Adventures in Pole Dancing: Finding Inspiration Again
I returned to class last Friday and it was good to be back. I still don’t like the pole dancing scene (or lack thereof) in Chicago but I’m going to try to focus more on my goals. I know that I’m not here forever, and knew that when we decided to leave New York, but I should make the best of my time here. I’m trying to not focus so much on lack. I have a pole at home now so, between social networking sites for pole dancers (yes, they exist), YouTube, my girls back home in NYC and going to class every now and then, I could get back in the groove if I allow myself to.
Sometimes I get so frustrated about what I don’t have that I forget to find the positive in a situation. Positives in this case are that I really do like to pole dance, I want to get good, I want to get fit and I want to build up my strength again. Last week’s class focused on a variation of a move called “the cupid.” The cupid is basically you holding on to the pole with your thigh. You press the back of your knee to the pole and hold on the your shin down with the top leg while the bottom foot pushes into the pole. It’s the force created from your top leg pulling and your bottom leg pushing that holds you up.
Aerial Amy Mid-Cupid
The pic above features one of my first pole dance teachers, Aerial Amy, mid-cupid. She gives the best tips because she’s very technical and explains all the mechanics of how to execute a move. Despite several years of general dance classes under my belt, it was only when I started pole dancing in 2011 that I realized that I am a technical learner when it comes to movement. So, I’m glad to have had Amy as a teacher. But man do I miss her! Anyway, I haven’t been able to nail the cupid just yet. Sometimes when I try it, I get it, other times not so much. However, the variation of it that we worked on in class seemed to work out better. I can’t explain what that looks like but I’ll keep practicing in the meantime.
As far as finding inspiration, some of the videos from the Flight Club Winter Showcase have been rolling out and it’s motivating to relieve these ladies’ performances. It reminds me of when I first started pole dancing and I’d search YouTube for performance videos so that I’d have something to aspire to. I’m back in that space again and I’ll try to hold on to it for as long as I can and practice even when I don’t want to out of sadness or frustration. Documenting it here helps too. It gives me something to hold myself accountable for especially since there are at least two showcases coming up in the fall, and I want to put my bid in but I have to be better than I was during my first Flight Club.
In related news, here are some performances from Flight Club’s 2013 Winter Showcase:
Tiffany Chang gets flirty to Lana Del Ray:
Cesi Orellano does a melancholy routine to Rihanna:
Roz the Diva gets vulnerable to Maxwell:
Caitlin Goddard channels heartbreak via Me’Shall Ndegeocello:
I can’t post them all but all the women worked incredibly hard to pull off good performances. There was even a woman who combined her tango skills with pole. I love that type of creativity. But since I can’t be with my sisters in pole physically, here’s to Facebook, social media and my own will to prosper.
Category: Health/Fitness, Reflections
About the Author (Author Profile)
Starrene Rhett Rocque is a recovering journalist who often fantasizes about becoming a shotgun-toting B-movie heroine.Subscribe
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