Getting out of your pole rut
When you find yourself in a pole rut, what should you do?
There comes a time in everyone's dance journey, where they find themselves not progressing or simply bored with the same old tricks and flow that have become muscle memory. The way the pole world is moving can give anyone the impression that they are not strong enough or flexible enough to be their best. Sometimes you lose your groove, find it hard to go to class, and just generally have less motivation to move and dance.
Don't feel disheartened! There is more to pole dance than just crazy tricks! What you need is new inspiration and a new direction!
Floorwork
While you wait for your pole mojo to come back focus your energy on floorwork. Many studios run classes specifically for low flow and floor based choreography. These classes may give you new ideas for your own routines, or might be exactly what you need to reignite your passion for dance and movement.
Floorwork can easily match your style and skill ranging from moves that are sexy and sultry, gymnastic, acrobatic, or contemporary. You could even find a break dance school in your area to spice up your workout!
If you can't make it to a class, floorwork is easily something you can practice at home. Try this exercise, inspired by jazz and contemporary dance:
Put on a song and choose a starting place on one side of the room. Set yourself a goal to reach the pole or another spot but with limitations on your movement - crawling, rolling, moving backwards. Take your time. This exercise is aimed to help you think about new ways to move and discover new transitions.
Try it a second and third time with new rules - for example, rising only as high as your knees, or having one shoulder on the ground at all times. A fun one is having one hand touch one foot at all times, inviting you to thread, weave, and tuck under yourself. Clearly some of these movements are going to be clumsy and awkward, but doing these in a group or with a friend can be super fun and reveal new gestures or ways to move that would otherwise remain unknown.
Freestyle
When was the last time you really freestyled, put on some tunes, turned the lights down and just danced? The aim of a freestyle is break out of your usual movement patterns. Take it slow if you find that you are just returning to familiar combos. Pause in an outside leg hang and change the position of your arms and legs and see what new shapes can come about. Reach behind or above. A new transition or interesting take on a familiar pose may be just what you need to reignite your passion.
Freestyle dancing can also be cathartic and work to release pent up energy and emotion. Sometimes even just doing body rolls and spins for an entire song can help you break out of a rut and learn to feel the music again.
A New Apparatus
Aerial arts such as lyra and silks can be a great compliment to your pole training and may re-inspire a love for exercise if you're finding it hard to get to pole class. Joining a gymnastics class or starting yoga can also compliment your progress towards your strength and flexibility goals. Unlike pole, aerial hoop, silks, and yoga, require you to train more evenly, using both sides of your body. You may also find that many of the tricks you know on pole translate smoothly to lyra and silks, allowing you to progress quickly, further adding to your motivation to continue!
Creative Inspiration
All artists suffer from creative energy blocks at some point. Just like finding a new apparatus can inspire new work, using other creative disciplines can also help to reframe your mind. Take a photo walk or host a photoshoot with a friend. Source some fabric and get creative with making some new costumes, or bling up your old ones! Grab some pencils and explore drawing. Go large, spread yourself out and use your body to draw . Don't be afraid that your work feels unpolished or not good enough. The aim is to find a way to get started, create, move, and find the best way to express how you are feeling.
Find a New Perspective
Have a look at what else is going on in your life. Is your pole rut just part of you calling out for a change of scenery or change of pace? Reflecting on my choreography and dance journey, I discovered that my performances often emerge from my personality, experiences, and adventures. A holiday in France inspired my routine to J'y suis Jamias Alle by Yann Tiersen, a fun instrumental song including an accordion! At other times I've chosen songs that have helped me heal, finding lyrics or meaning that reflect personal issues and growth.
You can find inspiration in new relationships even those as fleeting as a snippet of conversation from waiting in line for coffee. Isadora Duncan used nature, her observations of palm fronds swaying in the wind, inspiring new movement possibilities.
If you're not feeling it at the studio, take some time off and go exploring. Head to the beach or spend a day bush walking. Watch a new film or spend the afternoon at the art gallery. There are lots of places to feel inspired and creative even when we feel busy and unmotivated. These life experience may also work to support a new routine or help you find some much needed "me time".
Dance, for pole or in other fields, is about finding movement in your body. Remembering this, in a pole rut or at other times, will allow you to foster a curiosity towards movement and inspire motivation and love for your dance or fitness practice.
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Written by Mel Nutter as Baudelaire.
