technique – Page 4 – Mel Nutter as Baudelaire

Tagtechnique

The Ultimate Guide to Walking in Heels

pleasers

Last night I was collaborating on a photoshoot with a friend, and the photographer asked us to wear heels. Being a pole dancer, I happen to have quite the collection of shoes to choose from, and thankfully the skills to walk and dance in them!

The other model however, could not hide her nerves! She had only brought along one pair of heels and soon revealed that she did not feel at all comfortable walking, or even standing in them!

So, as the rest of the photography party played with lighting set ups and camera gear, I spent about twenty minutes coaching my friend on how to keep her balance and make the most of the extra length and extra swag that her heels could offer!

First, some long term strategies to make sure your strut stands out from the rest.

1 – Practice Practice Practice!
When my first pair of 7inch Pleasers arrived, I wore them as much as possible. Not just for pole, but while doing the dishes, vacuuming, and making dinner. For shoes with hard plastic straps, or even boots with stiff PVC, this will help soften them and make them more comfortable for when you are ready to dance. It also helps you stop overthinking how to walk and stand in them, making you feel more natural in the newest addition to your sexy wardrobe! And who doesn’t want to add some glamour to your daily chores!

2 – Good Posture
Walking and dancing in shoes is not just about learning what to do with your feet. Great shoes become an extension of your entire body. Knees, quads, hips, abs, it all helps you walk and not wobble. If you find yourself needing to cruise along furniture or never leaving the handrail, try to think about stabilizing. Use your quads to lift your legs, pulling up the muscles above the knees, hold tight with your core and make sure you are not leaning too far backwards or forwards. Lift your chin and look ahead, not at the ground just in front of your feet. In yoga, instructors talk about a drishti, a technique of fixing your gaze on an unmoving point to help you focus, and balance in one legged poses.

3 – Strengthen your ankles
If you find yourself rolling to the side when walking in heels, you may want to put some time in to strengthening your ankles. Practicing toe point exercises and heel raises will build up the supporting muscles that will help your feet stay in alignment when you are walking. When wearing your heels around the house, try some different walking motions,

take two steps forward and one step back,
take a step to the side,
step wide and then bring your feet back together,
even try turning around on the spot with the least amount of steps possible!

pleasers2

Now to some points for actually walking.

4 – The Four S’s: Slow, small, steady, steps
Save your Sarah Jessica Parker envy and don’t try and run in heels unless you have had years of practice! Start slow, with small steps. This will help you maintain your centre of gravity and allow you to focus on your technique as described above. Walking slow with small steps will also give you time to correct yourself if you do stumble.

5 – The heel and toe polka
Aside from times when you should be pointing your toes and landing on the platform, most walks in heels should follow a heel toe pattern. A flat footed walk will make you look more like a horse than a woman in control! A heel toe step will give you an elegant gait. But remember, the more slender your stiletto, the more stability you will need in your ankles to not roll as you place your heel down.

6 – Stairs
Walking up and down stairs can also be a nightmare in heels. There are often stairs to get on to a stage, and you would rather keep your composure than stack it before your routine even starts!
Going up – First of all, take it slow, and hold the handrail. Be mindful of how deep the tread of the steps are and if your shoe will fit. Keep the weight in the platform, and consider turning your feet to the side if you want to make sure your heel won’t slip.
Going down – I repeat, take it slow and hold the handrail! Be mindful of your posture and make sure you are not leaning forward, a sure fire way to go A over T. Turn your feet to one side so the platform and heel both make contact with the step.

pleasers4

So now there are no more excuses! Go out and buy some great shoes and get practicing! Keep this link handy for when you see a friend struggling in their heels too!

Happy dancing!

Dance Safely – Thoughts on a Pole Dancer’s Practice

May 17, 2016 / mel

March 2014 - Sefton Pole Dance Competition

Following on from my article about falling safely, I have been thinking a lot recently about dancing safely.

For nearly a year now I have subscribed to The Dance Training Project run by Monika, who works mainly with traditionally trained dancers for rehabilitation and conditioning. Although not specific to pole, I have found her comments about injury prevention, body work, and cross training, so helpful in my own practice. It is called pole “dancing” after all!

Recently, Monika released an article titled Dance Like a Human, commenting on what dance training really does to our bodies, fundamental movement patterns, and injury prevention.

She asks,

“What happens when you work solely on pointing your toes, extending your back, and stretching your adductors so you can kick yourself in the head, but you never make time for the complimentary pattern?”

In yoga, it is considered best practice to compliment back bends with forward bends, inversions with child’s pose. A shoulder stand sequence includes a series of counter poses – shoulder stand, plough pose, fish – ideally all held for equal amounts of time.

In pole, this is not always the case. You might only have an hour or two to practice at home, so you attempt trick after trick and then rather spend time cooling down and stretching you quickly scrub the Dry Hands off your hands, get dressed and walk out the door.

We are told to train both sides, but how many of us attempt it once, get half way through the trick and bail because of virgin skin pole burn?

Evidence of this is all over. Crazy purple pole kisses from tricks attempted over and over. Shoulder injuries, hip injuries, and students arriving to the studio with their strapping tape coordinated with the colour of their polewear.

So what would “counter poses” look like for pole dancers? Beyond a stretch and cool down, what can we do to make sure our bodies stay in balance and injury free?

backbend

Coming from a yoga background I would suggest, if your training involved lots of back bends – ballerinas, cocoons, crescent moons and brass bridges, counter these poses with some forward bends off the pole – seated forward bends, wall assisted forward bends, and some spinal twists. Don’t forget to breathe deeply into the upper, middle and lower back in these poses and remember to lengthen and extend.

In my experience, over training can also cause many issues. Attempting these moves day after day can wreak havoc on your body, and rather than help you achieve your goals may set you back even further. If your pole goals include jade splits, upright splits, and Russian splits remember to let your hamstrings and hip flexors have a few rest days per week. And ensure you are working on strengthening your glutes, hip flexors and surrounding muscles to create ongoing stability.

A final few words from Monika,

“To an untrained eye, I can make most movements look good. Most dancers can, too because that’s their job. “

but…

“they [dancers] can mask their lack of fundamental movement quality with their impressive skills.”

You might be able to touch your foot to your head, but a cleaner and safer shape can come about with better technique.

Sarah Scott has just opened a Facebook group called Off the Pole, where she is aiming to share conditioning exercises to support a pole dancer body. For home polers and studio dancers, this is going to be such an asset to your dance training.

I am really looking forward to learning from Sarah Scott and making pole conditioning much more of a priority this year.

I’d love to know who you look up to and learn from to support a balanced pole practice. Comment here or tag me your training posts and let’s all dance stronger!

Cross Training for Aerial – Part 5: Foam Rolling

May 3, 2016 / mel

I first started foam rolling after subscribing to StudioVeena who recommended it for use before stretching.

In her tutorials she would outline how to roll the large muscles in the legs before flexibility training, as a way to increase blood flow to the muscles and loosen up knots and tight areas before working on regular stretching sequences.

Physios and massage therapists sell a variety of foam rollers and spiky balls of all shapes, sizes, and firmness depending on how they will be used. As well as being a great asset to your flexibility training, foam rolling can work wonders on DOMS, and be generally soothing for an active body. Chunky rollers are great for larger muscles. Spiky balls are perfect for getting into smaller muscle groups in the back and shoulders, or for massaging the forearms after training.

When choosing your foam roller, keep in mind your tolerance during a regular massage. The softer the roller the softer the pressure, and the firmer or spikier the roller, the more it will dig in to those tight spots. A deep tissue experience can be effective but you don’t want to be in so much pain that you can’t commit to rolling up and down your leg!

My preference has been a hard, smooth roller that I picked up at the local Clark Rubber supplier! It’s the perfect density to use everyday, before stretching or after training, large enough to roll my hamstrings, quads, and glutes, but also small enough to throw in the car if I need to bring it along to a comp or showcase.

Foam rolling is a “self-myofascial release technique” that works by massaging the fascia and muscle fibers. Research suggests,

“Self-myofascial release causes an increase in short-term flexibility that lasts for >10 minutes but does not affect athletic performance acutely. Self-myofascial release may also be able to increase flexibility long-term, in programs of >2 weeks.”

Sounds pretty good right?

Here are some photos of how I use my roller at home. You probably need a space similar to what you use for yoga to make sure you can lay down and roll in various directions. It’s a great practice to turn into a habit though, and once you know what you are doing, it’s easy to incorporate into your day, even while watching television!

I like to start on my legs and glutes, remembering to roll up and down the entire muscle and at various angles.

While sitting on the foam roller, I angle my body to either side, rolling in the direction of the muscle fibers. By placing my foot on the floor or lifting it up, I can change how much of my body weight I am putting in to the motion. Listen to your own body as you roll, slow down on the “sweet spots” – those trigger points that seem to be more painful than others – or even pause for up to 30-60 seconds and you will find the tension begins to release.

My roller is long enough for me to do my hamstrings, calves and quads side by side. Though once again, I can change the amount of pressure I’m applying by rolling them one at a time or leaning into it at a different angle.

Fellow polers also roll their ITB. I find this incredibly painful but sometimes have the nerve to work up to it, rolling over from during my quads to catch it as I roll down my outer thigh.

Rolling your adductors, or inner thigh, can be a bit tricky, however those with good hip flexibility may find this easier. Try and cover as much of the muscle as possible and don’t forget to slow down or pause over any trigger points.

Recently I have been rolling my forearms and upper back and then using the roller to perform and overstretch for my shoulders. After rolling up and down my forearms, with the large foam roller and a tennis ball, I sink back into a child’s pose with my arms resting on the roller. Breathing into the stretch, I try to sink my chest down to the floor, feeling the stretch along my upper arms, down my lats under my shoulder, and across my shoulder blades. Coming out of the stretch I try to curl my spine in the opposite direction, remembering to breath as I come out slowly.

Don’t forget to drink lots of water post foam rolling session. Any type of massage increases blood flow around the area and staying hydrated will help the lymphatic system and circulatory system do it’s job, reducing the chance that you’ll feel groggy and need a nap after your session.

If you have a foam roller at home I’d love to see your favourite techniques and stretches! Post them here or tag me in your photos online!

Flip it and Reverse It

April 15, 2016 / mel

Bouncing off an article I wrote last week about flipping tricks upside down, I was so excited to hear about Natasha Wang’s training tip!

“take a combo you’ve been practicing and reverse it”

For ease of explanation let’s refer to a simpler combo.

Usual Combo	In Reverse
straddle	inside leg hang
outside leg hang	push to butterfly
butterfly	outside leg hang
sweep to inside leg hang	straddle

Already just from word choice (sweep to as opposed to push to) it can been seen that the technique components and flow are different. Working with gravity and the spin or working against it, challenge your strength and possible contact points.

Just like trying things on your goofy side, certain combos are going to feel completely whack when reversed!

Similarly, some transitions in reverse are going to look smoother than others, but in terms of creative choreography this would be a great way to spice up a routine and surprise a pole familiar audience.

I gave it shot this week during my home practice.

Forwards…

and in reverse ….

Tag me in your videos on Instagram and Facebook! I’d love to see what you come up with!

Upside Down, upside down!

April 9, 2016 / mel

Mr squiggle

United Pole Artists recently released an article recently about learning pole tricks from the floor. I am a huge supporter of this kind of training especially as a home poler who doesn’t always have a spotter. By working out the contact points and body position of a trick from the floor you can focus on technique without the risk of falling. Floor based straddles and shoulder mounts are also great conditioning exercises!

A conversation online about the pole trick Crescent Moon got me thinking about extending on this idea.

Crescent Moon

The Crescent Moon comes from a layback, and requires some pretty amazing shoulder and back flex to reach around under yourself, forming an upside down Nike tick shape. Sadly, I have seen girls fall while attempting this trick as when you push through your arms and shoulders to arch you back, you can lose grip in your thighs and tumble off the pole in a crumpled mess 🙁

Sharing ideas about how to train this move as part of the online discussion thread, I was surprised that I was the only one who suggested trying it from the floor – and upsidedown!

flipped Consider the Crescent Moon shape and now flip it. Mine is not so bendy but you will get the idea. It’s much like a cobra pose in yoga, up the pole this is known as a Dove. But could you make the same shape on the floor? Legs along the floor and arms up and over your head back to the pole?

It’s also interesting to think about tricks as upside down version of other tricks.

A Ballerina is very similar to a inside leg hang.

A Russian lay back and a Seahorse have similar leg positions.

A Superman and a bottom hand plank.

Even a figure skater and a brass monkey.

See them for yourself, lock your screen rotation and scroll through your Instagram feed upside down!

I challenge you! Enhance your pole training and challenge your brain as you consider what other moves might be possible inverted, or right way up. Tag me in your posts on Instagram, Facebook or Twitter. I’d love to see what you come up with!

*For those not privy to the Mr Squiggle reference, this charming puppet was the character in a kid’s TV programme aired in Australia from 1959 – 1999. The man controlling the marionette was leaning over a shelf off screen, which meant all of his drawings were “upside down upside down” now a loved catch phrase along with the line from the grump blackboard – “Hur-ry up!”. Essential viewing.

Choreography for Pole Dance

April 1, 2016 / mel

Choreography 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.

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.

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Mel Nutter as Baudelaire

Aerialist

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