What Am I Doing Here?
What Am I Doing Here? With the beginning of a new term some of us have shifted class levels. In my personal journey, I made the jump from advanced to extreme. As you are reading this you may be thinking, “YAY JANELLE! GO YOU!” That is what I thought, until I had my first extreme class! I walked into the studio two weeks ago for my first class, I was giddy and nervous at the same time. Truly I didn’t know what to expect, but was confident in my abilities in pole. Like any pole class we began with a warm up, from our warm up we moved into the day’s curriculum. We began with learning/reviewing Allegra. It was at that moment when the instructor demonstrated Allegra, that my mind went, “WHAT AM I DOING HERE?!?!??!” There was no possible way that I was going to be able to do that! I kept thinking, “You expect me to do what with my body?” In that moment, I felt like I was back in beginner class….. A fresh rush of terror ran through my body. I hadn’t had a feeling like that in a very, very, long time. I felt that I didn’t belong in extreme. The ladies that were in my class were so much better, so much stronger. Their every move seemed effortless. As I walked out of class, I felt defeated and discouraged. I almost contacted Paula to inform her that I truly felt that extreme was not the appropriate class level for me. On my drive home, I began to reflect on how the class went. There were several women in my class who are amazing pole artists. Their grace and skills just blew me away. As I continued to think about my class, it occurred to me that it was only my first class and these ladies have been in extreme a lot longer than I. It’s All About Growth The more I continued to reflect on my first class, the more I began to forgive myself. I walked into extreme feeling and almost expecting it to come easy. HA! Funny right? Do things ever really come easy in any aerial sport? I had spent so much time in advanced that I had become comfortable. Granted, I am not perfect at every spin, transition, or invert, but I was with the same group of women, at the same time, on the same day for several terms. You begin to establish a sense of belonging and security. Making the transition from advanced to extreme, blasted me way out of my comfort zone. I was with a whole new group of women, who are in true Aerial Dance fashion amazing, helpful, and some of the kindest people you will ever meet. With that being said, I was still intimidated by them. I was so intimated by them that I forgot that pole is a journey, not a race. These women have worked so hard to get to where they are. Their grace and pole skills did not just happen over night. Each of them is on their own journey to become the best pole artist that they can be. When week two rolled around and I was still a little nervous to attend class, but I told myself, “That it is only week two, you can do it!” My second class was a little less scary and I have the feeling that with each passing week, it will get better. What Does Any of This Have to Do With YOU? What I want you to take away from this blog, is that it is okay to be scared! It is okay to feel like you don’t belong at first! It is okay if you are not perfect! After three years with Aerial Dance, I STILL HAVE THESE FEELINGS! The beauty of this though is that at Aerial Dance you are not expected to be perfect at every moment in every class. You will struggle, it will be hard, but you will see growth! You will see change! You will become stronger, more graceful, you will succeed if you continue to try! For those of you who share my similar feelings, don’t throw in the towel just yet! The instructors’ believe in you! I believe in you! YOU CAN DO IT! Until Next Time, Janelle
Taking the Windy City by Storm!
Taking the Windy City by Storm! This weekend Aerial Dance’s very own Instructor Kim will be competing. She is competing in The North American Pole Dancing Championship in Chicago! She will be performing in two solo events. On Friday, Instructor Kim will be performing her solo pole routine and on Saturday she will performing her hoop solo. For those of you who are new to Aerial Dance, let me introduce you to Instructor Kim! Getting to Know Instructor Kim Instructor Kim stumbled upon pole through a random acquaintance at a bachelorette party. The party did not attend a pole party at Aerial Dance, the person that Instructor Kim met, had to leave early the next morning to attend a pole class. Before the girl left, Instructor Kim asked her about pole. The following week, Instructor Kim found her way to Aerial Dance, where she signed up for a beginner class. After her first class she was hooked! (I feel like this is a common theme for anyone who takes aerial classes!) Prior to dancing at Aerial Dance, Instructor Kim danced all through high school and during college she was on a competitive cheer leading team with the University of Wisconsin Stevens Point. Becoming An Instructor Instructor Kim was a student for a year and three months before she started training to become an instructor. Just as Instructor Kim started training Aerial Dance was just beginning to expand. Hammock and silks were the first new apparatuses to come to Aerial Dance. Kim started training on hammocks and silks, shortly after hoop came to the studio. As Instructor Kim continued her training, she was able to play on both hammock and hoop. She was beginning to experiment and play with hoop before it was introduced to students. Pole would always be her first love, but she soon fell in love with hoop. Competition This past January Instructor Kim was invited to judge a pole competition in Minnesota. With her extensive dance background Instructor Kim has a keen eye for technique and detail! She knows what a solid pole routine is. She is able to build a balanced routine that incorporates the correct amount of pole tricks, transitions, and floor work. Judging this competition was a great stepping stone for Instructor Kim. Competing had always been in the back of her mind. This competition allowed her to see how a pole competition worked. She was able to see the judging score cards to see what the judges were expecting. She learned more about the different levels and the requirements for each. In May Instructor Kim helped guide one of our very own Aerial Dance students to a first place standing. After judging the Minnesota competition and helping another student train for her competition in May, she caught the competition bug herself! Hoop (lyra) is her favorite apparatus and she was excited to have the opportunity to compete! On Wednesday we got to see her pole routine at the end of pole practice! Let me tell you! She nailed it! She has amazing stage presence and the right amount of sass to draw your eye! I know she is going to nail it! I just wish I was able to attend! Instructor Kim made her way down to Chicago on Thursday! We are all anxiously awaiting to see photos and videos of both of her routines! WE WISH YOU ALL THE BEST OF LUCK INSTRUCTOR KIM!!!!!!
