The teachers who helped me nail my nemesis tricks

As a pole dancing instructor one of the most important things to me is recognising when a teacher has helped me achieve a pole move, especially one that has been my nemesis for some time.

Throughout my 10+ years as a pole student, there are many, many moves that have taken me forever to learn, because I am not naturally flexible, strong, coordinated or even confident! I was one of these girls who started pole hoping for some kind of miracle transformation, because I was at a very, very low point in my life, and quite literally, homeless.

But to turn this into a positive experience, I want to share my most memorable moments when I finally nailed some of the tricks that were most difficult for me, and acknowledge the teachers who helped me achieve them!

Aerial Invert

I remember coming into the studio literally day after day for an entire year, trying to get this move. I could see other students do it easily and I would harass them during practice time with questions on how they got it. No matter how hard I tried (or concentrated!) my body would just not cooperate. I had very little going on in my life at the time so I would make a point of going to the studio every day, and paying for practice time every day.

One term I decided to enrol in Chilli's class, and I wrote to my friend "I hope her military style of teaching can help me." Chilli was renowned for being a ballbreaker, and I didn't want to take her classes because she intimidated me. But it was now or never to finally break that fear!

In my first class with Chilli, she demanded "I want to see your inverts up the pole now and I want them fast and I want them spinning". I hesitated with dread, but everyone else was doing it! She eyeballed me. "Can I see?" she requested. So I did it, right there and then, nice and clean! Ever since that class I couldn't stop doing them, because I was so proud I could finally do it.

Aerial Shoulder Mount

The bane of my pole existence! Just when I had mastered the invert, I was up against a similar frog-in-the-blender feeling. Chilli also helped me nail shoulder mount from the ground, but getting it aerially was an enormous struggle, and most times I barely got my legs up high enough. Then I did an Advanced class with Amber Ray when she was first teaching at Pole Dancing Academy, and I can't remember exactly what she said (sorry!!!) but whatever she said totally worked. It was still a work in progress for a while after that to get it consistently, but now I have this move solid.

Splits and Active Flexibility

OK seriously who doesn't want their splits as a pole dancer?! I started with zero flexibility, though we are all flexible to a certain extent, and now looking back on it I realise that even a bit of mobility gives you a good head start. The painful part is actually holding a pose with legs flat at 180-degrees. I remember seeing my teachers lying comfortably in their middle splits and asking them "does it hurt?" and being very dismayed when they said "no it doesn't hurt at all." Oh my. Then one very hot and sticky French Summer I was asked to do some art modelling at a studio in Southern France. With a fair bit of time on my hands I started experimenting with my own splits routine...and within four weeks my right split AND left were both flat! The biggest trick for me was pushing up my split vertically against a wall; that pushing action seemed to teach my body to relax in a split when down on the floor. I now know that it was a form of PNF stretching - a very useful technique!

Active flexibility, however, is a whole different ball game. Now you need to rely on BOTH strength and flexibility, and every muscle in your leg needs to be conditioned so you can hold beautiful lines and pointed toes. So credit here goes totally to Cleo the Hurricane, who devised a very practical and hardcore program that targets active flexibility (Rockin' Legs and Abs). I also purchased her Leg Extension and Turn Out tutorial which I did religiously, and my active flexibility has improved tremendously.

Static V

When I first started pole dancing I was in Daisy's class for Beginners, Intermediate 1, 2, 3 and Prep Advanced. I think we started learning Static V in Prep Advanced, but I found this one really hard: number one, getting that shoulder through seemed impossible and two, finding the balance! Then one lesson Daisy asked us to work on it, so I gave it a few goes, she came round to spot me and before I knew it I was totally balanced. When I finally got it I had this weird euphoric sense that it was.....easy.

Dragon's Tail

When I first started getting really good at pole I was ambitious to learn harder tricks, but looking back on it, I was still very amateur (and still am in a way....learning new tricks for me takes forever!) I really liked the look of Dragon's Tail but again finding that balance was a huge issue. It felt very scary for me because my head was so far down the pole! Then one lesson I was in Jennifer Grace's class at Studio Verve (now Pole Athletica), and she asked if we had any requests, so I said "Dragon's Tail". Jen is very hands on as a teacher, she holds you tight so you can get into a pose without a struggle. Once there I felt very secure, and was able to work on this super hard to get it nice and flat. I love it so much that it's become one of my signature moves.

Press Handstand

Press handstand is sooooo hard and I had many, many teachers try and explain to me what I should be doing. There is that frustrating moment of fear when you feel like you're about to topple over and it doesn't feel like a fun move at all. Then one time I was in Michelle Shimmy's class and she told me to try it against the wall with my feet on blocks. I was skeptical but gave it a go....and viola! My legs went up for the very first time without jumping! Using blocks for practice definitely made it easier! This pic is the one-armed version which I really like doing.

Pegasus

I did Advanced class with Felicity when I was first introduced to the Pegasus move. Billie Brooklyn was there too and made it look so easy! But the reality was torturous - feeling as though my arm was about to snap! I have never experienced so much pain in all of my pole tricks. But over time my arm actually did get stronger and totally desensitized. I can now hold this trick for days.

These are the most memorable moments that come to mind. What memorable moments do you have in your pole journey when learning new tricks?

Check out my other tricks and videos on my website www.ebonypoleartist.com