[nilla]

In my opinion, yes. The higher the platform of the shoe, the easier it is to tip the shoe towards the toe, to balance on the front corner of the platform, which is where I place my weight for almost all the types of heels choreo that I find worth doing (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ

As unstable and difficult as this technique sounds, I feel like it’s even more dangerous and difficult if I’m trying to do it in heels with too short of a platform to find the balance point. I wouldn’t attempt it in anything shorter than 8 inches but I have limited ankle range. I actually started years ago with 6 inches, couldn’t figure out the balance point technique that I loved, didn’t realize platform height played a role, got rid of the shoes, gave up on heels, then years later I tried on some 8 inch heels and found the balance point immediately.

So in short, yeah, really high platforms make my favorite heels choreo possible.

Side note: the smaller feet you have, the shorter you can go in the platform and still achieve a toe balance–because physics & ratios: basically the rise (difference in height from where the ball of the foot rests to where the heel of the foot rests in the shoe) in smaller sizes is a steeper angle. According to pleaser’s website, the rise is roughly the same height difference (around 10 cm but depends on the model) in a size 5 shoe and a size 10 shoe of the same model. Obviously, a difference in height of 10 cm from toe to heel is going to result in a steeper angle on a smaller sized shoe than on a longer shoe because the same height difference is now spread over a longer length. A steeper angled foot is already balanced closer to the toe of the shoe, and angled closer to the balance point.

Can the weight of the shoe play a role? I think maybe if you’re upside down in cocoon trying to grab a foot, but I don’t think I’d base my heel height off it. and then maybe weight could play a role in floppy ankle techniques? I feel like heel weight (or any added mass) can affect the frequency of your spins and fancy leg stylizations…just watch nadia shariff do any fast moving aerial work on spin in heels and decide 😀

Can’t comment on the shine, my shiny ones are new.
This is prob way more info than you needed. I couldn’t help myself. ≧☉_☉≦

[nilla]

I know it as the Genevieve pose, luv it.

[nilla]

I went through and followed everyone I could find with pole related posts and realized I’m already following some of you 😀

[nilla]

I’m stgpoledance on Instagram. Everything I post is pole related. I haven’t made it through the whole thread yet but I’m on my way to following you all 🙂

[nilla]

This instructor has a very specific method for her courses, and that’s her prerogative. It’s also her prerogative to teach in a style that’s true to her. I find that her style of insisting hair to be down is ridiculous though.

Of course there is a certain amount of discomfort associated with learning anything new. You’re obviously fine with that or you wouldn’t have come so far in pole dance already. It’s a little nuts of an instructor to insist on a method of discomfort (hair down) that will ultimately make no difference in whether or not you master the techniques or acquire the strength to move on to the next level.

A good instructor would not be so controlling as to inflict something like a hair preference on a student unless it was a safety issue, especially not in a private lesson, even if it is part of her “method”. If she has a legitimate problem with you moving on to Level 7 she should say so directly, give a concrete reason why, and give you relevant things to work on instead of attributing your preference for wearing hair up to a mental block. I’d be reluctant to trust her as well.

[nilla]

The guy who paints Zoraya and the Zen Arts crew (Adam Tenenbaum) recommends Temptu Pro Dura paints. They are alcohol based and do not wash off when wet or sweaty. You have to use alcohol to clean them off. Adam Tenenbaum air brushes them on, but I think you can also brush it on, it would take a lot longer though. When Zoraya was here teaching a workshop I asked her about the body paints she wears when she does performances because I was super curious about it. She had done a performance the night before and still had designs painted on her legs and arms. She said they do not affect her grip, but I noticed there weren’t huge solid painted areas where she would need a lot of grip anyway, just designs that partially cover her skin.

Adam Tenenbaum actually sells his stencils on Etsy https://www.etsy.com/shop/OverlayAirStencils

And here’s the link to the paints: http://temptu.com/pro/shop/makeup/dura

There is at least one more brand similar to the one linked above that is alcohol based and supposedly very long lasting but I can’t remember the name of it.

[nilla]

Okay I see what you mean. So 10 of those first 13 routines are actually stretching, strength, or warm up routines and not choreographed dance routines, which is what I’m interested in. I actually love the longer advanced routine listed just before the splits routines. It’s the only one I’ve found so far that has what I need right now. I would love more content like that 🙂

[nilla]

Oh sorry I thought you said those are short routines with combos in them and you have many long full length routines elsewhere? Now I’m really confused :/

[nilla]

Where would I find these full length routines?

[nilla]

I’m confused then, I’ve been going through the Routines and Combos section. I guess I considered the ones listed “Beginner 1-12” or “Advanced 1-5” to be routines…or are they combos? I guess they could be considered both.

[nilla]

Are the combos the same as your routines? If so, not exactly. I’ve watched many of them, taking note of what moves are in them and how they’re connected. It would have been great to go through them when I didn’t know how to connect spins and transitions yet. Now that I’m at a point where I’ve learned how to choreograph for myself they aren’t any more helpful than me writing a list of spins and transitions down and dancing through them one after the other. Again, they would have been very helpful when I was at that level, but connecting holds and inversions and fluid spin pole combos are more the area where I need help now.

[nilla]

Okay so one of my issues was that years ago, within my level of ability there was not enough choreography on SV lessons to keep me engaged. At the time I don’t think I really even realized why it felt stale to me after a short time, I just knew I felt stuck, until I started driving to a studio two hours away where I got to learn fresh choreography every week and realized that’s what I had been missing with SV and why I waited so long to renew my subscription later. Now that I’m at a strength level where I’m learning spin pole technique, off the ground holds/inversions and ways to connect them I have the same reluctance to renew my subscription when it runs out because right now the lessons only teach individual inversions and not choreography to connect them. The choreography is for me what keeps me motivated. Now that I’m teaching I’ve realized too, it prevents students from being hyper-focused on trying moves that they’re not ready for because they have enough new pole candy at their appropriate level to try. It’s what makes me not the least bit sad that I can’t fonji or iron cross yet, because I’m learning that low on-the-knee/top-of-the-feet pirouette, or how to fluidly transition from a pole hold to a figurehead spin down the pole.

I get what you’re saying about you get the same content whether you go through the lessons quickly or slowly, and it is a lot of content, but at this time there are only a few of the lessons that are new or useful to me, and not enough choreography to keep me engaged within my level.

[nilla]

Not quite my point but I’ll come back to it cause I have students coming in a few mins 🙂

[nilla]

Excellent question! When I first started using StudioVeena 3 or so years ago I wished it had routines and combos because my biggest challenge was putting together moves for routines, especially ones that were my level but didn’t use too many filler moves. Your new combos would have been so helpful for me then, I think it’s great that you’ve added those! I did feel that some of the very first routines got old faster than new ones of the same level were available, and so I waited a long time to renew my lessons with the idea that the longer I waited the more new content would be posted for me to learn. I wasn’t interested in paying a higher price per month for a shorter amount of time once I had done the year subscription.

I had the same issue once I started learning aerial holds, inversions and spin technique. There weren’t any lessons for combos, ways to transition from hold to hold, inversion to inversion (except leg hang switches) and so I began looking elsewhere. I’m so glad there will be more advanced lessons coming out soon. I can understand the liability issue with the ridiculously advanced moves that most home polers can’t or shouldn’t try on their own or without a spotter, but I found StudioVeena.com to be very limited as far as combos, routines, and fresh variations for basic inversions or just off the ground holds. Even the advanced routines don’t include many off the ground holds, or inversions, which was disappointing to me.

I know Veena is super busy and can’t just churn out new content all the time. I still think that Veena’s lessons are the best value out there and the most comprehensive for home polers starting from scratch or suplementing their studio classes by practicing at home. I think for me to want to re-purchase the year subscription year after year there needs to be enough new content on my level to keep me busy for a year, and it’s kind of a downer to pay more per month for a shorter time period after having the year subscription, I’d rather just wait until I see there is enough new content to keep me busy before buying my next year.

Someone suggested offering single lesson prices…what about pricing for subscriptions to individual sections? Like the advanced section for those who have maxed out on the beginner and intermediate content? Or the flexibility section for those only interested in using the flexibility lessons? Maybe even level packages for Beg. Int. or Adv. that include strength and flexibility lessons? I don’t know if that would take away from the overall subscription base. Having so much content available is great, especially for instructors, but for the home student who is not breezing through beginning to advanced levels in the span of 12 months it could be nice to only have to pay for what you can use in a year.

The only other solution I can think of is maybe guest instructors, I would especially love that for combos and routines!

[nilla]

I can see why you would do it that way Veena.