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Style and Transitions
I've been thinking a lot about how style is conveyed, through either moves, transitional moves, or how one puts together a dance…
So, I'm curious how you guys discovered your own styles, how you differentiate between other people's styles, and what kinds of things you do in order to cultivate it.
For example, with drawing, it's very clear how style is created: Types of lines, colours, how things are put together. A million people could be asked to draw a woman, and you would come out with a million different answers…but all of the same subject.
In order to cultivate my own drawing, I am collecting various pieces by artists I like that I think convey the best parts of what I like. Subject having no bearing, it's all about how the artist created mood, energy and the subject generally. I realize that sounds confusing, but it works. Through looking at the drawings of others, and mimicking them, I can cultivate a style I prefer to look at, that is all my own.
I'm having issues, however, finding people who have radically different styles out on youtube. I'm finding I get stuck on how the moves are generated, the subject itself, rather than how it is made individual to the person dancing. I also have issues because of the physical limitations; I cannot, for example, do the splits or an inversion yet (yes, still!) though I am slowly working on it.
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16 Replies
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I feel like I have my own style, but I'm continually developing it–that is to say that finessing it's always a work in progress, but my base "style" has always been pretty much what it is. For me, getting to the point where I didn't feel like I was simply going through the motions or doing moves/transitions I'd seen someone else do, in the way they did it, was the result of a LOT of freedancing. I would put on an hour, maybe two hours, of music and just dance. Tricks, no tricks, didn't matter, what mattered was that I would just move and keep moving. Certain things, certain ways of moving my body, felt so much more natural! And there were the beginnings of my style.
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I don't really have a style, but I do try to just let the music take me where it wants to take me so if something calls for a more classical style then I will dance that way, if I am feeling sensual I'll dance that way etc, etc, I like to look at transitions as the meat and potatoes of dancing and the tricks as accents.
As Polergirl said it takes hours of just dancing – not stopping because of anything and really just getting into it.
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I think it's difficult to ask people what their own style is – it is probably much easier to pinpoint the stylistically unique aspects of others' dances because they are easier to see.
I personally think style comes across mostly with stage presence and facial expressions, and even the almost imperceptible ways in which each woman (or man) moves her (or his) body differently (which probably has to do with differences in background training, self awareness, etc) – even excluding differences in level or flexibility. For instance I think you could probably watch Felix cane and Karol Helms do the same routine and both execute it perfectly, but I bet it would still look different.
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Polergirl: I like hearing about your progression 🙂 It sounds like you've got a good handle on it as an art, and as a "science," in a way. Thank you 🙂
Charley: I like your idea of "meat and potatoes" being transitions, and tricks being an accent. They way I was originally taught to dance was all (or mostly) tricks, one after the other, stringing them together, so I'm finding it quite difficult to incorporate (or even understand!) transitional moves. So, I think that helps.
HollySatine: I know, I know…it's difficult to be introspective about one's own art and say "I have a style!" But I'm always a believer that you can cultivate what you want, rather than falling into it. And, I agree with you! Stage presence, face, and imperceptible body movements and language that have a great effect on style 🙂
And, for everyone so far…*sigh* yes, I know…practice. Augh. I've been reworking my schedule these days to try to get practice time, but it's hard for me to actually get into the habit. Chaos is also a habit 😛
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hm. interesting thread! here is my two cents.
i started my pole dancing journey at sfactor. there are no mirrors, and no lights. the whole point of the classes is to learn in a way that feels good for YOUR body. meaning: where do you like to put your weight? what leads your movement and what creates momentum for you? do you lead with an arched chest and your head thrown back, or do you let swinging hips become the pendulum for your movement?
an interesting exercise that we did at class in sfactor was to have one person dance on each pole. one person would "lead"– we would put on music that she loved, and she would free dance to it while we all followed her movements and imitated her. not necessarily the exact tricks, but the style. you find all sorts of interesting things out that way: for instance, one classmate had a TON of movement in her head– she always had it thrown back ,or forward with her chin to her chest– but she was never, ever looking up, and it really led her body. personally, i hold all my weight in my hips, and in every spin or move i do, i can truly feel that they are always moving and the switch in direction even in my walk is started from my hips- as though my pelvis is a bowl full of water that i may tilt and turn but never tips over.
if you are looking for a personal style– what i would recommend is, pick a couple pole dancers who's style you really love. watch their videos carefully and think about what it is about their movement that you admire. try to do their footwork sequences and really think about what is initiating their movement, what is leading, what mannerisms that htey have– and try it out. see what feels natural for you, and play with it. try on different moods and styles with different songs. i love love love slow slow slow songs, but i also love love love really dirty hip hop (and booty popping and clapping to all of that). my vocabulary of movement compltely changes depending on what kind of song i'm listening to, but the essential building blocks of my style never changes: i'm always leading with my hips, connected solidly to the ground, dragging my feet, always arching my back, etc. even on the floor, i'm always on my stomach with my butt up and rarely spend time on my back or on my side. i rarely do leg flourishes and instead always have my hips pushed out to the side, even when i'm on the floor, and i express tension in a song through my back, hips and shoulders.
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nice post 🙂
I've been told my 'style' is lyrical pole – which is I 'fit' moves to the lyrics e.g. a lyric like "lift me up", i'd pull up and maybe invert. It would annoy me if I couldn't find a move that would translate the lyrics, that why it takes me ages to come up with a routine hahaha (i've only done 2…) I suppose I don't have to confidence to just freestyle or do combos and then put music over it.
Recently I've been looking at lyrical dancing too and trying to get ideas from that, I've always wanted to be a dancer but never got the chance to learn so I think I am trying to make up for lost time and make my routines seem more dance rather than just tricks (also partly because I can't do a lot of tricks ;))
I have tried to make up routines for more sexy pole moves or more upbeat songs but it doesn't feel 100% me doing that so i just accept it's not my style… though I am more than happy to do a raunchy dance that someone else has choreographed! Is a break from being all 'serious' trying to make up my own routine
for me it's about the story in the song and trying to interpret that through my pole routine, or at least try to convey to people watching how the song makes me feel. If they don't it doesn't matter anyway because I'm in my own little pole world where it's just me, the pole and the music :)))
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I feel that dancing conveys information about your personality to the audience, and it is extremely important to have the audience on your side when you dance! I love watching different types of dancing, but for me, a slow, sensual sexed up routine takes the cake. The routines I love the best are ones where I can tell the dancer is tied up in her dance because she's having a good time. She speaks to the audience with her body, smiles, and makes eye contact, but at the same time, you can tell she's in another world.
As for my personal style–well, I like dancing to truly kitschy and/or bluesy songs, and my style corresponds to the actual music rather than the lyrics. Soaring bits will see me in a twisted ballerina, sexy bits get me booted over onto the floor. 😉 This reminds me–I need to get a video up that's not of me dancing drunkenly!
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I must say that when I started pole dancing I was too focused on doing all spins with good form to even think about transitions and style. It wasnt until a couple of months ago that I started taping myself and noticing that I looked a little stiff dancing. Since then Ive started watching other dancers videos and have foind a few styles that suit my natural body movements. I like leigh ann’s style… the arched back and butt sticking out, the hair flips…etc . In my case it takes watching others and trying different things to see what feels and looks natural.
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i've never been an expressive person so when i started pole it was the dance element that terrified me – hanging upside down by an ankle was just plain fun! a few years later i'm still scared of dance – i'm not a natural actor or performer (though i'm a high school teacher so i'm used to audiences!). For me it's a confidence issue. for that reason, i'm not a sexy or a sensual dancer though i wish i could be!!! lol! i tend to stay on and up the pole a lot, holding and extending poses and I dance to slower songs, though not romantic ones! i'm taking a 'routine class' to work on my floor work, but i feel like a pratt and completely ridiculous beside everyone else!!! so chin up and keep practising!!!
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Wow, ladies! I'm so impressed with you reactions 🙂 Thank you!
Amy: I took your advice, and looked at a few other dancers! It's hard for me to tell their "style" when I find a lot of dancers are…just doing tricks, really. I figure I'll check out some Veeners instead of Youtube!
Ollie: Thanks ^_^ I do very much like a lyrical style, but I can imagine it would get tough to create a routine! Then again, you should see ME make a routine…ugh! It's just frustrating.
AerialMck: I agree with you, and I would take that further…All art says something about you. Seriously, all of it. That's what art is about! And yes, I like the dances that are like that too…connected, and not.
Vamp79: This is similar to the issue I'm having…all spins and tricks, and I'm looking stiff, and after a few minutes, tired! Personally (and I know a lot of Veeners are gonna dislike this comment) I'm not fond of Leigh ann. She's pretty, she does all of her stuff great, but I find her boring to watch. I don't feel like SHE's having fun, so neither am I! And, oddly, I don't think she's hearing the music we are, either. I do, however, like her style as well! She's very sensual and moves her hips a lot…and I've got a lot of hip to move, so I try to do the same 😉
Mizvix: I've always been a very introverted person, and all of my self-expression became funneled down to one thing: Writing. Physically, I was closed, and disconnected. So, this is a pretty big thing for me! I don't have the strength to be "up on the pole" as I can't invert anymore (I was working on it a long time ago!) and strength has always been an issue for me. So, I'm hoping this time I can achieve as much as I can imagine!
Thank you for all of your support, girls! I really appreciate it! I wasn't sure how this thread would go down, but I'm so happy to get so much feedback! https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_heart1.gif Now I'm reminded why I came back 😉
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This has been such an interesting thread!
I haven't been pole dancing for very long (a few months) so I can't do many moves yet. But I incorporate a lot of belly dancing and some jazz (I think) into my movements so that I'm "dancing" rather than "practising" my pole moves, if that makes any sense. Wanting to create a freestyle routine through a whole song with only a limited repetoire of pole moves forced me to use my knowledge of other dance forms, so maybe this could be seen as my own unique style? I combine a lot of things into my dance, sort of a pole-fusion dance. So it will be interesting to see how my style evolves as I progress! https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_cool.gif
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Eaglespirit, that sounds really cool! I'd love to see a video sometime 😉 And since my recent hiatus, my repertoire has shrank considerably. I probably *could* still do some moves, but I'm trying to take it easy and let my body progress properly, rather than just jumping in and seeing what extremes I can handle! https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_safesex.gif I think that's a bit of the problem, because like you, I don't have a lot of pole moves…I did take a little belly dancing before, quite a long time ago, but mostly all I focused on was shimmies! I should try and see what more my brain has in there…https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_biggrin.gif
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One thing that has helped me was to just spend some time dancing near – around – by – against the pole but not do any pole tricks on the pole…really sink into your music and just let it lead you.
I love the exercise of dancing with a blind fold – although I highly suggest having someone there to supervise lol.
Also really think about how you move into a pole trick and out of it… or how you want to move into it…your "mount" and dismount"… that alone can really help make your dance unique…your own.
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Hey Everyone https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_biggrin.gif This is an Awesome thread you all have going. I was so glad to find it, because I have been thinking about this myself lately. I've been feeling like, what is the point of learning all of the moves and tricks if I don't even look good doing them. the tricks may look good, but they are just the accents of the dance. I definitely want to find my "inner dancer" who just knows how to move naturally to the music and express her own individual personality and sensuality. thank you, runemist, for starting this and to everyone who has contributed.
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I feel the same way…I need to work on style and transitions. I love big tricks and ultimately want to make entire routines that are on the pole without ever coming down. But, this means that in the meantime my dancey stuff really needs to be focused on! It's like I'm not smooth in linking things. Veena and Karol Helms really have the dance style that I like. Now, just to figure it out! Plus, I gotta force myself not to just practice pole tricks everytime I touch a pole.
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