I've been Pole Dancing for 10 years and I absolutely agree with everything you said! Dance is such a beautiful form of self expression and overthinking is one of the most common issues. To be a great dancer you have to be willing to let go and do weird shit. Sometimes feels silly looks beautiful and of course the more you allow your body to move without judgement the more free and natural your movement will look and feel. Excellent video!
This will definitely help with my pole classes today. I'm always worried about how people see me instead of just going with it. Thank you. :) forever a fan.
This makes so much sense...I took dance lessons for about 10 years when I was a kid and I loved it and I was good. I’m 29 now and barely have any rhythm now...and it’s because I’m in my head and thinking about it too much. I can’t wait to get my pole 😌I was drawn to try it because of the tricks and to build strength but excited to get back in touch with the dance aspect of it 🥰
❤ it is natural to feel silly and grizzly bear-ish at first.. But be curious about it. I am very judgemental about my movements.. But j have seen many improvements since i first started a year ago. From growing up like a boy.. My moves were not graceful. This takes time.. My 'military shoulders' have relaxed.. My head (is trying) is moving along.. The biggest thing i found, for me.. Iw be patient with yourself.. Be gentle and dont use negative self talk.. 'oh ill never be graceful' wont help but harm. It takes time for your body to learn new movement and for your brain to create the pathways to better movement. Thank you Miglena for your videos! Meep em comin! ❤❤ ~the graceful ungrizzly bear
Thank you for sharing this. During my last class I had to freestyle dance with my teacher in front of three new students. It was awkward but I think just letting go of being self conscious and letting my body follow the music helped a lot. It wasn't a great dance but I'm still working on it. This video is very encouraging!
I remember exactly the same situation with me. :) Getting used to dance in front of others came fairly quickly. Improvising took much longer though. I used to freestyle max. 1min for a long time. Now I do 7-10min. And this is where the magic happens! The first minute still feels out of place.
This is very helpful, thank you. You are totally right that when we are out of our heads our movements look more graceful and elegant. When I watch a video of myself when I am totally in my head or yelling about how I'm going to look or what my boyfriend is going to think about it, I look very awkward in robotic and not graceful at all.
Thank you ! I love pole dancing and I have been focused on the power moves. So I move very stiff. And I would love to move gracefully. You’re movies are very helpfull❤️
Thanks for sharing this, I found it very useful as I'm constantly stuck in my head worrying about how I look. I'm looking forward to trying you're warm up video :) thank you
It was really great!! I loved that you had footage of two different angles. It was fast paced for me, but I intend on practising until the movements aren't so foreign and they are more like second nature :) this will really help me with the low pole flows I think. Thanks Miglena!!
Thank you for sharing these tips! Even if I’ve been dancing (not professional) since I was a kid, I still find myself awkward in doing my pole dance routines. My studio’s 3rd recital is coming up and it will be my 3rd recital too.
I tend to bee very free and unjudgmental when I’m alone, but it is still very hard to put moves together into a choreography. Even though I started dancing at age 3 and been taking pole classes for over a year, I still feel like I can’t perform well and that all of my moves are too crude and bumpy. I need to practice more and just let go! 😅
Honestly? I don't think I'm strong enough to hold my body! hahaha I feel like once I get stronger abs and arms I will be able to hold the poses more steadly and not be trying to get a hold at the pole with my feet whenever I invert! Anxiety is also something I'm learning to control. I realised that if I breathe and try to do things slowlier, they come out prettier! =D
Aha! Some good thoughts here. The strength will make it look effortless. But would it make it look fluid? Maybe. Maybe not... if you're rushing for example. Have you read this? www.badkitty.com/news/3-powerful-techniques-pole-flow/ Might be helpful for you.
Hi! I absolutely LOVE your style. I was wondering what type of dance class you showed, where you were just dancing on the floor in a group? Is that contemporary?
I would like to know what you think about your choreos and when you see yourself in your recorded videos? :) Most of the times i ciritize myself but i feel like i get better a little bit. But there's no point where I am completely happy with the result..
If your goal is always perfection, you'll never be happy. Think progress, not perfection. Would you give me an example of something you're never happy with?
I am a perfectionist and I always have this idea and vision to create the perfect choreography at the beginning. But after 30min I end up with something totally different and most of the things I had on my mind don't work how I was imagining them. I discover and learn a lot from this process, so I don't get frustrated. I think every choreography is beautiful in a different way. When I freestyle and record myself, I use the footage not to check if it looks good, but to observe, analyze and learn. When I check the footage for a performance, I become more of a perfectionist and tweak details to also make it pleasant to watch. I don't panic that it doesn't look good, because I know that there's always a Plan B - I can always make it "look pretty" by making it simpler.
The Pole Dancer I'm taking beginner classes with choreos. I'm a good student I think. I always take the criticism from my teacher seriously. But when I film myself I feel like it's not nearly as pretty, good or smooth as the teacher dancing or other students. That's where my very good friend tells that It looks great. I analyse my video and it only gets a little bit better but nowhere where I would say I'm happy with it. Of course I can see the progress and I'm happy with it. BTW thank you so much for taking time to answer :) I'm really looking forward to this pole flow series
Try to define more specifically for yourself what "pretty, good or smooth", "looks great" means. And what's keeping you from it. Since you're comparing yourself to your teacher/other students, what do they have (in your eyes) that you don't?
Hi Miglena, I recently took an interest in pole as a way to feel good about myself and do something good for my body. However, I am a little worried that I am limited by my congenital disorder called club foot. Essentially, my right foot is three sizes smaller than the other, has a high arch and a bump on the top of my foot. My flexibility in this foot and the strength of my right leg is diminished because of this. My foot doesn't tend to give me issues in everyday life so long as I wear the correct footwear and orthotics, so I'm not as much worried about medical issues. It seems to me that feet are an important part of performing, so I am afraid I will have issues with some of the moves because of the shape of my foot or my strength or flexibility. Thanks for any advice you can give me and I hope to start soon.
Hi! I honestly don’t know much about the health issue you mentioned and how much it will limit you in pole dancing, if at all. I'd speak with your doctor about it first. If he/she has no idea about the (longterm) effect of pole dancing on your body either, you’d need to find out for yourself. Maybe you’d simply need to adjust some moves. Pole dancers are of all body shapes and sizes, and we all adjust the moves individually to what feels good and appropriate for our bodies. Most importantly, listen to your body, pay attention and train with a professional instructor, who’s aware of your condition. Luckily, feet are not the most important thing in pole dancing. Climbing is probably the most fundamental move, for which we use our feet. And also for dancing on the floor. Personally, I enjoy dancing barefoot the most. You’ll most probably have to pass on wearing heels. Keep me updated on how you're getting along.
The Pole Dancer hey! So I went ahead and signed up for the class, but I’m kind of having a dilemma. That is, I’m here in Italy until September and the studio is five min walk from my house- meanwhile when I move back to the US the nearest studio will be a 1hr drive away! I decided to go for it to take advantage of the circumstances. However after two lessons I’m still not very confident. My class is instructed in Italian and I don’t know if it’s a language or cultural barrier but my instructor is very intense. She never smiles or laughs and I just feel like it’s more of boot camp that a fun way to exercise and feel good about myself. I feel nervous when she is watching and when there are a lot of people in the class she doesn’t do much in terms of assisting or correcting us. We also move very quickly from one thing to the next even in a Beginning class so I decided to pay extra to have access to the studio in the “practice hours”. I think going to practice by myself will be better for my confidence, because when I can’t get a move or when I fall behind on the choreography I feel like I am distracting everyone and people are watching me... and when I feel the eyes of the instructor on me my hands get even sweatier than they are and that doesn’t help me in gripping the pole! I am nervous about continuing lessons because I want to have a fun time and not feel like a failure all the time. Any advice would be appreciated.
@@topotondo828 Hey! I'm glad that you started taking pole classes. Not very happy to hear about your experience though. Every teacher brings a different energy into the class room. Too strict and not fun isn't actually the norm for pole classes. Smiling and feeling welcomed would be also important for me. What's not acceptable is that you feel like you've failed. A good instructor should be able to encourage and motivate, while challenging the students. I can confirm that learning pole dancing is indeed challenging at the very beginning, but it gets much easier with practice. It's a great idea that you're additionally starting to practice on your own. This makes a huge difference! Film yourself and the moves in class, so that you can practice them alone. Just keep it up! Regarding everyone watching you... your instructor might be watching you, but this doesn't mean that she's judging you. The other students - believe me, they don't care much about whether you fell behind or not, they're too busy with themselves in that moment. Focus on yourself and follow your own path! Do you have the chance to try a different class with a different teacher?
I think figures and movements are like dresses. Something will look good on you, something won't, no matter how hard you try. I'm short and quite stocky, so a lot of dance moves will always look kind of strange on me. Like, I have short and chunky legs, so all my aerial splits are a little disappointing to watch and, even if I can do them, I tend to avoid them. Maybe it's just lack of confidence, I don't know. Any opinion or advise?
High heels... Haha No, just kidding... It might be something simple, like not straightening your legs and pointing your toes entirely. There are also other little tweaks and techniques to make legs appear longer. Something simple like this might be what you need. But I can't tell without seeing your technique. On the other hand, pole moves FEEL totally different for everyone, because we are differently build, differently strong and individually bendy. I learnt to recognize what is within my level and skills and what isn't. Most of all, I "listen" to how my body feels. If you want, send me a video on miglena@thepoledancer.com and I hope that I can hep you more.
I've been Pole Dancing for 10 years and I absolutely agree with everything you said! Dance is such a beautiful form of self expression and overthinking is one of the most common issues. To be a great dancer you have to be willing to let go and do weird shit. Sometimes feels silly looks beautiful and of course the more you allow your body to move without judgement the more free and natural your movement will look and feel. Excellent video!
Thank you! I'm glad that your experience confirms this.
The best channel for pole dancing on whole YT. It is not only about pole (like it never is), but rather a life that expresses on pole.. Thank you!
Thanks for the beautiful words!
This will definitely help with my pole classes today. I'm always worried about how people see me instead of just going with it. Thank you. :) forever a fan.
This makes so much sense...I took dance lessons for about 10 years when I was a kid and I loved it and I was good. I’m 29 now and barely have any rhythm now...and it’s because I’m in my head and thinking about it too much. I can’t wait to get my pole 😌I was drawn to try it because of the tricks and to build strength but excited to get back in touch with the dance aspect of it 🥰
❤ it is natural to feel silly and grizzly bear-ish at first.. But be curious about it. I am very judgemental about my movements.. But j have seen many improvements since i first started a year ago. From growing up like a boy.. My moves were not graceful. This takes time.. My 'military shoulders' have relaxed.. My head (is trying) is moving along.. The biggest thing i found, for me.. Iw be patient with yourself.. Be gentle and dont use negative self talk.. 'oh ill never be graceful' wont help but harm. It takes time for your body to learn new movement and for your brain to create the pathways to better movement. Thank you Miglena for your videos! Meep em comin! ❤❤
~the graceful ungrizzly bear
Your experience and your progress are so inspiring. Thanks for sharing this!
"military shoulders" I love this! Will use it in my classes. lol ❤
Omggggg love your Tutorials. You’re the best teacher...
Thank you for sharing this. During my last class I had to freestyle dance with my teacher in front of three new students. It was awkward but I think just letting go of being self conscious and letting my body follow the music helped a lot. It wasn't a great dance but I'm still working on it. This video is very encouraging!
I remember exactly the same situation with me. :) Getting used to dance in front of others came fairly quickly. Improvising took much longer though. I used to freestyle max. 1min for a long time. Now I do 7-10min. And this is where the magic happens! The first minute still feels out of place.
I really want to be your student. But im in korea. Hahaha
You are my muse!
Thanks a lot!
Love! That's why I try to share as much as possible online. When I get famous, I'll come visit you.
This is very helpful, thank you. You are totally right that when we are out of our heads our movements look more graceful and elegant. When I watch a video of myself when I am totally in my head or yelling about how I'm going to look or what my boyfriend is going to think about it, I look very awkward in robotic and not graceful at all.
I hope that my videos will help you get rid of the "mechanical", "robotic" look.
Thank you ! I love pole dancing and I have been focused on the power moves. So I move very stiff. And I would love to move gracefully. You’re movies are very helpfull❤️
So glad to hear that, Nancy! You'll get there. Take just one step at a time. :*
Can't even begin to express how much I needed to see this video today. Thank you for sharing your knowledge and experience!
XX
You have helped me loosen up a and feel more free in my movements. Your flawless and I can relate. Very natural flow. I love it. Ty
Thank you for sharing this. Your style is so unique and amazing. You are a gem
Thanks for sharing this, I found it very useful as I'm constantly stuck in my head worrying about how I look. I'm looking forward to trying you're warm up video :) thank you
Exactly the video I was hoping to find. Thank you!! ❤️
You are the best!! So excited to practise these warm ups today :)
Yeah!! Let me know how you're getting along. It's my first follow-along video. :|
It was really great!! I loved that you had footage of two different angles. It was fast paced for me, but I intend on practising until the movements aren't so foreign and they are more like second nature :) this will really help me with the low pole flows I think. Thanks Miglena!!
Exactly! That's the advantage of warmups.
This video means a lot to me in my journey of learning dance.
Great! Are you learning pole dance or any other dance style?
@@ThePoleDancer I am learning to dance at public events and hip hop dance.Any blog or article which can help me in learning it?
Thanks for sharing your art with us! It's really helping cause I have no pole instructor. 🖤
I love your great insights!❤
Thank you for sharing this 💙
You're very welcome!
Thanks for your advices!
You are incredible thank you 💜🦄
Thank you for sharing these tips! Even if I’ve been dancing (not professional) since I was a kid, I still find myself awkward in doing my pole dance routines. My studio’s 3rd recital is coming up and it will be my 3rd recital too.
Why do you think is that? Good luck for your performance!
Yay! Finally! This is joshs fiance, Chrystal. Been waiting for this !
Great tips. Thank you ❤
I tend to bee very free and unjudgmental when I’m alone, but it is still very hard to put moves together into a choreography. Even though I started dancing at age 3 and been taking pole classes for over a year, I still feel like I can’t perform well and that all of my moves are too crude and bumpy. I need to practice more and just let go! 😅
What do you think is the reason for the crudeness and bumpiness? Is it in your head or in your body?
Honestly? I don't think I'm strong enough to hold my body! hahaha I feel like once I get stronger abs and arms I will be able to hold the poses more steadly and not be trying to get a hold at the pole with my feet whenever I invert! Anxiety is also something I'm learning to control. I realised that if I breathe and try to do things slowlier, they come out prettier! =D
Aha! Some good thoughts here. The strength will make it look effortless. But would it make it look fluid? Maybe. Maybe not... if you're rushing for example.
Have you read this? www.badkitty.com/news/3-powerful-techniques-pole-flow/ Might be helpful for you.
Hi! I absolutely LOVE your style.
I was wondering what type of dance class you showed, where you were just dancing on the floor in a group? Is that contemporary?
Hi! Thank you for the kind words. Yes, it was a jazz-lyrical-contemporary class
So wise!
You rock ! Love ur vids
good video i love video
Hi there do you still have the 15 minute warm up video? I signed up but I received a choreo video instead? Thank you ❤
Oops! Thanks for letting us know. Here's the link to the Flow Warmup and sorry for the confusion thepoledancer.com/flowwarmup
You should do a TED Talk.
😄
I would like to know what you think about your choreos and when you see yourself in your recorded videos? :) Most of the times i ciritize myself but i feel like i get better a little bit. But there's no point where I am completely happy with the result..
If your goal is always perfection, you'll never be happy. Think progress, not perfection.
Would you give me an example of something you're never happy with?
I am a perfectionist and I always have this idea and vision to create the perfect choreography at the beginning. But after 30min I end up with something totally different and most of the things I had on my mind don't work how I was imagining them. I discover and learn a lot from this process, so I don't get frustrated. I think every choreography is beautiful in a different way.
When I freestyle and record myself, I use the footage not to check if it looks good, but to observe, analyze and learn. When I check the footage for a performance, I become more of a perfectionist and tweak details to also make it pleasant to watch. I don't panic that it doesn't look good, because I know that there's always a Plan B - I can always make it "look pretty" by making it simpler.
The Pole Dancer I'm taking beginner classes with choreos. I'm a good student I think. I always take the criticism from my teacher seriously. But when I film myself I feel like it's not nearly as pretty, good or smooth as the teacher dancing or other students. That's where my very good friend tells that It looks great. I analyse my video and it only gets a little bit better but nowhere where I would say I'm happy with it. Of course I can see the progress and I'm happy with it. BTW thank you so much for taking time to answer :) I'm really looking forward to this pole flow series
Try to define more specifically for yourself what "pretty, good or smooth", "looks great" means. And what's keeping you from it. Since you're comparing yourself to your teacher/other students, what do they have (in your eyes) that you don't?
👍🏾
Hi Miglena, I recently took an interest in pole as a way to feel good about myself and do something good for my body. However, I am a little worried that I am limited by my congenital disorder called club foot. Essentially, my right foot is three sizes smaller than the other, has a high arch and a bump on the top of my foot. My flexibility in this foot and the strength of my right leg is diminished because of this. My foot doesn't tend to give me issues in everyday life so long as I wear the correct footwear and orthotics, so I'm not as much worried about medical issues. It seems to me that feet are an important part of performing, so I am afraid I will have issues with some of the moves because of the shape of my foot or my strength or flexibility. Thanks for any advice you can give me and I hope to start soon.
Hi! I honestly don’t know much about the health issue you mentioned and how much it will limit you in pole dancing, if at all. I'd speak with your doctor about it first. If he/she has no idea about the (longterm) effect of pole dancing on your body either, you’d need to find out for yourself. Maybe you’d simply need to adjust some moves. Pole dancers are of all body shapes and sizes, and we all adjust the moves individually to what feels good and appropriate for our bodies. Most importantly, listen to your body, pay attention and train with a professional instructor, who’s aware of your condition.
Luckily, feet are not the most important thing in pole dancing. Climbing is probably the most fundamental move, for which we use our feet. And also for dancing on the floor. Personally, I enjoy dancing barefoot the most. You’ll most probably have to pass on wearing heels.
Keep me updated on how you're getting along.
The Pole Dancer hey! So I went ahead and signed up for the class, but I’m kind of having a dilemma. That is, I’m here in Italy until September and the studio is five min walk from my house- meanwhile when I move back to the US the nearest studio will be a 1hr drive away! I decided to go for it to take advantage of the circumstances. However after two lessons I’m still not very confident. My class is instructed in Italian and I don’t know if it’s a language or cultural barrier but my instructor is very intense. She never smiles or laughs and I just feel like it’s more of boot camp that a fun way to exercise and feel good about myself. I feel nervous when she is watching and when there are a lot of people in the class she doesn’t do much in terms of assisting or correcting us. We also move very quickly from one thing to the next even in a Beginning class so I decided to pay extra to have access to the studio in the “practice hours”. I think going to practice by myself will be better for my confidence, because when I can’t get a move or when I fall behind on the choreography I feel like I am distracting everyone and people are watching me... and when I feel the eyes of the instructor on me my hands get even sweatier than they are and that doesn’t help me in gripping the pole! I am nervous about continuing lessons because I want to have a fun time and not feel like a failure all the time. Any advice would be appreciated.
@@topotondo828 Hey! I'm glad that you started taking pole classes. Not very happy to hear about your experience though. Every teacher brings a different energy into the class room. Too strict and not fun isn't actually the norm for pole classes. Smiling and feeling welcomed would be also important for me. What's not acceptable is that you feel like you've failed. A good instructor should be able to encourage and motivate, while challenging the students. I can confirm that learning pole dancing is indeed challenging at the very beginning, but it gets much easier with practice. It's a great idea that you're additionally starting to practice on your own. This makes a huge difference! Film yourself and the moves in class, so that you can practice them alone. Just keep it up! Regarding everyone watching you... your instructor might be watching you, but this doesn't mean that she's judging you. The other students - believe me, they don't care much about whether you fell behind or not, they're too busy with themselves in that moment. Focus on yourself and follow your own path! Do you have the chance to try a different class with a different teacher?
I think figures and movements are like dresses. Something will look good on you, something won't, no matter how hard you try. I'm short and quite stocky, so a lot of dance moves will always look kind of strange on me. Like, I have short and chunky legs, so all my aerial splits are a little disappointing to watch and, even if I can do them, I tend to avoid them. Maybe it's just lack of confidence, I don't know. Any opinion or advise?
High heels... Haha No, just kidding...
It might be something simple, like not straightening your legs and pointing your toes entirely. There are also other little tweaks and techniques to make legs appear longer. Something simple like this might be what you need. But I can't tell without seeing your technique.
On the other hand, pole moves FEEL totally different for everyone, because we are differently build, differently strong and individually bendy. I learnt to recognize what is within my level and skills and what isn't. Most of all, I "listen" to how my body feels.
If you want, send me a video on miglena@thepoledancer.com and I hope that I can hep you more.
I just try to have fun, although I do feel like a bag of potatoes most days. :D But I see it as a fun.
Haha Oh well, we all do. Very good approach!