[poledanceromance]

Amber is awesome, particularly if you’re not just thinking about doing the tricks, but how you move into and in and through them. If there’s a few tricks you’re fumbling with or that you can get into but it just doesn’t look very good, she will clean it right up and make it a functional part of your dancing. She’s also a really, really excellent spotter. She doesn’t hold you up there, or force you into a movement, but the way she lays on hands guides your movements to the right positions–you can just FEEL her presence in a way that makes you feel secure. She also has beautiful form and concentrates on minimizing impact in tricks; part of this is because she’s tall, and that’s part of why I love working with her. We have very similar body types (as you can see from my profile picture) and she understands the kind of impact that’s exerted on the body, particularly tall bodies. Many of the world famous polers are really, really tiny. Body weight is body weight regardless of size, but if you’re trying to work bracket holds, there’s going to be more impact on the shoulders of a 5’10 person than a 5’0 person.

David Owen is a fabulous teacher, super relatable, can break down a move both in terms of muscle engagement and in terms of what you should be feeling; he can say “engage the quad” as well as “kick your knee outward.” In other words, he can both give anatomical directions and “cues” that will get you engaging the right muscles if you’re having trouble just engaging a specific muscle on command. He also has just textbook beautiful form, like Amber. But in terms of just tricks and teaching ability, he’s probably the best person I’ve personally worked with when it comes to really advanced tricks.

Karol is a great person to work with. She has a wonderful, light-hearted energy in the classroom that puts everyone at ease. She’s been dancing for a long time and has cool perspectives on applying different styles to tricks. For example, she demonstrated different ways to do a side climb, depending on whether you’re going for a classical club-style look or a more polished and graceful look to match a more traditional dance oriented style. Very comprehensive repertoire-she’ll be able to help you do anything AND do it in heels.

Alethea is another movement focused instructor, and she’s also obviously big on heels. She doesn’t have the world’s hugest trick repertoire, but that’s not for any lack of ability so much as it is that she’s got a well-defined aesthetic and focuses more on developing that aesthetic within the context of the tricks than just learning an endless list of tricks with no style. If you don’t appreciate or embrace her aesthetic, you might not get as much out of it. She’s also very focused on making sure you get your money’s worth. You will leave with concrete instructions for how to proceed with the training at home. AND-this one is important-if you are not comfortable doing tricks in heels, if you want advice and conditioning to safely be able to work even new tricks in heels, she’s the person you need to go see. She’ll get your ankles so strong, you’ll probably never in a million years roll an ankle in your shoes.

Kelly Yvonne is not a trickster–leaving aside for the moment that she’s a freak of nature and iron x’s come naturally to her LOL–she will make you forget completely about learning new tricks and make you think–HARD–about WHY you do what you do when you dance. If you want your movements to be purposeful, to reflect a narrative story, to truly express what’s inside of you, work with Kelly. Pick her brain about the choreography process and you’ll have months’ worth of work to do. She’ll show you how to put together the best routine you’ve ever done using only the three most basic tricks in your rep. She’s awesome.

Last but not least is Michelle Mynx. She’s an awesome teacher who had also been doing this for a loooong time. She’s seen it all, and no matter what issue you’re having with a trick, she knows how to fix it. If you’ve got moves that you’re just unsure why it’s not working for you, run, don’t walk, to go take a private with her. She will fix your issues in about four seconds. I’d been able to do a cartwheel but not a handspring…couldn’t figure it out and was getting stuck trying to go from cartwheel to extended butterfly. She looked at me do it, spotted what was wrong, got it instantly on the first try. Haven’t missed a handspring since. And I’ve seen her give other people similar corrections and get instant results. You should know going in that she has a completely different set of names for tricks, but that has never yet interfered with my ability to learn from her. All of her students have SICK upper body strength. If you look at the amazing abilities of her students, that’s proof enough of her ability right there. And if you’re looking at starting to perform in the near future, definitely work with her. Many if not most of her students perform regularly and are damn good at it. She teaches specifically with performance in mind, always teaching tricks in sequence with transitions so you NEVER learn just the trick itself; you walk away knowing exactly how to put that trick seamlessly into choreography.

Keep in mind these are my personal opinions, reflective of my experiences with these people. Every teacher has their own individuality. Don’t be hesitant to work with someone just because their style is different than yours. You’ll be surprised at what you learn. A good teacher knows that not every student shares their background. For example, I’m not a classically trained dancer, but I walked away from training with Amber with good foundations to work on pirouettes and turns because she knew how to explain those movements to someone who wasn’t a dancer. Don’t just think of where you are now in relation to each instructor-think about what they have that you want.

[poledanceromance]

Crap hit reply too soon.

It’s not that her recovery isn’t important, but if she does something dumb in the first two-four weeks that compromises her healing and is ALSO back in pole classes, it’s your class that’s probably going to get the blame, not whatever she did. That’s just how people are and it’s not worth the risk. By giving the full 3 months, you’re ensuring that no one could have accused you of having negatively impacted her healing if something goes wrong.

[poledanceromance]

Most doctors are still using traditional methods. Honestly, if you’re not 100% sure what she’s having done, and you wouldn’t know for sure unless you were there with her in the OR, I would use the most conservative estimate at 12 weeks, 8 weeks of an absolute bare minimum level of activity. The most important thing to protect here is your personal liability, not hers

[poledanceromance]

Take them with you to the fabric store and get a black stretch fabric or a black elastic trim that matches the existing waistband and sew that strip to the inside of the waist band, get a little higher rise out of it, fold it over the front and sew that edge down. Basically widening the black band by sewing over it. Just raise it high enough that shaving or waxing a bit lower will leave you covered.

[poledanceromance]

Oh wow, glad to hear you’re hanging in there but sad to hear about your panic problems. You really were my inspiration- I found your videos when I was looking for something, anything, to make the panic stop.

Try to plan some workouts around your CBT. Since you encouraged me when I was at my lowest, now I encourage you to keep active, even with just light exercise. It’s such a huge help. Your expression comes from a powerful place, and it will only help you to let it out. But the motivation to continue only comes after you get back up.

We love you- please take good care of yourself on the pole and off.

[poledanceromance]

I only do the open version. I can get into the locked pose, but it doesn’t work with my anatomy. I’ve really experimented with it a lot, different levels of rotation from the hip, angle of the legs, different ins, but when my feet are locked all the weight sits directly on my shin bone on the lower leg and it’s just excruciatingly painful. I finally figured out it just wasn’t going to work and switched to the unlocked version-voila! Took all that pressure off the bottom leg.

One thing to watch out for: when I was learning the unlocked version, I finally saw myself do it on video from an angle where I could see my feet and I was still flexing the top foot as in the locked version! It’s tricky to retrain your body to point both feet when you’re used to flexing them as part of the hold.

[poledanceromance]

Polegypsy- HAH! He’s from Australia!! That’s it. That decides it. Without a doubt, there is something in their water.

Okay, who knows where I can buy Australian tap water online? I’ve got a theory to test.

[poledanceromance]

I have to agree with Empyrean on this one, I should have noticed the username. 

 

The fact is that "trolls" aren't real users that we have to be nice or welcoming to. An internet troll is a user who puts up a fake profile with the express purpose of abusing the functions of a website. The double entendre username and the lack of any personal info on the profile shows that this is likely a troll. 

 

This website has open access. Anyone can join. That's a good thing for us, but the website has become more high profile over the years, and I've seen it linked to and mentioned on really high-traffic websites. There are a lot of people out there who just want to cause trouble on websites just like this one for pure S&Gs. And no amount of being "nice" to them will change that. The only thing you can do to a troll is ignore, ban, and move on. 

[poledanceromance]

I can understand why some people are saying that it would have been nice to see the ssa with extension, but the point of the video seems to be to compare dollar for dollar and pound for pound what you get standard, right out of the box with each stage, no addons. And well, they did say right out of the box the ssa wasn’t even assemble-able.

But I would love to see some up-close pictures or a diagram of the design for the ps joints. That sounds like a pretty cool idea. With the old standard screw joints I experienced some give and gapping at the joints with some pieces and I’d love to see what improvements have been made in that regard. Is that information up somewhere on their website?

[poledanceromance]

I do have a few questions about how assembly went. Did all the pole segments for the ssa screw together neatly? And how did the smoothness of the joints compare? Was there any gapping betwee pieces on either? (I assume the latest model of the x-stage use the x-joints now as well and the ssa standard screwing joints?)

I’ve had issues with the threading on ps poles. Fwiw, I’ve also had issues with warping.

Also: is there any of that chrome covered plastic on the ssa like what’s on the top and bottom plates and adjustor covers of their single and multi pieces poles?

[poledanceromance]

Well, since the thread’s already gone straight to name calling, I don’t feel so bad speaking my mind to say that someone here is being a seriously rude biatch for absolutely no reason and it’s my OPINION that she shut her ugly mouth and go elsewhere…do us a favor PP, and take out the trash: show yourself out.

Sorry if that’s too pointed for everyone else, but I’m really sick of seeing this crap. There is literally no difference between those two videos. For gods sake, you can move the floor panels on the star with one finger. But no, I supposed that was a fake stainless steel finger and they hired their very own foley artist to fake the sounds because webs and v are just taking champaign baths and drying themselves with all those spare stacks of hundreds x-pole sends them.

[poledanceromance]

You have a right to voice your opinion. You do not have a right to voice it by calling us all corrupt and biased for ours. Many people here prefer x-pole, and careful reading will show that many people who have had troubles with the x-joints have been because of user error. We all have preferences here, and no one is ever criticized for liking one over another-EVER.

I do think your post should be pulled. But not because you don’t like x-poles. Because you marched in here and used disrespectful language and false accusations.

The “website” has never gotten “kickbacks” from x-pole. At one point, the owners of the site were x-pole vendors. Yet representatives of many pole manufacturers have accounts here and have been welcomed. If the site were really biased, why would all those different people be allowed to use this forum to contact and answer questions as many have? That’s right. They wouldn’t. Use some common sense and act your age. This is not a place for members to start posts solely to accuse and insult. IF you felt like there was misinformation or bias in the site, you have every freedom to contact the owners and voice that concern. To use the forum as you have is not only against the user agreement for the forums, it’s impolite and inappropriate. And that’s the only comment I’ll be making on this subject.

[poledanceromance]

Just like to add: I only own one pair of pole heels, basic black ankle strap KISS 709 pleasers. I usually wear a 7.5, or sometimes an 8. I bought a 7 and they’re way too small. My toes hang out over the edge. I can’t even do any floorwork that involves rolling over the toe (so basically everything) in them because it feels like I’m going to bash off my toenails.

I suggest going to an adult/clubwear store so you can try on a shoe of the same brand you’re intending to buy to see if it fits you. Or if you’re definitely buying sight unseen online, make sure there’s a good returns policy and leave yourself the time to do the returns if you need them. I really wish I’d bought the 8s!

[poledanceromance]

Up for mobile yet? Trying from my iPhone, theme is loading, but the frame containing the chat window is blank.

[poledanceromance]

I’m not plus size, but in teaching I learned that it helps to show all modifications for a move to the whole class that might make it easier for my plus size students so they didn’t feel like I was putting a limitation on them. For instance I figured out that plus size women almost always had an easier time with learning to pole sit and grip with the legs when I showed both a crossed at the knee and crossed at the ankle ways to sit on the pole. What surprised me was that it wasn’t just the plus sized women who had it easier this way. For some of my girls of all sizes they’ve always been more comfortable doing a pole sit with the feet crossed at the ankle. And it looks nice, so I really don’t care about making them try to cross at the knee.

Similarly, I always showed grounded spins, using the least amount of momentum possible to start. Not only did that help my plus sized students, but it was also less intimidating to those who were just really scared to “let go.” Those who weren’t as scared tended to just go for the spin all on their own if they felt ready.

They key for me was just making sure that I wasn’t offering variations in a way that implied I was teaching a different class for the plus sized students. Often times I’d have a plus sized student get a spin on the first try and it would be a more “athletic” student who would have a harder time with it.