Pole is a Lifestyle !

June 30th, 2011

Jack Gaffney

Pole is a Lifestyle !

Part 1 of a 3 part series

I am constantly asked questions about our business and what Bad Kitty is, what we do, how we are different etc. I found that it was next to impossible to explain our company without first explaining what Pole is. My common answer these days is that Bad Kitty is a next generation lifestyle brand built around Pole with Apparel at our core. Sounds good right However, about a month ago when posing this answer to an inquisitive mind, I was told that “pole is not a lifestyle, skateboarding or surfing are lifestyles”, I carefully explained how similar Pole is to these 2 sports, gained a new pole fan, and then decided to write down and share my thoughts on the topic.

Lifestyle: (n) A way of life or style of living that reflects the attitudes and values of a person or group (www.thefreedictionary.com).

First it is important to note that an individual can be a part of multiple lifestyles. For example, being married and living in the suburbs is a broad cultural lifestyle as is being single and living in the city. Hip Hop, Skateboarding, Surfing, Snowboarding are subcultural lifestyles as examples.

Pole is similar in some fashion to each of the above, and Pole enthusiasts can learn alot from each of these sub-cultural lifestyles and how they grew. Lets start with Rap Music and the Hip Hop lifestyle. I was in High School between 1983-1987, what I like to call the dawn of Hip Hop, it had been around a while, but was just starting to move from underground to mainstream. I lived in the City of Boston and we had access to all the New York Rap music via our proximity, local shows, college radio and friends/family. We were very much into Hip Hop and we started emulating and dressing like hip hop artists with adidas shell toe sneakers (which I still wear to this day), running suits, kangol hats etc. We stood out in a crowd, used to break dance in the street and loved everything about it. But we were the “early adopters”, we “got it” it was different than anything we had ever seen or heard and it was ours. However, that wasn’t the case with record companies, radio stations, labels, businesses, night clubs, record stores and especially parents. In fact, when reading about the pioneers of Hip Hop you read stories about how everyone told them to tone it down, lose the gold chains, lighten up the language etc. But people like Russell Simmons (founder of Def Jam & Phat Farm) knew that would kill it, that the “powers that be” were telling them to be R&B artists not Rap artists, pioneers like Simmons let the artists define what Hip Hop was and refused to change, instead they did it themselves by creating fans and staying true to who they were.

It is important to understand that at time, the concept of a DJ and 2 guys “talking” into a microphone was first laughed at and ridiculed by about anyone with an opinion. But from this, new brands were built around Hip Hop, other brands discovered the lifestyle and created products for it, Rap got better, went mainstream and today it influences almost everything we see or do in some way or another. Before Rap fought its acceptance battle Rock & Roll had its days of denial and before them was Jazz.

Watch the documentary “Dog Town & Z boys” and you can see what skateboarding was and how it got to where it is today. Skateboarders, after all, where just a bunch of “stoners destroying public property” their events had 100‘s of attendees, the thought of being a “Professional Skateboarder” was comical at best…It was a 2×4 with wheels screwed on it…Today…not so funny anymore…Skateboarders have pushed the envelope and advanced the sport to a level of jaw dropping entertainment and competition with celebrities from the “Skater World” now everywhere. The tricks, the skill and performances are amazing and are now regularly factored into concerts, live events, music videos, etc etc. Tony Hawk is a household name and became a gajillionaire in the process while every kid was out buying a skateboard.

When the press didn’t cover skateboarding, skateboarding created its own magazines and newsletters, promoted its own talent to others who “got it”. Next came bigger events supported by the companies that made products for them like Vans and the different board and wheel companies and the rest is history. Skateboarding is now a lifestyle, a multi billion dollar industry with major influence in fashion, music and technology. Lifestyles come from people doing what they LOVE and finding each other over and over.

Snowboarding was once NOT allowed on ski mountains. Ski resorts HATED snow boarders as did many traditional Skiers. But after a ton of determined boarders, passionate fans and innovative companies kept at it, we have Gold Medalist and American Superstar/Hero Shaun White! Shaun has long red hair, wears baggy pants, and defies gravity but he is also as good, if not better on a Skateboard than he is on a snow board; thus making him a Dual (sub-genre) Sport Athlete and one of the most famous people on the planet. Shaun White is the result of a lifestyle, he was introduced to both sports at a young age by others who were either pioneers or early adopters, he emulated those that came before him, understood the essence of the sports and advanced it to never before seen levels.

You have to be a certain type of person to skate, surf or snow board, you need to have guts, determination and a huge desire to learn with alot of bumps and bruises along the way.

I see the all same things in Pole ! I see Passionate participants, determined competitors, Innovation in the sport, Mind Blowing Tricks, amazing entertainment, growth in studios, Innovative products, bigger events…the list goes on and on. Bad Kitty now has 20,000 fans on our facebook page, I am too busy to count, but would estimate that 80% of them have a pole or something pole related in their profile picture. That says something about their love of Pole. I have met 1000’s of new people through Pole, hundreds of Business owners and hundreds of athletes. We all come from different backgrounds, we are old and young, male and female, single and married, with children and without, we come together from all over the globe and gather around a pole and we have a blast ! We entertain each other, we gasp in awe and in suspense, we emulate and admire, we learn and share. If that’s not a lifestyle I don’t know what is.

So the next time you think of Pole think of it as a lifestyle and not a workout, Think about how you got involved and how it has changed you, perhaps you are in better shape, maybe more confident, less bored, more entertained or maybe it’s that you have met a bunch of people that seem to “get you” better than others and that anomaly seems to be becoming more normal. You discovered something that you enjoy and in doing so have met a bunch of people with a similar passion and in most cases the similarities don’t end there.

Pole is still in its infancy and is still being defined, let it define itself, it is not ONE thing to one group but rather many things to many people.

Consider for a moment what a bicycle is ? A bike can be a means of transportation, it can be exercise, you can race bikes like Lance Armstrong or do incredible tricks like Mike Miller (watch here) it can be a hobby, a business, a passion or all of the above. In many ways Pole is similar, You can use it as exercise, it can be a hobby, a release, a performance, a competition, a career or a toy.

Don’t worry that Pole is new and misunderstood, has negative associations with it or is not mainstream. Just ignore the critics and do what makes you happy… embrace the lifestyle…WE GET YOU as do many others around the globe.

Watch the below video of Flying Laura…Pole is a Lifestyle

Quick preview of DogTown and Z boys

June 15th, 2011

Aerial Amy

In the past few years, a lot of pole studios have opened up—meaning that more and more, qualified and experienced instructors are in pretty high demand. Quite a few established pole dance studios have their own instructor training program. Some include pole move instruction. Some focus on showing you how to teach and assume that you have basic knowledge of pole dance already. Some include information on opening and managing your own studio. The cost can range from several hundred to several thousand dollars and the in-class time can range from a week to a weekend. Some have been reviewed by larger fitness organizations, like ACE or AFAA, and by taking the instructor training program you will earn continuing education credits to apply towards renewing your AFAA/ACE group fitness certification.

I think that for anyone navigating the plethora of choice out there, it can definitely be overwhelming. There isn’t yet a program that has emerged nation-wide as a clear and accepted standard across the industry, and it can be a significant investment of time, energy, and money to take any of these certifications, especially if you need to include traveling expenses. Think carefully about what you are hoping to gain. What skills will you be strengthening? Who is the lead trainer for the program, and what are their philosophies on teaching? Do you know anyone who has taken this program, and can give you feedback?

Of course, the secondary question is: If you don’t already teach somewhere, and are hoping to begin, why do you want to teach? Is this truly your passion or a way to pay the bills? There’s a lot at stake when you are a teacher. You are responsible for getting students excited about pole dancing. You are their gateway to this world that we all love so much. A bad teacher can create an unsafe environment where injuries occur regularly, or discourage a student from further study. Being a teacher isn’t about you. It’s about your students.

I’ve only been a teacher for about a year and a half, but I will say that I have been a student for a long while. I think that was really critical in my own development because it enabled me to come up with pretty specific ideas on what kind of teacher I wanted to be.

When I was planning out my transition to teaching, I decided that the first thing I should do was to take as many classes as possible, in as many studios and types of movement as possible, to learn more about how others teach. I took class in every pole studio in NYC with as many different people as I could, went to all the major dance studios and circus schools, and took pilates and yoga classes up the wazoo. I learned a ton about different verbal and nonverbal cues, warmup exercises, and different ways to apply and explain a correction. It was also invaluable to see the ways that the teacher controlled the class, kept up the energy level, and encouraged camaraderie and friendship within a group… or failed to do so. I quickly realized that half of being a good teacher is actual instruction, but the other half is managing people.

Instructing well is relatively straight forward. Being a good student or amazing pole dancer does not mean that you have the skills to be a good teacher. Learning how to break down a trick or troubleshoot exactly what a student is doing wrong takes experience and a different mindset than being a student– and is something that you get better at with time. It took me years before I felt comfortable with that ability with my own pole classmates, nevermind a paying student! You need to be able to completely step into someone else’s brain to understand how they learn and figure out how to translate your teaching into their language. Some people need to know exactly what muscle is engaging, some need to watch you do it a few times, some need to just try it over and over again and have you correct them until they get it right. When you teach, you have to completely let go of your ego and assume: “if this student does not understand, it’s because I’ve done something wrong in teaching. I may not be explaining well enough, or pacing the class incorrectly, or introducing skills that my students aren’t ready for yet.”

Learning to manage the personalities and energy in a class is really difficult, and just as I’m learning more about the technical side of instructing every day, I’m still learning this aspect of teaching as well. I think that students can clearly see passion, joy, and enthusiasm, and they will reflect it back to you if that’s what you’re putting out. If you are happy to be there, then students will feel it and appreciate your energy. If you hear a student being self-defeatist, or negative and down on themselves, and you nip it in the bud with honesty, empathy, and encouragement that comes from a genuine place, then you will help plant seeds of self-confidence. You have a lot of power as a teacher, and if you don’t have pure intentions, or are motivated by any kind of selfishness, you are doing a disservice to the students who pay money to spend time with you. If you foster a respectful relationship with each student in your class, and give of your time to everyone equally without favoritism, then students will see that they don’t have to be “good,” or put pressure themselves, to have fun and feel worthwhile. And that kind of positivity spreads.

I think that to be a good teacher, you have to actually like and enjoy teaching others. I think you should think carefully about why you want to teach, because if you’re not excited about it for the right reasons, then you are putting your students in harm’s way by not being as conscientious and serious about teaching as possible. Some people see teaching as the “next step” in a typical pole journey– once you get “good enough”, you teach. It’s not. Teaching isn’t for everyone, and you lose time to work on your own progression as a student. It’s a sacrifice, and the inherent reward of teaching needs to be enough.

The turning point for me—when I really and truly felt like a teacher—was after I got my CPR/AED certification. There was a moment at the end of the class, after we put away the breathing dummies and got our exam booklets and had our #2 pencils poised. The lead instructor said something along the lines of: “you may or may not pass your written test. If you do, and you get the certification card, and you carry it in your wallet, you know you have the choice to help when you see someone who needs it. But taking this course gives you responsibility: if you pass that person by, who else may be able to really help them?”

Being a good instructor and a responsible human being is a choice you make every day. You are in a position to help people as much as you are mentally and physically able: how seriously will you take that?

This is a slightly edited version of an entry that originally ran on my Aerial Amy blog. If you liked what you read, you can connect with me on Facebook or check out my pole dance blog, which is updated daily!

May 27th, 2011

ThePoleStory

Last week, The Daily Mail ran an article called “Disgrace of the six drinking, pole-dancing primary school teachers who published the pictures on Facebook…Outrage after parent printed pictures and posted them through neighbors’ front doors.”

The photos show six women at a bachelorette in sexy army gear, drinking, smoking, and yes, pole dancing. The teachers failed to make the photos private on Facebook. A very motivated parent found the pictures online, printed them off, and put them the neighbors’ front doors with a letter which read: “If you are as appalled as I am by these images which these tramps post freely for the world to see, how safe are our children? Answer, not very! Children might be seeing these images. What does this tell you about this school and how it is being run? These women teach my children, but not for much longer. I say remove the scum…” The article goes to describe the parents’ reactions (“shocked”) and then to name four of the six teachers.

It goes without saying that the teachers made a mistake by making the pictures available for all to see on Facebook. However, publicly shaming them for what amounts to a harmless, free play of pleasure frankly has all the makings of a modern day witch hunt. These women have a right to enjoy their lives outside of their work environment. You know what I find shocking? That in the year 2011 we still label women who enjoy their sexuality as tramps without a second thought. And that we feel comfortable publicly humiliating them and then quickly move on to worrying about the effect “these women” will have on the children. I am far more worried about what kind of an effect such blatant narrow-mindedness and venom will have on the children. There is this unspoken belief that if you are a woman who partakes in sensual, pleasure-oriented behavior in any type of public venue, then you lose your right to be treated with respect and dignity. You are a fallen woman, a tramp, scum (unless you are a celebrity of course – then you are worshipped for this same behavior). This belief exists to varying degrees in many different cultures around the world and it is at the heart of why so many people struggle with accepting expressions of female sensuality, including those found in pole dancing.

I am happy to say that it appears as though the school is standing by the teachers. While they acknowledge that having the pictures circulated through a social networking site is regrettable, they also acknowledge that the photos were taken at a private event. Additionally, the head of the school reportedly told the parents to “mind their own business”. Now that’s more like it.

May 26th, 2011

Aerial Amy

Why did you first start pole dancing? Why do you love it? Why do you continue to pole dance?

It’s easy to lose sight of the why as we progress. But every once in a while, you need to look around you and take stock of what you are continuing to get out of it. Is it still enriching your life? Or is it frustrating you? If pole has become stressful, or less enjoyable, in some way, think carefully about what has changed. Sometimes all you need is to tweak your outlook to enjoy it as much as you once did.

The very reason why pole is so addictive—the rush of nailing a new trick—can be a reason why we become frustrated. We all have our nemesis trick: the one that we just can’t seem to get, no matter how hard we try. Maybe it’s one that never quite feels right, one that makes you a little bit nervous because it doesn’t feel as secure as you think it could. Or maybe it’s the trick that you’ve been working to master for ages, but every time you try, it seems that you either don’t have the strength, or your body gets abducted by aliens and refuses to listen to you and engage where it should.

Here’s truth #1: Not every trick is appropriate, or easy, for every body.

I’m not talking about a lack of technique or strength. I am talking about physical limitations that your body imposes on YOU. I have a damaged right rotator cuff from years of improperly doing certain tricks. Because of that, twisted grip handsprings, and reverse grabs, are tricks that make my shoulder freak out. Every body is built differently. To avoid injury and damage, you need to pay attention to what your body is telling you.

When you experience an injury: think of what you were doing when you hurt yourself. Were you really ready (mentally and physically) to work on that trick? If so, was it is improper engagement or alignment that caused the damage? Could it have been avoided? If you heal, and work on the same trick in the same way, will an injury recur?

We’re doing serious physical work here people! Holding up your own body weight, sometimes upside down? Wrapping a breakable human form around an unyielding tube of metal? Suffering pole burn and severe discomfort? Don’t forget for a second what a difficult sport you’ve gotten yourself into. Be gracious with yourself: this is not, by any means, easy. There’s a reason why it takes so much time to achieve a high level of advanced pole dancing.

Some tricks will come more quickly to some and not to others. If you have long legs, then tricks that are very core intense, and are affected by weight and muscle distribution, will be more difficult than for someone built the other way around. If you have a very short torso, then tricks that require you to twist around the pole or arch in front of it (like a yogini, or ballerina) are going to be difficult because you simply have less space on your body to use as a point of contact. Part of getting better is learning which tricks work for you, and which ones look best on you.

Look at the bodies of some of the top pole dancers: generally, they are either built like an upside down triangle, with broad shoulders, or they are petite. Some are both. If you have your weight focused on the top half of your body, you will be lifting less weight in your legs. If you are small, your muscles don’t have to work as hard because there is less weight, and moving your limbs from point A to point B is a shorter line than for someone a foot taller.

Be kind to your body. With enough time and effort, you can gain enough flexibility and strength to achieve almost anything—but it may mean fighting the physiology you have, and may require hours and hours of time invested.

That brings us to truth #2: You need to evaluate how serious you are going to be about pole dancing.

I am fortunate enough to have a ridiculous number of world-class pole dancers with which to train, and take classes with. But I’ll tell you what: not a single one of them has a full time, 9-5 job. Because you know what? If you are at the top of your game, you are a not just a world-class pole dancer. You are a world-class athlete. You are carefully monitoring what goes into your body. You are training every day—and not just in pole, but strengthening and conditioning. The amount of time that some of these people spend in one day to further their craft, is equal to the time that some people spend in two weeks.

Malcolm Gladwell, the author of Blink and Outliers, has stated that the difference between superstars in any field, and the average Joe, can be boiled down to simply: 10,000 hours of practice. He states that on average, every successful musician, athlete, or entrepreneur has spent 3 hours a day, for 10 years, at their specialty. Obviously, to spend that much time at anything implies a great deal of guts, determination, and work ethic; but it also gives us a benchmark: according to Gladwell, it generally takes that much time to gain true expertise.

How many years have you been pole dancing? How many months? How many hours can you say that you have spent? How long have you been a physically active human being? I’ve never gone to the gym, or had any experience with any dance activity until I started poling in 2007. I know that for me, to catch up to someone who is world-class pole dancing caliber, will require a huge investment of time and resources. For me to even be a nationally known and recognized pole dancer, or place in a national competition, would be difficult.

Once you remove “being good enough to be famous” from the motivation equation, what is left?

Which brings us to truth #3: There is always going to be someone who started later than you did, who can do the trick you can’t.

It’s hard not to get discouraged when you see a less experienced dancer come up in the ranks and quickly surpass your abilities. It’s tough when it seems like everyone you’re friends with, or everyone in your class, is better or learning faster than you are. You may be an incredibly secure, self-confident person in every day life or even nearly all the time…but when faced with what everyone else is doing, or even what just one person is doing, you may find that you are doubting yourself or your abilities. It could mean feeling like you need to keep up with everyone else, or be left behind.

The problem for many of us? Is that there are only 24 hours in a day. And only so many dollars in our bank account. Sure, if we were all built of money, without work or families or school, we may be able to achieve more. It can get stressful trying to juggle everything you need to do, with the things that you want to do—including pole. For some of us, the way we are built means that it would take hours, upon hours, of intensive work to achieve a split. How much time are you willing to spend? How important is a split to you? What else could you rather do with your time? Once progress toward a goal becomes a chore, rather than an incentive, you should re-evaluate.

It also helps to remember that progress isn’t always linear or obvious to you. Just like your hair getting longer may only be apparent to someone who hasn’t seen you in months, sometimes the work you do in class to better yourself may seem frustratingly slow. But just because you don’t see it, doesn’t mean it’s not there. And whether or not you feel it, or had a crap practice, the time that you spent will help you become better than you were yesterday.

You are only ever competing against yourself. You can’t judge yourself against any other person. Your body is not theirs; your experiences are not theirs. Who knows how much time they are spending in class, or how much background in movement that they may have? What if their body is a far more efficient builder of muscle than yours is? What if they are just innately coordinated or they have a special ability to understand spatial relationships? What if every experience in their life to this point has been to prepare them for an illustrious career in pole dancing??

We are all different people. The body you have, the life you have, is for you to what you can. Not to be better than the person sitting next to you. And if you find that someone is being competitive with you, or insecure around you, realize that is the way that they have chosen to use their energy. It doesn’t have to be the way that you use yours. Channel your insecurity into positivity: see the beauty in someone else. I am stunned when I watch my friends move: they are breathtaking, amazing, and strong. I am inspired by them. It fuels my desire to be a better me.

If you watch ten people do a basic fireman spin, they will all do it with different nuances: one may hold their head tilted, one may keep a leg straight, one may throw in a head toss. Pole dancing is not a checklist of tricks; it is about finding a way to express yourself, and your body. Whether you are on the ground, or on the pole, or on a lap dance chair, this is about connecting to a song or a movement in your own way. To judge what makes you special or unique is to take away from what you are as an individual, flaws and abilities and all. You do your best with the imperfect body that you have. That is all that you can do, and all you can ask of yourself.

Hi Kitties… if you already read my pole dancing blog (updated daily) where this entry was originally posted, this blog may have been familiar. I’ll be writing more original content just for the Bad Kitty blog soon, but this is a piece that is truly near and dear to my heart and I wanted to share it with the Bad Kitty readers! If you liked what you read, you can click here to connect with me on Facebook.

May 19th, 2011

Aerial Amy

Odds are, in the pole competitions that you’re familiar with, you’re not used to seeing sequined pasties. Or booty shaking. Or entire routines without a twisted grip iron X. And maybe, after reading that little list, you’re thinking: “So?” or, maybe, you’re thinking, “Yeah, and that’s too bad.”

What if winning ultimately had nothing to do with strength, or what tricks you put in your routine? What if you could only win by being the most entertaining? By putting on the best show for the audience? How would that change the performance you create and how you develop it?

Last year, I had the opportunity to participate in Polesque… which, on the face of it, is a competition. But it’s a competition where the only rule you are given is: tell a story in 3 minutes or less. Three judges (this year: Flying Laura, Allison Cox, and a lawyer named Ben who definitely does not pole dance) determine the top 3 (or 4, in case of a tie) contestants based on performance quality, creativity, and execution. And the winner is selected by audience applause after a dance battle. There are no bonus points for doing the hardest move. There are no expectations on the difficulty level of the routine.

I had a really interesting interview recently with Kyra Johannsen, one of the three producers of Polesque (Kyle McBeth and Jen James being the other two). This Sunday is their third iteration of Polesque at Galapagos Art Space in Brooklyn, and the only constant element of the show has been the venue itself, which is beautiful and dramatic. The space is cavernous and yet still intimate, with a ceiling that seems to float somewhere above you, just out of sight. Lush, red, round banquette seats are built on walkways floating above water. Dramatic, back-lit shelves of alcohol wrap the back walls where the bars are located, and a second floor balcony offers additional vantage points of the stage. The Galapagos space is well known for drawing a discerning, edgy crowd, and has a full roster of programming that runs the gamut from independent movie screenings to weekly burlesque shows that combine aerial arts, bawdy, and tawdry with a rotating talent pool.

I would characterize Polesque as a show where someone happens to be selected as the winner, and Kyra heartily agreed. Their goal in creating this competition was to showcase the creativity of the performers in a way that can appeal to everyone, from the pole dancing enthusiast, to the theatre-goer, to the person who likes to have some cocktails and watch a fun show. This was an idea inherent in their marketing strategy as well: promo flyers were dropped or mailed out to local bars, gyms, and dance studios as well as pole studios up and down the east coast. Surprisingly, I had a number of people come up to me after the last Polesque, saying that they had no idea that pole dance could be as diverse as what they had just seen on stage. Kyra and her team are doing what many of us are hoping to see more of: by treating pole dance as simply another dance modality, removing the requirements, and bringing it back to emphasizing the beauty of individual expression, they are making pole dance accessible, and interesting, for the masses.

What I most loved about being part of the show was that it gave me complete freedom to express a character in a way that was aimed at connecting to the audience, first and foremost– I dressed as a saucy human fly for goodness’ sakes (complete with bug eyes, big clear plastic wings, and a song to match). After my performance early in the lineup, I shouted myself hoarse watching and cheering for my fellow dancers (I was also moved to tears a couple times) from a spot up on the balcony—among them, a saucy fluffy-skirt stripping bad girl, a Dirty Diana, a silver-taped robot, a Bond woman who had a bubble gun, a drunken glass-smashing housewife ready for revenge, and a hip-hop routine with some choreographic nods to Michael Jackson. And when the curtain went down after the winner was announced, I didn’t feel the buzz of post-competition relief– I felt the growing euphoria of a cast member in a show that has just killed it, and wants to do it all over again.

Polesque this year will be an absolute treat for anyone who was able to snag a ticket (it’s unfortunately already sold out). Interspersed among the competitors’ pieces will be saucy burlesque numbers from some of the best in the biz (Nasty Canasta, Sapphire Jones, and Gogo Harder), as well as Kyra’s new non-profit aerial dance company, Aera, featuring some dancers that we’re all familiar with—Marlo, Steven Retchless, and Rebecca Starr. The two prior winners of Polesque, Rica de Ocampo and Michelle Stanek, will be performing as well, reprising some of the elements of their winning routines. The host is Allison Hagendorf, a music media personality who currently hosts the Fuse Top 20 Countdown and authors a column for Maxim.com.

There are plans to look at larger venues for the next time around, since the show has clearly outgrown the 350-person capacity of Galapagos, and Kyra hopes that eventually, multiple Polesque events can be held across the country and maybe even overseas, to give pole dancers everywhere the opportunity to perform… and give audience members everywhere an opportunity to experience what pole dance can be.

If you miss Polesque, don’t worry- the producers have hired videographers and will be posting each and every routine online for those who can’t make it–myself, sadly, included. Stay tuned to the Polesque Facebook page for those links, and updates on the next show slated for fall of 2011. Start filming your submission videos!

To view videos of the last Polesque, click here or here. Michelle’s winning piece from the first Polesque is available here.

Click here to connect with me on Facebook and here to link directly to my personal pole blog!

Photography credit: Thanks to LucidaFotos, Lily Liu!

May 17th, 2011

Aerial Amy

My name is Amy. Nice to meet you!

Once upon a time, I started a pole dancing blog. I didn’t know who would read it, or if anyone even would. All I knew was that after 4 years of pole dancing, I had a lot of thoughts to get out, and I was hoping that maybe someone out there could relate to or learn from what I’ve been through. Turns out, Bad Kitty was reading, and they offered me the amazing chance to blog on this site, and share some of my writing with their readers. Of course, I jumped, rattled, and rolled at the opportunity!

My own pole journey started shortly after graduating college, when I was dealing with the frightening slowing of my metabolism (combined with my first real-life desk job) and the realization that if I didn’t start to do something, I would need to upgrade to a larger-sized wardrobe. I started taking regular pole dance classes on a whim and found pole dancing to be a means of staying in shape and re-connecting to a sensual side I didn’t know I lost.

I met amazing, open-minded, gracious, and introspective people who have helped me grow as a person and challenge myself. And eventually, I met my abs– long lost old friends that emerged from under a few layers of late-night-carb-loaded-dinners– and biceps, and deltoids, and traps. But the introductions were hidden under the wonderful disguise of FUN… a workout so fun you don’t realize that you’re doing it! I’d never done anything athletic prior to pole dancing (except running a horrible 100m hurdle time, and playing not-so-great tennis in high school), but I was soon in the best shape of my life, and empassioned about this new type of movement that had brought so much positive change into my life.

Early in 2010, I was given an opportunity to teach pole dance, and while this had always been an eventual goal for me, I finally felt that I was ready. Since then, I have been introducing men and women in their 20′s, 40′s, and 60′s to the joy that is dance– and more specifically, pole dance. I have gone from student to teacher but in the process, I realized that I am learning more now, at the front of the class, than I did before. I am getting schooled in pole, and life, in a very different way that I appreciate deeply and am inspired to share.

I truly believe that all women are beautiful, that all hips are inherently sexy no matter what size, shape, or color, and that there is nothing more attractive than self-confidence that radiates from a healthy place within. Currently I live and work in Manhattan, managing construction 9-5 and flying weightless at night teaching pole classes at Shockra Studios. I am certified in CPR/AED with the Red Cross, group fitness through AFAA, and pole instruction through the X-Pole/Crunch X-Pert Pole Fitness program. I’ve performed in Polesque, the Great Midwest Showcase, and Pole Superstar. You can find my blog (updated daily) at http://aerialamy.com/blog/ and you can also connect with me on Facebook by clicking here.

I’m excited to start posting! Thanks to Jack, Claire, and everyone at the Bad Kitty Blog team for being so welcoming and kind.

May 1st, 2011

ThePoleStory

I’m sitting outside at Le Pain Quotidien on Melrose, enjoying a salad and a mimosa. It’s one of those perfect LA days – blue skies, palm trees rustling in a gentle breeze, flowers blooming everywhere. Le Pain Quotidien is one of the few places in LA that has real French bread. And because I have a French mother, I am acutely aware of what constitutes real French bread, and what amounts to a sad approximation of French bread. Tearing into and chewing a slice of pain rustique at this place immediately transports me to my grandmother’s apartment circa 1986. My brother and I were sent every morning to get the bread from the boulangerie on the corner. It was sometimes still warm from the oven, and we could barely wait to get home and sit down to a breakfast of bread and butter dipped in hot chocolate. These days I dip my bread into Earl Grey tea, but the taste and texture of the bread is still my favorite part of the ritual.

This afternoon reminds of a different vacation though. One I took with my lover two years ago. We spent hours eating bread dipped in olive oil and consuming vast quantities of white wine in the South of France. We lay on the beach, we lay in bed, and we went out to eat almost every night. There was this sense of deep pleasure and immediate connection with our surroundings. We lived with the luxurious feeling that time, for all its constraints and demands, was irrelevant. Except for the day we almost missed our train back to Paris. But that’s another story!

My relationship to time is challenging. So is everyone’s I suppose. I frequently feel rushed, I have a hard time scheduling time for myself and I’m often overcommitted. But I recognize, on days like today, that the ability to let go of time, to let the day unfold on its own, without commitments, without plans gives me tremendous pleasure. Sensations, such as the sun warming the wood of the table underneath my hand, or the smell of my perfume as the breeze blows through my hair, become heightened and I appreciate and connect with what is around me so much more. My desires, both physical and emotional, become clearer. I feel deeply relaxed.

I wonder sometimes if America’s relationship to pleasure is tragically intertwined with their relationship to time. We so often rush through our lives; we put emphasis on being productive and on accomplishing our goals. From this perspective, pleasure becomes another thing to experience, or to do rather than arising from an internal sense of peace or relaxation. Of course, there are many different ways to experience pleasure. But how I feel today reminds me of how I feel in dance class these days: unrushed, delighted, alive, aroused, playful and….happy. Wait, happy? Yes, the woman who spent three years stomping around class threatening to bite your head off and spit it out is now smiling seductively and joyfully while she dances. Don’t get me wrong – I’m still a complete tease. I’ll still fuck with you if you sit in the chair. I’ll draw you in and push you away. But I don’t want to kill you anymore. Au contraire. I want you to come play with me. Take me for a walk. Tell me what to do.

My teacher Sheila said to me this week, “You know Claire, we all know that badass thing is just a bunch of bullshit. I mean it’s hot as hell, but it’s complete bullshit. Your vulnerable moments are what really make me want to fuck you (she really does talk like that – it’s all metaphorical of course). That moment where you slipped a little bit and almost fell over? (She turns to the class) Didn’t you want to fuck her?” They did.

My own personal experience of my vulnerability while dancing is of course, quite different. It’s a bit scary at first, but I feel a great deal more pleasure when I dance from a place of relaxed happiness. Why relaxed happiness makes me feel vulnerable and scared is yet another story, but I will leave it at this: I’ve never felt like I can trust it for too long. But I care a lot less these days when I make a mistake (aka “something goes wrong”). I don’t try to “do” a trick; I just follow my body and improvise. Don’t misunderstand me though – that angry in-your-face dancing has its place too, and sometimes I need to move that way. But the amount of freedom I feel when I dance from a place of lazy, timeless pleasure, a place where I let go of expectations is like a mini-vacation to the South of France in and of itself. And frankly, so is an afternoon at Le Pain Quotidien!

You know, if I weren’t in public right now I would probably open my legs wide on this bench I’m sitting on and drop my torso and head in to a lazy seated hip circle. Oh well. Instead I will settle for an ultra slow hair pull with both my hands and a lazy, sexy, happy, head roll. A tout a l’heure mes cheries!

March 30th, 2011

ThePoleStory

So I don’t know how you spent your Saturday night, but I’m going to tell you how I spent mine, because it was positively spectacular. First, I went to see The Vagina Monologues. I know, it came out in the 90’s and where have I BEEN? But for those of you who have never seen it, it’s worth going. The Vagina Monologues is made up of a varying number of monologues read by a varying number of women. Every monologue somehow relates to the vagina, be it through sex, love, rape, menstruation, mutilation, masturbation, birth, orgasm, the variety of names for the vagina, or simply as a physical aspect of the body. A recurring theme throughout the piece is the vagina as a tool of female empowerment, and the ultimate embodiment of individuality (courtesy of Wikipedia). The play does a nice job of making you feel good about your vagina, if you have one. I do, however, wish it included the more positive aspects of heterosexual relationships. While I understand that one of the goals of the play is to raise awareness about violence against women, there were parts of the play that felt like flat-out man bashing, which I don’t particularly agree with.

The Vagina Monologues is the cornerstone of the V-Day movement, whose participants stage benefit performances of the show and/or host other related events in their communities. Such events take place worldwide each year between February 1 and April 30. The performances generally benefit rape crisis centers and similar resource centers for women. This year in Santa Monica, V-Day benefitted Peace Over Violence, an LA based charity that helps women who have been physically and sexually assaulted. A portion of the proceeds also went to women and girls in Haiti who are launching a campaign to end violence in their country with the help of sponsors and activists.

Following the play, there was a lovely after party with food, drinks and…pole dancing! A group of women known as The Flying Vs performed on two freestanding poles smack dab in the middle of the after party. The Flying Vs are made up of four women: Tracy Mueller, Christina Grance, Rie Katagiri and Katy Kamen. All four women have an S Factor background, and three of the four teach pole dancing at S Factor. Rie teaches at Movement Studio LA. Their first performance was a celebration of the transition from girl to woman. The dancers started off in tutus and tank tops and as the song progressed, they shed their layers of girlish clothing to reveal womanly curves and lingerie. The second performance was an erotic dance to Moulin Rouge’s “Roxanne”. The message was: I’m unapologetically sexy. Now watch me and worship. In both performances, the dancers moved slowly, deliberately and extremelysensually. While there were some beautiful pole tricks, the focus was just as much on the floor as it was on the pole. The dancers were in almost constant eye contact with one another, feeding off one another’s energy, which heightened the eroticism of the performance.

I think the presence of pole dancing, especially an incredibly sensual form of pole dancing at this particular charity event, is significant for three reasons. First, it shows the spirit of the pole dance community in a positive light. It is possible to be sensual and celebrate the beauty of the female body without denigrating or objectifying it. Second, it reinforces the idea that ending violence against women (which is the driving force behind all the V Day celebrations) does not mean erasing or hiding or restricting their sexuality. On the contrary. The end of violence against women, in a certain way, means that women can fully own and express their sexuality and its power without fear of attack, judgment or any other negative repercussions. And this is precisely what happened on Saturday night. Finally, pole dancing for a charitable cause shows that women can choose to dance, they can dance for reasons that are positive, and that the pole dance community is devoted to helping those in need. In other words, we have heart. And if you have any doubt about that, then check out Anjel Dust’s latest pole fundraiser for Japan on April 16^th and Emilee Wilson’s fundraiser, also for Japan, at The Good Hurt on April 4^th. We love to dance, but we love it even more if it’s for a good cause!

At the end of their last performance, The Flying V’s walked into their audience, who had formed a circle around them, and pulled women out onto the floor to dance with them. It was a symbolic move, one that communicated that the dance was for all women. I cannot begin to express to you the joy of looking around at a sea of women, all moving sensually on the floor, on the poles, all celebrating their bodies and their sexuality, all blissfully uninhibited and feeling safe and celebrated. It was…awesome. And it made me want to be a Flying V!

For more information on The Flying V’s go to: www.theflyingvs.com

For more information on V Day go to: www.vday.org

To get on board with Peace Over Violence check out: www.peaceoverviolence.org

March 1st, 2011

ThePoleStory

I know you were all wondering what happened! Well I’m officially certified to teach levels 1 – 4 for pole dancing. Our last day was short but sweet. I perfected my caterpillar climb, got into Aisha (with Collette holding my butt up) and learned how to spot perfectly for inversions and climbs. Which, by the way, is not as obvious as you might think.

For some reason I also thought that my last day would be an excellent time to take a Chinese Splits class. And actually, it was! The class was a bit like Yoga, and we used mats and blocks to gently stretch and elongate our muscles. There was seventy-two–year-old student named Lynn who put us all to shame by performing full Chinese Splits on an armchair. Talk about inspirational!

Speaking of inspirational, Celeste Ayers (pronounced AIRS) modeled many of the advanced moves for us in teacher training the last day and WOW! Her movement is amazing to watch. She is gracious, fluid, sensual, flexible and has nearly flawless technique. Celeste was a competitor in this year’s California Pole Dance Championships. If you have not seen her dance yet, check her out here.

I was extremely pleased with the level of professionalism, the attention to detail and the amount of fun and connection I had with the other students in my Teacher Training Class. Collette offers the perfect blend of technical skill and sensuality to her teacher trainees and she breaks down the art of pole dancing into easily digestible, clear instructions. Collette also trains her teachers to have an incredibly good eye for correcting mistakes in their students’ movements. “I created this program by applying how I was trained in my academic and consulting careers to study a craft and organize information. It was tedious and meticulous, but so necessary given the huge responsibility we take on in training others.” In the future, I would love to see this training expanded into a week-long or ten-day endeavor (as would Collette!), because there is an enormous amount of material to cover. It would also be wonderful to see this program expand its floor work training and dive into the emotionality of pole dancing in greater depth. Of course, those are my biases!

I want to thank Collette, Natalie, Felicia and OC Pole Fitness for putting together a very comprehensive and positive training programthat offers its trainees the flexibility to create their own curriculum while maintaining rigorous safety standards. I also want to thank my amazing co-trainees, who made the experience fun, exciting, supportive and very positive. Can’t wait to train for the upper levels!

February 20th, 2011

ThePoleStory

Day 3 of Training:

I mean it’s past the point of me complaining how SORE my body is. I’m presently numbing some of that soreness with a margarita.

Today I started my day by assisting Collette in an Intro to Pole Class. I had SO much fun. Collette has a very upbeat style of teaching, and she keeps the energy in the room high, which I think is good for beginners. She also takes a lot of time to explain why she is doing what she is doing. She does not take it for granted that her students will understand why they are spending class time learning floor moves. She explains to them that this will help them to learn sensuality and “swagger” as she likes to call it. I am not used to classes where the warm ups are broken down with explanations and a part of me just wanted to get lost in the flow of movement. But I have to say, it seemed to work for this class, and a lot of the students loosened up and were having fun. I was surprised at how few moves were taught from a curriculum standpoint, and yet how much material it seemed like the students were being given. And I loved, loved, loved assisting. There is nothing more satisfying to me than helping a student and watching her face light up when she gets a move. I also loved showing the students how to embrace their sensual side and enjoy their bodies. It truly made my day. I noticed too how much the language that Collette had taught me for pole moves came in helpful for finding small mistakes in the student’s movements and correcting them. I have primarily studied pole dancing in a studio that has no mirrors, which I always thought was great. But I must say, I was fascinated (and surprised) by how little the mirrors were used by the students during the floor moves portion. Partly this is because Collette had everyone facing each other in a circle. But I also think the students were more absorbed in their movement then in the image of their movement, which is lovely. On the other hand, I think the mirrors were a great tool for learning pole tricks because pole requires precise and proper body positioning in order to avoid injuries. Collette finished class with a beautiful demo that had all the students’ jaws on the floor.

After assisting, I got to “teach” my fellow pole students, which was far more challenging. Each of us took turns being the teacherandCollette came up with a number of student problems for us to tackle; everything from improper positioning to dead pets. My “students” included someone with a serious cold, another person who couldn’t deal with the sick student, a student whose pet iguana had just passed away and two students who were improperly positioned on the pole for the trick they were about to learn. I did ok. I didn’t catch everything, but I taught the trick properly. The role-playing was extremely valuable. The amount of stuff going on in a classroom at one time can be overwhelming, and it sometimes feels like you need eyes in the back of your head, a phenomenal memory bank, a ton of empathy and a long fuse. These scenarios did a great job of preparing us for what to expect in the classroom.

Last, and CERTAINLY not least in my day, I finally learned to do the Shoulder Mount! I have been practicing that move for months and months and months…improperly it turns out! No wonder I couldn’t get it. With a few small, but important adjustments (here is a hint: you will never, ever get your legs over if you are in a back bend) I was able to get my legs over my head flip up onto the pole. I am ecstatic!! Here is the best part (and it’s kind of a story): When I was little, I was terrible at gymnastics. I used to take dance and tumbling classes and in spite of my intense love of ballet and tap, at the young and tender age of five, I quit all of it because I couldn’t do a cartwheel. Everyone in the class could do one except for me, and I was devastated. My teacher came to the house to talk to me and reassured me that he could teach me a cartwheel and that it would be his priority, but I had already decided that I was a failure and would never accomplish such a feat. It’s kind of heartbreaking in retrospective. And today, while trying to figure out the shoulder mount, that old feeling came creeping back in, and I felt like the five year old who couldn’t do the cartwheel. But no one was going to let me give up – least of all Collette. She made it her personal goal to teach me that trick. And I got it. After five or six tries and some additional adjustments and a lot of encouragement from the women around me, I got it. And I have to say, whenever I overcome a challenge like that, a little piece of that five year old feels a whole lot better about herself. And that is priceless.

Last day of training tomorrow! Oh and I’m taking some sort of Chinese Splits class in the morning…if I can move.

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