The Show Must Go On!

These past two weeks, I've had more chances to perform on the pole in front of a crowd that is not just my close friends. Needless to say, I love it!!!

My very first independent performance was last Friday, at my studio, and it went super well. Then, a week later, my studio had a fundraiser at a club, where I did my best, but had some limitations regarding the height and quality of the pole that caused me a little bit of trouble. Here is what I've taken away from these past couple of weeks of performing and preparation:

• Getting through a routine from beginning until the end is hard core cardio; make sure you start preparing well in advance to get used to dancing for 3-6 minutes.
• Only do moves in a performance with which you are 100% comfortable.
• Put harder moves at the beginning, easier at the end. Anything that is hard to do sweaty should come to the beginning of the routine.
• Incorporate "breaks" into your routine to give your hands time to dry sweat, and to avoid getting out of breath by the end.
• Hold your moves for at least 3 seconds (count to yourself: one thousand one, one thousand two, one thousand three)  for the audience to register the beauty of the acrobatics and the human body.
• Point your toes and keep your knees straight.
• Don't rush getting from move to move; make everything graceful by enjoying the process of the transitions. I watched a lot of Jenyne Butterfly videos to get inspiration for this. 
• Film yourself multiple times before your performance to work out details. Unless of course you have a coach, who should be able to drill you into perfection.
• Pick music that is slower, almost zen. Acrobatics require concentration and being able to feel your body and balance, which is hard to do with crazy music.
• Have "bail out plans". Know where you may fall or slip, and be ready to put in alternative moves, or come out of a mistake with grace.
• Be proud of your own style and body type, and play off what comes naturally; everyone communicates via dance differently, and not everyone's bodies are flattering at all angles.

So that has been my learning experience the past month or so...

The one thing that I am absolutely appalled about is how degenerate the facilities for pole dancers are allowed to be. I heard someone say on the weekend "it's OK, we are performers, we will deal with it". That, to some extent is true, performers have to put up with unexpected aspects consistently. However, the sport of pole has got to get its act together and give more respect to the acrobatic athletes that are working so hard to show their best. 

• It is unacceptable to have low poles (10 feet and lower), as athletes need more vertical distance to show amazing moves and transitions. Touching ceilings/light fixtures/etc can throw athletes off balance and cause serious injury.
• It is unacceptable to have hazards on the stage that get directly in the way of performing. 
• It is unacceptable to have facilities that are too hot. It is plain dangerous for athletes to start sweating and risking slipping and falling. 
• The floors need to be clean and free from things that can cut bare feet/hands/knees etc. I spent a good 45 minutes sweeping broken glass off the stage area on the weekend, as the event was held at a bar where many a drunken customer has broken glasses over the years.
• Enough with the smoke machines, they make everything slippery!
• There needs to be a secure changing and warm up area where athletes can store their belongings.
• SAY NO TO THE X-POLE! Those things are crappy slippery chrome coated atrocities of a pole. Their "TG" version, which is supposed to be closer to brass, is just as bad as chrome. The minute you sweat, the surface turns to ice. Brass poles react with water to become more sticky, so they feel more secure. I am aware that brass is more expensive, and there are difficulties in procuring the 1.75" diameter poles, as that is not a standard pole diameter in the brass industry, however, don't these "difficulties" sound trivial when you compare them to the danger of falling?

 The above are straight forward and sensible requests, by far not any list of a pole-diva. I come from a background of professional track-and-field training and competition, where the athlete is pretty much treated like a god. Shade, ice, heat, water, track quality, equipment, shoes, starters, timers, coaches, etc etc etc are all attended to and everyone works hard to make the athlete as comfortable as possible so he can perform at his best. Why do polers allow themselves to be treated so carelessly? Why do the organizers brush off their athletes' needs? The loose "standards" of bars and strip clubs have nothing to do with the strict demands of a serious athlete.