Serzi
Forum Replies Created
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He’s going through the early stages of becoming a "pole widow". (Btw, Charley came up with the term, not me!) It’s totally natural for him to be jealous of it, although, not all men react the same way. Just try to reassure him that his is the #1 pole in your life and I guarantee you won’t have nearly as much conflict over it! https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_wink.gif
? *~Serzi
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So I’ve been reading through these and I kinda feel like a freak of nature seeing all these 5’6" and 5’7" responses, lol. Is anybody 5’10" like I am…or possibly taller?
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Hello, Alexis! I’m also from Michigan and I attend jams at PoleFit from time to time. Look forward to meeting you someday! Are you going to be at the showcase at Augie’s in October?
~*Serzi
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ALRIGHT, lemme’ at this topic! First off, here are my credentials:
1. I have been in love w/ applying and wearing make-up since I was five years old.
2. Two years of experience as the head of my HS drama dept.’s make-up crew.
3. I’ve performed in a pole showcase and I know exactly what to anticipate now with sweat and lighting.
Regardless of skin type, you DO NOT WANT to use liquid foundation of any sort. What I recommend is a concealer stick such as Cover Girl Smoothers or Aziza’s Complexion Stick (it looks like a tube of flesh colored lipstick) as it can take the heat much better than liquid concealer. It will not run or weigh your face down and acts as a second skin. It’s also very similar to the stage make-up I used in high school that was spotlight heat and sweat proof, but this stuff is better because it’s not oily and it’s much lighter. Find it in a shade that is as close to your natural skin-tone as possible, use it fairly liberally on your imperfections and then blend it in. If it’s still a little rough at the edges, you can blend it more with a tiny TINY little dot of lotion. Just make sure you wash your hands well before the performance and don’t touch your face. If you’d like a second option for your base I recommend Maybelline Dream Matte Mousse, but I personally tend to not use it because it does not work as well with my skin type. Usually if one doesn’t work with your skin type, the other will.
It is good to keep in mind that you are probably going to be performing under bright lights and it will bleach your facial features if you do not wear more make-up than you usually do. Always remember it will not look the same as it does in front of your mirror at home as it will on stage because your audience is not going to be right up there w/ you. On-stage expressions are supposed to be exaggerated, so don’t be afraid to be a little bold with your look!
For blush, you are going to want a deep rouge because that lighting will make any pinky shimmer stuff disappear! Personally, I don’t even use blush. I apply a dot of red or rose-pink colored lipstick to the apple of each cheek and blend, blend, blend. If I have to, I will blend a little concealer into it just to get it looking as natural as I can. If my face feels too waxy, I use a dried make-removal towel to lightly blot the excess but I’ve got it down to a science now so I don’t usually have to do that anymore. I use Maybelline Dream Matte powder foundation to set it and to remove any shine I may have. I apply it with a brush as apposed to that horrid powder puff applicator that comes w/ it.
Next I apply Maybelline’s Unstoppable Eyeliner. (waterproof and smudge-proof of course) Use it above your lash line too as it will accentuate your lashes beautifully! I typically fill it in with a little bit of a regular pencil liner that will smudge if I want a smokier look, but on stage it looks great either or. You are going to want to do up your eyes fairly heavily, Wear deep gemstone colored eyeshadow, not the casual nude pink and corals that you may on an average day. I recommend Hard Candy’s Kal-Eye-Descope Baked Eyeshadow Duo for this; they have rich prismatic colors and I absolutely love them. Next, apply a waterproof mascara (my favorite is Wet & Wild H2O proof) and use an eyelash curler to pump up the volume.
Now…fake eyelashes. I use Salon Perfect made with 100% natural sterilized human hair, but I have used cheap Halloween wild lashes without any issue as well. All fake lashes include instructions, and every one that I’ve used says to apply all your eye make-up before applying the lashes. I kinda touch it all up after applying, but I stay away from putting any more powder on my lids because it will dry the glue out at the corners. What was said in a previous post is true, use more glue at the edges and be sure to take it with you in case you need to touch it up last minute.
Lips you are going to want to be brave with. Use a lip pencil at least 3X darker than the natural shade of your lips and fill them in generously, not just the edges. To smooth it out I use a little bit of chapstick or lipbalm and I smudge the liner with my finger to blot it. (tissue will leave a powdery residue on your lips that will dry them out) I use a small amount of lipstick one shade lighter than my liner and finish with either a transparent or glittery gloss. More than likely, you will need to touch up later in the evening to stay shimmery and to avoid the "feathering"-effect, but the liner will keep your color from fading and it will be an easy fix.
And your new stage-face is complete! It will probably take some trial and error to figure out exactly what you feel works best with your body-chemistry, skin-tone and type but once you do I guarantee you will be stunning!
Btw all these products I mentioned are under $10 but in my experience they work just as well or better than the expensive crap out there. Hope this was helpful, have a great time with your performance!
? ~*Serzi
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X-stages spin very smoothly and can take a lot without tipping. You should ask about weights though because I have seen Karol tip a stage up a bit – granted it was the fastest allegra I have ever seen, but none the less – get all the information. https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_biggrin.gif
I believe this is the performance Charley is talking about, although, I didn’t notice any tipping at all even while I was watching this live.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44ix1wDTtis
X-stages do have a bit of sway to them, but they are amazingly stable. If you are interested, all of my videos are performed on an X-stage because that’s the only pole I have. Not all of my videos are in spin-mode, but I do have quite a few. If you think it may help you, check ’em out!
Oh, yeah, and the X-stage launch video w/ Jamilla DeVille is an excellent demonstration of the capabilities.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ID6BJ9D1CAU
If all else fails, bring some weights. There are spots built right underneath the stage to hold them!
? ~*Serzi
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I have two things I want to ask all the Veeners on here who can properly execute this move:
1.) How long did it take you before you could do it?
2.) How tall are you?
Body type and weight may also play an important factor so feel free to post that too if you wouldn’t mind.
Btw, I can not do this move yet, I have been poling for a year, and I have been practicing this move for about a month now. Although I have seen some exciting progress with it I’m sure it will be awhile yet before I can actually fully lift into it. I am 5’10" tall, I weigh between 147-157lbs on average, and I have kind of a pear-shaped body type. I probably have all of the difficulty factors working against me as a result of this but, just in my recent practices, I have been able to feel the correct grip-technique and what muscles I need to engage in order to do it. I can lift myself off the floor a whopping 12" or so for about five secs and even that tiny little bit feels AMAZING! =)
Good luck, everybody! I know for a fact we can all nail this move if we keep practicing!!!
? ~*Serzi
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When I was about seven years old my Aunt Heidi was in high school and was like a big sister to me. She had a boyfriend that I had a little kiddie crush on and she’d playfully tease me about it.
For some reason, the guy always thought my name was "Suzy"…except with his Colorado accent it sounded more like "Serzi". Soooo, my Aunt would try to correct him and then one day I said "He can call me whatever he wants to." This evoked a riot of laughter because, that coming from a seven year old, it sounded a tad too sexy. From then on, Serzi stuck and any hope of my Aunt’s boyfriend ever remembering my real name was lost forever.
It got even better when I became a teenager. The song Suzy Q by CCR came on the radio one time when I was drinking w/ my friends at a party. We all started singing it but we were so drunk we slurred the words and it became "Oh, Serrrrzi Q! Oh, Serrrrzi Q! Oh, baby, I love you! Baby, I love you…Serrrrzi Q.". I got up and did a sultry dance in front of everyone there and Serzi became my official stage-name for life. lol
? ~*Serzi
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Maybe it should be "Veeners are from Venus" lol.
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Polers are from Venus, candy is from Mars, laugh all you want but VICTORY IS OURS!!!
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Happy Birthday!!! …again!!!
? ~*Serzi
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Okay, here’s mine!
To Whom it may concern,
My name is _____________, and I would like to place a complaint in reference to order number 0010544613 for Christopher Brand. As a fellow pole dancer and student of this man’s wife, I am enraged that your company would not customize this purchase per request. He was simply trying to order your product as a birthday gift for her.
All things considered, I think your corporation is a bunch of hypocritical morons only concerned about profit on the larger scale. I don’t believe you care about your customers or about "children seeing provocative imagery" at all! Which, by the way, pole dancing is not stripping and is also not nearly as provocative as your lousy stripping candy advertisements. Please be aware of what commercials you are airing on television for all the world to see before your company tries to play that trump card.
I understand how advertising works and I am very disappointed to say that M&M’s have been relying on "sex sells" more than "family appeal" for years now. Such is the way of business, I understand that too. Although, perhaps your corporation can understand this:
I am not buying M&M’s ever again. My family and friends have vowed to never purchase M&M’s either. My friend’s families, their friends, and theirs, etc.
Besides all that I think that this company has been getting too big of a head on it’s shoulders for quite some time. I haven’t seen one M&M’s commercial that made me smile or laugh or want to purchase your candy since Santa fainted in 1996. It has pretty much been about the sex-appeal of the green M&M and stupid pop-culture nonsense for the past fourteen years now. (Stephen Baldwin?)
Your prices for this crap candy are phenomenal too, and I’m sure it is raking in phenomenal sales. Don’t expect it to last; the customers you keep are only buying because they are thriving on nostagia. The "good ol’ days" of when M&M’s really were a quality family product at a fair price and not just another overrated pop-icon.
I never knew chocolate could go stale, let alone rot!
Sincerely,
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I feel better now too! https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_puke_r.gif https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_puke_l.gif https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_thumright.gif
? ~*Serzi
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@ Trena…Thank you! Let me assure you, though, my points are expressed much clearer in type than I am able to speak in real life. It’s how I really think and feel about this subject, but I wish I had that sharp of a tongue when it comes to in-person debates. LOL
? ~*Serzi
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Spin and static are two COMPLETELY different things. I dance on both and I can honestly say that neither setting is less or more difficult that the other…just different. There are certain moves that may be easier on one versus the other (i.e. I couldn’t do the teddy on static at first, a couple of weeks later I switched to spin-mode just to give it a shot and got it pretty much on the first try. Also, I could not get the superman on spin, but static worked out just fine. Now I am capable of doing both these moves on either setting pretty much equally…go figure, lol!)
Basically, what I think it all comes down to is that people need to RESPECT THE POLE regardless of what their own preference is. Personally I don’t like using brass poles, but some people love ’em. Some people hate chrome, but it’s my favorite finish. I know of people who hate X-poles, I know of people who hate PS, I know of people who hate Li’l Mynx. We all know that the Electra and Peek-a-boo can be hazardous, but I’ve seen videos of chicks who FREAKIN’ ROCK on those poles and then people just leave comments like "Your pole sucks." WHO CARES what pole she’s using, you know? I’m sure she’s already aware that it’s not the top o’ the line, but that’s what she has to work with and she knows how to WORK IT! Give the girl some credit for her skill, you know?
Anyway, I digress, but I really hate when one poler tries to discredit another poler’s abilities w/ such frivolous pretenses as "Well, I only use static because spin-mode is cheating." or "Nice moves, too bad your pole sucks." and "Chrome is nice, but you gotta be tough to use brass…ever try it?" Not that any of these comments are truly tear-your-head-off mean, but it’s sooo catty. A lot of the time when I see a comment like that the first thing I think to myself is "WOW…jealous much?" because that’s what it really boils down to. People see that you are awesome on spin, or that you are awesome even on a cheaper pole (and they still can’t do much even though they paid $300+ for their pole, lol), or maybe you swear by a certain finish or even diameter and then they kinda roll their eyes like "Oh, that’s why, because it’s easier.". Yeah, it is easier, isn’t it? It’s easier to talk down to somebody and try to discredit their abilities than it is to get off your cloud and just say "Wow, I wish I were as good as you are on ______. Maybe I should practice more." LOL
? ~*Serzi
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I’ll try and keep this brief, I’m the type that usually goes on for paragraphs about this kinda subject. lol
The only pole I own is an X-Stage. I started out on it, I have continued to learn on it, and I whole-heartily recommend it if you are looking for a free-standing pole. As a beginner, though, and as a primary pole it is not the greatest of options.
1. For one thing, my pole had to be modified in order to fit in my little pole room. The height of the platform took up the exact amount of usable pole I could’ve had, but…*sigh* oh, well…there’s always extensions if I ever need ’em. From what I hear they are coming out with an X-Stage Lite in October which will have a lower base.
2. X-Stage is not floor-work friendly. Although the platform of the X-Stage is bigger than that of any other free-standing pole I have seen, when it comes to floorwork, you can never have enough space. The metal plates are also very hard on the knees btw, lol.
3. It is a quality free-standing pole but, dang, it is EXPENSIIIIIIVE!!!
There are a lot of pros and cons to starting out on a free-standing pole as opposed to a standard removable pole, but I would be here all night typing this if I gave it too much thought. LOL I will answer any questions you may have if I am able to, though. I also have videos documenting my X-Stage pole journey from beginning to present on this site and on YouTube if you are interested to see what the stage is capable of.
http://www.youtube.com/user/SerziQ
Oh, and one really big benefit of owning an X-Stage is that you can take it just about anywhere. Recently we used it for the MDPD showcase and I had both Veena and Karol Helms dance on my pole! lol It’s great for outdoor pole-jams and is a very durable, compact set-up to transport.
Still, I really wish I could have a standard removable pole for at home so that I could get the full benefit of my ceiling height and use the floor instead of that tiny platform. My hubby says "NO WAY." because it may ruin our stupid vaulted ceiling and then we’d be paying for a new roof, so he’s working on making me a custom free-standing pole that will not require a raised platform. Don’t know how long it’s gonna take, but I’m to a point where I’m ready to buy a removable pole and donate it to a studio so long as I can use it whenever I have time to come down there. LOL
Hope this info helps you reach a decision with your purchase.
? ~*Serzi -
This may have already been mentioned or done before, but how about "Request a song"-challenge? We could pick songs to challenge our fellow Veeners based on their individual style and our own thoughts of "Hey, I would LOOOOVEEEE to see her dance to this!" As you can tell, I’ve already got some idea of who I would like to dance to what and have been looking for an opportunity to call her out on this type of challenge, muahahahaha!
https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_twisted.gif? ~*Serzi
