Sometimes in life we need a shake up. Something that enters our life and makes us rethink what we’re doing and why. Aerial Dance has been incredible in so many ways for me, but nothing short of amazing in helping me retrain my brain in a season of my life I needed it most.
I have been dancing for two and a half decades. When I first came to the studio I naively thought I had an advantage being that I danced for most of my life. Wrong. There are some similarities (music, counts) however the very basics on how things are done could not be more different. The dance I’m used to heavily relies on leg strength. Sure, arms need to have strength to hold shapes but they are more decorative lines than actual support. To make moves happen, I rely on a plie and push up into moves. Moving on my feet to music. That’s what I know.
In pole, your arms do the heavy lifting (no pun intended). They are your go to, your arms need to push and pull to hold the shape. They are what supports you. What leads you. Even getting into a pose needs to be something your arms lift you in to. I can’t tell you how many times I would try to plie and jump into a pose. The problem is this can jerk your arms/shoulders and cause injury. I had to really concentrate on what I was doing because using my legs is second nature.
In dance, it’s just me and my feet. In pole- there’s a pole. I needed to learn to dance with the pole instead of in my own dance space. Two classes in, I realized that I was thinking linear when I was in pole class. I was still dancing forward and backward, side to side and I had to focus on walking and moving circular instead. I found that if I didn’t I was not close enough to the pole. Almost like it was in my dance space and I wasn’t sure how to adapt.
It has been so beneficial for me to attend classes. I have learned so many things about myself and realized so many things that I would like to be through my terms. The different instructors have their own way of explaining things, showing me there is always more than one way to do something. I have learned to re-evaluate things in my life that I have always done just because that’s the way they’ve been done. I’m retraining myself to see other ways to operate, there are other ways to live! It’s opening up so many new possibilities and I’m finding that I’m becoming the person I have always wanted to be!
Aerial Dance is for everyone! Whether you are a dancer or always wished you could be.
Try Intro to Pole or Intro to Aerial and start dancing today!