One thing I picked up right away was time and dedication needed to meet my goals. If I wanted to be great at pole dancing I knew I was really gonna have to give my time and dedication in each and every class. In the beginning I realized this was gonna be a challenge, I knew I was gonna have to gain some extra strength. So at each class I took it one day at a time. It was very important for me not to rush the process and pay attention to every detail. I’m not a shy person at all, so asking a lot of questions in class worked in my favor. Sometimes I felt like me asking those important questions not only helped me, but gave the other ladies great insight as well. 

I’m a visual learner and sometimes I focus so much on learning the moves that I barely pay attention to the names of the tricks and inverts at times! I’m also a repetitive learner, the more I practice, the easier it comes to me. The instructors don’t mind doing the moves over for us per request, that shows their dedication to us as students as well. Sometimes I zone out and watch recorded videos of myself at the studio dancing for hours, because I’m literally just proud of my progress. Speaking of recorded videos, I appreciate a lot of the rules of privacy at the studio. Everyone knows to ask if it’s okay to start taping themselves before recording, for the sake of another dancer who may be in their video’s background. That gives everyone the opportunity to move over if their choice is not to be in the back or side of someone’s else’s recording. 

We live in a era where our phones, cameras and videography is so important, especially for social media content. The great part about that is that we get to advertise our growth and development from learning the arts of Aerial. I see so many women online that promote their aerial talents and land tons of booking gigs. That’s my goal! I plan to be one of those women that can encourage other people to get paid for their new found talent. Since I love dance so much, learning these different apparatuses doesn’t feel like so much hard work. It’s more than a hobby, it’s a life goal of mine to add on to my other talents. 

I must admit that in the beginning of learning pole I thought I would be judged by saying I pole dance. I’ve been pretty private about my life lately but if I do decide to open up, I do let some women know I take pole classes and recommend the studio. Surprisingly to my eyes it’s never a judgement. Other women are more interested in how to join or if it’s hard. I always encourage those women to just try it, you never know your strength. All it takes is time and dedication.