Monday 29 June 2009

Gah!

So, I get my confirmation of my entry into the UKAPP today. I have just over 3 weeks to come up with a routine. I've sent in my song and all. I love it - it's going to be great fun.

But today, I wake up and the cold I've been fighting for the last week has decided to get worse. I can't breathe and feel weak.

I have all these ideas in my head - some possible and I want to try them out, but I can't.

I hate being ill.

Saturday 20 June 2009

Beginner's Trapeze


Today I went to a local circus skill and had a go at trapeze. I loved it. It's a really good crossover from pole. I found it more demanding on the upper body though. I found I could pick stuff up fairly quickly (photo is of me doing a birdsnest).

One of the things I loved was that there are so many drops you can do. We only learnt a few, but the ones we did I enjoyed. As drops are one of my favourite things to do in pole dancing, it was perfect for me.

I'll look into doing it more regularly. They have classes weekly so I may start trapeze properly (money permitting).

We also had a go at some silks. It was at the end of the 5 hour session so I was pretty exhausted. I really want to learn how to do them.

Having visited the circus, I feel that pole fits in well with the idea of circus. Circus training is performance training and pole, to me is a performance, rather than a strict 'sport'.

Thursday 18 June 2009

I love hot weather

I grew up in the tropics so I find the UK quite hard to deal with, especially in the winter. I've taken to lying in the sun like a cat whenever there's some sun to be had here. Another great thing about hot weather is it makes the poles really sticky. Some people really don't like this. I understand why. It really restricts your options and you get stuck - I got stuck halfway up the pole in a teddy last night! Despite this, I love grippy poles as it gives me a chance to practice all things that require a knee grip.

Nornally my knee grip is non-existant. I put the back of my knee on the pole and it just slides off. The only things that stop this happening are grip aid or poles in warm weather. In class yesterday the poles were super grippy. I had a go at all the knee grip stuff I normally can't do. I figured out brass monkey from cross-knee release, tried eros and did some quick cupids and kneeswings.

I also did a lot of knee holds and worked out a kind of holly drop. Mine's a bit weird compared to others that I've seen. All the other videos I've seen of it show people going into a thigh hold and then scorpio. I drop straight into a scorpio.



I've fallen in love with drops over the last few months. I love how they feel and how dramatic they look.

Sunday 14 June 2009

Why I Pole Dance

I pole dance because it's something that feels like it comes naturally to me. I feel like I can achieve things. I can be myself. I can make other people astonished at my strength and daring. I feel like it's an activity that fits with my personality.

When I pole dance I enjoy being my body and feeling that it's not awkward and clumsy, like it usually is. I can be graceful and dangerous. I can get that rush of excitement at something reckless done well. I love being strong and developing 'useful' muscles.

I enjoy performance. I enjoy dressing up and making a show. I enjoy feeling sexy and find no reason I should be ashamed of that. It feels like I'm doing it for me, because I am worth being stunning and having an audience.

I suppose that's vain, but I don't give myself much space for that normally.

I enjoy feeling good about myself. I enjoy being proud of my body.