12 Tips for Becoming a More Rounded Poledancer

After 6 years of poledancing, there are many things I wish I’d known as a baby pole dancer. Here are my top tips for being a more rounded poler from the beginning:

1. Diversify your training and set intentions. 
   

   This helps focus your training and make you feel much more accomplished. I personally find it more valuable to try different styles and aspects of poledance because the more you explore, the more skills you will acquire and the more you will learn about yourself as a dancer, athlete and artist. But, it’s great to have a specialty as well - it’s just a matter of finding the right balance between mastery and exploration. It’s also good to set intentions before your training sessions. Decide in advance what you want to work on. For example: “Today I’m going to focus on: dance/floorwork/spin/static/handstands, etc. 

2. Work on the tricks you hate doing and train both sides.

   It will make you stronger, more balanced and will callous your mind. If you don’t, you will become more dependent on your comfort tricks and your favourable side, which can stunt your growth. Training only one side can also lead to injury from overuse and who wants to be a lopsided pole dancer anyways?

3. Training your mind is half the battle. 
   

   Sometimes forcing yourself to go train can be the hardest part - it’s hard to look past this and remember that once you’ve warmed up and entered the zone it will all be worth it. Find what motivates you - whether it's blasting cheesy pop or listening to a podcast. 

4. Goal setting, consistency and patience is key.
   

   Tricks won’t come right away - you need to keep working towards them. Sometimes this will become so frustrating, you’ll want to quit but with the right training and conditioning - you will get there. This discipline is something you will carry with you to other aspects of life, and it’s a beautiful thing.

5. Change your relationship with failure.
   

   Failure is good! This is where you identify your weaknesses and can make plans on how to improve yourself. Look at it as a source of motivation on how to get better. You can’t succeed without failure. And don’t delete your fail videos because they make for great content 🤪

6. The more you learn, the better you will become.
   

   Take as many classes, workshops and certifications as you can. Learning from different instructors from studios in different communities or countries will help you understand pole better and can allow you to formulate your own style. But don’t feel the need to rush that part - it will come to you organically. With so many pole dancers teaching online, there has never been a better time to learn from one of your idols! Doing different certifications will be helpful to your pole education and can help you get teaching jobs more easily too. 

7. FILM EVERYTHING! 
   

   Watching yourself back  with a critical eye is the best way to improve. Some days, it will feel like you absolutely nailed that combo, and then you playback the video and notice your knees are bent in your Ayesha, your transition was sloppy and your toes are not as pointed as they could be. Make some space on your phone before every session or if you’re due for an upgrade, buy a phone with lots of storage! (you’ll thank me later) More importantly, you want to document your journey to see how far you’ve come!

8. Get Inspired!
   

   Save other poledancers’ Instagram content for inspiration - just make sure you credit/tag them if you post something you learned from them. Compartmentalize the content into folders and refer back to them for inspiration such as: Handstand/Balances, Floorwork, Photo Ideas, Static Flow etc. This way it’s easier to navigate the sea of saved content.

9. Compete and perform as much as you can!
   

   It will help you overcome your fears and it’s FUN AF. Performing is incredibly scary and sometimes even uncomfortable... but the internal reward is unbelievable! 

10. Make a wicked pole music playlist right away and keep adding to it 🔥 

    As you already know, music is everything when it comes to dance. Keep those tracks that make you want to flow and boogie all in one place - because you will forget them! You will also evolve throughout your pole journey and will start dancing to new genres of music that you never thought you’d have a taste for (dancing to dubstep will become a thing). Keeping track of your music taste evolution will also make for some great nostalgic moments and epic throwbacks. Feel free to follow my pole playlist on Spotify: pole luv

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4G5bJCU5GmpzXAbhkikh9F?si=jATpacgXRBG2EfeUKW6zNg

11. Not everybody will agree with you being a poledancer and that’s okay.

    Even in 6 years, poledancing will still be stigmatized I’m afraid... but at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter. You can’t please everyone. If this is something you’re passionate about, just go for it. There will be haters with their weird judgments that will talk bad about you and leave negative comments on your posts… Who cares? The only person living your life is you - live it up and never feel sorry for pursuing your passion. You don’t need to conform to society’s expectations of what is an “acceptable” career choice. Screw that! 
    

12. Dream big. 
    

    What’s on your mental vision board? Let your imagination run wild. What kinds of aspirations do you have? What would you like to see yourself doing in 5-10 years? Go for it and don’t hold back. The only thing that is stopping you is you.