aliceBheartless
Forum Replies Created
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O yeah. There's no doubt that organizing a competition takes a lot of time and money. And time is money.
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I loved the videos I saw of Heidi. Really beautiful stuff.
Seems weird that competitors would be limited in that way. What is difficult is when the pro statuses start to lapse and there aren't enough competitions to replenish the numbers of competitors. I had really wanted to try to participate at the regional level and was really bummed when the regional comps have been canceled.
I would think that a revamp of the comps would result in a longer pro status. Two years isn't long at all, and it only encompasses two pro competitions.
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whoops I see Heidi's name on the list now!
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I feel like I read somewhere that Pro status is only good for 2 years? Which I guess would mean that Sara Cretul and Jenyne Butterfly's pro status is no longer valid? Which would be odd. Seems like there's no place for a person to compete within the USPDF system if they allow their Pro status to lapse. Ie… Jenyne or Sara in an amateur comp would definitely be sandbagging, and I doubt any of the pros would want to do that anyways. I only remembered reading about the two year thing bc Karol mentioned it recently in her youtube video. I guess they see it as a way to keep people competing, but there's only one competition to compete at and a lot of the pros dont compete. Charley's list was pretty long, but a lot of those women didn't even apply this year.
I kind of forgot but was Heidi Coker in the national pro competition last year? I know she was in a lot of competitions (ie Pole Art) but don't remember if she was Pro. I wonder why the USPDF site removes info about past competitions, including competitors. Its fun to look back on. 🙂
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The national competition has both Pro and Amateur categories. The names that were released yesterday and today were for the Pro competition. All of these competitors have qualified as a Pro competitor by either winning or placing at a USPDF national or regional competition in the past two years. (Or by having been granted wildcard pro status? Not as sure about that, maybe someone else on here knows) Only someone with Pro status can apply for the Pro competition. At least that is my understanding. I don't know how the Pro status worked for the very first ever national competition. Amy Guion was awarded pro status at last years amateur national competition because she placed second, tied with Nadia Sharif.
There are no requirements to submit for the Amateur competition other than the video, the fee, and the application information. No competition or performing experience needed. I imagine that the Amateur competitors will be released in about a week from the Wednesday submittal deadline. At least, that is how long it took for the Pro competitors to be announced. However, they have a LOT more videos to go through with the Amateur competition, so maybe it will take longer.
Its really too bad that USPDF did not hold the regional amateur competitions this year. It's making the pool of potential Pro competitors pretty small. And there were some amazing amateur videos posted that I think could hold their own in the Pro competition! In any case, I think its going to be a great comp to watch, Pro and Amateur.
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They have started announcing the pro competitors on the facebook page! 🙂
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I have been keeping up with some of the coffee and health articles and I have to say, pretty stoked that I no longer need to rationalize… just the other day I made a coffee-related goofy pole dance video. I cannot function without coffee. Probably should cut back, but currently rejoicing! 😉
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Thanks for bringing that up Pegasus. Its definitely important to remember that the nutrition industry is NOT regulated the way the medical industry is. And long term effects can sometimes take decades to show up.
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Thank you jeanine! 🙂 Great advice on the deep breath Charley! I think its definitely important to remember that there are many many talented dancers, and only 8 spots! Which means there will be beautiful dancers submit who aren't able to compete. I know that I have submitted to competitions before and not gotten to them and felt bad about it, which was silly. So this time around, my goal wasn't to get in (of course, I would love it if I did), but to make a video that I was proud of and could watch without cringing. (I can be so hypercritical) And I did it! I really like my video. So whether I get in or not, I already feel like I won. 🙂 Often, just having the courage to make a video will be one of the best experiences, so mad props to all the ladies who are going for it!
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HpstXpz0mXg&sns=em
I hope that works? Either way I am corbyOconnor on YouTube as well so if you search me it will be there.
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Thanks Charley! 🙂
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I submitted today! Have no idea how it will go, but I was able to get a video together that I like and am proud of, a first for me 🙂 Best of luck!
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I started pole with my sister because we wanted to take a dance class together and I had no dance experience, while she had trained dancing for most of her life. We settled on pole because it looked like fun and we wanted to start at the same level. I grew up in a pretty conservative family, with LOTS of brothers, and I didn't want my family to just think that I was getting in to this to become an exotic dancer. Not realizing that I would love it so much, I just never told them what I was doing, only that I was taking a dance class. Fast forward a few years, when I am indoctrinated in pole, I love it, and I dont know why I didnt say something in the first place because making a big deal of it now definitely makes it seem like a bigger deal than it really was.
Recently, I had the opportunity to dance a solo in a burlesque show that was put on by the aerial dance company I teach and train with. My mom had wanted to see me perform so she made a trip of it. I didnt really tell her about the pole I would be doing. But she totally got it! She understood with no explanation why I would get irked at people for touching a clean pole with their hands (a pretty big joke by the end of the show), why my costume was tiny, how skin is important to grip, and how pole as apparatus was no different than my trapeze work, the silks and ring pieces and the group chair dance. I clearly had not given my mother enough credit!
At this point, my current co-workers know (they all came to support me in an earlier run of the burlesque show), my family I suppose sort of knows bc my mom saw my show (again, I DON"T make announcements), and all of my friends here in Hawaii know. But a lot of people still don't know back home, and I am fine with that. I cannot control the reactions of others, and no matter how silly I think it is that someone wouldn't be ok with it, it's still their opinion, which they are entitled to, just like me. I do work in a male-dominated field, and if the sub-contractors I worked with knew about it, I think I would definitely be judged for it and not treated as the professional that I am. To some degree I already have these issues simply for being a woman. To me, while its a beautiful hobby that I enjoy, I don't need the validation from people I don't consider close to me. I am by nature very private, and I do not have pole pics/vids on facebook or anything because I don't feel I need to share this special part of me with everyone. Just the ones that matter to me.
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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.
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Those are so adorable! Just had to comment. Now this might depend more on your body type… but I find with those types of booty shorts that they naturally will ride up, exposing more cheek. If I were trying to get more coverage out of them by adding something, I would work with that knowledge to find another way to add something for cheek coverage/cooter coverage 🙂 , rather than adding to the top band. Of course, this is what might work for my body. And layering can sometimes work very well! Are you trying to adjust for a performance?
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I leave the PS multi-piece on spinning all the time. Never had an issue with it coming down. The plate is very grippy, but like ANY and EVERY pole, you really need to check it prior to use, ie some times things start moving, unscrewing, carpet settles, etc. PS cases on the other hand, have never seemed to be worth the money. Granted my last case was a free gift with the new extreme pole when it came out a few years back, but it is considerably more trouble than it was worth, and in using it, have incurred damage to the pole. And it is not the hard case that I see on their site now, so I don't think they sell it any more.
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Anybody seen Lola Frost vids on Youtube? There is a great one where she is performing a menswear-inspired strip tease (its so awesome!) to that quintessential Portishead song, and one of her pasties ends up coming off. Since she's such a sassy confident performer, she just ends up taking the other one off, flicking it to the side, and strolling off at the end of her number. Granted, its burlesque, so, shes not wearing a whole lot anyways, but still, its a great recovery for a costume malfunction.
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Thanks pegasus!
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I would love to know! 🙂
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I know! I haven't been to Maui in a while… Are you ever on Oahu?
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Liked! I should get over there to Maui and check it out 🙂
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I had no dance or gymnastic background before pole. I was athletic, but not remarkably so. I was a thrower in college, specialty javelin, and could barely string two pullups together. Since I started pole, I am in much better shape over all and much stronger, though I haven't set foot in a weight room in years.
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I used to love running. There was a time in my life when I NEEDED it. For my own sanity. I couldn't wait for Saturdays when I combined my long distance and hill training midday and would just run it out around Diamond Head. I got out of the habit kind of around the same time I started teaching/rehearsing aerial so much more and found a job that I liked, and haven't gotten back into it. Because I can't be tired during aerial! And my sanity is no longer in immediate danger, I guess. 😉
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To me stage presence is a total commitment by the dancer to her dance; being in the moment with herself, her partner the pole, the floor, the audience, and combining her music, costuming, and movements in such a way that it all melds together. I don’t think external vs internal focus is the stage presence but simply an aspect. An internally focused dancer can be just as mesmerizing and awe-inspiring to me as an externally focused dancer. And stage presence can definitely be seen even in the lazy day freestyle choreo.
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I have always struggled with comparing myself to other people in pretty much everything (piano, every sport I have ever done, school, pole/aerial, etc). I am trying to battle that because it is neither positive nor productive for me. Recently, I came across a very fitting Kurt Cobain quote (I find most of his quotes are pretty silly and affected), however;
"Wanting to be someone else is a waste of the person that you are."
has really struck home for me. Let's not forget it! 🙂
