[polergirl]

Joyful, at first I felt slightly dorky, but as long as the song was one that I was reallllly feeling, the dorky feelings went away quickly. I posted a video from last weekend that was almost all floorwork, with a tiny bit of pole.

Sometimes I will start dancing with a challenge for myself. Get all the way across the floor without getting up, or without a traditional crawl, etc.  That gets my head thinking in different ways, which I think is really good for a dancer.

[polergirl]

So, I'm intrigued by the description of this move.  What is the finished position? Are you sitting low on the pole, are you on the ground, are you on your feet…..??

[polergirl]

Kobajo, thanks for the tips. I'm holding my extended butterfly in a slow slide down the pole, at the last second I usually swing around into a flatline scorpio for the last few inches to the floor…so to answer your question I'd say, extended butterfly for anywhere from 5-7 seconds? Maybe longer, you know how time loses all meaning when on the pole. 😉

Polekitten, I'm glad it's not just me! I have a feeling this is one of those moves where I'll get frustrated and stop trying it for however long, then all of a sudden whammo! I'll have it. At least I hope that's the case!

[polergirl]

Thanks, I'll check out the vid…and your tip about moving slowly up from jacknife, because it's pretty solid. 

[polergirl]

I just thought of something else–when you invert, where are you aiming to catch the pole when you go up? If you aim to just get your foot/ankle onto the pole, and now your foot is technically however many inches longer, you will need to adjust accordingly until it gets into your muscle memory.

Also, echo what glitterhips says–you do now have a little extra weight at the ends of your feet, and that may also be making a difference.

[polergirl]

What usually happens is that you can't push off the ground as easily with heels–so even though you may not have realized it, you're probably still giving a little hop to get into inverts. I struggled a little bit with this and noticed it was exactly that. Now heels=no problemo because I continued conditioning myself until I could just pull up with my core.  You shouldn't be using different muscles per se.

[polergirl]

Let's say there's a move you like, but your body simply isn't built to do it. Do you just say "OK, I won't do that move" or do you find a workaround?

Example–forearm grips. I have very long forearms and very short upper arms. This presents a problem conformationally in the forearm grip because I can't get much contact on the pole (can't twist arm around pole enough to get really good forearm contact. I have elbow grip down pat, and am working on split grip (have it for some things, not at all for others, just posted about it in fact!). So what's a dancer to do? I'm curious as to what you've experienced by way of "hey, my body just doesn't seem to fit into that move."

[polergirl]

Yep, what chemgoddess said. You can put serious strain on your rhomboids doing this move–especially when coming out. And from my own experience (*le sigh*) they can take a long time to heal, but  you have to let them heal FULLY before you go back to traditional inverted work.

[polergirl]

Hello to another Ohioan, from one! I'm down in Columbus.  Welcome!! 🙂

[polergirl]

I'm hoping I can make it to Kickstand this go round…I was so sad I didn't get to meet you ladies the last time you were all in town!!!!

[polergirl]

Other dancers have mentioned this, but it bears repeating–teaching will be GREAT for your own progression (and pole sanity). If you start to get nervous, take a little time to breathe and think about the fact that there's a reason you were asked to teach this class. Every instructor has a different gift that he/she brings to the class, and those gifts are SO valuable!!

FYI, I'm going to be 40 (gasp!) in March and am doing things I never, ever thought I'd be able to do. Pole has given me a body that's better than what I had 10 – 15 years ago and I carry myself differently too.

[polergirl]

Thanks for the tips, all! I worked a little on spinny today…am posting the video now. One thing I learned: on static, my lines are OK. When on spinny, lines=BLEAH. I really, really need to improve my holds if I'm going to do much on spinny, lol.

 

 

[polergirl]

Seeing as how Shadow does some CRAZY SICK AWESOME stuff on spinny, I'll heed that advice!

I'll try that today. Thanks, Charley! XOXO

[polergirl]

I think for most dancers, until they find their own "sweet spot" and balance point, it hurts. Try to work into it by leaning most of the way back, then crossing over and going the rest of the way…like you're going into a wrist sit. It'll cut down on the skin twisting.

Also, are you engaging your thighs, rolling them inward, and clenching your butt muscles? I refer to it as "IRS audit ass" and it creates a little triangular bed of muscle that helps make the CKR and CAR more secure and less painful, at least in my experience.

It's like with any new pole trick–it hurts at first but then one day you've got it, no more pain! 🙂

[polergirl]

I have a virtual Charlie's Angels of wigs (blonde, brunette, redhead) that I got from Wigs.com and have been really happy with them. They're from Forever Young–not human hair, they're synthetic, but they're a good synthetic lol. They stay on well and are comfy. I *love* wearing wigs–I'm way way way too impatient to grow my hair out, so wigs are it for me! 🙂

[polergirl]

OMG, I think my first album was Wham. https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_confused.gif  How embarassed am I??

[polergirl]

My prep for shoulder mount included a zillion SM pullups (dead lifting legs as far up as they'd go, repeat repeat repeat repeat) and doing an SM from a kneeling position so I knew I had the core strength to get up without having to kick up. Are you able to stand or kneel at the pole and bring your knees to your chest without kicking at all? If so, you're right–you're probably ready. If not, I'd continue building strength, and one day it will surprise you and just happen!

For me, the double cupped grip is the most secure and versatile, but I have seen SMs with every grip you could imagine and they're beautifully done, so like you said, it's about finding the one that feels good to you.

 

[polergirl]

Dangerous has KILLER floorwork. OMG.

[polergirl]

Our own PhillyPoleJess–the chair/pole routine she did for a gig absolutely mesmerizes me. I have watched it probably a dozen times, at LEAST.

 

And on youtube…RhiannonNichole, pretty much everything posted from a year till now is in my inspiration file. I love the way she moves, I love the way she dances, her transitions are fluid and creative, I could watch her for hours.   http://www.youtube.com/user/RhiannanNichole?blend=2&ob=1#p/u

 

 

[polergirl]

I feel like I have my own style, but I'm continually developing it–that is to say that finessing it's always a work in progress, but my base "style" has always been pretty much what it is. For me, getting to the point where I didn't feel like I was simply going through the motions or doing moves/transitions I'd seen someone else do, in the way they did it, was the result of a LOT of freedancing. I would put on an hour, maybe two hours, of music and just dance. Tricks, no tricks, didn't matter, what mattered was that I would just move and keep moving. Certain things, certain ways of moving my body, felt so much more natural! And there were the beginnings of my style.

[polergirl]

You'll probably catch on fairly quickly thanks to your background but pole does require a different kind of strength, so yes, start at the very beginning and build up!  🙂

[polergirl]

I am sad beyond sad that I live so far away. This is like my pole idol lineup. *SOB*!!!!!

[polergirl]

Oh Lordy, I discovered Body by Brazil a while ago and have been drooling over their stuff ever since. Maybe we should arrange a co-op, lol.

[polergirl]

I was nervous my first few times doing a handstand onto the pole, but after initial success I learned to love doing them.

What about walking the feet up the wall (or pole, whichever) into a handstand, just to get the feel for where your arms/head/body/legs all need to be in order to maintain your center of balance?  I think Veena has a lesson on this…..it's also a great strengthening exercise for your shoulders as long as you don't overdo it.    

Then practice coming down so your muscle memory gets trained to that motion. Then…try going up!

My $0.02 worth.

Is it fear of being heels over head? Or fear that you're not strong/balanced enough to hold it? It may help to figure that out too, so you can defeat it!! Good luck to you!

[polergirl]

Sounds like the Roxy to me….?

Here's a Karol vid — the Roxy is the first thing she does.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRn3VsG248Y