monday, june 28, 2010 9pm advanced climb & spin w/Lauren (along side Suzanne and Kim)
song: "Love The Way You Lie (feat Rihanna)" by Eminem
this was a fun class and I definitely got to work on a few moves that I have been meaning to. the freehang felt good, as did working on my meatball (baseball grip hip circle) (this time, NInJa-style!). when we did the beginning pole work, it coincides with the slow Rihanna part fo the Eminem song and I thought "wow, ok, we're doing a slow song". so wrong. as soon as we out the moves to the song for the first time and stopped at our last move, Lauren started to go into the next move, as the rapping started. hilarious. should have known better.
I'm gonna let the movie speak for itself. these are just moves that were in the routine, that I had Suzanne tape after class was done. spot the blooper. ok, well there are a few, not so perfected moves, but one really great blooper.
at the beginning of the movie, I have a moment of a really nice straight body line going into the freefall and into the spinning climb. I can already feel that my spinning climbs are improving. I know that I fell out of the freefall a little soon and started to wrap my legs around the pole for the climb a little early, but they didn't touch until they both did at the same time, which is an accomplishment.
now, I make two attempts at the ninja meatball (baseball grip hip circle)- the first one is the best b/c my body does star horizontal for a longer period of time and it looks like I'm really leaning into the pole. it felt good to improve on that one. that went into a knee hook, folding over, chest out and up and into a reverse knee hang. still working on keeping my body away from the pole and not folding over myself in the beginning of that spin (it looks crazy awkward to me). the second attempt was not as good as the first, but how I "land" the reverse knee hang is a really great blooper! enjoy :)
song: "Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)" by Marilyn Manson
that was the motto for the entire class, not just me. I tend to hold my breath while dancing, so when it comes time to climb, I look like I'm about to die. and that's just not sexy. by holding my breath, it doesn't make me look like I'm enjoying what I'm doing (but I am!) and it only makes it harder on myself honestly. if I remember to keep my breath consistent, I know I'll enjoy the performance more and my body won't want to collapse on the floor after the routine is over. no one likes a gasping for breath pole dancer. Anna was hilarious climbing the pole, whipping her legs around and talking like a princess saying things like "My body is like air - I'm so light - This is so hard, but I look like I'm enjoying myself." hilarious, but so true. have to keep those positive thoughts, but all the negativity reads on your performance face.
I actually wrote down in my blackberry what the routine consisted of, so here I go, listing moves and hopefully getting it right...
3 steps into an inside skater spin, step back, then forward, getting into bicep grip position for a fan kick, chest swing against the pole, body waves (work the legs), a climb with a bow at the top, making sure that front leg is straight and pointed (it makes all the difference & looks so nice), bicep grip position, swinging body (mainly your butt) in front of the pole, descending by pedaling down through the air, nice and big movements, landing on the ground.
I went to see Michelle Stanek and Kyra from Body & Pole perform during the Femme Totale show at RBar on thursday, june 24th and their performances were great. ever since I met Michelle through Pole Superstar, I wanted to take class with her (and am signed up for tomorrow actually, tuesday, june 29th). Kyra I met at the Pole Convention and she just seemed like a lot of fun. after talking to Jill Anne and Kyra, I told them I'd be at the studio for the 5pm class the next day.
the studio is beautiful and very wide open, lots of mirrors. Lian checked me in and my first class was only $20. the class consisted solely of Jill Anne, Kyra and myself, so we got a ton of attention. their classes are 1.5 hours long, and I get it b/c their warm-up is so intense. which was great! I was sweating and ready to go home for dinner by the time I was done stretching and doing abs! Kyra also reminded me to breathe and not hold my breathe. constant problem I have.
we played around with a choreographed routine to a few different songs and we worked in a chair spin (which I wanted to work on), but I couldn't seem to get a grip on the pole and kept messing them up. perhaps this is because the studio has thicker poles than I'm used to at NYPD. the routine was slow and sensual and fun to work on. and then... we got to the climb...
while Jill Anne was inverting, working on her butterfly move, Kyra asked if I knew any tricks, to which I responded no. she asked me if she could show me one and I was game. let's try this! she had me climb up the pole, then basically get into a guy sitting position. you know what I mean. if we are climbing on the right, the left leg is hooked around the pole, and you bring your right ankle to cross overtop your left knee. not very ladylike :) but for a reason. she then had me grab my right ankle with my left hand and then lean/fall backwards. this was not easy. as soon as I crossed my legs (b/c I was afraid of going backwards and also b/c I was all sweaty), I started slipping down the pole... at a pretty rapid rate. if Kyra wasn't there underneath my body to spot my back, I would have slipped all the way to the ground. but she was there and had me just do it. it definitely felt weird, but after a few run-throughs with the routine, so just made herself known to me when I needed that spot and I finally got it down with the music. which felt great. knowing that you are hitting those marks in the music where it makes a statement, while at the same time, you're about to do a move that will emphasize it even more.
don't get me wrong, it was scary. and I do not have the strength to invert yet. I know that, but it was fun o try that little piece. however... as I was leaving the studio, I did feel horrible. I think during the beginning stretches, I pulled something in my right thigh and it was acting up as I was walking down the street. I could also feel the kick-ass bruise that I just knew I was going to have right next to my crotch, on my upper inner left thigh. this was where my thigh, once crossing my leg at the top of the climb, hit the pole as I fell backwards. I KNEW it was going to be major. and it was. it killed to have shorts on that were rubbing against it. every time I had to go to the bathroom that night (and the night after) and pull my pants down over the bruise, it killed. it may sound silly, but it really did. I took photos of how purple it got, the darkest being on Sunday morning, but I can't figure out how to get them off my blackberry right now. killer!!
as a side note, I called my Mom after this class to talk to her about my pole dancing and she said the following: "you're not doing this for a living, so don't go crazy taking classes and spending money." which is true, but I did explain all the benefits to her and told her I wasn't going crazy. it's fun even though it hurts. it's not a cheap sport, but I am working off a discounted package and I want to get better. the other week was a little crazy with the class schedule, but hopefully I'll be working on the recital piece soon enough :)
* and I have no idea why the formatting is all crazy on this post.
tuesday, june 22nd 6pm open pole w/Gabrielle 8pm booty camp w/Gabrielle (and Suzanne)
Grace, Novella and I worked on testing during this open pole class, since we were all in the beginning stages of testing. Gabrielle had seen us previously do some moves, so she went through the testing sheets and crossed off what she knew we had down. we worked on the following moves, plus a few I may have missed on writing down:
- sundial/double attitude spin - CHECKED OFF (finally)
- compass spin - hook the pole with your inside leg, then you whip your outside around, so when we land, you land outside, inside. need to make sure that my inside leg is vertical, with the pole, not angled out. very cool move.
- some variation of the compass that I can't remember the name of
- little lady, another variation of the compass spin - this is where you cross your outside over your inside when you whip the outside leg around. looks like your sitting on the outside of the pole, with only your inside leg hooked around the pole. this was a bit difficult for me b/c you have to get that leg crossed damn fast before your spin looses momentum. since my legs are a little bigger, it is harder for me to completely cross my legs, knees to knees, as quickly, but I'm working on it.
- knee hang - forward, not reverse. working on keeping my body leaned away from the pole and not gripping too hard and letting my body slide down the pole. also, keeping that top leg (which was originally hooked on the pole) bent, not straight. so both legs are bent around the pole when coming down. sort of looks like a side limb but falling down the pole in a spin.
- biceps & narrow baseball grip pullups - damn. I was that kid in elementary school that during the President's fitness challenge that couldn't do one pullup. seriously, I just hung there while the gym teacher urged me to just get one. didn't happen. and it didn't happen on these pullups either. whenever I would try, my heels never left the ground, even if it was only my toes. no jumping into it. plain arm strength to pull the weight of your body up on pole. something to work on.
- straddle spin - still working on getting those legs straight and up.
booty camp. kicked. my ass. Suzanne asked for ab work. and we got ab work. to be honest, I did stop a few times during a few things to work out some kinks in my body and to catch my breath. I get more gym cardio in my life. and I was sore the next day. not immobile sore (thank God), but sore enough to realize I need to get my ass in shape.
semi-private class w/Gabrielle and Suzanne, Pheon & Shirley
a little ago, Shirley had the idea to get us together to chip in for a semi-private class so we could all work on what we wanted to work on. I had wanted to work on choreographing my August recital routine, Shirley wanted to work on inverting and her routine and Pheon and Suzanne just wanted to invert with someone whom they thought could spot them and not get crushed if they fell on top of. haha :)
I brought my list of moves and my iPod shuffle so I could listen and play on the pole at the same time, but they proved to be difficult b/c I felt really strange trying to remember what moves I could do and how to get from move to move in the recital piece. with everyone inverting around me, I just felt a little weird trying to think of ways of putting together this routine and not looking awkward doing it. after an hour of standing around my pole, working on some climbs, descents, spins and trying to not cut up my hands any more, Shirley practiced/taped her routine and it came out fantastic! I followed with mine and really did find out that just putting the music on and moving to it really helped getting some ideas out of my head and onto the videotape, so that I could look back and think about when would be the best times to do some of those moves and have them go with the music. without even noticing it, I quit at 3 minutes and since the song is only 4, I'm sure I don't be cutting it down. it's just about getting those moves down pat that I know and really practicing them to death, so the routine is perfect.
Gabrielle also worked with me about how to go from the angel spin into a back hook, which I've included the video of here:
I have open pole with Gabrielle on Tuesday, so perhaps I'll try a little testing for half the class, then work on some moves for the recital piece as well. but for today, my hands are getting a much needed rest!
my friend and former-coworker, Heather Maggs was coming up to NYC this weekend and wanted to take a beginners climb and spin with me, so we signed up for this morning class. first off, there were 10 people in it, which was a little crazy. I am so used to taking class with small amounts of people, that it was a little bit of a shock. plus we were in the smaller studio, which didn't make any sense. I barely got my stretching in, since I was right next to the door that went into the lobby and people kept going through it.
I had never before taken a pole class with Gabrielle and was surprised at the combos we were doing right off the bat. not much of downtime, hip circles or transitional work like Lauren, but rather climb, descent, fan kick, spin, spin, splits, floor work and back up. Heather did a good job considering it was her first time and learned how to hold herself up on the first level of a climb. it was a great combo, but just a lot of moves and quickly at that. I do have to say that at one point, I did land a spin not directly on my right heel and fell off my shoe, sort of twisting my ankle a bit. even now, two days later, it's a bit sore, so I'm taking today off to give my ankle, hands and wrists a rest.
pheon walked into the studio and we asked Gabrielle is she was going to be doing the same routine and since it was a yes, I decided to stay and give it some more practice. so saturday I got two hours of pole in and realized I am gripping the pole too hard when I spin, thus causing the blisters and torn skin on my fingers and pole burn on my wrists. I DID however work out my chair spin, which is looking nice and really felt good about the routine at the end of the second hour. Pheon took video, so here we go!
pheon was supposed to make it to open pole this am, but wasn't able to due to work, so there were only 3 of us in open pole today. Anna did a good job taking her time with each one of us, going down the line and working with us on what we wanted to do in that hour. one girl was inverting, another was working on her illusions and I continued my testing. I should start working on my routine for August, but I'll do that on Sunday. it proved to be a good decision on my part because I checked off a few more things!
- lunges (spins) - CHECKED OFFoutside hook, making sure that knee is against the pole like a regular front lunge is, while the back leg is straight. start off with a basic star prep move and fall into the spin, using that outside leg to swing around and gain momentum for the spin. make sure not to look at the ground, but rather over your shoulder at your back leg. one thing that Anna mentioned is that once I put my stilettos on, I get a great deal of height, but I'm not using it to my advantage, I need to whip that leg around and get some spin on it.
- sundial/double attitude - still not checked off. this is the double attitude move that I described before. still need to get my torso straight and core tight, position my hip out and back, pulling my back leg back and towards the other side of my body. when I stood at the pole and Anna helped me just put my leg in the air, in the position it's supposed to be in the spin, damn that hurts! still have to work on this one, but I think I'm getting a bit better.
- straddle (spin) - ugh! keeping your body straight and your core tight is hard. it's all the little things that you have to think about that makes pole dancing harder than just whipping yourself around a pole. need to get those legs straight, even if they're not as high as they should be.
- floorwork - CHECKED OFF pedals, straddle waves, in/out, shoulder rolls (first time doing them! like a backwards somersault)
- transitions - CHECKED OFF hip circles, body wave, dips
I get a few great tips from Anna this morning: - she told me to overexaggerate my moves, don't be afraid to mess up, because it will force my body to reposition itself correctly (keeping core tight and straight). - she noticed a blister on my right pinky finger (damn it hurts!) and pole burn on my wrists. this is because I'm gripping the pole too hard and dragging my wrists against the pole. I need to LOCK my wrists when I do my spins and hold my arms correctly or else I'll end up with more pole burn (which was killing me today) and tension in my forearms (which I am totally feeling right now).
great open pole! can't wait for class with my friend Heather tomorrow morning then a semi-private class with Suzanne, Shirley and Pheon on Sunday evening. gotta get ready for the recital!
there were four of us in class last night and the routine was a lot of fun. it was actually just a spin class, we didn't get to any climbs. probably because we were working on out freehang angel legs spin into outside hook (fireman spin). making sure that your body stays away from the pole, you keep your body straight and don't go flying everywhere takes a lot of work, but I did well with it and went into the outside hook after a few tries. ok, not just a few tries. a lot of tries :) but it definitely felt good!
the routine started with 2 half divets, followed with a full divet (repeat this 3 times), step into a full turn around the pole, a half illusion, stepping your inside leg out far enough so you don't get caught up in it during the next part. bring your outside leg to the inside leg, stick it out in the air and slide down the pole on your back, with one leg straight and the other bent. the floorwork included some flutters, straddles and rolling into position to pick your legs up from underneath you into a straddle and then onto the floor in a squat position. I was better at getting that straddle in on my right side, didn't do it on the left. once up, we took it into that freehang angel into outside hook. not took crazy of a routine and it was great to work on that freehang, which I'd only tried once before.
I returned from Maryland on Tuesday night and jumped right back into the thick of it with a beginner's climb & spin class with Kira on Wednesday morning at 11am. Pheon also decided to take class with me and it was just the two of us :)
the top of my right foot that got all scratched up last week from the brass pole is still healing, but my right hands have healed completely. however... I think I must have jammed my left hand somehow b/c it seems as if my middle and ring finger on my left hand are stiff to the point of aching and unable to grip things as tightly as before. last night I put a splint on the middle finger, but I think something is messed up around the middle knuckle, b/c that's the area that hurts. I will say that my hand still aches now (Thursday morning) and it was definitely hard to grip the pole with my left hand, especially when we were doing the routine on my left side yesterday. we'll see how today goes.
back to the class. I had never taken class with Kira before and she was very different than the other teachers. she had us practice our chair spins and climbing with a stag descent before going into the routine. then we just added those into it. I had attempted the chair spin at home at Xpose, but Kira really cut it down step by step so you had an understanding of what exactly you were supposed to do to get into the spin. the same with the stag descent. we worked on (at the top of the climb) really taking the time to get that bicep grip in place before moving our body to the side of the pole, straight legs, then going into a stag, with the outside leg bent and the inside leg straight. Kira said that my bicep grip was looking really good and it felt nice to slowly take the time and get the fundamentals down. She is all about getting the basics down and taking the time to do so. it was a great class. I look forward to taking another class with her since my days are open.
Wed, June 9th: pole level 3/4 @ Xpose Fitness in Annapolis, Maryland
I've been home in Southern Maryland since Fri, 6/4th and it was about time that I made my way to Xpose for a pole class. I only knew that this studio was here b/c Lauren (from NY Pole Dancing) started pole dancing at their Towson location years ago. I called the other day to ask if I needed a reservation and if I could wear my stilettos. NO & NO. damn, so my (well, Annie's) broken stilettos made it all the way to Maryland for nothing! a little disappointed that I couldn't dance in stilettos (your heel has to have the surface space of atleast a quarter), but I happily went barefoot and everything was ok. I figured I could skip to levels 3 and 4 b/c I know how to climb. it all worked out for the best :)
first it was super easy to find, off of Riva Road in Annapolis and everyone there was super friendly! from the front desk to my instructor, Rachal and my fellow classmates, it was awesome. one thing that I was not prepared for was the existence of brass poles in the studio. damn. I could tell my fingers were hurting more than ever, but I didn't realize that trying to do the spins on the brass pole was actually rubbing my skin to the side and opened up like a blister would. brass poles are used by top level dancers b/c they are "stickier" than chrome poles (which we use at NY Pole Dancing). my hands (and tops of my feet) were not prepared, as you can see!
in the beginning of the routine, Rachal demonstrated a carousel spin, where you are basically in a sitting position and you whip around your outside leg, ending where your outside leg is straight and your inside (pole) leg is bent. I tried this, but had trouble keeping my core straight and legs up, so I did a chair spin, where it looks like I'm sitting on the outside of the pole while I spin around. I just need to work on getting my legs up and not just underneath me, dangling for dear life!
Rachal took that straight into a reverse hook spin, which I had previously worked on with Lauren during a few sessions. I knew that I jumped into them and am still working on getting that height from pulling up while going backwards instead of jumping up and into the spin, allowing my inside leg to hook around the pole and my body to spin backwards. all the other women in the class were able to combine these two spins into one combo, but I was just working on touching down for a hot second between both to get my position correct.
after that and some figure eights, we took it into a climb. just a regular climb and I can tell you that I did feel a difference there with the brass pole. my legs definitely stuck to the pole. that explains all the pole burn on my legs and wrists (from spinning). at the top of the climb, Rachal took it into a straddle, where (rightside) her right arm was across her body at her chin, gripping the pole at her elbow and her left arm was at knee height in a reverse grip. once secure, she sat back from the pole and held her body away from the pole in a straddle position. since I hadn't done this, she introduced me to the push-pull effect. instead of gripping the pole with my bent arm, she had me (rightside) sit down from the pole and place my right hand high up on the pole. sitting back a little allowed me space to space to place my left hand in a reverse grip at the height of my knees. now all that was left to do was to push away from the pole with my left hand (bottom) and pull with my right hand (top). It was relatively easy! that is a fantastic grip! getting that bottom grip was a little testy a few times and as soon as I started to push my body away from the pole, I started to spin. you can see this in the video I'll post at a later time. just gotta get those straddle legs up and hold it for longer than a second, but I feel really accomplished about this one :)
between the limited air flow in the room and that fact that I was determined to nail these new moves, I was sweating buckets. no joke. even said so. I don't think I've sweat that much in a pole class ever!
now from the straddle at the top of the pole, we went directly DIRECTLY into a figurehead pose. this was awesome to watch. I do it in the video and am not very graceful, but it did get easier and easier as time went by! and it looks kickass. you pretty much look like the woman at the front of boats. like I said, kickass.
it's sort of hard to explain, but I'll try (rightside): place your right hand high, fling your body to the front of the pole, while hooking your left leg around the pole and straightening your right leg, hooking your right foot behind the pole. now reposition your left hand, so you manuever your head/torso underneath your right arm and you're in front of the pole. now bring both hands down behind you on the pole and lean forward, arching your back. at this point in time, Rachal mentioned that depending on your strength, you could do a lot of things with your legs. you could keep them bent and straight, or bend them both and do some kicks. I think I'd need to work on grabbing the pole higher up n my thighs for me to feel comfy letting that right foot loose from behind the pole. but it was awesome and two moves I'll be putting into my August routine.
we finished up the routine with some floorwork, some booty pops, some butt scoots (which I could not do without shoes or socks on). Lauren would have been proud- I'll have to show her :)
the atmosphere was awesome and of course I had to buy a tank and tee to support the studio. called Suzanne and left a distracted message on her cell's vm (I was in target) and talked to Pheon on ym way home. told her all about the brass pole and my hands being torn up and she recommended that I not go to any more classes until I return and let them get back into shape. I had been thinking about taking a classes tomorrow and saturday mornings, but she's right. along with my Dad. my hands need to heal if I want to take class and not hurt next week at NY Pole Dancing AND do my semi-private class with Gabby, Suzanne and Pheon on Sunday the 20th. gotta prepare my moves for the August student recital!
so, this was a super long blog post! I promise to keep up as I continue my pole dancing journey and to post the video of the straddle and figurehead pose asap.
I had my last open pole scheduled for today, but it was cancelled by Wendy due to scheduling conflicts. Shirley was actually the one who caught it and informed me on Facebook of the issue. I told her that I was going home for a bit and thankfully she extended the expiration date for the opne pole and gave me an extra class! now I have until June 24th to take two open poles and I can't be more excited to get back in there and continue to test! :)
woohoo! I've enjoyed taking class with Brynlyn in the past, so I was excited to take an open pole with her. and even more excited when I learned it was only the two of us. I had her all to myself! AND she had me start to test into climb & invert.
at NY Pole Dancing, you have to complete a testing sheet in order to advance into climb & invert classes. which I think is a great idea b/c you should have your basics down before you start going upside down. I'd like to feel confident in what I can do right side up before attempting to flip my body weight upside down and around a pole. hey, that's just me! but don't think I'm really close to doing that... the testing sheet includes spins, transitions, climbs, descents, etc. and is about 4 pages long. I have a ways to go, but I'm excited to have checked off a few things. as small as they may be :)
- outside hook spin - CHECKED OFF remember to step out of it, but end at the pole
- lunge spin - make sure that you are looking at the pole, your hooked knee is angled in and that back leg is straight!
- sundail/double attitude spin - hip back & out, look for your back foot over the shoulder of your bottom hand.
- inside and outside skater spins - CHECKED OFF (I like these)
- inner thigh spin - fallfallfall !! with your leg behind you & when the inside leg hits the pole, switch legs and catch high on your thigh (not just above your knees like I've done in the past)
- spinning climb 1 - outside hook w/one leg in front and back of pole, grip thighs to stop spinning
- spinning climb 2 - right climb with your left leg straight, right leg behind pole, grip thighs to stop spinning
It was really great to have the one on one attention b/c Brynlyn would do it, then I would do them over and over again on both my right and left sides. keeping these notes are def going to help me in the long run, so I can remember how do do some things. I also need to start YouTube'ing some tutorials just so the basic moves are fresh in my mind. it's hard not having your own pole to just work on your hand positions.
Thurs 5/27 & Fri 5/28 were very strange days to say the least. at the end, I didn't have a job to get up and go to after Memorial Day weekend. definitely hard for someone who was unemployed for 9 months in 2009/2010 and had only been working for 3.
it's disappointing, but it was completely unexpected and I am interested in seeing what's out there for me now. as I write this backlog, I'm at my childhood home in Southern Maryland, just took a pole class in Annapolis and an enjoying spending down time with my parents and friends.
Mon, May 24th: advanced climb & spin w/Lauren
song: "She Seen Me" by Usher
moves:
backward pencil - inside leg bent (ALWAYS bent the wrong leg!)
ninja descent - swing your body from the back of the pole to the side, lean your body weight into the pole and fold over a bit. bend your inner leg and straighten your outside leg. make sure to keep your body weight leaned into the pole as you descend down the pole
lots of floor work. booty shakin' and poppin'. straddle splits that took me a little longer to do and not completely plop my body onto the floor.
the notes I have for this class include no song, but the following sequence- a fankick onto the pole and stand up. we finished the routine with an outside hook spin into a spinning climb and a spinning descent.
I do remember that I hadn't worked on my spinning climb at this point in time, so I just did a regular climb.
I have notes on this practice at home in my apartment, I'll have to fill this one in when I get home. but there was another girl in the class and we worked on a bunch of spins, I really hadn't worked on a lot before.
just a little note: between taking pole classes, going to concerts, heading to DC for the Intl Pole Convention with Suzanne and Pheon, seeing friends and getting let-go from my job, I haven't updated my blog. until now. I'm home with Mom and Dad in Maryland recharging and after a fantastic pole class in Annapolis tonight (which I'll write about in a few posts), I knew if I didn't update my blog soon, Suzanne was gonna have at me with a stiletto! here we go.
Thurs, May 13th: beginners climb & spin w/ Brynlyn
same routine song as the previous Monday, "Freaky Gurl" by Gucci Mane. the reason I took this class again was b/c I wanted to try the routine again after a few days and after my mind had a bit of a rest. I was getting so incredibly frusrated that Monday and knew that I was better than that. I actually wrote down that night the moves to the best of my ability, so I could refer to them in the future. not going to go back into it, but atleast when I hear the song now, I can visualize the routine in my head (well, atleast the beginning!).
