polergirl
Forum Replies Created
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Charley, I'll try that. My caterpillar is solid in elbow or split grip so maybe pulling my hips away from the pole and taking my feet off will help me find my balance bit by bit. I don't want to rush it, I just feel like I should be able to do this move and that there's just something I'm missing!
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I hope this thread will inspire more dancers to post videos! I love watching them. 🙂 Mine tend to be unedited because I'm too lazy, lol. Props to those of you who edit your vids so beautifully!
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Oh, whatever you do, DON'T STOP DOING THE HAIR FLIPS. Those are wicked sexy, woman. Almost makes me wish I had more hair, lol. You have great energy–maybe try doing a few ultra-slow moves combined with the faster stuff to create some additional drama?
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Lainey, I'm a little surprised about that….IME, trying new moves with heels on is a quick way to a rolled ankle! Plus a lot of dancers dance barefoot anyway. Jenyne Butterfly has some of the most lovely routines out there and in many of them she's not wearing shoes.
But I digress, lol. Jennasmom, keep doing tucks and other conditioning while holding the pole and keeping your shoulders back/down/engaged, and one day you'll surprise yourself with how easy it is to lift your hips over your hands and BAM you'll be upside down!
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Shellectra, with the shooting star…and you may have already noticed this…if you can push your hips way forward it will improve the hold, and it'll look much better. It is a very pretty move!
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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.
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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…..??
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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!
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Thanks, I'll check out the vid…and your tip about moving slowly up from jacknife, because it's pretty solid.
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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.
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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.
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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."
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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.
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Hello to another Ohioan, from one! I'm down in Columbus. Welcome!! 🙂
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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!!!!