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Pacific Pole Championships: Pictures and Video
Here are some of the professional images, as well as a video of my performance, all courtesy of Alloy Images. Again, I took 3rd place in the Artistic Dramatic Level 2 category, and while my performance is not perfect, I’m pretty proud of myself for going out and doing it. I am starting to pull together the info for the post on what it took for me to compete and hope to have it done later this week – with volunteering at the Master’s Cup and the Pole Convention, it’ll be a busy week! Photos are up first (chose my favorites – there are a few that are nice shots, but I’m rather harsh on myself about how I look in some of them, so holding those back out of vanity :-P), video is at the bottom.
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- Part of my opening spin combo
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- taking a bow, mid-pole
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- jasmine
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- trying for musicality
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- first sequence on spinning pole
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- photo by Alloy Images 2012
Handsprings and apron strings
Last night in class, we started conditioning for handsprings – exciting and scary! Back in the fall, I started learning the original mount position for a twisted handgrip handspring, but I was not strong enough (nor flexible enough, although I am not that flexible now anyway) to be able to hold it or even really get into it with any ease. We were not at the place to begin the launch conditioning, but my instructor at the time (Autumn, who just had a baby!) just wanted us to learn what it felt like to be in that position. I’ve been conditioning twisted handgrip to go into aerial ever since, but haven’t revisited the handspring launch position since then. Drea brought it in this week, so we can start getting familiar with it now, even though most of us aren’t quite ready to go full aerial. She’s teaching us twisted first, because we’re all still conditioning that grip up on the pole – it’s the Jenyne Butterfly dead lift version of a handspring, I think. I was able to get into the position with a lot more ease than in the fall, and I could hold it for longer, but I wasn’t able to get up yet – whatever balance and strength it takes with the bottom arm isn’t conditioned yet. But, it’s conditioning I can at least work on at home – I can work on staying in the launch position to get used to it and doing little controlled hops to work on the core conditioning.
On top of that conditioning, I also have homework conditioning to do to get caught up on straight leg inverts – I am woefully behind on that (when compared to my fellow classmates, which I shouldn’t be comparing myself to, but whatever). Straight leg inverts have always bothered my back a lot – I used to have immediate pain from them – now, I can do a few, but either go home and feel pain that night, or all the following day. It sucks. I still can’t get up with straight legs, either – so, I feel like I’m hurting myself for no progress. It’s a source of a lot of frustration for me. Drea gave me baby step conditioning to do to work up to it, which is good – it’s just really upsetting that my body won’t do what I want it to do.
On the plus side, I was able to do the butterfly from the floor mount (as opposed to an inversion to get into it), which is something that I had tried once with Autumn, too. Last week, I hadn’t done proper stretching on my left leg to allow it – I tried to get into the position and whatever I messed up in my knee last year twanged hard enough that I aborted it without trying the trick.
In other news, I will be volunteering at the International Pole Masters Cup Championships on June 21st – I thought it might be neat to see what goes on at the event, even if I don’t get a chance to watch the show itself. I may be doing a second day of work/volunteering at the Pole Convention, but waiting to hear back on that – it would be for a vendor, instead of for the event itself.
And, best of all, I have a really fun idea for a pole-related item, which was cooked up with a member of a group of polers I chat with via Facebook – we’re looking to meet up about it next week, and I’ve enlisted my boyfriend for help with it. I would be SO EXCITED to get it off the ground!
I need to work on my PPC post and get it out sooner, as it looks like the photos/video may take a while – I finally checked in to ask about them, because I thought I would have received them by now, and it turns out that a lot of us haven’t heard back – we also haven’t received our scorecards (feedback on performances) yet, which I had forgotten about. So, I will try to get the PPC post done and up, then post photos and maybe video/scorecard when it all arrives.
Here’s a fun little pic from this week’s class – our theme was “Apron Strip”, so I brought the only apron I own (the front reads: “I keep the best snacks under my apron.”) and my “fancy housewife” rubber gloves that have fabric detailing on the ends. We are a silly bunch sometimes!
Pole Convention 2012
LA is hosting The International Pole Convention of 2012 from Friday, June 22nd to Sunday, June 24th, at The Los Angeles Airport Marriott, 5855 West Century Blvd, Los Angeles, California 90045. There are three types of passes offered: full access ($139), limited access ($99), and the Showcase to the Stars ONLY ticket ($40). There is no single-day entry pass, much to my disappointment – with PPC having taken up a huge chunk of my resources (still recovering), I can’t afford much in the way of extras when it comes to pole right now. Class is my priority, so it isn’t currently in my budget to be able to swing even the limited pass…BUT, I will be volunteering on Saturday! I’m excited to have the opportunity to help out, as well as the chance to walk around and explore the convention on my breaks! Most of the workshops with the pole stars are sold out – and they’re quite expensive – but there are some free/less expensive workshops available throughout the weekend, if you want to check them out! There are also certification programs available! I plan on taking some pics and updating about my experiences – and, yes, I still owe the PPC post about what it took to compete – I’m stubbornly waiting for my professional photos and video before I update (I’m also IMPATIENTLY waiting for them).
Also, Living Social has a great deal on tickets to Cirque du Soleil’s IRIS – nearly half off! Get them before the sale ends/they sell out! https://www.livingsocial.com/deals/371458?ref=conf-jp&rpi=64888830 I’m looking forward to going – with my new found admiration of silks and lyra, I am finding that most circus/acrobatic stuff fascinates me. 🙂
GND – June show
On Sunday, I went to my first Girl Next Door show at King King, to support Kat and Drea in their performances as part of the June ensemble. They both KILLED it – such different routines, both incredibly entertaining and definitely highlights of the show! I recommend checking it out if you’ve got the funds – tickets can be pricey for the good seats (the general admission leaves something to be desired – you either have to be first in line to snag one of the few bar stools or plan to wear comfy shoes!), but I hear there are deals sometimes available on discount ticket sites.
It was really cool to see so many different styles of performance, as well as the different themes, the different stage presence of each dancer, and how it all came together. There were a number of gals in the audience from The Pole Garage, and I know that the ones I caught up with afterward talked about how inspiring it was to watch! It was great to see so many familiar faces, by the way!
I took a ton of pictures with my phone (poor thing – 1,000 photos!) and edited them down quite a bit. I’ll post a few here, and once Kat & Drea put up their professional videos, I’ll post links to those as well! I apologize that I don’t have all of the names of the ladies below their photos – I gave my only copy of the program to Kat, so I don’t actually know the names of most of the gals. There are more photos of Drea and Kat for obvious reasons – gotta support my girls! – but I included at least one photo of each performance. Enjoy!
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- aerial hoop!
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- Save a horse, ride a cowboy
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- rope
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- Kat doing Dancing Machine
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- Kat’s layback walk out
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- Kat twerkin’ – everybody loves a booty pop!
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- Vee Niz in her amazing performance
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- Vee Niz
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- Vee Niz – I loved the emotion in her dance
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- Drea!
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- Drea’s floorwork
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- Drea’s center split hair flip
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- Drea’s one-arm-down handstand
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- Drea – up she goes!
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- Drea’s gemini
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- Drea’s Iron X
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- sass!
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- Drea’s finale
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- Jennifer Kim
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- Playing in between the acts
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- More aerial hoop
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- Finale: Cell Block Tango from Chicago
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- Finale: Cell Block Tango from Chicago
Better
Monday was one of those classes where nothing was working how I wanted it to work. We were reviewing old tricks that needed polishing, as well as doing conditioning to improve existing tricks. The stuff we were focusing on is all stuff that I have never been great at, in large part because my body simply does not like it. My shoulders scream whenever I try the keyhole, and my back freaks every time I work on a fliptini. Still, I kept trying the fliptini, to keep working on conditioning the lift with straight legs. Didn’t stop me from being near tears for half of the class – it is so frustrating to want to be better, and know it is a long road, only to see the ways my body puts up a fight. I felt like shit for most of the class. I went back to working on some stuff on my own with moderate success – unfortunately, working on all of the conditioning and the tricks my body dislikes meant that most of my strength was gone by the time I got to my aerial conditioning. I barely made it through our free dances, too – I actually felt my left leg begin to give way at one point, which is a combination of an old injury from hiking that never quite healed, and the overall exhaustion from the class. I am paying for the conditioning today – my back has been screaming since I woke up, and it is clearly because I was working muscles that need to be developed. I think I hit a point of wondering what it is about my pole work that stands out, and therefore, I make the mistake of comparing myself to others – never helpful. So, it was an off night for me, possibly an off week. Happens. Hoping it isn’t another funk period/plateau. The last one went on for a couple of months, until I got strong enough to start getting the new tricks.
Girl Next Door: A Pole Dance Soirée
Show starts in half an hour! There might still be tickets available at the door! King King in Hollywood!
Pacific Pole Championships 2012
Whew! This is going to be a crazy long post, so strap yourselves in and be prepared to have your butt numbed! I’ll pick up where I left off on the day before the competition:
After arriving early to the hotel, we had a lot of time to relax and do whatever, so we explored the hotel itself, then ran out to get food for my boyfriend (I had eaten what we’re called The Forty Dollar Salad, because with room service fees and whatnot, that’s about what we paid for my lunch/dinner right after we arrived). Upon our return to the hotel, he was such a good sport and cleared out of the room so I could rehearse.
Let me tell you, I did NOT want to rehearse. I mean, I DID, because I was so nervous and felt terrible about where it was all at, but it was like pulling teeth to get me to do it. 🙂 Still, I set my stuff up and ran through it over and over again in the space next to the bed. With no pole, I focused on improving the floor work (read: sticking to the same moves) and strengthening character. I did that thing you should never do, which is add choreography. Whenever I would get to the pole runs, I would mimic the movement while laying on the floor (or whatever was closest to the move itself). I spent about an hour and a half doing this, over and over again, as well as looking up Cheshire Cat quotes (the actor in me wanted some character analysis). By the time my boyfriend came back, I was ready for bed, and he blessedly went to bed with me – a good 3 hours before either of us normally goes to sleep. 🙂
I slept okay until 2am, when I woke up suddenly and decidedly. Nothing but strange dreams after that, but when the alarm went off at 5:30am, I dutifully got my ass up by 5:45 to get started with the day. First order of business: head down for food. Stopped in the lobby Starbucks for some oatmeal and caffeine (yay Iced Chai Latte!), then realized it was still too early to get into the venue to rehearse, so I went back upstairs to the room and proceeded to do some warm up stretches while eating and checking my phone…in the tiny hallway to our bathroom, so the light wouldn’t wake up my boyfriend. At 6:25am, I headed back down to the venue and was the third girl in the door to rehearse. It was interesting to see everyone trickle in and begin to stretch, then slowly gravitate toward the poles. 🙂 I would venture to say that polers aren’t often on the poles at that hour of the day!
I stayed at rehearsal until Kat showed up, then we ran back up to the room so I could shower before hair and makeup. She came down with me to the rehearsal room, which is where hair and makeup were being done as well – such a good sport! My appointments took longer than I thought only because they were already backed up, so we got back up to start the rest of my costume later than intended…which meant that I was LATE to my category! (Thank you to Bonnie for that message, telling me to get my ass to the stage!) By then, Kat was wrapping up the last elements of my costume, and my friend Amanda had arrived to see me as well – she and Jarad were documenting what they could with various phones.
I ran to the venue, entourage in tow (teehee – that just makes me laugh). By the time I got there, there were only two girls left before me, so I actually didn’t have that much time to be terrified. I ran my routine in my head, moved around a bit – because standing still just meant that I was trembling, so better to move with purpose – and put on my grip, of course! I did some stretching and breathing to get centered, and next thing I knew…it was my turn.
Stepping out on that stage was something else. I’m an actor, so I know what it is to be up and have to perform, but there was a moment as I walked out that I very nearly burst into tears from all of the energy I was carrying with me. I really do think that the actor in me took over at that point. There was a moment before I went out, as I stood beside the stage, that I often have just before I do something I’ve worked on or do something where I have to jump right in…it’s a very clear moment of pulling out of my head, looking at the space and saying, “Fuck it. Let’s do this.”
By the time I sat down to start my routine, that part of me had won out over the crying part – thank god! I don’t remember the entire routine, but I remember pieces:
*realizing as I looked into the audience during my opening choreography that people were watching me – and that I had locked eyes with some poor guy, because I made the choice to disengage so as to not throw myself off AND not freak him out
*After my opening spin, realizing I was early to climb and improvising a bow to fill time
*Very much remembering the first piece of choreo that I added the night before, which was my second bow from up on the pole
*The terrifying-as-shit slip of my anchor hand while getting into my jasmine – I caught myself right away, but it scared the shit out of me. STILL – I kept going, and recognized in the moment that my only choice was to continue as if nothing had happened
*Knowing I wasn’t facing properly for my pike, but continuing anyway
*Slipping as I came down off of the spinning pole after my first spin and having to do my best to cover for it – I flat out fell the last six inches, I think because I rushed it (I certainly had no problems with it in any rehearsal, but adrenaline kicks in and you never know what will happen!)
*Realizing that the spinning pole was slippery enough that I didn’t think I could cllimb as high as I wanted to climb, so getting into what was to be my finale move – a plank – and realizing I had most of the final chorus left in the song…and having to improvise! The next two moves were things I’d considered for choreo, but not really rehearsed much. I’ve done the Scorpion maybe three times ever, and that splay from the plank came from a move I saw Zoraya do – I had been playing with it in practices, but took it out for time.
It was SO quick – the entire thing was so much faster than I expected, and when I was done, I was just happy I hadn’t totally and utterly fucked up. I felt good, despite the mistakes I caught – because, naturally, my brain picks out THOSE things to remember, instead of something beautiful. People were so kind when I got off stage, which was very much appreciated!
I threw on my makeshift cover up (my long cardigan and my boyfriend’s pajama pants) and ran out to find my friends. I feel like an idiot describing their reactions, but fuck it: they seemed so excited and were telling me how awesome it was, because they are awesome friends. Kat, who has been helping me with choreo and costume and other such stuff related to the event, gave me a really honest review – that, when I left our dress rehearsal on Thursday, she would have said I wouldn’t have placed – but watching my performance in the actual event, she thought I had a real shot. (And, for the record, I wasn’t offended – she’s right about that rehearsal, and I well knew it.)
We sat and watched the end of my category, as well as some of the category after mine (Level 3 Artistic Entertainment – excellent, hilarious performances!). I looked up to see Bonnie, who was announcing the morning performers, looking at me. She was so sweet and sent me a lot of love right then – I have to say, it was such a good feeling to know that there was so much love in the room. Between her, my friends, and the other gals from The Pole Garage that were present, as well as the strangers that reached out to give me support or compliments in passing, it was a friendly room. Anyway, after watching for a while, Jarad, Kat and Amanda insisted we go out to see if the results had been posted. I was more in favor of avoiding it and being happy with being done and having performed well overall. However, I went over with them and found out that I had placed third!
They were so excited – Kat had the responsibility of texting Drea, since my phone died – and we got photos of the ranking sheet/scores. I’m still a little, “Oh my god, really?!?! That’s so cool!!” about it. It was secretly my hope – I didn’t think I’d ever take first, but I really did just want to take third. 🙂
There was a whole lot of other stuff going on at that point, including us having to check out of the hotel, and me having to get the Medal Ceremony and winner photos taken care of before I ran off to my audition – oh, yes, I think I forgot to mention that I received a notice of a commercial audition right after arriving to the hotel on Friday, originally scheduled for 10:30am on Saturday. I called my agents and got the ok to arrive by 1pm, so I could try to get out of costume in time to be there. With Amanda driving me, I ripped off my lovely stripes, wiped off the face makeup and lipstick, and removed my amazing glittery false eyelashes. I still looked insane for the audition – I had no makeup remover powerful enough to take off the stage makeup, so my eyes were still in Cheshire Cat colors (at stage intensity). I put on my glasses to try to block some of it from the camera. I also had no clothing with me at the hotel that fit the bill (corporate boardroom), so I did my best in hot pink ultrasuede platform heels, a black cotton skirt, a white tank top, and my long teal cardigan over it. I must have looked ridiculous! But, eh, fuck it – they’ll like me or they won’t. I showed up, which a lot of actors wouldn’t have done in the same situation!
Amanda took me back to the competition afterward – Jarad had gone to meet friends, and Kat had other commitments – so we got to hang out and watch some more performances. It was a lot of fun to see so many different styles! It was such an interesting lesson in what works well, how personality can come through, etc. We got to see our fellow Pole Garage girl, Erin, perform – she took second in her category! (Overall, the ladies of The Pole Garage did well – 3 out of 4 placed in their categories, and everyone did PG proud with the strength and beauty of their work – way to represent!)
One of the things I really loved about the event was seeing all of the different women – ladies of all shapes, sizes, ages, looks – and how each one brought something different to their dance. I love that pole can be so inclusive to so many types of people, and it was SO much fun to watch the various performances! I also want to point out that the group was really supportive overall – people I didn’t know came up to tell me that they liked my performance, and I know I grabbed performers in passing to compliment them. I loved seeing moves I hadn’t seen before (seriously, Miyoko did something that I can’t even break down mentally, but the three of us pole gals in a row gasped when we saw it). I feel like this was SUCH a rewarding experience on so many levels, and that it was a truly beautiful way to be introduced to what it is to be in a competition. Thank you to Amy and Bayleigh for creating the event and running it smoothly!
Over the course of the day, I received messages from all manner of friends, family, acquaintances, etc, wishing me luck and congratulating me on the results! I don’t know that I could recall each and everyone one of them, but every message meant the world to me. THANK YOU!
I’d also like to take a second to send out some special love and thanks to Drea from my pole home, The Pole Garage, for the time she spent helping me over the last few weeks – her advice, guidance, and instruction really helped me and had a major impact on my routine and the day of the event. More love and thanks to Kat of Pure Delish for her belief that I could do this, her endless support, and all of her ideas – she choreographed the opening 30 seconds and helped me fine-tune the entire routine, AND she helped me pull together my costume. Speaking of, thank you to Xotic Eyes for my bitchin’ Cheshire Cat stripes (custom dyed!) and Happy Hoodie Friends for my custom made Cheshire Cat tail! I also owe a big thank you to USPDF 2011 Champion Natasha Wang for her helpful tips about my routine! Thank you to ALL of the ladies at The Pole Garage, for not only the love and support, but also putting up with me crashing your classes for the last two weeks, so I could get in extra rehearsal time (We celebrated in my usual night with Champagne and Cupcakes – and, naturally, a lap dance, because that’s how Monday Night rolls)! Last but not least, thank you to Bonnie for her continued support and her joy for the journey; Amanda and Kat for coming out to support me the day of the event; and a very special thank you to Jarad, for putting up with weeks of his girlfriend running off to rehearsals, obsessively talking about pole, being moody and depressed and anxious at times, and of being the best sport ever the night before/day of the event. My performance was the first time he’d seen me dance in person! He was endlessly loving and supportive throughout this journey, even taking a trip to Downtown Disney to hunt for Cheshire Cat stuff for me – between him and Kat, and the performance in general, I now have a little shrine to The Most Mischievous Kitteh Evar.
I will post some photos, but the professional shots and video will be coming later – excited to see them! I was back in class yesterday, and my body is still a little tired (wrists/forearms), but I was able to hold my twisted handgrip aerial pencil and ayesha pretty well, which is great – it’s such a slow progression, but it’s getting better, and I’m hopeful I’ll be able to lock them both in the next month! I have other conditioning to work on in the meantime – oh, pole! There’s always something more! 🙂
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- My mascots at the hotel
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- My alarms
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- Rehearsal in the venue
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- Kat: The Stripe Whisperer
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- Kat putting on my Xotic Eyes stripes
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- Terror on the elevator
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- Some of my opening choreo, photo from fellow competitor Sayaha Aida
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- The dreams in which I’m dying are the best I’ve ever had (bow on static pole)
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- My climb on static pole, from fellow competitor Sayaha Aida
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- Mad World (jasmine on static pole)
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- Children waiting for the day they feel good (pretzel tuck on static pole)
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- Medal Ceremony!
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- My 3rd Place Medal: Level 2 Artistic Dramatic
Pacific Pole Championships 2012 (a brief update)
I need to do a proper post when I have some time, but for now, I’ll give you this photo:
Pacific Pole Championships 2012: 3rd Place in Artistic Dramatic Level 2
Thank you to everyone for all of the love and support through this journey. I look forward to posting more photos of the event itself (plus my experiences with it, of course), as well as my continuing journey with pole! xoxoxox
Poleitical Diaries 