Dance deeper.

From left, Dru Bramlett, Anna Grundstrom, Danielle Romano, Tracee Kafer. So much amazing.

I keep coming back to these words, dance deeper. I taught a freedance workshop in June, and I was going to teach another in July but the time slot I could teach didn't work out for anyone, which was a real bummer - but anyway. Late in June, I was putting together the flier for July and trying to come up with a phrase that would really stand alone as the core of what I was trying to coax out of my students. Something that would emphasize the kind of dancer I was trying to help them become. And it sort of suddenly fell in my lap. Dance deeper.

I shared this on my Facebook page last fall, but I just came across it again today and I think it is as relevant now as it was then. Sharing again, because it's such brilliant advice from the gorgeous aerialist Alysia Michelle James.

Today a friend asked me what to do about getting into performing. What I thought was going to be a short and sweet answer turned into this manifesto. I wanted to share it for all the aspiring performers of any artform out there that had the same question.

Bringing sexy back.

Sexy. It's easy to breeze right past the word, and the whole idea, when we see half-naked women plastered on every empty space, physical and digital, every day. It's too simple to think that there's no value to emphasizing the sexy in pole dancing - after all, hasn't it made us too easily mocked already? We're dismissed as strippers, sluts, whores, desperate for attention.

But deep into the first week, on the second year of UPA's Bringing Sexy Back, I've been thinking about why sexy is important in pole. Why it feels so satisfying to watch a class of Level 1 students, wide-eyed, laughing nervously with each other as they discover body rolls for the first time. What is it about that breathless, heart-thumping high I get from a no-holds-barred freedance in heels that makes me feel not just sexier, but more alive?

Why I can never be rich.

Because Etsy takes all of my money. Really. It's true! There is just too much wonderful dance stuff on Etsy, and I love that I can spend my money with small businesses - people who care about what they make, can often customize for you, are usually involved in the dance/circus/yoga community, and are conscious consumers themselves. Here's my top 10 of places to get rad dance stuff.

 OmBeautiful Leggings are wonderful. They come in multiple lengths (including extra long!!), lovely custom colors and any size. Foldover waistband, thick fabric perfect for aerial or stretching, and the color holds through the wash. Yes please.

Excerpts from my pole journal

I love my pole journal. Ah...journals. I can never finish one, so I have about four that I've tried to combine many times. One is lined, with notes on what I taught in each class and the date. One is a hardcover art book with blank pages, perfect for costume sketches and stick figures of new moves. But I honestly don't know how dancers get along without at least one. Recently, I taught a freedance workshop - which is probably the class where you need a journal the least - but still, I gave all the participating students little journals so they could make notes on the exercises. Every time I open mine up, I find a combo or trick that I had forgotten about. Or a half-choreographed routine that I should really finish. They are the solution to my awful memory, and a repository of works in progress. Also a good place to doodle while you think up new performance pieces.

What's in your bag?

Pole goodies. Here's what's in my bag. This photo is so nice because it makes me look organized. In reality I am constantly pulling out single legwarmers, granola bar wrappers, random fliers, hair ties and other junk that gets in the way of my finding what I really need. But these are the basics - what's always in there... somewhere.

Fear.

I do something terrifying at least once a week, sometimes two or three times.
Do you?

If you're a pole dancer like I am, which doesn't mean an aerialist or a crazy Chinese pole trickster or a national champ or an instructor or the class daredevil - just... a dancer... you probably do something that scares you too.

Pole pushes me, in directions I never pushed myself before.
Day One scared me. My very first class was absolutely earth-shattering. "Move your hands along your body," my instructor said. "Lift your hips and take them in a big circle." I didn't do that kind of sexy shit even in the bedroom, let alone a class with a dozen other women. I didn't know how to move my hips. I didn't own lingerie. I didn't wear lipstick. I didn't wear crazy stripper heels. I was terrified. What if I looked like an idiot? What if I wasn't sexy? What if I flat out couldn't make my body do that?
Six months in I was still freaking out. I still didn't feel as sexy as my classmates looked, but I could fake it well enough to shut up my inner pessimist, at least during class. But some of those spins felt like I would fly right off the pole. I still felt uneasy inverting and I couldn't complete a butterfly without butterflies in my stomach. The floor always seemed too far away.
At a year, I caught myself eyeing the ground in aerial transitions, worrying if the next thing I might see would be stars. My skin never felt sticky enough. "Can you spot me?" I asked classmates and instructors anytime I tried something new. "Where's the crash mat?" More than once I told an instructor flat-out NO. I was sure half of what they tried to teach me was physically impossible.

Two and a half years later, I scare myself as often I can. Now that feeling is an old friend. I remember that fear tells me I'm doing something on the edge of my emotional, mental or physical abilities. It's time to really pay attention. I'm about to master something new. I can almost always count on fear to be followed by triumph. And even when it's followed by failure, a new bruise or even tears, I can be sure that I just learned something. Even if it's just to try again.
Recently I had a discussion with a fellow instructor in one of her classes, as we watched her students work through an entirely new combo. "We scare ourselves all the time," she said, looking around. "Who else does this?"

Sure, there are tons of jobs and hobbies that bring out the thrill-seekers, but a lot of us at the pole studio are 9-to-5-ers, "regular people." We're students, parents, retail employees, consultants, artists, business owners. For a lot of us, fear outside of pole is a negative influence. We're afraid of losing our jobs, afraid we can't pay the bills, afraid our kids won't get into the right school, afraid of crashing the car or not getting that client. Outside the studio, fear weighs us down.

Pole is the best kind of terrifying.
We're afraid to push ourselves to be emotionally open with other people, especially other women. But the pole studio is a safe place full of friends, who will forgive you for coming in a little bit bitchy, because they need a good slow stretch to de-stress too. They will pull your shirt back over your nipple when it pops out without judging you or freaking out. They'll laugh with you about hairstyles gone wrong and cellulite and bikini waxes. We are a community.
We're afraid our bodies won't hold up when we ask them for a little more than usual. But there's always an instructor or even a friend willing to spot you. There's always someone with the same bruise, someone who can tell you how they overcame the excruciating pain of that new move. We deal with pain every single class! How much of your life have you spent being afraid of pain? That military saying, "pain is weakness leaving your body" - polers can certainly share a laugh about the truth in that! Pain is getting used to a new grip in a strange (and sensitive!) place. We laugh... and we move on.
We're afraid of falling off the pole. Here's a fear that never goes away. From day one going forward, there's never a class I'm not afraid of falling on my face. But as I advanced, I was better at using the pole. I was more comfortable with it as a dance partner. I know where and how to grip. Now when I'm afraid of falling, I take stock of my situation. Are my hands sweating too much? Do I need to ask for a spot? Can I really hold myself up in this position? Should I try this another time when my body is less exhausted?
Fear tells me to stop and check myself. If everything is in order, I know that I'm simply afraid of failure. And damn it, that won't stop me anymore.

Audition stress

Stress twists my creative process. When I have too much to do I can't concentrate and I lose the ability to focus on my dance. With deadlines to meet, pole can feel like just more work, especially when I have to put together routines and end up practicing on my own, with no one to give me input or just make me laugh. My body hurts and I get lonely.
Today I told myself that I would carve out some time just for me, to buckle down and work through this routine. It's extra-stressful because it is a dual-role performance. In the morning I will be auditioning for a monthly pole showcase, hoping to join a well-known and prestigious cast. In the evening I will be performing with my students and fellow instructors for our Valentine's Day party.
This is my first audition and I'm a little freaked out. Normally, I use the first pass of a routine to put in all the moves I'm not super solid with yet - a result of my sweaty hands. I don't want to slip off the pole trying a precarious move at the end of a routine, so I put it in the beginning when I'm confident, still full of energy and hands prepared with Tite Grip, to minimize the danger. But I need this routine to be very dramatic at the beginning and tell the whole story right up front. I only have two minutes for the audition. Two minutes is almost nothing on spinning pole.
Hence my long, cold day at the studio alone. But I'm trying to stay inspired. I've been watching massive amounts of contemporary dance videos on youtube, looking for good lines, interesting ways to move onto and off the floor. I want to push myself a little bit with this performance, not with strength or fancy aerial tricks but with the dance itself.
I performed this routine before for a very small event. It was what I think of now as a rough sketch. It felt finished when I performed it, but now I don't feel that it is rich enough. Needs more drama, more character.
In the end, my lonely day at the studio was pretty productive. I pushed through a half hour of deep stretching. Never skip stretching. On the days I feel the least inspired, the most exhausted, I make my stretches deeper and longer. It works, at the end I'm loose and warm and feeling a bit better.
I pulled out my laptop and used Natasha Wang's awesome trick - Photobooth! It's nice to use my phone for the HD, but really, when I'm working through the awkwardness of a routine in the early stages, all I need is to film 10-second clips at a time to review and adjust the moves. Thank you, webcam and Photobooth for making that simple.
I tried all kinds of craziness today. For three hours I slipped and grunted, I used about half a bottle of Tite Grip, I'm brusied and battered but I have a routine fleshed out. So I will reward myself with the usual treat, ice cream. After an intense poling session I always finish with ice cream. I work hard, dammit. I deserve something delicious.

Buying a home pole.

Right now I'm fortunate to have quite a few friends who are just getting hooked on pole and looking to buy their own for practicing at home. When I first got into pole I made all the wrong choices doing this - I had absolutely no idea what I was doing. I was just starting classes, with no friends in the community and I had no one to ask about these things. Well, I'm not about to let my friends make the same mistakes I did. So here's a guide to buying pole for your home.


1) Can you even put in a pole?
Check out your ceiling/space/floor/situation. Ideal situation is a flat, smooth ceiling with a largely empty room and at least 8 feet of ceiling height. You need at least 5 feet of free space in every direction from the spot you plan to put your pole. That means no couches, no lamps, no tables, no expensive vases. When you first start that doesn't seem like a huge thing - you think, how much space could I really use? But after a few classes, you'll be flinging your body around enough to kick something and injure yourself if you don't have enough space.
At least 8 feet of height is necessary. The first few moves you'll learn don't require much height. But the moment you begin inverting and climbing (that's sooner than you think) you'll be yearning for just a few more feet. Ten feet is great, twelve feet is ideal. You can buy extensions for any decent pole to make it work for your ceiling height.
Most poles come in removable, semi-removable and permanent options. Fully removable poles stay up with tension - you get the pole plumb (perfectly vertical) and spin a big screw that pushes the two ends of the pole against the ceiling and floor with enough tension for even advanced spins.
If you have a vaulted/slanted ceiling, you can buy an adapter that bolts into the ceiling - so your pole itself can be removable, but the ceiling mounted adapter will stay bolted in. This is an example of a semi-removable pole, where the floor, ceiling or both mounts stay in place but the pole itself can be taken out. If you have a suspended or popcorn-texture ceiling, it's a bit difficult. Your pole will need to be at least semi-permanent, since you have to climb up above the suspended ceiling and find something solid to bolt the upper mount to, then cut a hole in the suspended panels for the pole to fit through. Popcorn ceilings will require you to scrape away the crumbly bits to expose a portion of the flat ceiling for a tension pole to sit against, or to bolt in a ceiling mount.
ALL POLES WILL REQUIRE YOU TO LOCATE A JOIST. Those are the big wooden beams in your ceiling that hold up your roof and provide structural stability to the house. With a tension pole, putting it in line with a joist will keep it from pushing up through your ceiling. With a permanent pole, the joist will keep the pole from pulling its mounts OUT of the ceiling. It's easy to locate a joist - buy or borrow one of those cheap joist finders you can get at any hardware store. This is absolutely essential though, especially if you're a renter!
As far as the floor, all decent tension poles have silicone o-rings on the floor mount that will keep them from slipping on carpet, and if you're putting in a permanent pole you can cut through the carpet to put the floor mount into concrete. If you're really worried about slippage with a tension pole, it's easy to cut out a circle the exact size of your floor mount in the carpet and just pop it back in when you take the pole down. Hard floors are always ideal, but carpet shouldn't keep you from getting a pole.

Okay. Now that's out of the way. If your potential pole room looks good, then you can think about...
2) The pole itself. What brand, type, finish, and size.
The first thing you should keep in mind about buying a pole - new OR used - DO NOT BUY A CHEAP POLE. Do not buy a "My Sexy Little Pole" or a "Peekaboo Pole" or a "Carmen Electra" pole - even if they say "professional." Do not buy a pole that does not have a brand name box, case or markings. Just don't do it. Do not buy any pole you see in a sex shop. It's safe to say that if the pole cost less than $250 when it was new, it's not worth buying. These poles are NOT SAFE. Their parts are cheaply made, easily broken, they will not support your weight and they will not hold their value for resale. There are a lot of sellers on Craigslist and Ebay that are listing knockoff poles, which look like the brand-name pro poles but aren't the same quality. It's tempting, because they are definitely cheaper. But trust me, don't do it.
There are three large reputable pole makers. X-Pole and Platinum Stages are the largest sellers, and Lil' Mynx is another smaller but decent quality brand.
X-Pole: www.xpoleus.com
Platinum Stages: www.platinumstages.com
Lil' Mynx: www.lilmynx.com
These are great brands, with quality, safe, easy to use poles. Which brand you choose is really personal preference. The new X-Poles are easier to work with if you need a removable pole, but Platinum Stages are better for a semi-removable or permanent pole.
As far as diameter - all three of these brands offer a 50mm "standard" size pole and a 45mm "skinny" pole. 50mm can be easier to learn on, and it's great for building your grip strength. 45 is easier for very small hands, advanced students and those who work on spin pole.
What type of metal finish do you want? I wrote an entire post on this subject, a hotly debated topic in the pole world. Bottom line: if you're allergic to metal, go with stainless steel or powder coated. If you're not, go with chrome.
Finally, most poles come in a static-only option or a static/spinning option. I always suggest buying a static/spinning pole. These can be locked into static mode but unlocked to spin freely. Spinning pole is like an entirely different sport from static pole and at some point, you'll want to try it. Give yourself the option.

3) Considerations for buying a used pole. Ask lots of questions.
At minimum, ask about the brand (!), height, diameter, static/spinning, whether they have extra extensions if it's a removable pole, how old it is and how much use it has had. Also ask if it was a "party" pole - if so, check it thoroughly for damage such as bowing/bending, dents, scratches and broken mounts. When you buy the pole make sure it's in good shape. Look at all the pieces. If possible, buy from another dancer at your studio, or an instructor. Even better, bring an experienced dancer with you when you go to pick it up.
If you're buying a used pole, look at the photos on the X-Pole, Platinum Stages and Lil' Mynx websites. A quick look at the ceiling and floor mounts will help you tell them apart so that you can spot a knockoff.

4) Price. For new poles, check with your studio. Lots of studios offer new poles at a discount. At the very least, even if you have to pay the full price, they might get a little bonus from the company for ordering it for you, and it's always nice to support your studio. But some studios only offer one brand of poles and it might not be what you're looking for. In that case, order online from one of the major brands.
Buy used! In my experience, in the Los Angeles area, good used poles can be had for anywhere from $175-$300, depending on the options. Look up the new price for the brand and type of pole the seller is offering. Be smart, don't buy anything that seems like a crazy good deal unless you know the person. Check Craigslist - LA/ventura county/inland empire is a great place to find used poles!

It can seem a little scary buying a used pole. But it's not so hard. Be sure your space is suitable, do some research first and go into it knowing what you're looking for. Call an experienced dancer friend, or ask your instructor to help. Good luck!

Honesty.

Learning to dance has forced me to be honest with my body. It's impossible to think how ugly your arms are when they effortlessly lift you into the air. It's impossible to think about how awful your legs are when they unfold into the air and trace delicious circles against the sky. It's difficult to hate your own skin when you're flying only because of friction.

The pole makes the best partner when you give it everything, collapsing against it as the music fades out. I suppose most dance is the same way, but the pole in particular is a partner who always asks for more, yet is forgiving when you find your limit.

I love finding the individual muscle fibers that are holding me back. I love pinpointing the exact place to push back against the pole. I love learning about the details of my own body. Before pole, I knew about my physical being in a general sense, like a city that I had traveled through many times but never really paused to explore. Now I know the twisting lanes of my veins, the canyon curves of my hips, the roughness at the city limits and the pulse of the nightlife. It's an intimacy and a comfort in my own skin that I didn't think was possible. Of course, I still have big plans, feel like I have places to grow and changes to make. But I feel at home here.

Suffering for art - Pole and Metal Allergies

Most of us pole dancers think we suffer for our art. But some of us suffer in a special, awful, insufferable way. I'm talking about metal allergies.
I've been mildly allergic to metal since my early teens. I remember painting clear nail polish over the metal buttons on my jeans, avoiding cheap jewelry, watching out for belt buckles. But it was never a huge hassle. Minor itching with some bumps that went away in a day or two.

I started pole not even thinking that I might react to the apparatus. As a beginner, you're not gripping with your body, just your hands. Then I fell in love. I advanced, and started using my legs, knees, arms, thighs to grip. And my skin exploded. These days, if I'm on the pole for more than an hour I will be scratching like crazy by the next day.

I've been able to manage the reaction. I slather on Aveeno body lotion with colloidal oatmeal like it's skin food. Every morning and especially after a long pole session. I love this stuff because the way it reacts with my skin, it makes me stick to the pole more rather than slide off.
If it gets worse, I reach for calamine lotion to stop the itching immediately. I wrap my arms and legs in wet elastic bandages. I wear knee-high socks with the heels and toes cut out to bed to keep the sheets from touching my shins (I always itch where my legs grip while climbing).
Finally, once the itching goes down a bit, I use hydrocortisone cream to heal up.

But all this, after every class? Pretty much.

I've finally decided enough is enough! I got my nerd on and started researching.

The reason I react to the poles is a metal allergy. But to which metal? I'm not sure. Here's a breakdown.
Our studio uses X-Poles. X-Pole US offers two coatings: chrome and titanium gold.
Here's what their website says about their metals:

Chrome is silver in color and is a good general use pole for both spins and inverts.

Titanium Gold is gold in color and has an electronically coated surface that increases the grip. It is made to emulate the grip of a brass pole and is ideal for climbs and inverts.

Platinum Stages, another major US manufacturer, offers brass and stainless steel options. Here's what they say on their Facebook page about their metals.

Chrome poles are usually a nickel based pole with a chrome coating or plating. With a high population of people with nickel allergies & the possibility of chromium toxictiy we chose not to have this chrome option. If you are looking for a good grip on a pole, brass is always the best option. If you like the look of a shiny silver pole, our stainless steel pole has that shine to it but wont ever flake or give you an allergic reaction.

Lil' Mynx, the third major manufacturer, offers stainless and powder coated - like playground poles. Here's what their website FAQ says.

The powder coated finish Red, Black or Pink is a durable long lasting paint that is great for climbing and posing as it has the best grip. Stainless poles are “slippery” great for spins but have much less grip and are harder to climb.

So which metal/coating is best? I'm still investigating but here's what I have found.
Stainless steel is the most slippery pole material. The upside of this is that stainless poles make for fluid, gorgeous static spins and help build up grip strength. Some dancers like practicing on stainless to build up their grip, so they can dance on any type of pole. The problem is that none of the manufacturers mention what grade of steel they're using, and low-quality stainless poles can contain a high percentage of nickel. Nickel allergies are EXTREMELY common and can cause a very severe reaction. Here's what one poster had to say in a StudioVeena forum post about metals.

The lowest stainlessgrade that has a chance to work with metal allergies is 316L. There are higher grades than that up to those that start 316LVM. That grade means the nickel has to be contained in the inside of the metal in a way that's inert when inside the body. 316LVM is used in pacemakers and such; it's surgical implant grade. It or titanium will be generally the only body jewelry an allergic person can wear and not react. It's also more expensive... All stainless steel has nickel in it; it's just a matter of what state that nickel is in.

Next in stickiness is chrome. It's quite pretty and significantly grippier than stainless, but not much more expensive. However, to make that pretty, shiny silver chrome, layers of nickel and then chromium are applied onto the steel pole. Again, dancers allergic to nickel will react immediately to these poles. Some people are also sensitive to the chromium itself.

After chrome, powder coated poles are the next level in sticky. These are technically plastic coated poles and are what you see at jungle gyms and playgrounds. The upside is they can come in any color, but the downside is that they can cause skin burns during drops and slides. Powder coating shouldn't cause any reaction for dancers allergic to metal. But powder coating isn't widely available for poles, can't be used on threaded or multi-piece poles, and of course, isn't a shiny silver or gold.

Titanium coated poles are fairly new - only X-Pole offers them and the company has been pretty close-lipped on what types of metal are in these poles. I suspect they are using titanium nitride because it is gold in color. These poles are nearly as grippy as brass and great for aerial tricks. Titanium by itself as a pure metal is extremely hypoallergenic, but titanium nitride is a thin layer applied over chrome or nickel plating. That alone can cause an allergic reaction in very sensitive people. Plus, the titanium layer wears off, especially in high-use settings like a studio. You're left with a bare chrome or high-nickel steel pole.

Which leaves us with brass. These are the ultimate in grip. They are a bright coppery-gold color, excellent for aerial moves and spinning pole tricks. However, brass tarnishes when it reacts to the oils in skin, so it needs to be polished frequently. It can leave a black residue on cleaning rags or on skin. Brass, being a softer metal, can't be used for extremely tall or skinny poles since it will bend or crack. And since it can contain lead and zinc, another common allergen, it's not the healthiest option for poles either.

So after all this, where does that leave me? With a spinning head and without a pole to spin on. I need to do more research. I plan on visiting other studios that have stainless steel poles - my final hope. If the stainless is high enough quality, I won't break out in itching and my problem will be solved. If not, I may need to look into powder coated poles for my home. If I can practice mostly on a hypoallergenic pole, I can advance on my own and minimize my time on the poles at the studio.

There is no current cure for metal allergies. But I'm holding out hope for this brand-spanking new line of research involving mice and their reaction to nickel. Here's a summary.

A specific immune-system mechanism underlies the skin rashes caused by contact with nickel, one of the world's most common allergens.
German researchers have found that in humans, the metal directly activates a member of the family of receptors that act as gatekeepers of innate immunity, the body's first line of defence against pathogens. Activating this receptor, called Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4), generates a 'danger signal' that promotes inflammation — causing itching, tenderness, swelling and rashes on the skin — and recruits other immune cells such as T cells to the area.

No one has ever proposed that a single receptor could mediate the initial inflammatory response that leads to an allergic reaction to nickel, explains Matthias Goebeler, a dermatologist at the University of Giessen in Germany, who led the study. What's more, he says, "this is the first time that an inorganic agent has been found to activate this pathway" of the innate immune system.

....The work suggests it may be possible to treat nickel allergy with a topical blocker of TLR4.

Getting back to blogging!

The iPhone seems to make everything easier. Just by virtue of always being with me! So here's my effort at making these posts a little more frequent.

I'm finally putting together a routine, trying to get my aerial play off the ground (pun intended, haha). We have a new x-stage lite, bought half for my practice and half for the photo business. It will make performing easier, and hopefully practicing in the summer too.

So for now i'm just working on stringing moves together and making it all fluid. I did finally get the allegra, the knee hold and the Teddy. The Teddy requires my whole butt to hang out though, for grip, so I'm only going to include the first two in the routine. The first thing is to get all potential moves and passes written out.






Here's a pass I have been working on. This was the first time I tried this particular combination- so pardon the sloppiness!



With the car paid off, I'm just about ready to start performance/instructor training. Trying to kick my ass into gear in preparation. The next session starts in two weeks and I would like to start then. Here's hoping that the eczema keeps quiet- I have too much work to do!

Sometimes the pole gods are against you...

We had a workshop with Jenyne Butterfly yesterday. I took the advanced workshop, with the instructors and other students in the competition program. Jenyne was wonderful, I learned several new tricks - but as with learning anything slightly above your level, I'm struggling with the moves and feeling uncoordinated, inflexible and ugly on the pole.

But I have new bruises, which always seems like a good sign. It means I'm pushing myself. At the workshop, I explained to Jenyne that I'm working on opening up my moves. I need to be more flexible and really stretch into each trick. She said, "Every move should be hard. There shouldn't be any moves where you're just hanging out. Everything should be difficult. You should be pushing yourself all the time."

I'm trying to keep that in mind and think through each new trick. I don't want to just try it ten times and have each try be as bad as the last.

Right now I'm working on the allegra, from the apprentice (corkscrew with top leg extended to the ceiling). The top knee gets threaded through the space between the top arm and the body, to hold you to the pole while you move the bottom hand behind the bottom knee. The pole is against your bottom hip and stomach, between your calves and thighs. Then the top hand releases, bottom leg straightens and you end up holding the pole by the inner thigh on the top leg and your grip on the pole behind that knee.



It's a simple move but I think there's a trick to not getting pole burn on your thigh, one that I haven't quite mastered yet.

I'm trying to keep Jenyne's advice in mind. Work hard, be smart, think it through. And pray to the pole gods for mercy.

Favorite things!

Any pole dancer needs a few things. A good pole, shoes, dance clothes, grip aids. Here are a few of my favorites.

The X-Pole!



I have an older x-pole that I bought used on Craigslist. It's a screw-together and has a few scratches but it's so easy to take up and down, spins like a dream, and it's very well built. I love it. The new poles don't screw together, and I've heard they are just incredible. I wouldn't use anything else - except a Platinum Stages pole (if you have very high ceilings, slanted ceilings or need a freestanding pole). For almost everyone, the X-Pole is the best.







Tite Grip!



Tite Grip is amazing. I have super sweaty hands and other products like Dry Hands didn't help on my palms, only my legs. I read a review and tried this stuff. It smells sort of spearminty and takes two or three minutes to dry, but it's worth it. I couldn't live without it now! Get it on ebay and Amazon.








Pleaser Shoes!



I LOVE Pleasers. They're the most well made dance shoes, they're gorgeous and they always have new styles. I just ordered the ones pictured (search for ADORE-708). Pleasers rock! Order online through just about any shoe store. Google search!






Jockey Boyshorts



These are the best I've found yet. Moderate coverage, supersoft (antibacterial!) bamboo, won't ride up too much, pretty cheap, opaque, awesome. No peekaboos with these. And good colors! Kohl's carries them.