PSO Central Pole Competition 2018

(Pole Sport Organization)

This year PSO hosted it’s annual Central Pole Competition at the beautiful Athenaeum Theatre. Aerial Dance’s Competition team and support team was there in full force! It was with an extremely heavy heart that I had to miss this competition. Pole competitions have become a tradition for many of the ladies at Aerial Dance. Competitions are a chance to share your love of pole with your pole sisters and to appreciate pole at all levels. I know I sound like a broken record when I say this, BUT! If you haven’t been to a competition and are considering competing, but are afraid to…… GO TO A COMPETITION!!!!! It may change your whole point of view about competing! I know that competing is on my goal list for the very near future!
This year at the PSO Centeral, Aerial Dance proudly supported 8, EIGHT! competitors. Our competition team is still fairly new with students only competing for the past two years, but the team is doing wonderfully! It will continue to grow and change to meet the needs of the students who join the team.

Reflections from the team on CPC 2018

Instructor in Training Amanda

Highs and Lows: Highs= It was completely rewarding to set a goal for myself, work hard for several months, and achieve it by sharing my love of pole on stage at PSO. Getting to see the amazing talent via all of the competitors. All levels, all ages, all size… PSO is super inclusive and it felt great to be a part of that community. I am thankful that I was able to network and make friends with other people from the pole community throughout the Midwest. I am also thankful for the opportunity to get to know women from the studio more personally and build lasting friendships.
Lows= Now that it is over, I am incredibly impatient to receive the judges’ feedback and the professional photos/video. I had the competition as a focus for so long; I’m struggling to decide what my next focus/goal in life should be. I wasn’t expecting to feel this way, but I am feeling more self-critical than I thought I would have. I could’ve done this or I should’ve done that—those are thoughts running through my head after the competition. I know there is no such thing as perfect, but I truly wanted to have a flawless performance and that wasn’t the case. I am sure that some of my tricks on stage came out the best I’d ever done them, but others were not, and I am trying to process the emotions that come with that—frustration, guilt, pride, all at the same time. Since I had been to the Minnesota Pole Competition as a spectator, I had a decent sense of what to expect at PSO. It was fairly similar and honestly, being on stage felt almost like an Aerial Dance Christmas Show, because I could hear my friends from ADPE cheering me on throughout my performance which helps ease my nerves on stage.
Even though I am feeling critical of my performance on stage one week post-competition, I think I owe it to myself to compete again someday. I think that it is important to learn and grow from this experience and to continue to develop my skills as a dancer and choreographer. Also, I felt so welcomed and included at the competition and I would like to continue to meet other dancers from other studios and get inspired by the amazing talent that exists in our sport/art.

Student Tiffany

Oh boy, well, competition was definitely something I am happy I did and will definitely remember it for the rest of my life. I learned a lot! With 8 woman in my category and me going last, I was able to watch most of them. Realizing the level of tricks they put in their routines compared to mine definitely taught me that next year I need to up my game…A Lot,,,. I was proud of how my routine ran, was probably one of the best runs I did and I left every last bit of emotion I had on that stage! Coming in 4th place and missing only 3rd by one point definitely stung BUT I have to remember I can’t control the judges and every woman in my category brought their A game!
Do I plan on competing again??? Well it just so happens I am already signed up for competition in Minnesota in January! I signed up under the performance theater category for something different and not so serious! In the end, competing is a lot of fun but also is a lot of hard work and the expenses can get up there, but I am happy I did it! Now, I hope to compete at least once a year from here on out.

Student Misty

It was an absolutely amazing experience, the atmosphere was more of a showcase then a competition. The hardest part was not knowing how the person before you grip aids would affect you, no matter how well the pole cleaners job. The amount of talent that I had the honor of sharing that stage with put me in shock and aw. I had a blast hanging out with my pole sisters for the weekend! Next time I would treat it more as a Christmas show for my friends and family then a competition, and enjoy it to its fullest extent. I would love to compete again, but it is a large investment. I do plan on attending more for support.

Student Veronica

Competing is definitely an adventure of highs and lows. I get so excited to show off my routine to new people and see how all my hard work has come together. This competition was run similar to the Minnesota competition that I competed in, so I felt very comfortable with the routine of it. My biggest low is my nerves. They usually hit me not long before I have to go on. This Chicago competition brought a new set of anxiety because it was about 90 degrees out with humidity and I was a slippery mess. I was so afraid of slipping off the pole, and that was all I could focus on.
Luckily I am part of an amazing team that kept me steady and upbeat before I went on. When the time came, being slippery was not even a problem. I do want to compete more, I love it, and I love meeting new people in the pole community. And I got second! I’ve never won anything before! It’s such a confidence boost, knowing I’m on a great track. For next time I was to dedicate more to the psychological aspect of it, maybe look into the sports psychology literature. I want to be a proud confident pole performer.

Student Tasha

My low point of the competition was Friday before we left. I was utterly exhausted and felt the classic ‘what if this is the only nice weekend for the whole summer’ that I think everyone felt, I was tired from our 2 weeks of traveling, work, and really just wanted a weekend for my introvert self to sit & relax. The high point would be just enjoying the stage, savoring the moments and placing!

As much as I would like to say I would do something differently next time, I am also a firm believer that everything happens for a reason. The outcome of the weekend was good, so as stressed as I was on our drive down, I still can’t say I would actually change anything because then who knows what the outcome would be. I think each competition is a unique set of circumstances that you have to figure out as you go.

The competition was kind of what I expected, my previous competition took place at a convention center or at other venues. This was only my second time in an actual theater so that was fun and different. I plan to continue to compete long term. But for now I don’t know that my budget can quite handle it; I definitely want to because I love creating characters, designing costumes, and collaborating with others but I guess it depends on the timing.

Student Cybil

My highs of the competition were being with my pole sisters from ADPE, but also all of the wonderful polers I met at PSO! Everyone was so welcoming and encouraging. It felt more like a showcase than a competition.I LOVED seeing all of the amazing routines. I love all of the different categories and hearing all of the different songs people chose. It’s so cool to see why someone chose something and how they interpreted it.

My first low was being sick! I was still recovering from bronchitis, so that was kind of lousy and I hadn’t run through my routine in weeks because I had been so sick. So not being prepared wasn’t that great. Next time I would definitely prepare better. I honestly didn’t give 100% into preparing for this competition and that was my own fault. I got a little discouraged after seeing how many people I was competing against in my category. I need to work harder the next time around. Overall it was what I expected. The big surprise to me was just how wonderful everyone was. When you’re in a huge auditorium full of women who are competing, I expected it to be a little bit more tense. But even standing backstage waiting to perform the girls I was competing against were so sweet and encouraging. I loved it! I definitely plan to compete again – I’m already signed up for Minnesota.!!!!! 🙂

Student Sarah

It was a great experience and the studio did a great job of supporting comp preparations – it was nice to be part of a team and all the women supported and helped each other through the preparatory phase really well. Personally, I was not nearly prepared enough due to personal factors that prevented me from having enough time to train adequately, so that was a frustrating part of the experience for me. For my level of training, I was pleased with how I did.
Performing on the stage is really fun and it’s a great opportunity to be surrounded by lots of people that are into what you do. I was not “poled out” at the end of the weekend due to how fun and interesting everyone from all the different studios were! I would like to compete again, but only if I can guarantee that I will be able to dedicate enough time to preparation; it is not an insignificant personal investment and for me leads to disappointment if I can’t put enough time into getting ready. The preparation doesn’t just take your competition routine to the next level but really pushes you as a performer, a dancer, and your cardiovascular system in a way that attending weekly classes doesn’t and I think really helps me personally grow a lot in my pole journey.

Aerial Dance Competition Team 2019

The Aerial Dance Competition Team will be hosting organizational meetings in August and September of this year. They plan to start team events before all the hustle and bustle of the Christmas Show! The competitions we will be preparing for are: MNPC in January, USPSF Midwest Regional (HOSTED IN APPLETON BY AERIAL DANCE!!!), PSO CPC in May.
It was made evident that the new competition team structure launched this year was successful! Aerial Dance’s competitors brought home medals with some even bringing home multiple medals! Aerial Dances goal is to continue to grow the team and their competition program! If you are interested in learning more about Aerial Dances Competition Team just click and follow the link!

I loved hearing from all of the competitors and about their experiences! It really inspires me! I hope it does for you too!
Until Next Time!
Janelle

Aerial Dance Takes Chicago By Storm