Collaboration and Inspiration- Creating a New Pole Performance

"Inspiration" - a sudden creativity in artistic production. This unconscious burst of creative energy, simply means "to breathe upon" . What inspires you?

Music inspires me- I'm always listening to the words, melodys and musical compositions.
Another form of inspiration, is working with other performers and dancers. You see, I believe you have to expand your knowledge and skill, always moving forward. One way to achieve this, is through collaboration.
Recently I came across this song by The Airborne Toxic Event- "All At Once"

Check them out:

 

 

I love this song and decided to create a performance.

I have to admit, this is one of the hardest songs I've ever chosen for choreography.

The challenge I love!

Thankfully, I had some help and inspiration!

Enter Rodney James- dancer, performer and choreographer-extraordinaire! After an evening of collaboration, this is what we came up with!

 

 

My Version (I was recovering from an illness.. so I lost momentum after the Ayesha!)

 

This is quite a song- I've been chipping away at the choreography, I keep telling myself it will all come together- this is part of the process! Going to "Take this with me!"

I know working Rodney, improved my performance tenfold and helped me advance my skills.

Looking forward to June, when he returns to good ole Ontario!



"It All Starts with a Pole Hold" - Perfecting the Pole Hold

Last night, I had the honour of teaching our Level One. I love teaching Level One class- students are excited to be a part of our community and the anticipation of learning new skills is contagious. We worked on the Pole Hold- in my opinion, this is one of the most important moves to learn and understand.

 First, you are learning to hold your body weight- with your feet off the ground. I always love the look on a student's face when I say "Now let's get your feet off the ground!" The look of disbelief is amazing.

 My first pole hold was quick- I had no upper body strength and was carrying 40 extra pounds- I could only hold for a second.

Now my pole hold looks like this:



Benefits of the Pole Hold:

 * Builds Upper Body Strength

 * Increases Stamina

 * Strengthens Abdominals

 * Improves Spins

I like to think of the Pole Hold as the gateway move to spins, inverts and climbs. Getting your feet off the ground, allows you to be able to spin. Holding yourself up on the pole, takes you closer to inverting and being able to climb.

If you are thinking to yourself, "There's no way I can hold myself up." Great news! Guess what is wonderful about your muscles? You can gain strength! I have learned this first hand. Practice and tenacity, are your allies!

Recipe for a Perfect Pole Hold:

1. Stand up on your toes

2. Dominate hand at eye level, non-dominate hand underneath (* a common misconception is to put your hands up high and hang.. please resist the urge to do this! There are no benefits to doing a pole hold at all! Resist!)

3. Arms down, squeezing the pole between your arms and your chest. Keep body close to pole.

4. Roll your shoulders back and down, so you engage your back muscles.

5. Lift one foot up, bending at the knee.

6. Engage all your muscles in your upper body, especially your abdominals.

7. Squeeze the pole with your hands, and lift the other foot.
8. Hold knees behind the pole.
9. Either release the tension in your hand to slide down the pole, or place your feet back on the ground.

To gain strength, hold in this position for a few seconds.. and then extend for a few more. This was a game I used to play. I would go into my pole hold-count to 5, then release. Count to 8 and release. Etc.

However,  for the love of Benji, please don't do this:

 

No jumpers allowed!

So here's to our Level One students! Thank you for joining us!

Cheers,
Jane
(Ps. Yes, I love Usher's music! )

 

All Hail Our Bottoms- Exercises to Create a Lovely Bottom

All hail our bottoms!  (This picture makes me giggle)

"Bottom", "Butt", "Rear", "The Fanny",  "Gluteius maximus"- who can't resist the urge to check out a nice bottom? For some ladies (raising my hand), it's a Friday afternoon sport- sitting on the patio and checking out the gorgeous rears of male passerbys. A great butt will take a pair of  jeans, Little Black Dresses and pencil skirts to historic levels.

The buttocks are formed by the masses of the gluteal muscles or 'glutes' (the gluteus maximus muscle and the gluteus medius muscle) superimposed by a layer of fat.  The following muscle specific exercises will help sculpt your fanny into a shape that looks amazing.

Squats: stand with legs hip-width apart. Squat down as far as possible, but don't let knees go past your toes. This will cause knee problems. Repeat. Start with 20 reps and work up from there. Add 5 lb. weights if you need more resistance.

Side to Side Lunge is a great way to warm up and strengthen the glutes, hips and thighs. Adding a medicine ball makes the exercise more intense and forces you to engage the core to keep the body in proper alignment. Stand with feet wide, toes out at about a 45-degree angle and hold the medicine ball or weight at chest level.Lunge to the right, bending the knee and taking care to keep the knee behind the toe. Touch the ball to the floor while keeping the abs engaged and the back flat (don't round the shoulders).Stand up, bringing the weight to the chest.Repeat the lunge on the left side. .Do 1-3 sets of 10-16 reps. One rep is a lunge to the right and left.

 
 
Assisted Squat (use your pole!)  :Wrap a band or towel around a sturdy object in front of you, feet hip-width apart, abs in. Hold the band and bend knees and lower into a squat (no lower than 90 degrees). Push through the heels and squeeze the butt to lift back to start.

Walking is easy: you can do it anywhere, anytime with no special equipment. There's no learning curve and it's something you can incorporate all day long. If you walk up hills, you can really target your glutes and, if you pick up the intensity, you'll burn more calories, which can help if you're trying to lose body fat.



Remember, consistent workouts will give you the results you want!
 Cheers to you and your rockin' bottom!