damn you, sundial!

friday, june 18th - 11am open pole w/Anna


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 OFF outside 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!