 spots for this workshop.

~Fleur

[Fleur]

Question for you ladies:

I will be adding another workshop on saturday and was thinking of adding a Master workshop that focuses on polishing moves, paying attention to fingers/toes/lines, learning a few trick combinations (including spins, climbs, and inverts) as well as inviting you to bring in moves you want help with so I can show you how to make them more beautiful. However, it was brought to my attention that many ladies feel intimidated by the level of some of the workshops and that tricks workshops aren’t accessible to beginners. I would want to do tricks for all levels in the master workshop but I don’t know if people would still feel intimidated…so, my questions is:

Would you rather take a workshop that focuses on polishing moves or a workshop that teaches basic moves?

Whether or not you are interested in taking a workshop, I’d appreciate the feedback! Thanks https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_smile.gif

Fleur

[Fleur]

Let us know if you do come this way, it would be awesome to meet you! https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_biggrin.gif

[Fleur]

Hmm, I haven’t heard of this before. Is your skin peeling and that’s why it’s burning? Or do you just get the sensation of burning? If it’s the sensation, that would indicate nerve activity and needs to be treated right away since you don’t want to end up with numb fingers! If it’s the skin itself that is becoming irritated, I would suggest moisturizing your hands with a thick cream at night. Also, it’s important to realize that the palm of your hand is what is giving you maximum friction on the pole, not your fingers! This will help ease the death grip common in beginners as you learn to use your entire hand to grip the pole instead of stressing your poor little fingers! Here is a great and interesting video about hand grip for pole, she takes her time walking you through it but I promise if you watch the whole thing you will learn some interesting things that apply to pole and hand grip:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpujDGXcZvM

Hope that helps!

~Fleur

[Fleur]

I am going to be teaching a floordance workshop so I’ll probably film the routine and post it here if you want to copy some of that https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_smile.gif

[Fleur]

I would also suggest Lian Tal’s studio: Body and Pole. She is a real sweetheart and I think her prices may be more affordable. http://www.bodyandpole.com

[Fleur]

Pole Choreography workshop: In an hour and a half, you will learn a choreographed routine incorporating tricks and transitions. Amber will break down each movement so that it is appropriate for all levels and will teach you her signature balletic style which emphasizes extensions and fluidity. Amber will also teach you some key choreography concepts that will help you develop well balanced routines on your own!

[Fleur]

Update:

My USPDF "Pole Choreography" workshop on saturday is full! However, there is still room in my sunday March 21st workshop at Body & Pole from 10-11:30am. It is a "Conditioning and Flexibility" workshop, here is the description:

In this workshop, we will start with exercises specific for injury prevention. Amber will teach you how to strengthen you rotator cuff muscles before showing you how to improve your flexibility in a safe manner. She will then teach you floor combinations using her signature balletic style which emphasizes extensions and fluidity.

I may add another workshop on sunday that will focus on polishing tricks (extensions, lines, hands, etc) so I will keep you posted. I hope to see many of you there https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_smile.gif

~Fleur

[Fleur]

Thank you so much for sharing with us. I’m sure there are many people who are suffering silently around the world and your words give them the strength to go on and believe that there is something better out there. Congratulations!!!

[Fleur]

Hey ladies,

I am teaching a workshop for USPDF on satuday March 20th from 7:00-8:30pm and another at Body & Pole (Lian Tal’s studio) on sunday March 21st from 10-11:30am.

Feel free to e-mail me with any questions and I would love to see many of you there https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_razz.gif

~Fleur

[Fleur]

Great topic!

First off I’d like to say that we should all be able to express our opinions as long we recognize they are just that: personal opinions. And I also think it’s ok for us to get riled up if someone says something that really makes us think, that’s the beauty of communication! If we only say the things we know no one will be "offended" by, we would have rather boring conversations! Debate is good! It means we care enough about something to get emotional about it. As long as we respect each other, I think there is space for many differing opinions here.

You may have noticed my youtube channel is considerably different from my studio veena account and the issue of sexuality and pole dancing has a lot to do with that. On youtube, I only post videos in which i dance barefoot and in a minimum of shorts and a sportsbra. On studio veena, I post video anything I like! I think it is important to consider your audience. In my mind, pole dancing is an art. I tried pole dancing because I thought it was beautiful, not because it was sexy or acrobatic. However, the feeling of sensual energy and power I derive from it is indeed something I really enjoy! And I am proud of every acrobatic trick I can perform! The key for me is deciding who I am willing to share those different elements with.

I want pole dancing to be recognized as an art. To be honest, I have no interest in pole dancing making it into the Olympics because to me, it isn’t a sport. This has something to do with my dancing background, after all ballet has never been in the Olympics and it doesn’t bother me one bit! But anyway, I choose to only share the sexual side of my dancing with an audience who I feel is able to see the artistry in the movement, hence why I only post sexy stuff on studio veena. It is important that we open the eyes of the public and I personally think this means taming down the sexual side of pole dancing, at least initially. Once it is recognized as art, we may be able to reintroduce the sexual elements.

I have so many thoughts on this subject and I’m just not doing a good job of putting them into words https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_rolleyes.gif I think I will stop here for now.

~Fleur

[Fleur]

One thing? I’m going to have to pick my stomach, I’m working on some four pack abs which make me quite proud https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_cool.gif

[Fleur]

Yay! Can’t wait to meet all of you in person! I hope I see lots of you in the workshop too https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_biggrin.gif

[Fleur]

I originally didn’t submit for this show because I was told anyone with USPDF pro status was not allowed to participate…clearly that is not the case. I’m considering it now but I feel iffy about having a TV producer decide what to show, etc. I dunno…

[Fleur]

BTW, losing 30 lbs in 30 days means having a 3500 calories deficit per day. That would be like not eating and running for 6 hours every day (assuming you burn 600 per hour when running) https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_surprised.gif . Sound too good to be true? It is!!!

[Fleur]

This is just my personal opinion:

Ladies. There is no miracle cure for weightloss other than surgery which literally decreases the size of your stomach. Any supplement that claims you will lose lots of fat and no muscle without changing your diet or exercise in a limited amount of time is lying. Any supplement that is not approved by the FDA means that there is little known about the side effects of the drug or that what is known about it shows it is dangerous or ineffective (as pointed out earlier, some drugs approved by the FDA are still awful so what is in those that they don’t approve??!). Please do your research before trying these since there is no long-term study that shows the effect it could have on your body.

http://dietscam.org/reports/hcg.shtml" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

It is far more likely that the low calorie diet it is paired with is causing weightloss or that the thought that the shots help you lose weigth makes you less stressed out about food and so you end up eating less (placebo effect). Trust me, if the drug was actually effective they would be charging up the A$$ for the stuff!!!
Our bodies are VERY good at holding on to fat, they are designed to do so! To claim that you will lose only fat and no muscle even if you don’t work out is plainly unscientific. Your body WILL burn muscle before it does fat if you aren’t working out because muscle takes far more energy to maintain and our bodies are, once again, very good at conserving energy and holding on to fat.

Weight loss is hard. It takes physical work. It takes mental energy. It takes discipline. Please don’t cheat yourself out of the feeling of accomplishment you will get when you do it all on your own! I personally wouldn’t take the risk of putting some substance whose effect is not trully known in my body, especially hormone which can serisouly wreak havoc on your entire system. Again, just my personal opinion, I am not trying to offend anyone.

~Fleur

[Fleur]

HCG meaning Human chorionic gonadotropin hormone???

[Fleur]

Alethea posted this on facebook so I’m passing it along:

All You POLE Peeps wanting to come to NYC fo rthe Nationals on MArch 19th. Jet Blue is having a huge sale until next wed. It’s $99 or less each way into JFK. So you round trip is 200 or less. GOOD DEAL ; )

http://www.priceline.com/sale/Sale.asp?CSSP=JetBlue_01042010

[Fleur]

I apply lotion religiously after showering. If my skin is dry or peeling a bit from pole burn, I even add baby oil on top. Yes, you read that right OIL!!! https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_lol.gif As long as you have a couple hours before pole class and you are wearing clothing (which will rub the lotion and oil off your skin) you should be just fine. I believe having dry skin makes you even more slippery than a bit of lotion!

~Fleur

[Fleur]

Height only matters to a certain extent. I am 5’10” and some moves will not be possible for me the way they are for someone who weighs 50 lbs less and is 8 inches shorter BUT my height makes other moves looks far more extended on my body. You work with what you got! You can be tall and still be a great poler, don’t let your height bother you and certainly don’t let your boyfriend convince you of anything! You can do it! https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_biggrin.gif

Fleur

[Fleur]

For anyone looking at flights to NY right now, check out JetBlue, Continental, or Virgin America, they have some good deals (at least from the West coast).

Fleur

[Fleur]

Just letting everyone know I posted all the pictures I took at the jam on facebook. I didn’t take nearly enough pictures and I have no videos https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_sad.gif If you friend me, please send a message with your studio veena screenname, sometimes it’s hard to tell who everyone is! jungle cat, we aren’t friends so find me!!

Fleur

[Fleur]

Veena, Fleur and Azriel are in route to Sissy’s house! Snow is crazy right now, please be safe if you are still traveling!

[Fleur]

I messaged Roxy on facebook but haven’t heard back from her. Maybe she doesn’t check that inbox. Roxy, if you see this, let me know what your plans are on friday https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_smile.gif

I will be taking the metro into DC on friday morning as early as I can muster to sightsee until early afternoon because I start teaching at 3pm. I would love company!

I’m very excited and starting to get nervous!!! https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_confused.gif https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_biggrin.gif

Fleur