Tagroutine

Stage Presence

Stage PresenceThe X Factor. Engaging the audience. Capturing the crowd. Having “It”.

There are some dancers that just seem to own it. From the moment they step onto the stage you are drawn in. It might be a walk, a look, their costume. The dancer might not have even moved yet, or be on stage, but their choice of music and/or pose has you mesmerized by their mystery.

These are the shows I want to talk about. The ones that stick in your brain for years to come. The performers that you can watch again and again. They are the shows that make your dinner go cold as you sit there frozen, moth agape, unable to turn away.

A few years ago I joined a small group to train with Jamilla Deville as part of her Extend Yourself training program. Over two days we learned some great pole tricks and cross training advice but we also talked extensively at this elusive “it” factor.

Like many abstract concepts, it was easier to describe what it wasn’t then to truly grasp what it was. No one could put quite their finger on it.

One thing was for sure, however, we knew what it was when we saw it!

If you are seeking to understand stage presence and begin to learn how to capture it yourself, my advice is this,

1) Start studying dancers who you see have it.
Short Instagram videos are great for mini tutorials and finding new tricks, but you are going to have to watch entire performances to begin to understand stage presence. You can find many full clips on YouTube of pole competitions and showcases. Pole Ranking offer live streams of the larger comps too. Add your favourites to a short list so you can return to them again and again.

2) Go and see a live performance.
It doesn’t even need to be a pole performance. Check out some local plays, or head to a burlesque night out on the town. Small intimate venues will let you be close enough to the action to see their movements and get a feel for how they are putting on the show. Larger venues, like Miss Pole Dance Australia at the Enmore Theatre, will give you the chance to see how great performers can dance in front of 1000s of people while giving the impression that they are solely dancing for you.

3) What elements make these performances the same?
Aside from the fancy pole tricks, sensual body rolls, and legs for days, ask yourself what else are these performers doing.

  • Are they making eye contact with the audience? When? As they walk out on stage, during pole tricks, during floorwork?
  • Are they telling a story? Contemporary and lyrical pole performances can be particularly enthralling when done well.
  • Are they using props that help you understand the story? Your narrative is only worthwhile if the audience knows what is going on.
  • Do you notice the soundtrack or is the music working seamlessly with the choreography? Everything doesn’t have to be on the beat, but a sense of musicality goes a long way to helping a performance look polished.
  • How long are they holding their poses for? Even with a fast song, a good performer knows how to draw out their pole poses and floorwork so the audience has time to see and understand what they are watching.

If you can start incorporating these elements into your own routines, you will be well on the way to a brilliant performance. Begin working on these ideas as you are writing your choreography too, then they will be ingrained into the routine just as well as your pole tricks.

For extra tips about feeling confident on stage and developing your performance skills I recommend reading, Feel It, before you try and say it and Everyone is Talking About Sexy Pole. Or if you are on the look out for some inspiration, I have linked to my favourite dancers here.

Choreography for Pole Dance

by Stills By JacquelineChoreography and creating your own performance can be daunting. I was racked with nerves for my first solo, not just because it meant getting up on stage in a bikini, but because I was about to share something of me …with you…out there. An idea, a feeling, a story. The act of expression is still something that opens me up and leaves me vulnerable. It’s an art however that I’m attempting to hone as I learn what different movements and body language can mean. Beyond body rolls and hair flicks I want to tell a story with my dancing, take the audience on a journey and leave them breathless.

After committing myself to my first solo performance in 2011, my instructor asked me to come along to a practice time in the studio. I showed her my song and she gave me tips about how to match my movements to the tempo and feeling. She encouraged me to use familiar combos in the chorus and work with spins and floor work in the verses. A simple format that offered me structure and direction as a beginner.

At the time I had only been dancing for about six months and my combos were easy to choose from – climb to sit, layback, hangback, dismount. My repertoire of spins was also small – an angel, chair spin, ankle spin, and lots of forward and back hooks.

I fleshed out a routine and used my most impressive move at the time (a bat AKA ankle grab) for the big climax. In retrospect I can see that the dark, melancholic song was the perfect match to allow me to hide a little on stage, close my eyes and pretend the audience might not be there. The familiar combos got me through, but this style of dancing is a long way from my preference and my current goals that I try to achieve in my performances today.

Over the years, I’ve found new ways to choreograph routines. A standard process involved choosing a song, then mapping out the lyrics, changes in tempo and feeling, and standout musical elements and then going from there, adding combos that emphasize the feeling or character I wish to portray and connecting all the pieces with dance elements and floorwork ideas. This process offered a consistent approach that lent itself to over 15 different solos. Relying on the music to set the tone contained my ideas to 2-4 minutes yet still offered scope for me to begin to develop characters and story telling techniques.

Recently however, I became addicted to watching Merce Cunningham on YouTube. Cunningham died in 2009 but his legacy and contribution to modern dance continue through the Cunningham Dance Foundation.

One element of his approach suggests making the choreography stand on it’s own aside from the music and he often asks his dancers and composers to work separately. Intrigued by this idea I started experimenting with movement, both on and off the pole, without a song in mind. A concept evolved and a connection to a story. Gradually I had a sequence of movements, a flow, a pole combo, and floorwork and it had no music.

When I found the song that I wanted to dance to, it was fascinating how it suddenly came together. I pressed play and taped my choreography so I could watch it back. Small movements hit beats and expressed a musicality I could have never imagined. It wasn’t perfect, and in many ways it was disturbing as I watched my body out of sync, so to speak, with the rhythms of the song. But as I continued watching there was a new meaning that emerged from those inconsistencies.

Now reaching the end of the choreography process and having a finished routine, it looks different to the original musicless flow. I have made adjustments for the sake of musicality and narrative. However the thread from those initial experiments is still there, and I doubt I would have such an unique performance if I had stuck to my previous choreography methods.

On a side note, the way I record my choreography has also evolved to account for this change. In my pole journal I have pages of documented moves, matched to lyrics and musical annotation – rise, fireman spin, land, right hand high, turn under, angel. Or even simpler notes related to combos – straddle, outside leg hang, cupid, butterfly.

Changing the way I think about movement, and seeking inspiration from Merce Cunningham and other contemporary dancers, I have had to find new ways to explain what I am doing when I’m dancing. Researching how best to do this I came across Labanation . This dance notation blew my mind with it’s complexity and attention to detail. It was way to in depth for me to adopt for my current needs but it has influenced my recording process, inspiring a more visual diagrammatic record.

Choreography diagram

 

This is just one of the images from my current choreography, a small but poignant window into what’s been going on inside my head and inside my body.

 

 

If you’re looking to create a solo performance or would like advice for your routine, I’d love to help! I am also available to take bookings for workshops related to choreography. Click here to contact me directly.

Throw Back Thursday: Baudelaire Debut!

My Baudelaire Debut

Two years ago today ….

I performed this routine twice, once for a studio showcase and then a few weeks later for a competition at Sefton Playhouse.

It’s still one of my favourite routines and many elements of the choreography I have used again since.

I am so thankful for being involved in a studio environment that has allowed me to grow as a performer. Looking back on videos, and being able to watch my routines from five years ago too, it’s always a positive experience to reflect on how far I’ve come.

Choreography Workshop

Choreography intensiveHave you ever dreamed of taking the stage for a solo performance? Do you have a list of songs that you would love to dance to, but don’t know where to start? Would you like to share your vision in a supportive environment with fellow polers who can help you refine your ideas?

Join me for a Choreography Intensive at Sydney Pole on Sunday 27th December!

Learn how to unpack songs, sequence your favourite tricks and combos, and put the finishing touches on your routine!

The workshop will consist of two parts, 45 minutes each. Using a song of your choice, I will lead you though a step by step process that will teach you to listen to and identify thematic and musical elements of a song, and use them to enhance your performance concept.

During the second half of the workshop I will teach you floorwork and pole exercises that will help you connect to your music and ensure your routine is as unique as you are. These techniques will be useful for choreography to any genre of music and will help you find movement and expression in your own body, revealing the dancer within.

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Ok, yes! It’s a shameless plug for my workshop! But I’m so excited to be able to give back and help inspire others to get up and dance! I believe that I have a strong appreciation for musicality, clean lines, and genuine expression, and would like to offer a productive and supportive space to help others bring their performance ideas to the stage.

If you’re in Sydney or know a dancer who might be interested, let them know!

Book in through Sydney Pole

Open to all skill levels and dance experience!

Miss Summer Trick Star – The Debrief

MSTS - Canberra, November 2015

A fortnight ago, I was in Canberra for Miss Summer Trick Star. An amateur pole dance competition organised by Trick Fitness held each year.

 

 

Previous winners include Miss Nikki Anne, who I met at a training workshop earlier this year. The support of having a familiar face at the comp encouraged me to sign up. Traveling interstate for pole turned in to quite the big deal, and if anything, it was amazing to be able to represent my studio outside of Sydney.

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There were 16 competitors on the night. All had different styles, some sexy, some cute and funny, some sporty. Some of my competitors were older too, not seasoned pros, but mature age women who’s confidence and self awareness came through in their stage presence. Great motivation to be be poling when I’m 40 too!

 

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My routine was to Intergalactic by the Beastie Boys. I nailed the crowd appreciation factor for song choice and prop!

 

 

 

I didn’t place, and looking at the video of my routine I can see where it went a bit pear shaped. I still have lots of excuses in my head for why, including having to take two weeks off training in October while being sick. As much as it’s important to want to enter a competition and think you will win, instead of sulking, it presents valuable learning opportunities for myself and for my progress as a dancer.

The girls at the beginning of the show, myself included, were all pretty much of the same skill level. We had some key tricks both flexi and strength based and some standard floor work. My routine had more of a story and I included a number of drops, a pegasus combo, and off-the-pole floor balances that I thought could set me apart.

The girls who came on after intermission were in a league of their own. Hand standing and splitting all over the place, these girls were amazing! They were all Canberra locals too, nothing like batting on your home turf!

We all were quick to see that they were winning material. My cheer squad knew it too as their supportive comments about my routine were soon overshadowed by their awe of the performance on the stage and their mental notes of new transitions to try next time they are in the studio.

If I had nailed my central combo I may have been in for a chance, but the feedback from the judges has also helped me unpack what went wrong.

Firstly, it was a Trick comp – Miss Summer Trick Star. I had some cool tricks and made sure to include both strength and flex, but if I choreographed it again I would have included more. It would have sacrificed a bit of my story (always a balance) but reflecting on it now, the judges were expecting more tricks.

Secondly, nerves! The judges commented that “my nerves got the better of me” and although it didn’t feel like it on stage, I can see in the video why it would come across that way. It wasn’t as relaxed and smooth as some of the other routines, and after my mess up, I composed myself but the it did shake up the ending.

Thirdly, something I’ve always been trying to work on, engaging with the audience. The judges pointed out that during my floorwork I did this well (hooray!) but when I got on the pole, I missed opportunities to make eye contact and maintain that engagement. I was too introverted and focused worried concentrating on getting the tricks right, that I couldn’t just relax and show I was enjoying it too. Which may be telling that I didn’t know the tricks as well as I could have, but it’s definitely something to think about for future performances.

I didn’t get much feedback from peers or instructors before the competition. I was time poor and most of the people that saw it were just full of compliments and support. I wonder if these things would have come out earlier if I showed it to more people and polished it with more time to spare. All things to remember for next time.

12366273_823379814442314_6295897550700074880_nA consolation prize … photos! I’m so pleased with them you could almost forget that I messed up a combo!

I hope this post gives others a way to move forward after a competition. When things don’t go to plan it can be hard not to lose motivation. The points outlined from my feedback are applicable to everyone’s dancing too. So if you are prepping for a comp, keep them in mind, especially how you are engaging with the audience.

 

Happy Poling!

Big hair, big heels – Solotude 2!

sunday bumdayLast 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!