Last night was the PoleLaTeaz student showcase, and I was one of seven students in the show. I’m still reeling today! On one hand, I can hardly believe I actually did it; on the other, it seems like, “Yeah, of course I did it; why wouldn’t I?”
I was nervous beforehand, but once I got to the studio and started warming up and talking with the other six ladies in the show, the nervousness started to melt away. I went third, and hearing all the cheering and applause for the first two performers helped a lot, too. When it was my turn to go on, I had a brief attack of nerves again, but I pushed it aside and marched into the room in my five-inch platform heels.
Now that I’ve gone through with this, I feel even more confident than before about my pole dancing ability! I’m my own worst critic, but honestly, aside from a very very minor things that no one else would be able to notice, I really do think I kicked ass!
Here are a few photos Rusty took after the show (they didn’t allow photography during the show, and it was too dark anyway):
I feel really good, proud, and happy (and bruised)! And I’m looking forward to class tonight!
Not to end this on a negative (and really, I don’t think this is a “negative” per se), but I feel I’d be lying by omission if I didn’t mention it… it did hurt that none of my friends (other than Rusty, of course, and CaSandra, who attempted to be there but was held up by highway construction) came to the show. This was an extremely big deal to me, and I wanted my friends to be there. I understand that some people had legitimate conflicts; this thread should not devolve into a flurry of justifications. I’m simply stating, honestly, how I feel. Friends support friends at stuff that’s important to them… and this was important to me.
Bottom line from last night? It went great, I feel great, and I’m already looking forward to the next time I can perform in front of a packed room! :)
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10 Responses to "Performance: achieved"
awesome job AMber, I’m proud of you!
I saw the flickr set last night — it’s pretty impressive!
I’m sorry we didn’t make it. Honestly, though, I felt pretty unwelcome by PoleLaTeaz’ whole “No Male Couples” policy. If I have to pretend to be straight to go somewhere on my free time, then I really don’t want any part of it. I also shouldn’t have to scrounge around to find a female “date” when I have a partner of 8+ years.
Of course, this wasn’t your policy, it’s theirs. If you do an amateur night, we will make a much stronger effort to come cheer you on.
I saw the photos at Rusty’s blog, too, and it is quite impressive. It’s too bad we had strike the same day - I wish it had been a week earlier (or later). Stupid responsibilities.
I can’t look at those pictures without grinning. You fucking rule. And, of course, I’m particularly proud of you for the shoes. :-D
You know I’m way proud of you, too — especially because I know how hard it was to get up and do that… emotionally for the crowd, and physically for the fact that you pulled off some ass-kicking moves! (And those are moves that I *know* are hard to nail!)
Oh, and Joseph - I know how frustrating it must be from your perspective. And the PLT policy isn’t meant to single you out, it’s just a line that had to be drawn *somewhere,* so it didn’t look like anyone was being included/excluded based on their sexuality. Its a line drawn for *all* men.
(Case in point: Angela and I were out at dinner one night after class, and our gay waiter, after hearing that we taught pole dancing, “jokingly” threatened to sue us unless we allowed him to come and take classes… it just creates uncomfortable situations.)
Joseph, I can appreciate your frustration, but the top priority is making sure the student performers feel comfortable.
Amber, that’s cool. I wasn’t really frustrated, just made to feel unwelcome at this venue–and that’s why I wasn’t there. It had nothing to do with not wanting to be there to support you.
Um, hot!
[...] was similar to the first student showcase, but with 1) a bigger audience, 2) instructors as well as students performing, 3) over twice as [...]
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