A PPC 2014 Recap
It's been a pretty wild ride since November's training for California Pole Dance Championships. I immediately started choreography for Pacific Pole Championships straight afterwards. Now that PPC is over I have a moment to breathe!
Seeing all of the first time competitors at PPC made me giddy. I love seeing someone go out on stage for the first time and just ride the wave. One of the first performances I watched on Sunday was the Entertainment 4 Senior division. Thank yous are in order for Tilly Erikson and Jamers. Waking up at 7am isn't that bad if the first performances to greet you include a Michael Jackson medley and a rendition of Singing in the Rain! I missed Tiffany W's performance because I was preparing for mine when she went. She danced to The xx's "Together" and I'm itching for that footage.
A HUGE congratulations to Margarita Evans and her winning pro-division piece. You shined so bright!
In the past few months I've learned a lot about vulnerability in my pieces. In my newest piece I really explored what I wanted the piece to say rather than trying to preemptively gauge the audience's reactions with facial expressions. All of the negative emotions that I feel during competitions: inadequacy, intimidation, and fear; I wanted those to live in this piece. I think it was just the kind of catharsis that I needed after CPDC.
I'm asked a lot about how I come up with my pieces. A few of these I've answered in my competition preparation articles:
How do you pick your music?
I want to compete. How do I start that?
These are a few that aren't. I'll be making full-length articles to address them in the future.
Who does your choreography? My initial choreography and pole passes are all done by myself. I'm blessed to have pole champions Sergia Louise Anderson and Mary Kolacinski as my coaches. They work together to figure out what makes me look my best and also ways to increase the tension and fluidity in my pieces. I think this dovetails nicely into "What resources do I need to become a better dancer?", and the easy answer is that it really does take a village.
How do you keep so calm on competition day? The day before, I try not to do anything related to the competition. This year I went to an aerial yoga class and took it really easy. Going to movies are also great. I eat a filling meal the night before, usually rice or pasta, so that I don't accidentally forget to eat the day of. I pack my bag the night before so I don't forget anything — this includes snacks. When I wake up, I drink a LOT of water to replenish, make a smoothie, and begin the day's mental prep work. I try to remember that everyone else is just as nervous as I am and that we're all friends. I also try to make the area backstage as friendly as possible; if someone forgot their grip aid, you bet your bottom that I'll give you mine. I find that helping people and laughing keeps me together better than listening to my music over and over.
What tricks make it into your passes? (Additionally) How long do you train a trick for? If I haven't had a few months of nailing the trick solid, I won't put it in a routine. I plan bail out moves for everything. Preparation really means the difference between life and death when you're 10+ feet off the ground. I take it very seriously.
More later!
