Greetings after such a long hiatus! I have finally graduated
medical school and started on the treacherous though exhilarating path towards
becoming a doctor. The lessons I have learned and continue to learn from pole
remain timeless, however.
I recently was lucky enough to have a little break in my
work, enough for me to explore pole studios in my new home in Connecticut. I
happened upon The Girl Spot, a little treasure tucked away in Trumbull, CT. I
had been eying this studio for a while, alas my 80-100 hour work-weeks
prevented me from doing much else aside from sleeping outside of work. The
minute I had a break, however, I decided it was time to break my 3-month hiatus
from pole and try a class. I started with the intro class, being nothing if
risk-averse, and had an amazing time. The method taught at the Girl Spot was
completely different than the Climb and Spin method I’d been taught in NYC.
They opted for teaching grips required for the more gravity defying- spins and
inversions earlier rather than later. I had some difficulty switching my brain
over to these more complicated grips but as soon as I tried them I could
instantly feel the potential for more impressive pole tricks stemming from
those grips! I left that class pleasantly surprised about pole classes outside
of NYC and LA, with the firm resolve to return next week to the suggested
intermediate class.
A week passed, and I had procrastinated going back to class due
to sheer terror. What if I was horrible? What if I couldn’t execute the
maneuvers these other girls had learned in beginner classes and could now do
with their eyes closed? My procrastination was aided by an illness likely
picked up at the hospital where I now work, and at home I watched videos of
Alethea at her new studio in Nashville while feeling sorry for myself.
Eventually I decided going to dance class is always the
right decision, so I picked up my phone and scheduled a class for later that
same day. Immediately I had panic-filled visions of me completely messing up
choreography, not understanding the push-pull grip integral to so many parts of
pole, and other such disasters. The most important part of pole, as I have
learned time and time again is that you have to overcome your fears. As Bonnie at
NYPD would say to us in every class, “pole is no place for pussies!” So I faced
my fears head on and went to a class full of people I didn’t know and
techniques I didn’t know. And it was incredible. So many of the tricks were new
to me, but I took to them like a fish to water! With some re-configuring of my
pre-existing pole knowledge I managed to get my hands and legs around the pole
in a satisfactory manner, and felt quite wonderful at the end of it! My only
regret is that my work schedule prohibits me following the rigorous course of 5
dance classes per week such as I was used to before college in order to make me
proficient in the art form that I am so enamored with!
