PippiParnasse
Forum Replies Created
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You need to hire someone. There’s a reason this info isn’t online. Installing silks without knowing what you’re doing is one of the most dangerous things you can do in an already death-defying art.
An engineer will do in a pinch (more of us know engineers who will help us out) but an actual rigger is what you want.
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Best thing for me when I started back on silks after a long time away was to stick my hands in one of those wine sleeves you put in the freezer.
As for whether once a week is sufficient… sufficient for what? Obvs that depends on a million things like your goals and current fitness levels, so I dont think anyone here can answer that. But, I would say don’t add another class til you get the hand pain under control.
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Oh weird, just saw it posted the wrong link for some reason. Let's try that again. Sexy vs. sporty: understanding each other http://acrobaticpole.blogspot.com/2012/09/sexy-vs-sporty-understanding-each-other.html
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I have taught pole to children in a circus setting. No eyebrows were raised. Actually, the school sought me out because they had more kids wanting to sign up for pole than they could accommodate.
It IS about branding and connotations. This is a hard thing to say because we don’t want to hear it and I hate to be the bad guy, but you can’t have it both ways. I respect that some people prefer to up play the sensuality while others prefer to downplay it, but you can’t say “pole is about expressing your erotic creature! Oh, except not this time, now there’s nothing erotic about it.” I mean, you CAN say that, but you can’t feed that story to the media. I write for magazines, so I have experience in this. A short piece (whether for print or television) only has room to cover a simple narritive. That narrative might be “here is a touching story,” “this situation is getting better/worse,” or “this is a controversy and here is what both sides have to say about it.” we really like that last one because it involves the least amount of bias on our part (of course there is still plenty of room to influence the discussion, but at least we don’t have to overtly pick a side). Reality is never that simple, but presenting every last nuance is not practical unless it’s a headlining story. So you can’t brand pole with sex, then change your story, and expect the media to present the full complexity of the situation.
The question is whether the choice needs to be made on the studio level or the industry level. Maybe studio is enough, as Charley described. An industry-wide sterilization from sensuality would dispell the controversy, but is just not going to happen. (Going into more depth on this subject is beyond the scope of this post, but you can read my blog “sexy vs. sporty pole: understanding each other” here: http://acrobaticpole.blogspot.com/2011/09/pole-and-silks-sister-arts.html )
There is some low-hanging fruit we can pick here, though. It’s our job to make the public aware that most pole dancing does NOT occur in strip clubs (most exotic dancing does, but not most serious poling), and NO ONE takes up pole to become a stripper-in-training. I’ve been teaching for years, and have taught many exotic dancers, but I have never had a student who was planning on using skills learned in pole class to break into the adult entertainment industry. if anything, polers get scared off of any thoughts about stripping by hearing negative things about it from strippers they do cross paths with in the pole community. WE are the ones who have to clarify these misconceptions.
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I think there is absolutely nothing wrong with dancing for money, whether you use a pole or not, whether you use clothing or not.
I also think there is a difference between being an entertainer and being a squeeze toy.
I am not in the adult industry (I have a very low bullshit tolerance and also a tendency to hit people who get in my personal space), but from what I've seen there are few clubs that actually enforce no-touching rules. And at least in NY the ones that are (theoretically) cleaner and stricter don't allow pole work anyway.
If someone is fine with letting their performance be, uh, interactive… whether it's their boots or their boobs that are getting manual attention, that is fine! I just don't think that's dancing. So if want you want is to DANCE, you should do some research first. 🙂
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@byrdgrrl Not even getting to that point, polers tend to be freaked out when they get on the silks and start swinging around like tarzan. ESPECIALLY if their inverts from the ground aren't controlled!!!
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Found the blog! It’s a lot simpler writing than much of my stuff. I could probably add some stuff now, like what I was saying above about different muscles worked… http://acrobaticpole.blogspot.com/2011/09/pole-and-silks-sister-arts.html
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My hair is real, and it just naturally grows long, so I may not seem like the best candidate to give advice, BUT:
My nails are a horrible disaster, and when Duane Reade used to carry a vitamin called Perfectil I took it and it worked wonders. It was a hair-skin-nails combo that i was taking for my nails, but I DID notice it made my hair grow faster. You can order it online, I'm just too lazy. Someday I will again and I will have rockin' nails. Meanwhile, you can take it and it will probs help your hair. If not, you will also have rockin' nails.
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During, that can happen, yes. After, that's new to me. How long after? Immediately? Later in the day? If something like leg switches doesn't bother you but sit-ups do, i could see motion sickness being involved.
Otherwise, your transverse abdominus is probably being worked, and that's your pooping muscle; it's probably your "puking muscle" as well. Depending on exactly what you're doing, squeezing your butt more during the exercise might help.
ALSO, people tend to clench their throats while doing sit-ups and the like, which I guess could trigger some sort of pukey juices flowing. An opera friend (we do NOT want throat tension so we are very aware of these things) asked her trainer about this and she said to try pressing her tongue against the roof of her mouth to relieve the throat tension. (Try more forward, towards but not on the upper teeth.)
Hopefully one or the other of those tips will help!
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I have hypothetical low iron. Hypothetical because I haven't had health insurance since I lived in Europe (and that was many years ago), but I know when I was in high school and college I often got turned away from giving blood for that reason. I've been a vegetarian since high school, and that's presumably the cause. (Not to turn anyone off of vegetarianism, which is AWESOME, you should just be better about taking your vitamins than I am.)
I feel that the symptoms have gotten better as I've gotten older. It could be hormonal, but I do wonder if I just eat more protein now. I think I'm guilty of having been a "pizza and french fries" vegetarian during my younger days (we all ate crap when we were young), and now I'm more likely to eat beans on a daily basis, often protein shakes, seitan, etc.
Totally speculative. No scientific evidence. Just a casual hypothesis. But sounds like you need some new ideas for things to try, so why not…
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I pretty much started my teaching career by teaching pole to silks people, and have since transitioned to introducing silks to polers. I have a blog post about this somewhere (away rom computer now), but basically pole and silks are sister apparatuses. The similarities are just thorough enough to make the differences jarring. Much more biceps & hands in silks (but less delts & pecs), more time in the air, and the disorientation of having the apparatus MOVE on you…
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I’ve used KT Tape. So helpful it’s scary. You don’t need a pro to put the tape on, but that would be a nice luxury to have, especially the first time so you know what it feels like when it’s right. You might need to reapply-I find it starts getting a little gross after a few days-and won’t want to trek to the dr’s office every time.
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I don’t think people are going to stop doing crappy competitions. (And I am not really in the loop enough to know which are perceived as illegitimate, so don’t take that as a jab at anyone.) The problem is that if you don’t have a title, some people won’t give you the time of day. Taking nth place in a bullshit comp gets you more respect than not competing. And honestly, there is some value in that. Even if the organization raises eyebrows, you’ve still proven that you can run with the big dogs, which counts for something.
Unfortunately that means that comps will always have business, even if they are shady. And because of the circumstances I’ve outlined above, I can’t blame those who choose to take part. Just try not to get taken advantage of.
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Most potential bosses/hirers are open-minded enough to say “that’s cool” or at least “that’s your business.” BUT depending on the industry the concern is more “what will the parents/clients/congregation/partners/audience think?” Because most people will be cool, but it only takes one screwball that they don’t have control over (ie can’t fire) to make drama for everyone.
So think about it from that perspective and either hide whatever might raise eyebrows or be prepared to explain to them how you’ll handle the situation if it comes up.
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@LittleEngine a lot of studios will move you around levels based on where they need more students, rather than what’s best for you. It’s not fair, but it happens. You should still be able to get what you need out of the class, but it can mess with your head. Eg, being put in with more advanced students can lead you to label yourself as the “slow learner” or “behind,” and you might trick yourself into struggling with everything more than the others, even when physically you might be just as capable. Try not to let your “level” get into your head and, as long as class is conducted safely, you’ll be just fine!