The Reality of Creating Pole Dance

The reality of creating dance applies to EVERY single choreographer out there, maybe not in the same order or to the same degree as I am showing, but the rollercoaster of emotion is and will always be present during any creative process. Even for those with a lot of experience. I realised this even more so after I posted the “creative process” meme on my social media pages. Other choreographers / artists were commenting saying that it couldn’t be more accurate. Here is my version of it.

This is Awesome 0-30%

This beginning part is always very exciting for me because I have an abundance of ideas that correlate to the research I am doing for the work. I am practically running to the studio to make a start. Movement combinations tend to happen fairly easily and everything looks as though it’s going to plan.

This is Tricky 30%

Movement combinations begin to seem like they are not working, the choice in music may not be the right one and the transitions are not going as smoothly as they could be. Time to make some serious changes. I.e. work as hard as possible to come up with different movement.

This is shit 50%

The body begins to feel extremely sore because of the extra training, it might not necessarily look like the movement needs adjusting, but because of the aches and pains it feels like it is shit.  Can maybe get to the point where you feel the need to miss a rehearsal. – don’t do this!

I am shit 70%

Negative thought patterns stop applying to your role as a dancer /choreographer and begin to sway more towards you as a person, hence the “I am shit”. I absolutely despise this part of the process, but now that I have been through it quite a few times I am able to push past it at a quicker rate.

This Might be Ok 80%

After some sleep, proper nutrition and a FULL day of rest something has shifted. Ideas begin to flow again and there is a remedy to the faults found at the “this is shit” point.

This is Awesome 100%

Sometimes I don’t reach this point until after the performance so don’t worry if you don’t either, but this is the turning point where it all comes together; there is a sense of peace and an opportunity to breathe again. And, if you’re anything like me, you will have some sort of revelation about yourself and possibly set some “chill” strategies for the next time round.

Not only is the above the reality of creating pole dance, it can be applied to any profession as there are times when one might feel at the top of their game or at the bottom. Either way, you have to keep going. Have something in place that will keep you accountable to the end as it will offer encouragement on the days when you need it most. All the way through my dance training and practically any career advice I have been given has all linked to how “it’s about the process or the journey” rather than the end result. I never really understood this, until I started my own journey in dance. Hopefully you will understand it too.

Rowena x

Don’t forget to check out “Speaking through Movement” and follow Pole Purpose on Twitter and Instagram