[polergirl]

I’m glad you all like her. I am on a real transition kick right now. Pole tricks are fun, but trick-trick-trick-trick isn’t really dancing, at least not to me. I want to slink around on the floor, and find new ways to get into spins, and rock out with my bad self! So let’s just say I have been trolling youtube a lot of late looking at transitions and watching dancers’ styles. I have my own style, and I love it, but at the same time it’s easy to fall back onto the same "comfortable" transitions. I feel the need to push the envelope a titch. https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_mrgreen.gif

[polergirl]

Thanks so much. It is hard, and sure, inner beauty is where it’s really at, but every single human being has something they can like about themselves physically. I just think we need to allow ourselves to see it, and then admit that we like it!

Keep it up, SVers! And remember–no apologies, no "well, if it weren’t for X, I would really like Y." I’m going to be a hard-ass on this one. https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_geek.gif

[polergirl]

Yeah, she does a quick grip switch and I’ve got that, and I’ve got momentum enough. What I don’t have (yet) is the control to slide into the chair and swishhhhhh it around. Her feet are barely barely touching the floor, so she’s using her core to hold the position, from what I can tell, and the feet are just there to stabilize a bit maybe.

I think most of it is practice…some moves you just have to do them a lot to make them look good and to have good form.

A few things…did you not her hand grip?

The transition she used to get into it? Sometimes the transition preceding a move is just as important as the mechanics of the move you are doing. (or at least a similar transition)

There is also something to be said for the surface she is dancing on and the shoes she is wearing. Looks like she is able to glide her feet across the floor.

Of course she is strong as well!

[polergirl]

Positively lovely! I had a photo shoot last night and discovered that it was a lot harder than I thought it’d be. You make it look so easy! https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_cheers.gif

[polergirl]

http://www.youtube.com/lajuanomega" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I just watched your floorwork video. H-O-T. I’m now a subscriber and a fan!

[polergirl]

Update: we had the shoot last night, and for those of you who have wanted to do it but maybe the thought made you nervous, I say DO IT!!! Oh gosh, I had just the best time. First of all, the hair and makeup girls were amazing. Amazing. I wish they would follow me around in my everyday life and make me look that hot all the time lol. And the photographer is a former dancer at our studio, so she was great with direction, and she was very creative in placing herself to get interesting angles.

It was way, way more physically difficult than I would have thought, though. I mean, I’m strong, and I can dance 2-3 hours at a time in the studio. Holding a pose for a few seconds as part of a dance is fine. Holding it while someone is taking pictures and another someone (our studio owner was a photo stylist for a while so she helped, and what a huge help she was!!) is directing me to point this, see if you can spin that a tiny bit so you’re in better light, bend that leg more, turn this hip to pole, scootch shoulder away from pole, now tilt your head up, look to the side, etc. etc. etc…..was an exercise in endurance. Even tougher when upside down because you know how that makes everything feel kind of backwards, or least it does for me. They would say move your right hand up the pole, and I would move my left, and then they’d say "no, the tattooed one" and I’d get it right. https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_lol.gif

In the end, I wore my Hello Kitty booty shorts with a pink corset-laced tank top, then switched to black shorts and a studio tank for some "official" shots for the website and studio. I felt comfortable and a titch pixie/punk, which is my style, plus I wasn’t worried about girlie bits hanging out, hahahahaha.

I’ll share the photos when we get proofs back, and you, my SV compadres, can help me pick the best ones. https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_smile.gif

[polergirl]

Ohhhhhhhh, likey likey!!!! I need to favorite that shop!

[polergirl]

These days, I take full advantage of those off days to practice transitions, floor work, etc. I wish I had wised up earlier. My dancing has taken leaps and bounds forward since I started this practice. I say make the most of it and treat yourself to some gloriously slinky, stretchy moves. Your body …and your inner dancer… will thank you!!!

[polergirl]

For me personally, I wouldn’t want to lace my fingers because I want as much skin contact with the pole as possible. Lacing takes away one full hand’s worth of skin. Plus if they were laced I wouldn’t be as mobile and could risk torquing a wrist on the way up.

[polergirl]

I was the same way–I wanted to do the wild and amazing aerialist stuff more than anything. Luckily, I dance at a studio where dance is the name of the game. Sure we do inversions and tricks, but the emphasis is on weaving those into a dance, and I am really thankful for that.

At first, I felt like a total idjit. Didn’t want to "dance" at home because I was like you–I felt weird. But I forced myself to do two warmup dances that didn’t involve any tricks, and only a few spins in combination with exotic/floor work. It has opened up a whole new world to me. Doing trick after trick can get exhausting, but dancing is exhilarating for me!!!

Now I find myself trolling youtube for new exotic moves. https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_bounce.gif

[polergirl]

http://www.youtube.com/aretamarie

Hey! I have been subscribed to you for a while…had no idea you were here. https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_smile.gif
I love your style.

[polergirl]

Corn Huskers lotion is great–it’s glycerin-based and will not leave you oily at all. I have found that it’s the tiniest bit tacky when I first put it on, so I don’t plan to dress for a few minutes after applying.

[polergirl]

All I have to say after tonight is….CRANE?? Are ya kidding me, Tony? CRANE?????????????????? I did crow instead. https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_tongue.gif

[polergirl]

I’m not sure. I got mine for free when a friend couldn’t make it through the workouts and gave up. It’s 12 DVDs so I’m sure it’s not inexpensive. ?

[polergirl]

I would love to hear about this as well. It is one HOTTTT move and lets a person cover a fair bit of ground without looking like it.

[polergirl]

She is Nadia. https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_smile.gif

[polergirl]

OMG, I am the original T-Rex girl!!!!! I am so aware of it that I have put all the other girls at the studio on high alert for it. Eeeep.

I was a farm girl and there were always chores, so dance class was not really an option. Gymnastics were OK because they were a sport. I’m not sure just why that made a difference, but it apparently did! I so so so wish my folks had put me into dance class instead.

I think best thing about the fine art dancers is that their hands always look pretty when they dance. I -try- to have pretty hands, but I look on my footage, and I’m always sporting a t-rex or babyarm.
…
Does anyone curse their mama for not putting them into child-dance? I find myself lately wishing I was one of those kids who was put into something useful like ballet or babygym. Seriously, Mom. BASKETBALL?! What the hell practical use does that have now!? Booooo!

[polergirl]

Soooooo…..you’ve had it for a couple days now. Has there been a night where you haven’t taken a little spin? I may not do full-on pole work every day, but never a day passes where I don’t do a little something on my beloved. https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_cheers.gif

Any new bruises to tell us about?

[polergirl]

I am 5’4" and would love to be 5’8" or so–the moves look so elegant when performed by a taller person, IMO. Or at least a long-limbed person, which I most decidedly am not, lol.

Go for it! At the very very very least it is an excellent workout–and it’s sex-ay as all heck too. Odds are, after he sees you dance, your BF will be scratching his head wondering why he ever, ever, ever said anything that would make you think twice about pole.

[polergirl]

Empyrean, you make a good point about the angles of the poses. I trust this photographer but will pay special attention in the mirror at the studio over the next few weeks to scout out good angles!

Do you know where I could find illusion net tops? I have checked locally and all I can find are the big fencenet tops. Would like one like I used to wear in bellydance….but in black, not royal blue. https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_biggrin.gif And I can’t for the life of me remember where I bought it. Online, I’m sure.

[polergirl]

YESSSSSS. In fact, I have felt stronger on the pole. I don’t do them immediately back to back, but I have not given up one for the other and it has been great!

I will say this, though. Ab Ripper X is the devil. https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_evil.gif Srsly.

[polergirl]

I was a gymnast and was fit but had no real dance background before I started poling. I ride horses (not as much as I used to) and (once upon a time) ran marathons, and that took up pretty much all of my time. This past summer I did a triathlon, my first and last thanks to a bad knee. My swim coach said he had never seen a "nonswimmer" with such strong shoulders/arms, back, and core. I credit pole with that!

Give it a go! You could surprise yourself with how good you are! https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_smile.gif

[polergirl]

OK, well, three days in and I love it. It is a workout for the person who likes to be a little masochistic in his/her exercise…..which, since I am part of the "I love bruises" culture of pole dance, fits perfectly. https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_mrgreen.gif

So far so good!

[polergirl]

Corn Huskers lotion is oil-free and is what I use on pole days. On days where I won’t be on the pole (OK, there aren’t very many of those…..), I moisturize as usual and think it helps me stay a bit stickier on pole days. Skin that’s too dry is every bit as slippery as skin that’s too oily, IME.

[polergirl]

I have some of the most beautiful bras and could totally do those with booty shorts, provided the photographer doesn’t get any "squinchy" belly pictures, lol. Though booty shorts have a tendency to roll down on my belly pooch. Do they do this to anyone else? How do you keep them in place?

MiniCooperGirl, I’ve tried to dance in corset-esque stuff before and found it just hindered my movement a bit more than I wanted.

Do any of you have favorite websites for dancewear? I’m (apparently) always on the lookout for new places to spend money. https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_moneyeyes.gif

ETA: It’s not that I hate my belly. I bellydanced for years and showed it off and had no problem. But poling exposes it in a whole new way, KWIM? It’s just not quite as toned as I’d like, and for the pictures’ sake I don’t want to be worried about it hanging all out. Maybe I’m just going to have to live with a little bit of that. I do trust the photog–she’s quite good!