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APFA
Oh no, there is only 3 classes left with spots open! Eeeeek…I waited tooooo long. Was hoping to get in with Allegra!
Hope to see you all at the event in October!
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16 Replies
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just had to cancel my steven workshop if anyone wants to take the last spot, FYI
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Can’t wait! I’m taking Steven, Marlo, Female and male winners… Will anyone be in these?
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I am cancelling my trip:( I hope everyone will tell me how it went and I know I can always go onto YouTube to see the clips! Just thought I'd sit this year out b/c of certain circumstances.
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I’m taking the male & female winner’s workshop too. See you there liznunezeliz!
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@debra007 woohoo! Lol
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OK, it is Monday! Let's hear all about the eventhttps://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_smile.gif Share if you have any stories…
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The performances were all amazing… The Steven Retchless and Marlo Fisken workshops were intense… The warm up and stretching! Lol.. They are two very talented people and I will definitely take other workshops with them in the future… Flying Laura (female winner) is super talented! I took her workshop and her drops and inverts on the pole was just jaw dropping. I loved Deriek Pierson (male winner) workshop. He is a very beautiful dancer…
Awesome event! Can’t wait till next year!
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All of the performers including the kids were so amazing. I was blown by everyone in some way. Heidi Coker, I never really knew much about her but her performance was flawless and very clean. The poler named Bunny had this one spin that was so bad @zz it made everyone just holler when she did it (at least I know I was), Winter Rainone is another I never really knew much about but all of her spins and tricks were so incredibly fluid that I kept getting confused as to which pole was in spin and which was in static, Flying Laura was explosive, powerful, made you say "WOW!!" Phoenix Kazree was jaw droppingly AMAZING!!! She had such a well rounded performance because she was another that was so incredibly fluid, graceful, strong and sexy all at the same time. Her performance made me gasp and literally break out in goosebumps.
The men BROUGHT it!!! Tavon "JC" had us ooooo'ing and ah'ing esp when he did his floor work, lol! David Owen's was incredibly creative, he actually was tied up in this big potatosack and CUT himself out then proceeded to amaze everyone with his superhuman flexibility and power. There was this guy called the "Crow" and his non-pole dance moves were so unique and edgy looking I'd love to take classes from him just to move the way he did when he danced. The guy Derik who won was absolutely amazing, fluid, and looked like he was filled with joy while performed. He also moved very beautifully, so much so that I wish I could have affored to take his workshop to learn how to move like him.
I could only afford to take one workshop so I signed up for Marlo's (one of my all time favorite pole dancers). I agree with liznunezeliz; it was amazing and the warm up was definitely intense! I was sweating and breathing hard and just hoping I could survive it. I was so happy because I really struggle with flexibility but when she finally had us drop into our splits, I went right into mine and went down the lowest I've ever done and I got the lowest I've ever done on my left side (which usually I don't ever get anywhere near the floor). I was very excited about that. I loved the spins and just everything she taught us on the pole and my pole buddy was also so nice and helpful (I forgot her name but she was from Holland). Marlo was also so nice and down to earth and she was very attentive during the workshop walking around and correcting our form whenever we needed it. She was also very encouraging. I'm so happy I was able to attend the APFC and workshop. It turned out to be a very well put together event and I met so many wonderful people. I also met some of the competitors and they were so friendly and down to earth! Sorry for the long winded post. I just had a great time and am so excited about what I learned!
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@ Maria T I also was able to get super low on my splits! Congrats on yours! Thanks Marlo! 🙂
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Has anyone seen videos posted yet? I'd love to check them out, I've heard so many good things about the performances!
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Professional videos will probably not be out till months from now and recording was prohibited. Though I can tell you, the photography was done by Toni Wallachy and I am highly looking forward to that.
All in all, APFC weekend was amazing. For the competition, I called 5 out of 6 winners, Phoenix, Laura, Derrick, David, and Suwasit (I missed all but 30 seconds of Heidi's and from what I saw, gorgeous). All jawdropping performances. David's being the most original/flexible, Derrick/Winter/Heidi being the most fluid, Suwasit being the most emotional, Phoenix/Laura/David being the most powerful. I wasn't too impressed with the non-winning males this year. Common moves and not enough performance. Kept hearing about it from others. However, all the females were very impressive.
The show itself was swag. Red carpet was a perfect touch (Can't wait to see who won best dressed! So many gorgeous dresses), decent amount of vendors (I picked up a pair of Mighty Grip gloves), stage setup was good aside from the platforms, the wine/pellegrino were yummy, everyone got a copy of Pole Spin magazine, and space at the tables really helped my view (soooo worth it). Lol! Jenna did a great job co-hosting and Tinu was running around all over the place but as a spectator, APFC was well put together. I absolutely loved both their dresses.
After party was alright. Would have chose a better venue or DJ. Stitch's original DJ left like last month so music was blech. Marina's performance was quite unique and Prana ended up not performing b/c of her knee. It was cool seeing pole badasses do tricks on the X-Stage though. Jenyne being my favorite! Even seeing her on for a minute or so made my night. OMG love her, she's so sweet.
Did 2 workshops on Sunday, Allegra's and Emil Valentino's (whom were also judges of APFC). Allegra is amazeballs and the way she broke down moves made it easy. We learned the Allegra, closed allegra, triple V, a spin combo (bend, plank, poletini, plank, bend, drop split), allegra split (couldn't do), corkscrew/extended butterfly/pop-in opposite inside leg hang, TG lift, and spinning marley (couldn't do on spin). My pole buddy and I were a riot as we're static polers. She teaches in South Beach, where they don't spin. I ended up going to lunch with Allegra, David, Roland, and my husband. Not only is she an awesome pole star, she is an even more awesome person. And David, he's always been the nicest man ever. Emil's flexibility workshop was the deepest stretching I've ever done in my life. LOL! My friend Andrea (Cherry Blossom owner) and I kept making the funniest faces at each other! Not to mention I was intimidated being in the front between Emil and Lian, with Flying Laura and Derick Pierson behind me. LMAO! Lian was the best sexy flexy buddy a girl could ask for. I love B&P!!!!
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I had a great time too …. and was blown away and inspired by the performances. I was left kinda cold by the M.C.s and organization of the afterparty, but I won't say anything else because I'm just grateful the event was organized and brought together so many amazing performers 🙂
Let's see … what did I do … Rebecca Starr's "Pole Power" class on Friday. Fun, solid warmup for the weekend 🙂 Cool to see how other people teach technique and strength moves for things like ayeshas, aerial climbs, etc. At the end she took time to give me personal tips on backbending in ayesha and TG handspring. Very sweet!
I took Derick Pierson's workshop afterward and had a great time — I felt his warmup and approach was really informed by a focus on anatomy, which I love — and despite an injury he got me into the "plus sign" and then "allegra splits" for the first time ever, on my "wrong" side! I also did a controlled SM flip for the first time. I loved his positive energy 🙂
I also took Allegra's first workshop (not the one you were in heathalynne). The chopper into Allegra was new to me and I liked the triple V, but I was disappointed with the beginner spin combo, and after Derick's workshop, I was too tired to work on the exact same Allegra splits again. We didn't work on lifting TG, she just gave us "homework" and performance tips. However, she is so cute and seeing her demos was so awesome that I'm still glad I went 🙂
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Highlights video is up! https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_biggrin.gif
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lno_tAgbqLo
@lilblondie – Awe!!! I guess every workshop is still different, even though the same teacher. Always depends on the class as a whole. Wish I took Derick's workshop! Kept bumping into him everywhere.
Sorry you got injured too. My forearm was sore after sunday, then in a complete knot after Prana's wednesday open class. We did a lot there too. Spin combo: front hook to back hook and swing to front hook, cross side sit, reach out, then aerial princess grip SM. Swoosh Down (my new favorite!!!!) and Swooshy. Kept practicing aerial princess grip SM to get into it. Aerial TG on spin (first ever! yay!!! Although couldn't really spin, so just aerial TG. lol!). And another slow spin combo: prockstar, CAR, bridged CAR, plank.
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@heathalynne: just to clarify, I didn't injure myself in Derek's class — I did that myself a long time ago! 🙂 Glad you had a good weekend!
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Thank you for clarifying you didn’t injure yourself in my workshop. This is derick btw. It felt good teaching again, and being able to bring my knowledge to such great amazing dancers. I just want to say thank you to everyone who enjoyed my workshop and performance. Your kind words mean the world to me.
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