Quickly, before I go to bed… here it is, my burlesque pole performance!
Our latest eight-week session of Level 5/6 at PoleLaTeaz focused on burlesque. I found it very challenging, but overall a good kind of challenge. This is the routine I put together for the end of this session. It features less pole work than usual, and more theatrics.
If the embedded video doesn’t work, go here.
In an attempt to try to distract myself from my itchy typing fingers re: this thread (and this one, and this one, good god), I’m posting the pole video I made last night.
Last night on a whim I decided to make another video. I was still feeling kind of self-conscious about my Monday night video, and wanted to try again. I still felt the effects of my space limitations, but overall I think I did a better job in this video than the previous one. I didn’t quite nail the one-legged parachute -> two-legged chair -> fairy (legs weren’t controlled enough), but there’s always next time!
Rusty says the light blue works for me.
Oh, and I thought I shouldn’t have to say it, but as of a few minutes ago I’ve been proven wrong, so: unsolicited advice is not welcome!
More blogging tonight, hopefully.
I made this video as soon as I got home from class last night, because I was all psyched up and in a good mood. Unfortunately, I was apparently more tired than I’d realized, because I messed up a few times - and I was really feeling the limitations of my pole/stage. I was considering not putting this up at all because it’s not my best performance; but Rusty said, “Not everything can be the best; that’s why they call some things the best!” So I’m putting it up anyway, even though I feel self-conscious about it.
Plus, I promised Ren I’d dance to the Stray Cats.
As always, please be gentle. This is not my best performance, by a longshot. And I’m annoyed with myself that when I’m tired and/or at a loss for what to do, I revert to one of a handful of “standard” filler moves at my disposal. :-\ I’m annoyed with how often I mess w/ my hair as a nervous tick. And I totally forgot to do the awesome new move I’ve perfected, the one-legged parachute -> two-legged chair -> fairy.
But I’m not supposed to be self-deprecating! Argh!
Ahem, so anyway, here it is:
Oh, and if you were wondering, my ass says “I accept tips.”
I made this video Monday night… I’ll just paste in the description I wrote on the blip.tv page:
On April 21, we had a recital for the end of the current Level 5/6 session. (I think this is the third one I’ve been in? I’ve lost count.) I thought about recording my performance, but decided against it because I couldn’t get the lighting right and was still getting over being sick, so I didn’t want the pressure. But I felt like I did really well in my performance, and I had a really cute outfit, so when I came home I was inspired to make a new video. So here I am, dancing to PJ Harvey’s “Sheela-Na-Gig,” which is also the song I danced to for my Level 3 graduation.
Please excuse the noise from me sliding on the pole and my feet slamming down on the stage. I had the music up as loud as it would go, but I should’ve put the iPod dock closer to the camera. That song is one of those really quiet songs… you know, where no matter how high the volume is, for some reason it’s still lower than other songs.
The extraneous noise annoys me, but all in all, I think this video turned out way better than my first attempt at dancing to a full song with my home set-up!
(Oh, and there’s a little bit of Mary J. Blige at the end, complete with a little booty-shaking…)
Be gentle…!
Here’s a helpful tutorial regarding the nifty Sex 2.0 condoms:
I’ll spare you an angst-ridden paragraph about how I hate seeing myself on video. I’m trying to get over that.
And feel free to repost! Grab the embed code here.
I was so happy with my recital video, that I decided to make another pole dancing video last night, at home. Rusty wanted to test out our new video camera anyway, so why not!
The lighting is not the best; I prefer lower lighting. Dancing under hot lights is not fun, and plus I think the whole silhouette thing looks neat. We’ve ordered two lamps from Ikea, the same kind that the studio has, so that issue should be resolved soon.
(I am hating this thumbnail. Lisa hates that entire move because she says it looks like you’re taking a shit. I disagree, but this frame certainly supports her view.)
Here’s the description I wrote on the blip.tv page:
My pole setup at home is very different from the studio: I have a free-standing pole on a 4′x4′ stage. This makes things a bit more difficult, as there’s not nearly as much room; therefore certain moves simply aren’t possible, and others require modification. But, since I need to be flexible (in both senses of the word!) and be able to adapt to different environments, it’s important for me to get a lot of practice on this stage. So, this is my first attempt at dancing for a full song on it (as opposed to just practicing tricks and techniques, which is what I usually do on it).
And save your comments about the song, because I like it a lot! Someone danced to it in class Monday night, and I was hooked.
Again… be gentle. I know I messed up in a couple parts, but I tried to play it off. As our instructors say… “Just outline something!”
This is me pole dancing last night, at our Level 5/6 for-the-hell-of-it recital/graduation:
The way it worked was, everyone brought a song of our choosing to class, and at the beginning of class, we each drew names. Someone would bring their song up, and then whoever drew that person’s name had to dance to that song. The result? No one had any idea what they were going to dance to. As it turned out, I ended up having to dance to a song that I really did not like (a co-worker tells me it’s an Outkast song; I never would’ve guessed that). Very challenging! But I tried to make it work, and I think I did a pretty good job of it, all things considered!
I don’t think it’s my best-ever performance, but it’s good enough that I didn’t feel too embarrassed to post it.
Eventually, I’ll make some videos of me dancing on the pole at home, but the pole/stage set-up I have makes things more challenging.
Be gentle. :)
The first-ever video episode of Mostly ITP, about our experience PodCamp Nashville, is done. Behold:
You can also see it here.
Created by Larry Lawfer of YourStorys. In it, Chris Penn gives a shout-out to PodCamp Atlanta for getting an AP story. :)
Congrats to everyone involved in all things PodCamp!
The title is a rhetorical question. Because no, there is not.
Here’s a 32-second video of the infinitely adorable baby chicks that we saw at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago. Rusty has a better/longer video - complete with intro text and cross-fades! - on his blog, and I’ll have a photoset on Flickr soon. (You were joking about it, J., but I’m doing it.)
See? If you wear a chicken suit and hold a politically charged sign, the mainstream media will flock to you!
Way to go, Shelbinator!
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