[anngiern]

My experience was similar to Amy’s at Crunch. It was like a free-for-all in a sense. Close to 20-something girls in the class and only two instructors. There were two students in the class who mentioned that this was their first time taking pole, and one of them ended up doing a CAR (maybe I was jealous because I was too afraid to try it at my own studio, lol.)

I wonder which class the woman was in when she was injured. At the NYC Crunch locations, there’s Pole Dancing and then there’s Turning Tricks. Not that it makes much of a difference, but I wonder if there was pressure/eagerness to try in invert if she was in the advanced class.

I also would like to know if the Crunch instructors are certified. I know that some of them teach at Body & Pole.

hmmm…i had received a link to this story from a student….

i have to say this is why i am glad we teach our pole dancing in levels. we have been pressured to just to do mixed levels classes but we stuck with what we believed in. i know people dont always like it but IMO it is just safer. i compare it to something like gymnastics, karate, or cheerleading…you just cant walk off the street and go into an advanced class. pole dancing is really hard to monitor in that format when you are teaching aerial tricks. we do have mixed level classes like cardio pole, freestyle pole, but they have to have at least 3 months pole dance experience to participate. mixed level classes are better when its experienced pole students IMO.

we teach inverts in level 3…and i feel so much better as an instructor knowing that my students have been poling for 4 months continously before they attempt inverting.

i agree empyrean……i just hope the pole championships get this much press!!!!!!!!

Anngiern, are you at PoleLaTeaz? When I saw level 3 (because that’s when I learned my first invert) and cardio pole it reminded me of PoleLaTeaz. I left Atlanta after 5 months at PoleLaTeaz to move to NYC.

Yes SandyBrown I do! I am the founder and owner of PoleLaTeaz in Atlanta and Houston….hopefully more cities to come.

I just hate to see people getting hurt. You really need to condition your body for this type of activity….I think people downplay that aspect of it sometimes. Especially when you are dealing with everyday women who might not be as physically active as others or not currently working out on a continuous basis. But thats why I love teaching b/c I get a chance to get women in shape and help them achieve their goals https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_smile.gif

[anngiern]

personally im sorry but, id be willing to travel to see this than a pole superstar show anyday =D

more info more info! https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_cheers.gif

castleousider,

what happened? what feedback do you have into what makes a good show? just curious.

[anngiern]

hmmm…the uspdf is looking for studios/owners to host a regional. i am emailing them today to clarify some things. maybe that might be a good avenue.

[anngiern]

does he want to hold the event at his club or another location?

[anngiern]

country can be fun…couldnt do it everyday but i like "save a horse ride em cowboy" (climb the pole put that cowboy hat on and ride it!),
"Honky Tonk Badonkadonk"’
I also like "where have all the cowboys gone" not country but it says cowboy in it! lol!
I also love "blue jeans blues" by zz top.

[anngiern]

which club is it? that can make a big difference and how he wants to promote it. especially when it is a male owner..sometimes they want to push the whole sexual, 3 girls on the pole thing which i know my students would not be into. my other location in atlanta…we did something for a club and it was nothing like we wanted. we didnt even get a chance to pick out our own music. we discussed these things beforehand but then they changed it up at the last minute…but it was his club so there wasnt much that we could do.

but i do know of other pole dance studios who have paired up with dance clubs and it has been successful. i would just want to pair up with someone who is going to promote all styles of pole dancing…artistic, sexy, bootyshakin’ style, and acrobatic styles.

just make sure everyone is on the same page as to what they want.

[anngiern]

cool…thanks fleur…looking forward to both of your workshops https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_smile.gif

[anngiern]

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
what is the description for the pole choreography class? I am super excited https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_smile.gif

[anngiern]

hmmmm..i have to agree with what most people are saying..a pole dance can be what you want it to be to suit your style.
i think they might have used the term "authentic" as referring to the styles in strip clubs since in the united states people tend to associate it with that before anything else. the "authentic" meaning exotic dance is based upon freestyle and individual self expression and not a dance with traditional roots such as counts and structured choreography.

a good dance (to me) is when the perfomer puts all of their emotions into their dance. you can feel their energy through their dance…and to me that makes for a good performance. i do love all the hard pole tricks but i do gravitate towards someone who dances with fluidity and energy. it keeps me engaged in the dance.

but in the end its all about you and what you like.

[anngiern]

Hey ladies,

In case you are still deciding which workshops to take, here is my workshop desription:

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 and strength in a safe manner. You will then learn a routine incorporating tricks, transitions, and floowork. Amber will show you how to construct a balanced choreography and will break down each movement so that it is appropriate for all levels while teaching you her signature balletic style which emphasizes extensions and fluidity.

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

is the one on saturday with uspdf and the one with body and pole the same one? there was no description on the uspdf but it just stated it was intermediate/advanced.?

thanks

[anngiern]

I am not an instructor but I have the ability to observe a move, break it down and teach it to someone else even if I cannot execute the move myself. There are a lot of moves I cannot do due to range of motion and flexibility.

Would you have already tried that move to realise you can’t execute it? I’m talking about instructors who may have seen a picture of a move, but have never seen it done or never attempted to do it. Take, for example the RG into Pretzel – the instructor did not know what that was – I know it’s an advanced spin, but surely you would know that one…..

Maybe I’m giving them too much of a hard time but I like people to know what they are doing before they try to teach it to me https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_biggrin.gif

loopielou….there are tons of moves out there and that wouldnt not surprise me if an instructor has not seen a move. and also certain moves can vary depending on what area of the country you are in as well…..yes many people can break down a move but can possibly not execute themselves.
my advice would be to find a studio that teaches the advanced moves….keep in mind that not all instructors have the desire to learn extremely advanced moves…. maybe their focus is more beginner to advanced and transitions….plus as instructors we want to preserve our bodies b/c we want to keep teaching https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_smile.gif the more advanced you get their is an increased chance of injuring yourself.

[anngiern]

hmmm…i had received a link to this story from a student….

i have to say this is why i am glad we teach our pole dancing in levels. we have been pressured to just to do mixed levels classes but we stuck with what we believed in. i know people dont always like it but IMO it is just safer. i compare it to something like gymnastics, karate, or cheerleading…you just cant walk off the street and go into an advanced class. pole dancing is really hard to monitor in that format when you are teaching aerial tricks. we do have mixed level classes like cardio pole, freestyle pole, but they have to have at least 3 months pole dance experience to participate. mixed level classes are better when its experienced pole students IMO.

we teach inverts in level 3…and i feel so much better as an instructor knowing that my students have been poling for 4 months continously before they attempt inverting.

i agree empyrean……i just hope the pole championships get this much press!!!!!!!!

[anngiern]

unfortunately we live in a very "let me sue you" for every little thing type of society. it depends on how the studios’s curriculum is set up. many people feel they have the strength to do these very advanced moves when they should be working on strength training to build those muscles before trying to attempt these moves. but unfortunately students at times do not listen to what instructors are telling them. i have many students who come to the studio and have been teaching themselves on youtube and they want to learn every trick in the book. i tell them you have to crawl before you walk and need to learn the basics before rushing into things and overusing muscles. but they go home anyway working on shoulder mounts when they are unable to even do a fireman. and then of course they are injured a few weeks later.
i try to educate so many women that pole dancing is like any other dance form…it takes time. ballet takes a long time to master, salsa dancing, swing dancing…etc….you cant just learn it overnight. i believe that exotic/pole dancing you can master faster than other dance forms but not that fast.

in the end anything can be unsafe…but you definitely can decrease the risk by putting certain things in place first. i know that we added an advanced pole conditioning and strengthening series that we recommend students take a few times before going to the advance pole tricks class. also doing cross training with aerial arts performers (circus/silks) helps instructors and owners to keep up their spotting and strengthening skills.

[anngiern]

ughh…i know this is frustrating for you. have you thought about maybe showing some video footage of when pole dancing was featured on Oprah? (s factor has a clip on their page) or maybe veena doing the interview with jennyne butterfly? just some kind of footage showing how pole dancing has affected women from a health perspective…just wondering if he sees everyday women talking about how this has helped them (lose weight,increase self-confidence,etc….) maybe he will see it from a different standpoint. i would just really stress the health benefits.

i am a nurse and our country has serious weight issues that ends up affecting our health. heart disease is the number one killer for women. prevention is always the key to a healthy life (and cheaper). so when i am dealing with people who don’t’ understand or disagree with what i do i present these types of facts to them and it really helps them to understand better or at least develop some tolerance to it.

[anngiern]

hello awipeanut,

we specialize in pole dance photography…our main location is houston but our other photographer is in atlanta a couple days week and we can do one there at our studio location in atlanta (if you dont mind driving to atl).
here is a link to our website and you can check out the "pole gallery" for examples of how our photos turn out.
http://www.pinkboudoirphotography.com

hope that helps or at least steers you in the right direction.