NotYourAverageGirl
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I entered the Essentials Division, but my entry is unlisted.
Did anybody else here enter Essentials…? :/
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I think Michelle told me in class that you can apply to as many of the semi-finals as you wish, unless your teacher happens to be a judge. I believe Michelle is judging the Detroit semi-final, so I cannot apply for that one. Perhaps I misunderstood, but it does make sense, since the teacher could be biased one way or the other.
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The Gateway Pole Competition is a semi-final round of the Midwest Pole Competition. First place Elite winner gets to compete in the Midwest Pole Comp.
I think Essentials is plenty challenging- just in a different way. You have to focus more on the dance and spins and form of those aspects rather than the acrobatics. Dance can be easier for some people, I guess, but it's hard for me to come up with somthing truly interesting all on the floor! A fun challenge! 🙂 I might enter for both Essentials and Elite… I'd be more likely to get into Essentials though.
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I have only performed once so far, but my advice is this:
– Best advice I've heard (and should've followed myself) was that you figure out your choreography, practice it like crazy for a couple months (if possible) so that it becomes muscle memory, practice lightly the week of, and not at ALL the day of. Now, I'd practice at least once or twice the day of if your stamina is good, but the point is that you don't want to tire yourself out too much the day of.
– Set your moves up so that the best side of each trick is towards the audience. There's a lot to be said for good angles!
– Practice on the stage at least once if you can, preferably the day before.
– Practice a few times IN COSTUME. If any malfunctions happen, it's not while you're on stage, and hopefully you can fix them by the time you perform.
– Stretch really well before you perform, just like before your practice. Warm your body up!
– No matter how nervous you are, just dance. Smile, and dance.
My performance was… not the best to say the least. I choreographed it in one week (the week before my performance), had no time to polish it obviously, practiced it in front of people once (during which I fell off the pole into an awkward backbend I nearly couldn't get out of), practiced it incompletely the day of on the stage I would be performing on. I got on stage, the music started, and I got through to the second verse only to realize I was on my third verse's choreography. But at that point I just felt the music and finished out the piece in a freestyle. It wasn't great. It really wasn't even good, in my opinion, but I learned a few lessons from it.
Don't forget- your first performance is always a first step. It's easier to improve once you've gotten it out of the way and understand how you'll feel knowing there's an audience. Don't be disappointed in yourself if it doesn't turn out how you planned. Be proud of yourself for going out there and taking that first step! 🙂
Good luck!