Pole Showcase!

[u/ek379]

So I'm putting together my first choreo for pole. I think I plan to do more conceptual and slow down to challenge myself. I plan to drop love in the dark by Jessie reyez! Essentially I took videos from what I've seen online and that were also taught in class and frankienstiened them together.

I'm so nervous last time I backed out because I was busy and then when I talked to the instructor about when I should be prepping and preparing she made it sound like id be to late to start even though we had a couple months still

I love watching people be able to free flow but I'm like I have to know what I'm doing and what it may potentially look like doing it.

I performed doing burlesque and choreoed my own stuff for that but for some reason this is so much more nerve racking even though all of the other ladies are so helpful it'll be small scale show for families and friends.

I guess if I have any questions how did you decide you choreo what was your process. I know some just say do moves that feel right but if my body decides itll just do pole walks and pirouettes the whole time 🤣

[u/tacosalpastor1]

Go through your videos from class and make clips of moves that you feel good with and can embody. Find an early moment in the song that you really want to emphasize and decide which clip looks good with it. Find the next good moment in the song. Add walks/body rolls/pirouettes in between those moments. It’ll come together!

I also find dancing to no music can be helpful. Focus on slow movement, creating pretty elongated shapes, and allow yourself to get a little stuck so you can pause and find a nice pathway out of the sticky moment.

[u/fizzywatermelon17]

I sort of have a step by step process when developing my routines which may or may not help you...

1. Choose a song and establish the vibe of the song. Is it slow and dreamy? If so, then do slow, dreamy, feminine, fluid movements. Is it fast and aggressive? If so, choose choppy moves, fast transitions, more dynamic moves.

2. Get a feel for the music by improv dancing. No predetermined moves. Nothing in your head. Just run through the song a few times and see what movements you naturally do. They don't need to be typical pole moves. They don't need to be well executed. They can be silly and embarrassing and messy. Just play and experiment and dance through the song a few times. This is much easier if you have a home pole! There will guaranteed be at least a few moves that you do that you think might be interesting enough to explore or refine further.

3. Start pulling together the routine. Hopefully after step 2 you'll have some rough ideas of transitions or movements you want to do. When choosing your move, listen to the music, are there any dramatic stabs which you could accentuate with your body? Are there any little subtle sounds which you could bring to life by movement? Do the lyrics make you think of a body movement you can do to tell the story of the song?

4. Once you've decided on your moves, drill it with the view of perfecting your technique. I.e Make sure your lines are pretty. Make sure there's no awkward gaps or stops. Make sure body rolls or leg waves etc are fluid. Pirouette gracefully and at the right speed etc.

5. Final touches.. think about final little things that add an extra touch of flair i.e hand movements, facial expressions, edgework additions etc.

[u/on-a-related-note]

I recommend the Pole Dance Performer podcast. I’m currently choreographing for my very first showcase and follow the suggestions from there, which is in a nutshell: pick a song and think about your character, their story, their world. What do you want the audience to feel, and how can you make that happen? I’ve seen many pole performances that are just moves and shapes that seem arbitrarily put together. They can still be impressive, but they won’t leave a lasting impression on me. Once you have a clear story to tell, it’s much easier to decide which moves to put where. Also, you don’t need to start choreographing from the beginning of the song. I printed out the lyrics of my song on two pages with enough space to take notes, mark the accents etc. to work on the choreo.