darcit
Forum Replies Created
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I have a homemade pole in my basement. I made it out of pipe from the hardware store. It runs through a board that is screwed between the floor joists and is screwed into a flange that is bolted to the floor. I have also made a “stand alone” pole but I found that one to be VERY difficult to stabilize. I couldn’t do aggressive spins on it or any moves where much of my body weight was far from the pole.
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When I teach mixed level classes I try to have a different variation of the same move for everyone to be working on. For example, if we’re going to work on inverting, the very beginners would be laying on the floor working on arm and leg positioning, slightly more advanced would be working on standing tucks to build strength, more advanced than that would be working on basic invert, then chopper, then swirling the legs up into chopper, or spinning invert or aerial invert. That way everyone is working on the “same” thing without having to do exactly the same moves.
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Didn’t know about this either! I’m always sending my students to Studio Veena!
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I do use what I learned from the lessons in teaching, for sure! For additional instructor audio I was meaning things like “here’s tips on how to spot this move safely” or “here’s a different way of explaining/thinking through/breaking down this move”. I just know that every time I hang out with other instructors I learn a ton and get a bunch of new ideas just by hearing/seeing how they cue students and correct problems. So that’s kinda what I was thinking…. I have no idea how/if it would work – it’s just additional content that I would be willing to pay for 🙂
And yeah, we’re still doing doubles together – PDA competition and (hopefully) Midwest Presentational this fall! -
I had the lessons for a little over a year. There’s several reasons I didn’t renew.
1. At the point that my subscription was up I had mastered everything on the site a while ago and hadn’t used the lessons for several months. I understand that there is new advanced content now, but it’s hard to justify the $99 to learn one or two new moves. I, however, think the $99 is an amazing deal for someone who can use more of the lessons and always tell my students about it!
2. My focus has become doubles pole and any “for me” pole time I have away from teaching is focusing on doing that.That being said if there were “how to teach” this move lessons on here for pole instructors I would be signed up in a heartbeat! I love how Veena breaks down the moves, explains points of contact and what muscle groups are being used. Even if it was just a supplemental audio to the same video with her talking through how she would teach a move.
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Little late to this as well, but I also live in MN!
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Any time Thursday evening before 9 CST/10 EST works for me.
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I like the It Works ProFIT protein powder. I really like that I can bake with it – so most of the time I make homemade protein bars to have after my workout instead of having a shake.
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I would definitely be up for that! Any of the days would work or Thursday evening. Either on Veena or Skype would work for me.
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I’ve found that practicing by grabbing farther down my shins helps me pull into a more arched position.
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I’ve had a lot of success with having people get into it from shooting star/jasmine. That way the hips are already mostly turned. And the push out with the bottom hand allows you to grab the pole above your top knee with the top hand. Then it’s just a matter of arching your back and letting your hips drop.
As for exits – if you’re flexible enough you can reach back and go into figurehead. Or you can lean forward and drop down into Gemini -
Everything I’ve read is pretty much what Flighter said. Indian and Chinese pole were practiced primarily by men as a form of training. Then they moved to the circus, then to traveling burlesque acts (which often traveled with the circus and used the same tents – and hence the poles). And then moved to clubs as the traveling shows went away.
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Definitely sounds like more of a “can’t get the position right” thing. Do try it up higher. I can’t do machine gun from the ground yet. I struggled with it till I tried it up high and then it just clicked.
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This is the best Machine gun tutorial I’ve seen so far – she does a great job of explaining how/where to place the legs. https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=387604378044035&set=vb.130524217085387&type=2&theater
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I use the term to describe the type of pole that my partner and I do, since it combines elements of acro dance and acro yoga with pole. Very much like Lina Spiralyne said, the “floorwork” is where the heavy acro influence comes in. I don’t think something being acro means that it can’t be sexy. I think a lot of acrobatic dance routines are sexy. This one is the first example I could find quickly on youtube… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xaZxZqPprtw
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As a teacher I try to have different variations on the same move so that everyone can be working on the “same” thing at the same time.
With some less advanced students making sure they don’t get discouraged watching the more advanced students can be a challenge. Or, with other students, the challenge is to keep them from doing something that they see a more advanced student doing that they’re not ready for yet. -
Oh! I want to know when you’re in Fargo! That’s only two hours west of me!
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Sorry. You mentioned the reverse grab in your first post so I thought you were talking about one handed spins. For two handed spins a lot of it still applies. You can still do the hanging on to the pole, engaging the muscles and letting the feet slide down to the floor – just with two hands on the pole. 🙂 And trying the “pole hop” that Veena has on here and gradually letting it get bigger and bigger can help too!
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LOL Lyme Lyte! Yeah, there’s lots of odd fetishes out there! The armpit one isn’t that uncommon – I’ve had several guys pay me to smell my armpits – but I’ve never worked in a club where they would have been allowed to lick them. Maybe then I would have gotten that too. 😛
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Don’t know if you have this problem solved now or not – but I’ll throw in my two cents. From reading your posts I was a little unsure if you were just having trouble with the reverse grab or if you’re having trouble with all your one handed spins. I’ll start with ideas for if you’re having difficulty with all your one handed spins. If it’s just the reverse grab – skip this part 🙂 One handed spins are fundamentally different than two handed spins because you need far stronger muscles in the shoulder and arm to do them. Think about it this way – you’re basically doing a one armed pole hang. It’s the full engagement of the muscles in the shoulder, arm, and back that allow you to do the spin with the maximum amount of momentum (and therefore revolutions around the pole). If you’re not engaging those muscles fully and you’re “dropping into” your shoulder then you’re probably squeezing your hand more tightly to compensate and keep you on the pole. This will drastically limit your momentum and force you into a scary “falling forward” position – which most people bodies respond to by clenching the hand tighter (completely involuntarily) and further stopping the spin. At this point I usually have my students start by holding onto the pole with one hand, thinking about engaging the muscles that they would be using if they were doing a pole hold and then allowing themselves to slide down till their knees are on the floor. Sometimes they get a rotation with that – sometimes they don’t. We then work up to where they can walk around the pole and allow themselves to “fall forward” (while keeping everything engaged) and work up to lifting their feet off the floor as they do this. It helps their brain learn that their body is going to catch them and it helps their body learn how to do this at the same time.
As far as the reverse grab goes – it’s actually not a spin you “fall into”. That’s the reason so many people consider it an advanced spin. You’re pushing your body out away from the pole and then your arm is pulling you back into the pole. Which is a really scary thing to ask your brain to do. So the ability to fully engage the arm, shoulder and back muscles are even more important. I let people start on this spin only once they can do all the basic spins one armed – just because I want them to be absolutely certain that their arm will hold them before they start flinging themselves away from the pole and then expecting their arm to bring them back in. To start with this spin I have them stand beside the pole with everything engaged, then step away from the pole and fall back in. This is the basic motion that happens in the spin and as they become more comfortable with it they start adding a push to the movement away from the pole – which creates the spin. Veena has an awesome lesson on the reverse grab – which will give you all the mechanics in way more detail too!
Hope maybe a little of that helps…. -
I definitely think it depends on where you are. $2000 nights certainly aren’t common – but they are completely possible in clean clubs. However, it has to be a club that has a VIP room where you’re making $250 to $500 an hour to be in there (and yes, I have worked in completely clean clubs where that happened). In a clean club that just offers dances I think it would be extremely unlikely (but again, not completely impossible if you met the right guy). Overall, here in the US I would expect $250 – $700 a night at the clubs I usually work at, with occasional highs and lows) .
Overall, I would say think about 3 things – your personality, your market (what type of area you’re going to be dancing in) and the club. Those will make or break your experience.
Personality: You definitely have to have a strong personality to dance and not be bitter because of it. I’m not sure that anyone can go through any experience in life and not change (kind of what learning from life is), but you’re going to need a pretty strong and positive sense of self to not let all the negativity that can be present in clubs get you down. If you can’t just brush off men and women (often women who come in are worse than the men) telling you everything that is wrong with you think carefully about this. As for me, I also enjoy the power and the mind games that come from being a dancer – but you have to be sure that those mind games are only being played in one direction. If the customers are getting to you, then things are going to go downhill (both financially and emotionally) fast.
Your market is simply – what kind of area are you going to be working in? Is it blue collar? White collar? A tourist area that’s going to have seasonal fluctuations? Is it in an upscale part of town? Out in the country? Where the club is located is going to have a direct effect on it’s clientele. And different people work well with different clientele. I, for example, avoid large clubs in upscale areas with generally white collar clientele. I’m a tomboy at best and I don’t do well in these clubs. However, I can rock out a ton of money in a touristy area or a small country club.
Finally – get to know the club. Go visit. Talk to the dancers (but do it on a slow night/time so they’ll actually have time to talk to you). I’ve worked at clubs where the management is awesome. I’ve worked at (and walked out of halfway through the night) clubs where the management was doing drugs at the bar or was just in it to sleep with all the dancers. Some clubs are especially welcoming to new dancers, with the older dancers helping them out with everything from makeup to pole tricks. At other clubs new dancers are very much held at arms length till they prove themselves. And at a few clubs the “regular” dancers will be downright mean to new dancers. Also, get to know what the club expects from you. Do you need to wear an evening gown on the floor? Do you have to be naked by the end of your stage set? How much do they charge you to work there? How much do they take out of each dance? Out of stage tips? How much you have to spend on appearance (costumes, hair, makeup, nails, shoes) and how much of the money you make you give to them will both effect what you end up going home with at the end of the night.
Ok, this has gotten really long. Sorry about that everyone. Feel free to message me if you want more thoughts/info.
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The guy I do partners pole with definitely has found that shaving his inner thighs helps a lot with his grip in things like pole sit!
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That’s an awesome idea! I think I may have to steal it! 😀
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I know it’s frustrating to not be able to get a move as soon as you want it. But, for many, many people two months is an incredibly short time to get their invert in. I have students who have taken well over a year to get their basic invert. Contrary to the word “basic” in the title this is not an easy move. It requires strength in a lot of different muscle groups, the coordination of those muscle groups and good technique. Just because you haven’t achieved one particular move, YET, out of the thousands out there that are possible, doesn’t mean that you’re not suitable for pole dancing. There are tons of moves you can do that don’t require a basic invert and working on those will help you gain the strength and (often the technique) needed to do that basic invert. I’ve been poling 16 years, I teach pole, and there are still moves that, for whatever reason (lack of strength, lack of flexibility) I still can’t do. It doesn’t mean I’m not suitable for pole dancing. It means I need to pole dance more and harder so I can maybe eventually do those moves. You will get this eventually! Enjoy the journey to get there!
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It Works’ ProFit is one I like.
