performance – Page 4 – Mel Nutter as Baudelaire

Big hair, big heels – Solotude 2!

November 2, 2015 / mel

Last night was Solotude 2, an event created by the lovely team at Sydney Pole to offer a Showcase performance environment for upcoming and recognised pole dance artists.

The line up was amazing! Penelope Pitbull, Porsche, Blue Phoenix, Bailey Hart, Elle Lacroix, Ebony and Oryx! To share the stage with these fabulous performers, and chat backstage with their humble selves was incredible!

So pleased with my routine too! First time dancing in heels for some time, but managed not to stack it, and even danced with my hair out – in all it’s long goldilocks glory!

The feedback was amazing, particularly about my hair! Cannot wait to see the shots from The Black Light, but for now here is a backstage shot for #sundaybumday!

On such a performance high!

Obsession – Fabric

October 26, 2015 / mel

It’s day 26 of the Miss Filly Pole Challenge, and she has asked about #FrillsandThrills – “What’s the most extravagant thing that you love to death?”

So .… I have a confession to make.

Aside from making my own costumes, designing, sewing, and sequinning … I have a fabric obsession!

So much so that I have choreographed four routines that directly involve dancing with fabric – lacy, long, stretchy, flowy, sensual, enveloping FABRIC!

My most excessive was a 6m long piece of stretchy white lycra. The sheer size of the piece meant it was too large to train with properly at home, so I spent hours in the studio flying around at the top of the 4m poles, engrossed in making sails as it spun around underneath me.

Slightly out of the box, I also made a dark, stretchy, tube that wrapped myself and the pole inside. Inspired by an article from Lisa Faulkner for BodyBinds. I wanted a way to impose limits on my movement, and thereby explore the possibilities of freedom within those limits. This is still one of my favourite routines to date, and I can’t wait to further explore this idea.

This year, I also created a beach routine for 5th Encore! Sydney Pole Show, where I used a large beach towel. And for Solotude, my burlesque inspired routine involved a fifties style, large, lacy, flowy night dress.

Maybe this is a sign I should get into silks, but I just love the way the fabric flows behind you on a spinning pole, highlighting your movements and exaggerating it’s meaning. I’m in heaven!

Have you ever danced with fabric?

Solotude 2!

September 15, 2015 / mel

Here we go again! Riding the success of the first Solotude in June, the awesome girls at Sydney Pole are running the showcase event once more!

To celebrate having my caboose on the poster twice, I’ve got a sexy routine in the works that’s all about big heels, hair flicks, and being a woman!

(and it’s a great distraction from comp prep!)

Miss Summer Trick Star

September 1, 2015 / mel

Not quite sure what I’ve got myself in for but I’ve entered Miss Summer Trick Star – a pole dance competition held in Canberra each year.

I’ve entered two other pole comps in the past (PDA Secret Life and Sefton Pole Dance Comp). As much as I love showcase and the space the perform without the pressure of a comp, there are a few useful insights I have gained from throwing myself at the judges.

1) Feedback – Unless you attend more than one studio it’s likely your main audience are always the same people. And in true pole family fashion, they are endlessly supportive, encouraging and complimentary about your pole talents. I don’t make this point to suggest that your pole family are lying to you, but it is sometimes very difficult to find someone who can give you constructive criticism. In a competition scenario, the judges are most likely seeing you dance for the first time, and their feedback can offer valuable insight into areas for improvement or to highlight things that you might not know you were doing so well.

2) Motivation – Training for a competition is hard work. But once you commit, you’re locked in. With enough time to prepare you are more likely to nail that trick you’ve always wanted, or polish that transition. You’ll be more focused and more motivated to succeed.

3) Networking – Once again, unless you train in multiple studios, it is sometimes hard to meet other pole dancers. Your competitors, despite also wanting to win, are generally super friendly, and already love pole as much as you do! They might also be able to teach you a new trick, let you in on the latest grip aid secrets, or let you know of other performance opportunities and workshops coming up.

4) Photos – who doesn’t love professional shots of yourself dancing! Many competitions have a photographer to shoot your routine, and the cost of the shots is often included in the competition fee.

So I’ve got about 10 weeks to prep before the comp. I’ve already chosen my song, now I just need to train some new tricks and get creative with the choreography.

Watch this space!

Feel it, before you try and say it

August 23, 2015 / mel

As much as training for a showcase is fun, or prepping for a comp makes you incredibly motivated to smash your pole goals, sometimes I just like to turn the lights down and dance.

I have a pole playlist on my Spotify account that I return to again and again. A list of songs that I can put on and just flow. Some are fast, hip hop beats, others are slower, melodic, and sometimes instrumental. All of them ring true in someway, and reach a place in me, no matter how many times I hear them.

Last night I taped my freestyle, but didn’t really have any expectations that I’d be able to share anything from it worthwhile.

But then I really surprised myself.

Watching back, I saw a fluidity and grace that is often missing from my choreographed routines. A flow and sense of movement that comes from just being with the song.

There were no big tricks, I don’t even think I inverted. Just spins and floorwork that became amazingly cathartic and gave insight into how emotions could be represented in my dancing.

The pressures of a competition or performance night can shroud the flow and grace that comes from just moving and dancing.

Perhaps a way to overcome this is to freestyle to a piece of music for a while before laying down the chorey. To feel it before you try and say it.

Something to ponder.

Solotude Performance

July 4, 2015 / mel

Last weekend was a blast! Here’s a shot of me backstage after the show, on a high and in love with the magic of performing!

I’ve been getting great feedback about my routine, which is so motivating. As I mentioned in the last post, I capitalised on the showcase allowing me to pare back tricks and tell a story, and it seems the audience appreciated that too.

Check out my performance below. Excuse the slight slip up in the middle, it seems I truly was an old lady losing her balance!

Credits:
Music by Yu and Count Basie
Lingerie by Dita Von Teese
Night Gown and Props: local op shop find!

Enjoy!

Mel Nutter as Baudelaire

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