I just started yesterday and all we do is pole dance. Does anyone have any kinda info.. on pole dancin???
I just started yesterday and all we do is pole dance. Does anyone have any kinda info.. on pole dancin???

I got some pole tricks, but I've tried to write out instructions before and failed miserably. the best suggestion I have is to watch the other girls really closely.. see where they're hanging on, where their hands are going... when it's slow, ask them to teach you basic stuff, and then go from there.
Orchid brought up a very valid point. Usually at my club, Wednesday night's between 7 and 9 are pretty slow, and the dancers and I almost always take this time to practice and help each other. Sometimes I go in about 2 hours early to practice on stuff by myself...if you wish to do this, talk with your club management.....Watch the other girls dance, and if you see something that you wanna learn to do, 9 times out of 10 another dancer will help you. I have often found that even taught the exact same way to two dancers, the dancers often add their own flare to it without even noticing. Thus creating almost two completely different tricks. My friend and I are infamous for it. I remember countless practice sessions with my friend Willow, we would figure out a trick and the both of us would practice and the same trick looked different when we each did it. So it's not like you're stealing tricks....unless you completely copy someone else....so don't be shy, it's okay to ask for help. You might also want to talk to your management. Chances are they've been in the business for a while and even if they can't do a particular trick, if they've seen an impressive one, they'll be more than happy to explain it to you. My old manager did that all the time, he'd go to a club in Florida, and when he came home, he'd start telling me about all of these tricks he wanted me to try.....oh yeah, and the number one rule of pole dancing, have confidence, and don't be afraid to fall. I've run into quite a few dancers who won't even touch the pole because their afraid. So you basically have to suck it up and go for it!
~*~Kitty~*~
Either go in befor eyour club opens and practice or stay late if you can. Ask girls who are good for help, or stay up late one night and if u live near a corner play on the street sign pole with some friends. My non-dancer friends can do a few trips from us hanging out one night playing on our street sign. Only do this if u live in a nice, well-lit residential area. You learn as you play. Once you learn how to mount a pole you will discover how many things you discover by accident.
There are also videos that you can look up the titles to at amazon.com and buy or go to blockbuster and request the title you are interested in for free. You'll only pay for the rental once they come in.
I agree with what most of what has been said here about practicing & asking dancers to show you how to do pole work.
I went even further & got a pole & had it put in my house. I don't have much room where it is located at the moment or else I would probably be doing some pole work everyday for the flexibility and strength.
You have to figure out what length you will need and purchase the fittings for the ceiling and floor also. You can get these things at a bar supply store or do a search on the web for brass railings.
Also I know I mentioned before about Fawnia's instructional videos-I know she has one specifically for pole work.
I myself would like a copy of that one! I've even considered putting out a tape of such nature.
I would be very interested in teaching lessons, possibly you could hire someone to tutor you!
Just some thoughts - hope it helped a bit!
I practiced at a school playground late nights. Amazing what you can learn with different sizes and bends on them poles from swing sets and monkey bars! Now i have a pole installed in my house! One very important point is to never (at work) jump on a pole right after another girl has just gotten off it, it may be sweaty. I found that out years ago. Sweat makes the pole not good for hanging on to very well. And also i take chalk ( a trick i use) and rub my hands (you can' t see it,) lightly across my palms for the pole. Never use any hand lotion. You will slip. And if you want to learn to go upside down on the pole, practice doing hand stands up against your wall at home. Then move on to smaller spots around the house that force you to use your legs to remain stable. I do squats and lunges for my exercise which helps alot to keep my legs tough enough to hang upside down.
Also grab with your hands a little above your waist and pull your legs out in front of you while on the pole, then spread your legs wide! Great move, but tough at times, the crowd will love it. You can't stay that way too long so slowly wrap your legs around the pole and start sliding down some. You may feel like you are sticking to it, but you will learn to loosen up the grip of your legs as you are coming down to the floor.
And when i get a fast song i playfuly jump on the pole, hang on with my hands tight put my legs above my head and hang on while moving my hips some. then come down to where i want. (always wrap the pole with your legs tight while upside down if you are using no hands.)
And swinging is a matter of hair and body going around. Very easy. I let one leg stretch straight out while pole swinging with my head back and then slow down and bring one leg up the pole as far as i can while arching my back, and sticking out my boobs.
DAMN, i love the pole, and have to rely on my tricks because i am mainly a pole dancer, and floor grinder/crawler.
I have lots more to say about the pole. But i'll let it rest for now.
I can go into detail better about pole loving, but i don't want to make this a book. Hope some of these techniques help you all. It's in the legs and arms!!!! They need to be fairly strong to hold and wrap. I have seen girls fall, or not even attempt alot of pole tricks.
But....I LOVE THE POLE, and will go as far as i can with it. I have bumped and grinded the pole while running (looks like not really, it had everyones hands on it) my tongue up and down the pole. Guys love it.
They tell me i make love to the pole, so i don't need a boyfriend. :o
My gosh i can go on for ever with pole tricks!!!! sorry
Pamela



i used to do the playground thing too.![]()





I have to agree with the excellent advice above. I had a pole in my last house and I really miss it. The only thing I could add is that while strength is important, the key is really in leverage, you don't really necessarily have to be strong (though it helps) to do a lot of these tricks if you learn to manipulate your body's weight correctly, using the laws of physics.
The warning about lotion is very important. If your club will let you take a small towel out and rub it down first, it could save you from injury someday. Also if your new club has gone the cheap route and used stainless steel and you are used to brass, go easy at first, I almost fell right on my head, and bruised the hell out of my arm avoiding it, the first time I tried one of those.
Street signs are great to practice on, and easier to grip as the metal is not slick, so long as it is dry. But you do run the risk of attracting the attention of passers-by. I almost had to fight three guys one night when a former dancer friend of mine didn't believe that I could do it (so naturally I had to show her).
Djoser
You must have chaos within you to give birth to a dancing star.
Friedrich Nietzsche
Free your mind, and your ass will follow.
George Clinton
______________________________________



I rarely if ever use the pole. And I still do very well. If a lot of the girls use the pole at your club and you don't, it will definitly make you stand out. Doing pole work on stage is not a necessity in being an successful exotic dancer.
Two very, very simple spins (these are the only ones I do).
Stand next to the pole (well, you're obviously going to work this into the dancing somehow. Grasp it with your inside arm (arm closed to the pole) between elbow and shoulder height. Take your inside leg and wrap it around the pole, so that the pole is sort of nestled in your knee. Lift your other foot. You will just go around and eventually land on the floor either on your knees or you can get your feet under you. It will look dorky unless you have some momentum, then you will just whip around, and it looks cool. Not as cool as the pole monkey girls but we all do what we can. You don't need any strength to do this. None at at. As long as you have a skeleton.
Next. Start in the same way. Next to the pole, inside hand. Take your outside leg and put it on the outside of the pole, so that the pole is in between your legs, with one leg up. Lift the other leg, and you go around in a similar fashion (all the same stuff and momentum and whippiness) but with the pole between your legs.
Another one that I can do in theory, but don't do because I wind up bruised from shoulder to wrist (you need a little strength for this one. Not a lot. If you can do a chinup, you can probably do this.) Sort of walk around the pole to get up some momentum with your inside hand on it at shoulderish height. Once you feel momentized just grap it with your other hand and swing your legs out to the side. They should naturally go in a sort of circular motion around the pole, leading your body in an almost spiral around the pole. Spiral as far down as you can, and get your feet under you before you land. You would be landing (if not on your feet) on the outside of your but and thigh. I see if I can find some pictures.
Speaking of tips. Does anyone know of any exercises that will enable me to build some upper body strength? I have been using Power Yoga: 2 for like 2 years with no noticeable effects (Does anyone else love Bryan Kest? I love Bryan Kest. He said it would eventually happen, but I have lost my faith). I still can't do a full push up. It's pathetic and I am beginning to think there is something genetically wrong with me. And i fear aging when I will inevitably develop those flappy underarms. I will have to always wear long sleeves.
Thanks.
Jenny
I have taught that the sky in all its zones is mortal and its substance was formed by a process of birth
One is relatively easy, but if u can't do one u can't do one. U know ur physical limits. U can lean backwards against a desk or bed with arms at ur sides. Try to keep ur knees straight and push up. U control how deep u go. Or lean against a wall, palms flat and push off.
Or do those girly pushups with resting on ur legs w/knees bent (think kneeling positions). These r really easy. But, if you push those knees back and balance on ur patella (kneecaps, so wear pants or kneepads) pushing up gets tougher and becomes a balancing act and works those arms.
"Come what may although I often say realities come from dreams, but approach all lies with open eyes because NOthing in this world is EVER ALL it seems."



the best time to practice is before the club opens or after your shift at night (the stage will be dirty...) be prepared for sore arm muscules and some bruises...but at least it puts that little extra something into your show instead of doing "the walk"...playgrounds are also helpful, especially when you take the kids to the park you can get some practice time in..
blessed be




Jenny, the best thing I ever found for building my upper body strength was doing handtsnad / headstand pushups.
Also, as much as it will bruise you, learning how to flip upside down on a pole will also do it (it's more ab strength and momentum than it is upper body). The upper body strength is developed in that by using your arms, shoulders, and backs to stabilize yourself and control your movements once you are upside down. If you have any self preservation instincts at all, you learn it REALLY fast! LOL The downside is that it will leave a nasty bruise on your hip for the first month or so, until your skin toughens up in that area.
Aside from that, I've always been fond of using a ten pound bag of potatoes, held between both hands, hanging behind me between my shoulder blades. If you raise and lower it in a controlled motion, it starts working the muscles on the underside of your upper arm.
Another good one is dips. I'm prone to doing those at work, if I find a waitress stand with the two parallel bars sectioning it off. It's entirely based on the resistance of your body weight + gravitational pull, and it hurts at first, but it does nice things to the upper arms.
McCain



If you want to practice at home and you don't want to tear up the ceiling and floor to install a pole, or if you rent and you can't do that kind of construction there's a site you can go to called www.platinumstages.com You can order a pole for about $400-500. It comes with a 4ft sq. stage and it is free standing so there's no trying to bolt it to the floor or ceiling. It's amazingly stable. Don't worry about falling cause it's not attached. I've had one for about 6 months and it's worked great for me.


Kittie, you said you own a platinum stage, could you answer a question? They don't show any close ups of the base on the site, and I'm assuming the pole goes through the dancing surface and attaches to the stage frame. Is this how it's so stable?
The dumb kid is back!



Yes, that is the way that I set mine up. The stages do not come fully assembled, so you have a little bit of liberty when it comes to how much give you want the pole to have. Personally, I like to practice on a pole that is ever so slightly wobbly. I do this because I want to be sure I can keep my balance no matter what on stage. (The first few times I did some pole work in the club, I had some pretty embarassing, not to mention painful, falls from the pole).![]()


I figured as much. I'll print out the photos & take them over to my fabricator friend, cause there's no way I could afford $500, but I bet we can make one pretty easy. Seems like it would be great to have at parties.
The dumb kid is back!



I've never had any parties at the house since I got it, but it definitely makes an interesting conversation piece when my mother comes over.![]()


agree with candice, pole work isn't that important to learn, can be hazardous and i don't know about you guys but i dont have months to sit and mend a broken body part. remember that our job demands perfect health thru and thru. personaly i never do pole tricks, i have had alot of guys tell me how silly it looks , granted some tricks can be impressive. also i'm a little germ consientious but hey just me que sera sera.
~prosperity~
Practicing before and after work is always good, we have had some great sessions when the hydro goes out in the bar. Once one or two people start we always get more. My friend and I also used to practice on the playground before work. It really helped me gain stength. My advise is to watch other and pay attention to where hands are and any part of the body that touchhed to pole. Things that may look impossible may become much clearer when you notice counter balance points.
and most of all....
Have fun!
Rebecca

I have some info on this page http://www.mypole.co.uk/iwantone.htm which you may find helpful.At Home Depot poles are very cheap. I would like to buy one but I dont know what size to get. And do they have different textures cause I think some poles are stronger and its easilier to do pole tricks on them. ???
My pole is 5.1 cm, which is just about 2 inches. I think that size is just right. I bought a chrome plated pole, but I beleive brass is popular too.
Fawnia's pole work video is good in my opinion.
http://www.mypole.co.uk
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