Developing Positive Self Perception
I was taking a class the other week and I overheard one of the students in the class talking negatively about herself, Our instructor, being the kind and compassionate person that she is, helped positively re-phrase this student’s comments and gave her some reassurance. Some other students in the class chimed in with some more positive feedback, lifting each other up is pretty much the standard for the Aerial Dance sisterhood, so this was no surprise, yet she waved off the onslaught of compliments. As I was looking at the phenomenon that is the Aerial Dance Community responding to someone’s self-perception, it made me realize how different our self-perception can be versus the perception of the ones around us. This specific student that was poking fun at herself, in that way that we all have done, but I had watched her class after class do amazing things and look beautiful doing it. I couldn’t fathom how she could feel inadequate, but SHE wasn’t feeling that she was looking or performing her best. It is amazing how our own negative thoughts can get in the way of our goals and what we want for ourselves. Until we ask those around us, we don’t know exactly how others perceive of us or how we present ourselves to others. It could be completely different than how we feel about ourselves. As was the case with this student, she was repeatedly amazing every week, yet could not think of one good thing to say about herself or accept the kind words of others. She was quick to compliment those around her on the same things she felt were her shortcomings, but could not lift herself up to that standard. I could see the glimmer of doubt that came across her face as we all spoke up to defend her and lift her spirits. On my way home from class that night, I tried to think about how my self-perception has gotten in the way of things I have wanted to do or held me back from doing things I should have. It is amazing how just one negative thought can truly get in the way of us becoming the most amazing version of ourselves. Why can we all be so hard on ourselves? Is there a point that we can say enough is enough? The next time you think you’re not good enough or that some part of you is sub-par, please remember that there are at LEAST a handful of people in an Aerial Dance studio that look at you with the complete opposite feelings. If we can see how truly wonderful you are, give yourself a little grace, and try to shut those negative feelings down. We see you and love you just the way you are.
The ongoing costs of Covid….
We’re open again! Woohoo! That means the hard times are behind small business and everything is great, right? No. I’m very sorry to give you a reality check that small business is still very much standing on a precipice. I read on a FB post someone complaining about a “covid surcharge” at a restaurant and how the restaurant should just be happy that they came at all. I understand where the patron is coming from, but allow me to enlighten you on what a small business is currently facing. The mandatory shut down obviously damaged revenue and depleted savings. Fixed costs (rent, insurance, music licensing fees, utilities, studio management software, etc) are due even when your company isn’t allowed to be physically open, but now that businesses ARE open all those costs are still there AND there is a whole new level of costs that we are facing specifically because of Covid. I can’t speak for a restaurant, but for my dance fitness studios here are a few of the new costs covid created for us: Increased professional cleaning. At Aerial Dance we have always had a professional cleaning and disinfecting company come in. Right now, we have increased how often they come and are paying for this. Cleaning Supplies. Plain and simple, cleaning supplies on the scale we are using them are extremely expensive. They were always a cost for our business but since covid that cost has over tripled. We have bought new floor mop systems for deeper disinfecting. We have increased the number of times we spray aerial fabrics so the cans of disinfectants are being used over twice as fast. We have put sanitization stations at every entrance. We went from one entrance per studio to 2 entrances in Green Bay and 4 entrances in Appleton. So that is six bottles of hand sanitizer out daily now instead of 2. We’ve added sanitization options. We used to just have hand gel but now also have a hand wipe option. Additional student cleaning supplies. We no longer share spray bottles of alcohol. Every pole and apparatus has their own. This means purchasing the bottles themselves and then filling them with alcohol nightly. And incase you were wondering, since March the cost of isopropyl alcohol has gone up over $2 per bottle. And incase you missed the blog on how hard it has been to source this product, we use 23 bottles EVERY WEEK. Masks. We purchased masks for all our instructors that have changeable filters. Then we purchased a bunch of the filter material so they can change their mask filter whenever they choose. Then we also purchased a box of masks for the front desk at each location in case a student forgot one. Towels! Where we used to have three towels out in a pole studio now EVERY STUDENT has TWO of her own. The towels we provide are not rags but instead high end microfiber towels; we went from 3 per studio per night to around 72 per studio per night (we have three pole studios….so around 216 towels for pole per day when it used to be 9). New towels. We bought new big towels for use in fitness classes incase someone forgot one and needed to rent it. Laundry. With the increase in the number of towels being used we are now doing laundry, daily, sometimes multiple times per day. This mean an increase in our water bill. Towels have to be cleaned on HOT so an increase in our electric bill for our hot water heaters. We are also going through detergent and bleach WAY faster. Laundry for our fabrics. We are washing our silks and hammock a LOT more frequently so all the above costs for laundry are being incurred for washing fabrics too. But the bigger cost here is that the increased washing means we wearing out our expensive aerial fabrics faster as we will need to replace them sooner. New equipment. We purchased new equipment and shifted equipment between our two locations to be able to run aerial classes with the one per apparatus format. HVAC costs. We are changing our filters in all our HVAC units (we have 5) frequently. Increased Electric Costs because of HVAC. Since we are running the fans constantly and keeping doors open as much as possible our electric costs for AC have almost tripled from this time last year. Legal costs. Covid brought the need for a new liability waiver. We also need guidance every time a new situation arises dealing with covid stuff like testing and tracking. Online class costs. We increased the speed of internet at both locations so we can do online classes with two-way video. We had to buy a new computer for the Appleton studio so we had a computer for online classes and a front desk computer. While taking on ALL of these costs, we’ve also decreased our class sizes. We used to have 16 students in the Aerial Studio at one time, we now have maximum of 7. Our Dance Fitness classes used to have a max of 15, we now have a max of 5. So far Aerial Dance has not increased our prices or issued a “covid surcharge” simply because I feel bad doing so. I am so grateful that our members stuck with us during the “safer at home” that I feel really guilty asking them to pay extra now that we have returned to in person classes. So I’m being super creative to avoid a price increase for as long as I can. But frankly, all these costs aren’t sustainable long term without one. So be kind to your local small businesses and know they aren’t getting rich on their “covid surcharge” or trying to make up for revenue they lost while they were closed – they are trying to survive.
Isopropyl in quantity
It’s been one month since we welcomed back in-person classes. And I just need to take a second to thank Clean Image Janitorial for helping us keep our community healthy. Clean Image Janitorial has been our professional cleaning crew for years, probably like 7. They have always done an incredible job cleaning our facilities. If you’ve ever walked into an Aerial Dance, you know our spaces are clean, they radiate clean, and a big part of that is because of DJ, Wendy and Krystal. When we opened our Appleton location in August 2011 my father and I used to trade off cleaning the floors at Aerial Dance. At that time we only had the front pole studio. And I hated disinfecting the floor and cleaning the mirrors. As soon as the budget allowed I set out to hire a cleaning company and the Clean Image team been an important part of Aerial Dance since. When we expanded to include an aerial program, DJ (the owner of Clean Image) was consulted about the type of foam floor we should put in. Before opening our Green Bay location, DJ was a call I made before signing the lease to make sure they would come up there. They work around our changing schedule when we need them to. They are very kind and respectful to our students and instructors when they see them. They do great work. But in the past few weeks I have developed and even greater love for DJ and Clean Image as they have been helping us source the products we need to keep our community safe. In my blog “Planning on Resuming” I spoke about the deep cleaning Clean Image was doing before we reopened and the difficulty we were having with sourcing isopropyl alcohol. That hasn’t changed as the state as opened. Most stores now have it but they still are limiting it to 1 32 oz or 2 16 oz per person per day. Let me put that in perspective for you: at Aerial Dance Green Bay we are currently using 16 spray bottles daily and in Appleton 29 spray bottles. Each spray bottle is 16 oz. So for our initial filling we need 23 large bottles. We refill daily and are going through about 16 oz per bottle per week. So we need 23 large bottles EVERY week. Purchasing 1 bottle at a time makes needing 23 bottles every 7 days very challenging. We tried switching the ethyl alcohol since that is easier to get. Our formulation scientist on staff approved the switch from a virus killing and keeping people safe perspective. But it smells like cheap tequila. And worse, it makes my hands feel like they have a coating on them. When we switched over and I tried it, I didn’t like it. None of my instructors liked it and they are practically bathing in it at the moment so I wanted to switch back to isopropyl but we needed to be able to get it in quantity. Most of the “business” suppliers aren’t opening new accounts at this time so we couldn’t get on board with a wholesale business to business supplier. The few places we could order it online require hazmat shipping so in addition to the increased cost of the product, and paying shipping you pay an additional $300 charge. So for the past few weeks Chrissy, Olivia & I would go to multiple stores and by single bottles at a time. I hated this. First, it’s a waste of time. Second, stores are price gouging the cost…jerks. Third, the more places we go the higher the risk of exposure. So I needed a better solution that was sustainable. DJ to the rescue!!!!! Yesterday after a manager meeting where we spoke of the desire to fully switch all bottles back to isopropyl and the difficulty in finding it I texted DJ and said “if you see any 70% or up isopropyl on a shelf, I’ll take it!” A few hours later he had provided us 10 bottles for each studio! Then late last night 50 more bottles for each studio. That gives us 3-ish weeks supply! So in two weeks I’ll ask him to procure us more. I seriously can’t tell you how awesome it is to have this in our store room because it means my staff and I don’t have to go t a million places, pay the higher prices, and our students get to use the product we prefer. It may seem like a little thing, be every day during this time of upheaval there are a million problems to solve. I’m so grateful to Clean Image Janitorial and DJ for going outside their scope of “cleaning our facilities” to help us source the products we need to be able to run classes. We are very lucky to have a wonderful company supporting us.
Pole and Aerial Journaling
Greetings fellow space cadets! If you’re anything like me, your memory isn’t your strong suit. And let’s face it, remembering everything that goes into pole and aerial is super overwhelming. From the names of spins and poses on various apparatus, to specific muscle engagement, and personal tips for success, it’s nearly impossible to remember it all. Especially as a beginner. Pole and aerial classes are just that. It’s a class. You came to learn, and what do you do when you’re learning? You take notes! For some, the class cards provided by Aerial Dance is enough. But personally, the margins just aren’t enough. It’s scientifically proven that hand writing notes leads to improved memory retention. This is because our brains need to process information and summarize it in our own words. My daily planner is my lifeline. It’s purple, sparkly, and I’m not ashamed to admit that it came with stickers. Like my pole journal, I could probably get by without it. But it just makes life so much easier. Here are some tips to organizing your own aerial journal! Use a multi-subject notebook Using a multi-subject notebook can only mean one thing. You only have to remember one thing! It’s already sectioned off to categorize by apparatus. Consider also holding a specific section for your favorite stretching and conditioning moves. For an eco-friendly option, companies like Rocketbook offer affordable, reusable notebooks. You can scan and organize your notes with your phone and when the notebook is full, simply microwave it and the pages will be wiped clean! Just be careful not to leave it in your car on a hot summer day… Date EVERYTHING Add the full date to your pages, including the year. This will make keeping track a breeze. Looking back on my notes from years ago, I wish I had added the year to all of them. It’s fun to look back for a reminder of just how long and hard you worked to achieve a certain trick that might now be a staple in your freedance and performances. Master the stick figure! Draw stick figures to help remember what a pose or spin looks like. Even if it’s not perfect, sometimes seeing the general shape of something is enough to trigger your memory. Write step by step notes in your own words about what your stick figure is doing, with a “to-do” list of conditioning exercises to help improve things you might be struggling with like grip in your knee pit or shoulder mobility. We hope this helps! Happy spinning!
Words Matter, Kindness Matters
Words matter, both in what we say to ourselves and what we say to others. Several books ago, one of the Smart is sexy book club choices talked about this, more specifically In regards to switching from “I have to” or “I need to” and instead saying “I get to” and “I am able to”. My favorite example that they used is in regards to exercise – speaking of taking an exercise class… If you are saying that you have to or that you need to, it’s easy for it to become a heavy obligation and something that you try to get out of doing, instead of seeing it as a positive- that you get to or that you are able to, and it is a privilege or a reward. It was a wonderful way to learn how to change your mindset. I am a words person, trying to be mindful of their power, and during the whole pandemic, a lot of words that were chosen did not sit well with me. I personally did not like the essential versus nonessential, as nonessential makes the category seem unnecessary, superfluous and worthless. And here we are, choosing to call people and their lives’ work, many of whom emotionally bond with their careers, especially if they are a business owner, as non-essential, unneeded, etc. Every single person is essential, and while they may not have a Job/career supporting the basic human needs, every single one of us is important, we are all essential to make the world a better place. We do not need to divide in this way, we need to be kind, and we need to continue to support each other, which will look a little bit different for each individual, and that’s ok. And speaking of support, the other phrase that really did not sit well with me is social distancing. Being 6 feet or more apart has nothing to do with social, it is physical. We are trying to physically distance, and I know more and more physicians in particular are trying to adopt that phrasing and change the mindset. In fact, it was from a doctor friend that I heard the phrase physical distancing used first. My mind was blown! That is what we are trying to accomplish, we are not trying to socially distance, in fact, just the opposite – we need to be able to socially support each other more than ever, spreading kindness. Which can easily be done through phone calls, email, text, FaceTime or zoom type calls, good old fashion paper mail, or even face to face with physically distancing. Take advantage of this beautiful summer weather and go for a bike ride with somebody, sit out in the backyard, enjoy the social connections which are integral for our emotional needs. Be kind, both to yourself and to others, be cognizant of what you are actually trying to communicate, and take advantage of the wonderful Aerial Dance online and in-person workouts where we can physically distance but keep that beautiful social connection with all of our Aerial sisters and aerial family.
Bust Through Your Plateau
Chances are at some point in your pole journey you’ll be faced with a plateau. Even though it happens to all of us, this can be an incredibly frustrating time were we feel like we have few successes. Luckily, there are a few things we can do to help our plateaus be short and sweet. Monotony is a plateaus best friend. When our bodies adapt to a new level of fitness and we neglect to add new stressors or a sufficient stimulus, in time our bodies actually enter a detraining phase. We can avoid monotony if we make planned changes to training variables like frequency, intensity, duration, and volume. If you’re feeling unsuccessful in your regular pole class, take some time to try a new aerial or flow class. Not only will it be fun to learn a new skill, it’ll probably also help improve your pole skills in the long run. If you’re not able to increase the amount of time or days spent at the studio, consider how much effort you put into each class. Not every class has to completely empty your tank, in fact that may lead to overtraining. However, consistently challenging yourself in each class will be more effective in getting you through a plateau. Sometimes we’re just hung up on a particular move or trick. Talk to an instructor and see what conditioning you can do safely from the ground to assist you in the air. Bands attached to the pole is just one way you can help build strength to perform a new move, and reduce body weight so that you can increase volume and avoid overtraining. The next time you’re facing a plateau, consider how you might make changes to your current training to encourage adaptation. And remember, your instructors are always here to help!
Temperatures and why we ask you to take it at home
The CDC has stated that a good indication for some carriers of Covid (and in others it doesn’t present this way…which is a whole other issue….) is a low grade fever. A lot of businesses are now taking your temperature when you walk-in. I had a student ask me why we weren’t. We have asked our members to protect our community and take their temperatures before coming for a few reasons. Temperatures very. A lot. If you have been outside in the sun your temperature will be different than if you were sitting in an air conditioned car. The best way to have accurate temperature data is to take it at a similar time each day. I take mine 20 minutes after I wake-up and depending on the day mine fluctuates an entire degrees Celsius (since I somehow turned my thermometer from Fahrenheit to Celsius two months ago and can’t figure out how to turn it back….) So for the most accurate data on your health, taking your temperature at a consistent time will result in the best and safest data. If someone registered with a temperature when they are standing in our lobby, what then? Do we send the home? Do we allow them to sit in the waiting area and see if their temperature goes down in a few minutes once they are in the AC? A lots of places are doing this, which confuses the heck out of me; you don’t want someone in your building with a temperature so you are taking their temp then if they have one have them sitting in your entry to see if it get better? If that person did have covid, they are now breathing particles into your space right at the most busy place waiting to see. Not a great solution. Then….what if their temperature doesn’t change and they do have a low grade fever? What if the person insists they are healthy and they want to come in to class regardless of what the thermometer says? How does my instructor handle that? Does she send her home or forcibly remove the student? This situation would be difficult and awkward to navigate for all involved. Better to know if you should or should not come before actually coming! There are also potential privacy and liability issue with taking a temperature the lobby. Do we need to record the temperature so if someone presents with symptoms the following day we can prove that they were “healthy” when they were with us? That’s then a medical record which means HIPPA and all kinds of other regulations go into place. Plus, it feels intrusive. Walking in and have someone standing there as a gate keeper with a thermometer is stressful. Every time I walk in to a store with this set-up I have a surge of anxiety. I took my temperature that morning, I know I am healthy, but every time I have a momentary freak out worrying I’ll be told I have a temperature. Aerial Dance is where women come to feel safe and welcome, having their first interaction be an anxiety attack is against our mission. My instructors are amazing pole and aerial teachers; most are not medically trained in medical procedure so there is a big possibility for human error. Plus calibration of the thermometer is another issue. How often does it need to be calibrated? How do we calibrate? How are we sure that the thermometer we are using is accurate? I honestly have no clue about this and would hate to tell a student they were ill when it was a human or calibration issue. For all of these reasons we have instead asked our women to take their temperatures before coming. They know their thermometer and (hopefully) how to use it. They can take their temperature at a consistent time each day to have an accurate understanding of if they have a fever. Our students are responsible adults who care about our sisterhood. Keeping their health in their hands is the logical approach and allows us to concentrate on the saftey of our facilities. Please take your temperature before attending and only attend if it is under 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit or 38 degrees Celsius.
Phase 2: Spotting Returns
Sunday is the official start of “phase 2” at Aerial Dance. The big change with phase 2 is spotting resumes. A lot of research and thought has gone into our spotting plan. Below you’ll find all the details (see the Covid info page for full phase 2 details). As always, we are being completely transparent with our community about our plans and the science we are using to create them so our members can make their own educated decisions about what is best for them. Pick your color of comfort When coming to an Advanced or above pole class, an aerial class, or a practice you will see up to three cups with single use slips of paper in the cup. There will be Red and Yellow slips out for EVERY class. Green slips will be out if the Instructor teaching that class is comfortable with that options that day. Each student will take one slip of paper to indicate her level of comfort with spotting. Red -“please do not spot me”. Instead the instructor will maintain social distance (as is happening during the rest of class) and will be given combinations of moves she is already cleared on or upright tricks or move variations that do NOT require a spot. With this choice the student will only have an instructor touch her in the event of an emergency spot. Yellow – “spot me! And we’ll both wear masks”. For this color the instructor will spot the student and both instructor and student will be wearing masks. This is the level of spotting I personally would choose at this time. It is also the level we hope our members who are essential workers or women who are out in places that do not always have social distancing choose. Green – “Spot me! I am healthy and have not been in any situations that may have exposed me to Covid. I will not wear a mask.” This level will ONLY be available IF the Instructor feels comfortable with this level for any given day/class. For green the instructor can choose to wear a mask or not, it is up to her but the student will not be wearing one. A student picks her spotting color comfort level while entering the studio. This eliminates any possibly of peer pressure or FOMO. You decided what you felt comfortable with based on factors that matter to you and not what you see other students doing in class. This also gives a discrete communication between student and instructor about what the student wishes. Once you pick your color, have it sitting on top of your card during warm-up so the instructor can see it and prepare her class order. If you wanted green but it isn’t an option at your class, respect your instructor and pick one of the other colors. She may be protecting you by not having it out, who knows! We are giving you options to respect your comfort, please respect hers as well. It is instructor choice to put out green and respect whatever decision she has made and choose from the options available. We are introducing all three of the spotting levels now expecting that most of our students will choose red or yellow. But as the situation changes in the upcoming weeks and months we wanted a policy in place that was fluid. We plan to keep this in place until everyone is green all the time, whenever that may be. Consistency with this policy will give our students comfort and familiarity when coming to the studio. When it is YOUR TIME to be spotted…. When it is time to be spotted, the instructor will notify the student that they will be coming over. If the student is breathing heavily (or feels like they may need to cough or sneeze) they will notify the instructor to put them somewhere else in class order. If good to go, both instructor and student will put on mask as indicated by the selected color level. The instructor will stand and place both her palms face-up for the student to spray with alcohol from her bottle. Then the spotting will happen. If there are multiple spots, the instructor will step back farther than usual between spots. After spotting is complete the student will give the instructor her card and pen to fill out and sign. Then the instructor will again stand with both palms-up and the student will spray her hands with alcohol. The alcohol spray before spotting makes sure there is nothing on instructor hands before she touches a student (this protects the student). The alcohol spray after spotting makes sure there is nothing left from touching the student on the instructor (this protects the instructor). Remembering this process and enacting it quickly will help keep our community safe. As you leave class, please throw our (or better yet, RECYCLE) your slip of paper in the bin by the sanitizing station. Not EVERY class will necessarily need spotting. Instructors will still be doing a LOT of review moves and combos as we work our way back into pole and aerial safely. But this will be the procedure for spotting and you’ll want to select a color every class, even if it is not used to help get used to the new system. Other phase 2 changes include: socks are no longer required by are encouraged; students will use their “class cards” to track progress; and we’ve updated “when to come to class” to include only two requirements 1. your temperature is below 100.42. you have not symptoms. All other phase 1 requirements are still in place. Students are still required to wear masks in all common areas, like entry and exit (masks are available at the desk for purchase for $3 if you need one). Students are also still required to come in specific doors that correspond to the studio you’ll be in and to leave the building between classes. Science
A look back at my experience competing in pole
Competing in pole or any other aerial apparatus is an awesome challenge and an incredible opportunity for personal growth. However, is it for me? I am still trying to figure that out. I’d like to share my experiences with you as a way to reflect and perhaps to help me answer this question. I have always loved to dance. I used to love to sing and act. In fact, as a child I begged my dad, a single parent, to drive me 30+ miles to audition for children’s theatre productions over and over again in hopes that someday I would be discovered as a prodigy and be the youngest Academy-award winning actress in history. Auditioning and being on stage has never made me very nervous—maybe excited nervous, but not terrified nervous. However, in very little time at all, I realized I was much too sensitive for the competitive world of child acting, even when I’d win the part. I never played sports competitively growing up and my only other experience in competition was auditioning for high school musicals, none of which I’d ever earned a lead role, and participating in regional solo and ensemble events. Again, I realized I was too sensitive for the constructive criticism that accompanied such events. Fast forward to my life as an Aerial Dancer, I very quickly learned I still loved to dance, (not sing), and act. My experiences in Aerial Dance Christmas Shows brought me so much joy. I loved the lights and the makeup and the costumes and sharing my passion through movement with others. At this time, another brave Aerial Dance sister introduced pole competitions to the studio and I thought to myself, “What a perfect outlet for me!” I envisioned pouring my heart and soul into a routine and sharing it with others, and I couldn’t help but also create a fantasy in my head where someone in the theatre would discover me and make a movie about me as a pole dancer so I could be the most beloved Academy-award winning actress to star in a movie about pole dance (This was before Hustlers). In May of 2018 after months of creating a routine incorporating all of my favorite tricks, I competed for the first time at the Pole Sport Organization’s Central Pole Championships. I performed at 8 in the morning on a Sunday to a theatre that didn’t even dim the lights filled to 10% capacity. It did not feel at all like the experiences in the Christmas Shows with a huge room of people cheering me on and flashing lights and blaring music. In Christmas show performances, I’ve tended to “black out” when on stage, losing myself and emerging post-performance in a state of euphoria. The same thing happened during my competition performance, so I have little recollection of my feelings in the moment, but I remember leaving the stage feeling proud. I ended up tying for second place, and on that day, I was happy for trying something new. Unfortunately, my oversensitive self was not prepared for my feelings post-competition. I received the judges’ feedback a few weeks after the competition and was so confused. One judge would say something that they loved that another judge would say they didn’t like. The entire thing was one big contradiction. I became very harsh on myself and my feelings from my youth of not getting the part or not getting the star first (solo and ensemble) came flooding back. I was not prepared to be subjected and to make matters worse, when I received my photos and video from the competition routine, I myself watched it with very critical judging eyes over and over and over. I allowed myself to critique every aspect of the performance which demolished my self-esteem. After that, I determined that like my dreams of being a child actress, my dreams of being a competitive or world-famous pole dancer just weren’t the right dreams for me. I focused on having fun in classes and making the most of the Aerial Dance Christmas Shows, which still brought and continue to bring me much joy. Then, in the fall of 2019, the same Aerial Dance sister who introduced us to pole competitions reached out to invite me to compete with her in doubles pole at the Minnesota Pole Competition. I was nervous to say yes since I had been so harsh on myself. This sister (Thank you, Sarah!) encouraged me to take a step forward and try again, to focus on the performance itself since I very much enjoyed that the first go-around, and to not allow myself to focus on the judges’ feedback or my place in the competition as a negative thing. Competing together was very similar to an Aerial Dance Christmas Show performance because we could collaborate and celebrate and encourage each other. The Minnesota Pole Competition took place in January of 2020. Saint Paul experienced a blizzard making travel incredibly challenging and to top it off, on the morning of our competition piece, my car was towed due to a snow removal emergency. I wasn’t able to get the car back since my husband’s name was on the title and anything else that could have gone wrong in that experience went wrong. Honestly, dealing with that mess prevented me from being concerned about how we would perform or what the judges would think. We barely had time in between phone calls with the City of Saint Paul and the tow yard to even do our makeup and get ready, so when it was time to go on stage I had no energy left for self-doubt. We took our starting positions on the pole, and again I “blacked out”, coming to afterwards as we walked off stage panting and feeling quite accomplished. We ended up taking first place in our category and first place in costumes in our category. Also, the police officer at the tow yard felt bad for us in our
Periodize Your Training
Whether you’re signing up for your first Aerial Dance Annual Show or you’re a seasoned competitor, you may have considered preparing in some way before the event. Although we have good intentions, we might not always take the best the best strength and conditioning approach to arrive at peak performance for our next major performance. You can’t prepare for your next performance while training for your next performance. What I mean by this is the best time to begin preparing for your routine was probably before the full routine had even existed. Many dancers will approach strength training by training the muscles they will use most in the routine. The instinct makes a lot of sense. You want to be strong where you perceive you’re going to be challenged during a piece. However, if you consider how much work some areas like our backs and shoulders are already going to be grinding out by practicing your routine, we might be better off choosing to balance muscles that are weaker to prevent overuse injuries during this time. Does that mean you should neglect shoulder training? Of course not. Periodization programs begin with a General Preparedness phase; which typically occurs several months before your event. During this phase we focus on strengthening and creating a more resilient body as a whole. It’s the training during this time that will allow you to avoid overuse brought on by the repetition of a routine. Creating a periodized strength and conditioning program can help you plan and help avoid training faults such as excess loading (too much, too soon), monotony, and an overly varied program. Using a periodized program can also help us think about our training in yearlong increments to adequately plan not only training, but also much needed rest. If you’re overwhelmed thinking about trying to create your own plan, Aerial Dance can help!
