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what level should i be?
I tell ppl I am intermediate but idk…on one hand I can do gemini and Scorpio , inverted crucifix, butterfly, car, on the other hand…I feel like I don’t know much else…can’t do chopper or extended butterfly …no shoulder mount …idk the names of grips…its hard to learn by myself just off YouTube and I love comin on here but I can’t afford the lessons right now it took me a year to get my pole…. so ok that was a little rant but I would love some suggestions of what to practice or a list of moves in order of how u learned them…thanks in advance
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5 Replies
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I’m self-taught too, and I remember kinda hitting a wall of "where do I go from here?" around the same point you’re at. It does sound like you’re into the intermediate-type of moves if you can do a butterfly and cross ankle release, and if you were taking studio classes they would probably say that you’re a solid intermediate just because you can invert at all. Take a look at Fleur’s post "Am I Ready For an Inversion?" – there’s a lot of criteria in there!
I learned really fast so I’m trying to remember what order I learned in… If you can do a butterfly, go ahead and try to work on the extended. If you can do a cross ankle release, can you do the cross knee? (I did cross knee first) If you’re confident with your cross ankle release you could try a bow/bridge (try it close to the ground first, like with your hands resting on the floor). From Gemini and Scorpio you can try an inverted thigh hold. Flatline Scorpio is another one you could do – it’s my favorite transition out of the butterfly. There are also the plank and advanced plank, layback, wrist sit… the list goes on. Learning to combo between the moves is another great way to build up strength and learn more about how your body is gripping the pole so you can go on to other moves, too.
Spins are fun and a bit less dangerous, too. https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_tongue.gif
Have you looked at Wikipole? I used that site to become familiar with the names of the moves so when I watched the videos I could define them better. When you’re just sitting there without knowing what to look for it’s just like "Oh I want to try that one leg thing." Also you learn what parts are the moves themselves and what parts are the transitions – makes it easier to know what to work on in smaller pieces before you try the whole thing. This site is also a great resource for stuff like that, too.
Learning moves from just pictures and watching videos is generally not recommended, but that’s kinda what us self-taught people have to do. It’s learning to recognize what you’re not ready for that’s the hard part. When I watch videos, I know right off the bat that cartwheel and handspring mounts, ayshas, straight edges, jade splits, etc. are all over my head right now. I look at moves that I already know how to do and watch what the other dancers do in between them. It’s just learning what body parts are doing the gripping and what kind of strength is involved, and figuring out if it’s something that you can build up to easily from the point that you’re at now. Knowing what you can do safely and working on them cautiously is the key. Use mats or pillows and a spotter if at all possible, and definitely do strength training exercises.
There’s my 2 cents. Just don’t hurt yourself!
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Thanks so much for taking the time to reply u gave a lot of good tips it helps to know someone else went through this too
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i would say you at are at an intermediate level. You have a lot of moves down. This is in my opinion the largest category of moves thus meaning we stay there the longest. I was an intermediate for like a year and a half.
It’s tough because the next set of moves require so much core and arm strength and felxibility (to a degree.)
You really want to make sure you are learning mounts like the shoulder mount from someone qualified, not you tube. Not everyone uses the best mechanics on this and some people find their shoulders are too tight to do it right away which means you’ll need to loosend up and condition your body to do it before you start prepping for it.
Another mistake many make – myself included is jumping into the shoulder mount rather than sitting in front of the pole and practicing from the ground. We know that this is the best and safest method.
I understand not being able to afford lessons but what about a DVD? You can get the Vertical Dane DVD’s for about $40 for both of them.
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If your looking for some guidance on what to do next, all of my lessons here on Studioveena are in order of level of difficulty (keep in mind everyone is different) I also have strength training moves you can do with your pole, this is helpful for the beginner and those time when the more advanced dancer wants to get to the next level, because sometimes its only a matter of strength holding you back. Also if you have questions on any of the lessons you can leave a comment and I’ll get back to you. https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_flower.gif https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_flower.gif
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I have always wondered what stage I am at and did think intermediate I can do all the moves Polebunny mentioned and some of the others mentioned by Foxy, I think that sholdermount, ayshas etc are out of my league at the moment, what a great thread I feel better about it now, just sometimes feel like am not progressing and I have been at intermediate for ages too, although I did randomly get the spinning chopper last week! I took lessons for a few months but there aren’t any by me now that can teach to my level they are all beginner stuff, so I am teaching myself off youtube too. https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_cat.gif https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_cat.gif
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