Natasha Wang had just won a runner-up title at Pole Art the previous night and came to the North Pole studio still wearing the beautiful braids. She was met by 12 enthusiastic students, among them our group of five Finns.
The workshop description was:
Natasha Wang
"Signature tricks"
Level: Intermediate/Advanced
Price: 450 SEK (~53€, $68)
Class description: This tricks class will focus on unique transitions on and off the pole, innovative aerial tricks, Chinese pole techniques, as well as movement that transforms the human body into beautifully strange shapes. This will be a barefoot class, as we’ll be executing tricks that require all parts of the human body -- including the bottom of your foot!
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After a thorough warm-up we started with a beautiful but painful side climb variation. We practised several tricks that were completely new to all of us, such as the transition (more like a dive) from standing on the pole to scorpio (a.k.a. inside leg hang). We also practised several variations of the meat hook (see photo of me below) and from that flipping yourself back right-side up and grapping your front leg (see the quick snapshot of Natasha demonstrating this transition below).
Natasha has astonishingly beautiful lines, even if she's just quickly showing how something is done.
Natasha is also one of those teachers who does everything to help you get it just right.
My take on the meat hook.
Pole4Fit's students and teachers were all smiles after the workshop.
What an inspiring, fun and useful workshop! We all agreed that this was money well spent. Thank you Natasha!
If you watched the live stream or watched the videos or if you were there yourself you already know that Pole Art 2012 was the most inspiring pole dancing event ever. But it wasn't just the amazing performances that inspired us mere mortals, the weekend was also filled with workshops with the best pole dancers in the world. I attended Natasha Wang's Signature Tricks class and Jenyne Butterfly's Spin Sister at North Pole Studio in Stockholm and Steven Retchless's TRIXXX at Vertical Club in Helsinki the following Tuesday. All the workshops were inspiring, but I'll start with the one that didn't quite meet my high expectations: Jenyne's Spin Sister workshop.
The class description was:
Jenyne Butterfly
"Spin Sister"
Level: Intermediate / Advanced
Price: 550 SEK (~65 €, $83)
Class description: This 2-hour workshop will focus on spinning pole and also spinning on static pole. You will learn take off and landing, how to lengthen your flight time with each spin, the importance of and how to condition your grip, what moves are good for spinning verses static, where the momentum comes from, the benefits of spinning pole, and an all-around basic understanding of graceful movement around the pole. Get ready to be dizzy lizzy!
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The spins on static were intermediate. I struggled with a one-handed spin that was supposed to end in a shoulder mount - I just didn't have the strength left to actually mount the pole. We also worked on bringing the popular breakdance move flare legs into a spin on the pole. I wish we had done more spin combinations like the pike spin - piroutte - backhook -spin that we did.
The part on static pole was fun, but that's not why I came to Jenyne's workshop as we have spin classes at Pole4Fit every week and we work on even more advanced spins in every class. I really came for some tips on rocking the spin mode. I haven't worked much on it even though I have a spinning pole even at home. For two weeks before Jenyne's Spin Sister I did a little bit of spinning pole every single night just to get used to it - I didn't want to throw up in the two-hour workshop!
However, the part on spinning pole was hardly intermediate/advanced. I'm a complete newbie on spinning pole and I still didn't really learn anything new. We practised the very basics of spin mode. I checked my watch to see that we should still have 20 minutes left of the workshop when Jenyne asked if anyone had any requests. I tried asking about inverted moves on the spinning pole but all I got was a very brief reply. We started stretching and ended the 65 € workshop 15 minutes ahead of schedule even though we had started late. So, understandably, I was a bit disappointed with the workshop, even though it's of course an honour to get practice with the likes of Jenyne Butterfly.
Jenyne gave us a good piece of advice: Do a freestyle every time you practise on the pole. Just put on song on and move. Even if you're tired, come on, it's a 3-minute song!
If you didn't make it to Stockholm and even missed out on the live stream provided by Poleranking (what's your excuse?) you can now watch the videos here. You definitely should, as PoleArt 2012 exceeded at least all my expectations - and that is saying something!
As you will know by now, Oona Kivelä won for the third time, followed by Natasha Wang as a runner-up. In the male category Saulo Sarmiento won, followed by a tie between Evgeny Greshylov and Steven Retchless.
In evaluation, equal emphasis was put on technical difficulty, execution, choreography and originality. The judges seemed to be as overwhelmed as the audience. Lu Nagata admitted that some artists brought her to tears and Anna de Carvalho commented that there was a lot of originality and many elements that had not been seen before. Serena Mon De Vienne told us how glad she was to see contestants trying to explore their own dance. She also said the evolution in pole dance has been so fast that it seems like 10 years have passed in the short history of PoleArt. It was Marina Cavallini who captured my thoughts the best using the word contemporary. She said the pieces were very strong, impressive, professional, breathtaking - and more contemporary than we have ever seen before.
I couldn't agree more - and couldn't be happier about it! This year was exactly what PoleArt is about. The venue, Göta Lejon theater from the 1920s, was stylish and exactly right for this event, and many performers seemed to have found the pole dancer in them. Many pieces were contemporary dance where pole was just one element of the dance. Patryk Rybarski, Evgeny Greshylov, Oona Kivelä and Laurence Hilsum all had dubstep(ish elements) in their music and showed some locking (or vogueing) moves, very trendy. There are always top tricks in all competitions. In last year's PoleArt the shoulder mount - outvert -flip was all the rage, this year we saw several starfish and chopsticks.
Below are Poleranking's YouTube videos with my comments - Please note that they are my personal opinions and feel free to comment and discuss! The videos are in the same order as they were performed in Stockholm. The first posts contain the first half of the videos, watch this space for my take on the remaining half!
Intellego Pole Company started the night with a performance that I personally found a bit disappointing - after their captivating performance in PoleArt 2011 my expectations were sky high. Their performance was called Female Exhaustion and called for freedom and democracy. I couldn't help but think about Pussy Riot in Russia. Very contemporary.
Patryk Rybarski still is a Dancer with a capital D. He danced to dubstep and showed us some cool locking moves, but his pole technique is still not quite clean. At the end of his act the poles seemed to be a bit too slippery for him and we even witnessed the only ass wipe of the night. But when he masters his pole technique in a year or two, there will be no stopping this guy. Can't wait.
Tracey Simmonds had a fierce look - Lisbeth Salander (of Stieg Larsson's Millennium trilogy) instantly came to mind, not a bad look for a competition in Sweden. Tracey didn't disappoint with her unique trick combos and solid floorwork.
Rafaela Montanaro started with a super strong one-handed handstand. The latin pop song she used was tacky but the rhythm sure was catchy. This style is what Rafaela does best, the same thing she always seems to do, but maybe it isn't right for PoleArt. However, I've never seen a pole dancer put more clothes on in the middle of her performance, so that was original. Take a look at the one-minute solid aysha combo in the end!
Phoenix Kazree blew our minds away with her mesmerizing performance. She portrayed pain or hurt, a classic theme, but she did it beautifully. One of the most contemporary pieces of a contemporary night.
Go to Poleranking.com to see read the entire post and see the rest of the videos! You don't need to register to view the post and the videos, but please do and share your opinions!
PoleArt will be held in Stockholm in less than a week, on Saturday the 25th of August. PoleArt is widely considered one of the most prestigious international pole dancing competitions, and this year the list of competitors is even more impressive than ever before.
Female Competative Category
Anastasia Skukhtorova, Russia
Laurence Hilsum, France
Maria Luz Escalante, Argentina
Natalia Egorova, Russia
Natasha Wang, USA
Oona Kivelä, Finland
Phoenix Kazree, USA
Polina Volchek, USA
Rafaela Montanaro, Brazil
Tracey Simmonds, South Africa
Male Competative Category
Evgeny Greshilov, Russia
Patryk Rybarski, Poland
Saulo Sarmiento, France
Steven Retchless, USA
Wilson Alexander Meija, Colombia
Many of the ladies and gentlemen are familiar from IPC 2012. Actually, of the competitors only Natalia Egorova and Polina Volchek were new names to me, so I took a closer look at them.
In Natalia's application video she starts with a hula hoop and then shows some very impressive tricks, making me think that she must be a former gymnast. There was a gymnast by the same name, but I think she must be older than this Natalia... Nevertheless, very impressive for someone I haven't even heard from previously.
Polina Volchek didn't sound familiar to me, but Pink Puma I know! She has a distinct style that will divide opinions, especially here in Scandinavia. She's something that many will consider very sexy and I certainly envy her flexibility. She's been pole dancing for only a year but has 10 years of experience in rhythmic gymnastics. Well, at least she's not one of those gymnast-turned-pole dancer whose background you can tell from a mile away. Even though Polina represents USA in PoleArt, she is actually a native of Ukraine and has even been on Ukraine's Got Talent.
By the way, what is that trick called that Polina does at 2:05? Natalia Egorova also did that in her application video.
PoleArt has been held annually since 2009, every other year in Helsinki, every other year in Stockholm. The next PoleArt will be held 25 August this year at Göta Lejon in Stockholm.
PoleArt's 2012 poster appears to be a Rorschach test. I know all I can see is pole dancers.
PoleArt has always emphasised the artistic side and expressiveness of pole dancing. New ideas are welcomed and showcases are awaited as eagerly as the actual competition.
Last year, Heidi Coker used stretchy, red ribbons in a creative way
Swedish Intellego Pole Company's showcase was the most captivating group performance I've seen so far
Hopefully, this year we will get to see something new from each performer. Not necessarily new tricks, that's not what PoleArt is about, but new interpretations, new styles, new music, new costumes.
PoleArt pidetään tänä vuonna Tukholmassa, 25. elokuuta Göta Lejon -teatterissa. Toivottavasti saamme tänä vuonna nähdä jotain uutta jokaiselta osallistujalta!
11:00 AM
Päivi S.
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