Too Many Pole Videos
Instagram is the place to be if you’re a pole dancer who is looking for inspiration for new tricks, combinations or floor movement. There are millions of perfectly posed pictures to view and a very rare few that show any imperfection. This can be off putting sometimes which is why I’m writing this post. Yes, everyone wants to look their best because of the hard work and perseverance that went into nailing the trick. However, I can guarantee that even the most perfect videos and screen shots were filmed at least 3 times until the right angle, lighting and movement was achieved. But, where does this leave the “outtakes”? How can we use these void clips to our advantage?
If you read last week’s post “pole dance choreography games” and you did as I instructed, i.e. video record your movement, I want you to look at that video as if it were in slow motion and choose a still that looks interesting to you.
It doesn’t have to be a death defying trick or something that shows extreme flexibility, it can just be something simple. You could be stood still, sat down or even in the middle of a transition from one move to the next.
Once you have your still, presumably you recorded on a smart phone, take a screen shot of this still and really look at it. See how active your body is, read your intention and forget about the movement that came before and after it.
The picture at the top of this post is the page is chosen from an improvisation clips I posted on Instagram. I chose it because it not posed and it looks really raw. It offers texture and feels like it could lead somewhere else. Pictures of perfected tricks look posed and can sometimes be so far away from any other movement that it can lead to uninspired thoughts.
Think about this for a second. Could the still image you have lead onto something else? What does it say to you? In relation to my picture I asked myself…
Could I straighten my underneath leg, then look up, transfer weight to the other foot, post my right leg between the pole and left leg, what would I have to do to be able to invert from this position, how would I maneuver my body in 1 count so that the pole has my weight?
What questions arise for you?
Remember, even though you may think your video is not good enough to post on instagram, it is definitely good enough to be used as inspiration for something else. It will develop from there, again and again, and again. If you want it to.
A few people have emailed me asking about a purchasing a hard copy of Speaking through Movement so I just want to let you know that I am working on it. I want to include some additional content so you have even more to look forward to. Let me know if there is anything you want me to include by emailing me at [email protected]
Rowena x
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