[anngiern]

hip hop/pop is good for building fast dance stamina since not all students respond to slow. i have a ton of hip hop songs but here are some that i am playing in class for this week:(some are older and some are newer)

Hip/Hop
Ride by Ciara
Look Back At It by Ying Yang Twins
Lil Freak by Usher featuring Nicki Minaj (she’s hot right now)
Woman Lie, Men Lie by Yo Gotti
*Lose my mind by Young Jeezy
Candy Coated Diamonds by 2 Pistols
Jigglin by Ying Yang Twins
Show Out by Unk
Feel it by Three 6 Mafia
Put it da air by Papa Reu
Girls Gone Wild by Ludacris
Houstonatlantavegas by Drake
Hello Good Morning by Diddy
U a Freak by Chingy
Hands Up by Lloyd Banks
*Lil Freak by Three 6 Mafia
*Becky by Plies
*songs with a star are for the grown and sexy https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_lol.gif …meaning its not for the shy…contains explicit in your face lyrics… if you have a crowd for that..down south we have a huge crowd for that so use at your discretion. but you might be surprised…my moms love that explicit music..they need a break from sesame street music! lol

POP MUSIC
Anything Lady Gaga love her! (really liking "teeth" right now)
Anything Beyonce…love her as well!
Revolver by Madonna
Bump by Trish
Rockstar 101 by Rihanna
Sell me candy by Rihanna
Reach out by Hilary Duff
With Love by Hilary Duff
Stranger by Hilary Duff
I Am by Ricky Martin (i swear this is good)
WhooHoo by Christian Aguilera featuring Nicki Minaj
Say Something by Drake
Whine Up by Kat Deluna
Slowly by Joystick
Pucker Up by Ciara
High Price by Ciara

Hope that helps you!

[anngiern]

i personally have not read this clean eating book but i don’t neccesarily believe that exercise is only 10%. i believe exercise is about 60% to 70%. you have to burn off more than what you are putting in. i think sometimes people are doing the wrong exercises to attain the results that they want. i truly have the abs that i always wanted b/c i do ab work that targets the middle abs (6 pack), lower abs, obliques, transverse abdominus (abdominal belt) and my back muscles. now my ab workout is more well rounded. before i used to just do crunches b/c that is what i saw in the gym. now i found that pilates type movements really helped to get the body i wanted from a "toned" perspective.

if you have been overweight a long time its going to take a while to get it off. it took me about one year to lose my 40 pounds (and then i gained 18 pounds back in muscle). but i was exercising like 5-6 days a week for about 1 hour to hour and a half and included a lot of intense cardio. now i exercise about 4 to 5 days a week with just pole and exotic dance and that helps me to maintain my weight.

i was very fortunate that i came from a very active family so once i jumpstarted my metabolism again the weight came off. its so important from an early age (early childhood) to start your kids being active. i really believe that helps to prevent weight issues as you get older. i gained my weight about 3 years post college when i wasnt as active as i had been the previous 16 years.
i also encourage my students that it is truly a lifestyle change. take the stairs instead of the elevators, park far away and walk…etc… once you start incorporating these things into your daily life it will become habit.

as far as eating goes i do limit my fried foods (really b/c it is messy, smelly, and time consuming), i do not drink any soda (just juice and water…but that was b/c soda makes me so darn thirsty) and i dont eat very much fast food except subway.i do eat cupcakes and goodies though…if i do eat them it is only once a day. i remember when venus and serena (tennis players) were on oprah and they said they eat mcdonalds all the time…but all that running back and forth on that tennis court it will be gone. now this is not good for your arteries, cholesterol, etc..

i totally agree with reenie about portion control. restaurants pile it on. when i go out to eat i split a meal with someone…even dessert! i am finding that many restaurants are now starting to offer small portion sized desserts. and when i feel full i stop eating.

the food diary is a HUGE eye opener. i give some of my pole students a food log so they can visually see what they are eating. it really helps to see what your eating habits are and where you can make changes.

also i agree to stay off the scale..pay attention to how your clothes are fitting..that to me is one of the better indicators of weight loss.

[anngiern]

sure thing! i do the shoulder dismount a lot https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_smile.gif

it’s about 2/3 thru this vid, this is a side view: http://ver3.studioveena.com/lessons/view/3466" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

and a little mroe than halfway thru this one, from the back: http://ver3.studioveena.com/lessons/view/2862" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

thanks so much!

[anngiern]

the reason why i ask whether or not people are kicking into the SM is because i don’t see why it’s dangerous to kick into an invert and NOT dangerous to kick into a SM! sorry but it’s just really easy to hurt yourself when you kick into anything. https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_evil.gif i dont mean to be a stick in the mud but it’s not as important to get tricks as it is to stay SAFE and NOT INJURED!

i would suggest that you work on going from a regular invert into a controlled shoulder dismount down to the floor… it’s the same principle that strength-trainers use, and it’s called doing "negatives"– see http://www.healthandfitnessadvice.com/fitness-tips/how-to-do-a-pull-up-when-you-can-not-do-a-pull-up.htmlfor some more info on negatives as they apply to pull ups. you can also go from an invert into a SM dismount and go back up into a regular invert for practice.

great article amy..really enjoyed reading that. do you have a video clip (in your uploaded videos) of you doing a regular invert into shoulder mount dismount? just need to get visual on how to reposition by hands to come down. i love that descent and think it looks nicer than going into from standing. is it easier to do that one first? i was wondering b/c my ab/core strength is very good and that way looked like i would be able to nail it better.
thanks https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_smile.gif

[anngiern]

cool..i like this one….i love spinny work. are we allowed to use spinning pole at veena or just on stationary?

[anngiern]

there is a burlesque festival in september in new orleans. here is the link

http://www.neworleansburlesquefest.com

i might be going…just waiting for them to put up a schedule of workshops.

[anngiern]

Man…I know you guys like this thread, but it’s totally bummed me out. Every single move I’ve learned recently that I was super proud of is here. Now I feel like the ugliest laziest dancer ever to live.

Maybe you guys should rethink the extent to which you are describing some moves as hideous, because it’s made me feel like the top 5-10 moves in my bag of tricks are all fug. https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_pale.gif It’s when I see things like this that make me not want to post vids of my progress….not if everyone’s just going to think everything I have worked so hard for and am so proud of is just me slutting around the pole or looking terrible.

no worries poledanceromance…that is why pole dancing is an art…and art is always subjective to the person who is viewing/watching it. so what ticks for one person might not for the other. i think at the end of the day it is all about presentation. you can sell any move if the presentation is appealing.

veracblue…..i LOVE LOVE LOVE THE CATERPILLAR!!!! (we call it a pole snake). i dont care for it when people do like 10 in row real fast b/c then it seems overdone…. i do mine SUPER SLOW like i am sexing the pole and take ages to finish it and time it with the music well. when i do demos for new students that is the move that signs them up for level 1 with a quickness!!!LOL…

and i still love the chopper……i saw sheila kelly of s factor do that on an episode 20/20 and i was INSTANTLY sold. i love peeling my legs slowly into it like a flower petal and then slowly descend from the top of the 16 foot pole (which actually is hella hard to hold that long way down) all the way to the floor. many people still love this move.

in the end just do what makes you happy!!!

[anngiern]

hmmm…i do not like the side climb at all…it looks like spiderman or something…but i do hope that some day someone can make that look better.
dont really care for the iguana or the teddy either. superman is ok…but i agree.. i love Fleur’s version at USPDF. that made me want to go revisit that move again.
but the biggest turn off for me is something very simple…a bad walk!!! nothing makes me cringe more then when someone walks from pole to pole like a zombie. i constantly work on my walk(and free hand) as much as i work on my pole tricks..but i am biased b/c i am a dancer at heart and we are trained that your walk is so important when it comes to doing a performance or traveling between two points. your walk connects all of your dance together. someone’s walk and transitions can make or break a performance for me. (again…i am little bias b/c i do personally enjoy "pole dancing" more vs. "pole fitness" due to my background in dance)

[anngiern]

go ahead and use the song mini!!! not to sound like 8th grade but i dont see anyones name written on it! LOL..pole dancing is all about individual self-expression…so everyone’s interpretation of it is different. make it your own girl! that is how i find songs…by watching others dance to it and then i put my "spin" on it.

i would love to do a challenge where we all dance to the same song to see how everyone interprets it. i think that would be fun glitterhips!

[anngiern]

cool..sounds like fun!

[anngiern]

Im not 100% sure how I feel about it. On one hand, I would love for my passion to be reconized as a sport. We all know its hard work and dedication to do what we do. But then again, I feel like women like me who can dance like crazy but cant perform wild and crazy tricks will never have a chance to win a competition. Like alof of us have said, that if they broke us down in different catagories then I think things would be different.

Like Sissy said, alot of the sexiness would be removed. The music would be clean, the outfits would be mild etc.

It’s already that way though Mini. You’ll never get into the big competitions (Like USPDF or the international comps) without tricks. Never. Dancing usually doesn’t have anything to do with it. Some would argue that the pros even dance, like at all. LOL

there might be hope….i made a proposal to USPDF about having a category for the more dancey girls (similiar to xpose fitness where they have a floor/chair and pole dance with no inverts category) and a dance studio/group category as well. they said they are giving some thought to this!!! so there still might be hope. i am really trying to push behind this b/c there are so many good dancers out there. but even brook notary who had judged comps say pole dancing is lacking transitions, musicality, and things of that nature. here is her workshop description from USPDF: "It’s been an honor to judge the USPDF competitions for the past year. I’m in awe of the talent.Yet, I believe the area of transitions deserve more attention. In this class, pole dancers will focus on how to create strong transitions on and off the pole, and how to seamlessly create a beginning, middle and end without losing consistency. With choreographic guidance, floor work exercises, and pole to pole transition exercises, I’d like you to leave my class with a better understanding on how to perform a full-rounded routine."

so just keep sending in those emails to them to push for a category like this. i think its only a matter of time! i am keeping my fingers crossed https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_thumright.gif

[anngiern]

you ladies are funny!!! yes i am taking 2 of ambers workshops in NYC for USPDF along with 7 of my instructors and we are super excited. the girls voted on who they wanted to take workshops with back in December and Amber won hands down! i so want to take a pole dance sabbatical and just travel to all the studios in the US.

but you california girls are lucky!!! you have so many studios to pick from. i hope to get out there before the end of the year is up. i want to take classes from everyone https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_smile.gif pole dancing is fierce out on the west coast. but i will definitely make a stop by your studio ottersocks!

i lived in san fran for 7 months as a travel nurse and loved it out there.

[anngiern]

hey ladies,

someone just sent me a message about this post…somehow i missed this one for some odd reason.

we would love to host a pole jam!!! i have been trying to get to the one’s in dallas but my schedule hasnt been working. dumb question… so exactly how does everything work? i might not be able to open this up to our students b/c it will fill up too fast so i will probably just have to keep it a private event just for studio veena members from dallas and houston and any other surrounding cities. i might extend an invitation to my level 4 girls. let me know what i need to do and i can clear some time on the schedule for it. what is the typical format? (excuse my type "A"ness)

the best days for us would be a saturday (after 1pm) or sunday. m-f we are pretty filled to the max with classes. we will be closed march 18-21 b/c we will be in nyc for uspdf.

thanks https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_smile.gif

[anngiern]

ALSO…..

I’d hate to see some of the beauty, not just sexiness, but beauty go away. It already seems like no one wants to watch basics anymore and it’s already leaning towards all power moves.

charley….well i for one love watching the basics. even though i love the high power moves and looking forward to the uspdf and workshops, i love seeing a simple pole dance with creative tranisitions, musicality (something pole dancing is extremely lacking) costumes, power of eye contact, interaction with audience, and theatrics. to me its all about the energy and self confidence that someone can put out there and that makes it a powerful dance. ive seen many pole performances with super hard tricks but they were boring as hell. i have seen some very basic pole dances that were so full of energy and much more entertaining. i do enjoy watching Marlo from NYC…she does the hard stuff but her energy is amazing. and i love how she mixes her music to show she can do a little of everything from rock to hip hop to a booty pop. https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_bounce.gif
the winner of polesque 2010 that was held in NYC was awesome. she did do some hard tricks but she also had a good overall performance incorporating everything that makes a dance. plus her booty pop during the final four challenge was the bomb! she had so much personality and was an audience pleaser.

[anngiern]

here is another story on msn about pole dancing and the olympics. one of my friends forwarded to me today.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/35537139#35537139

sedusa studio is hot! i hope to take a lesson there someday as well when i get to cali again.