There are hundreds and thousands of different pole dancing moves out there, some of which we all know by the same name… But even with just two Pole Dancers in the same room it is likely that you’ll both know moves that the other doesn’t.
There are a lot of hard moves that we all want to master – Shoulder Mount, Knee Hold, Ayesha and Deadlifts to name a few. Each Pole Dancing move requires a different skill set to master, ranging from core strength to ultimate flexibility. We all have different strengths and weaknesses when it comes to mastering moves – I’m currently working on my flexibility as although I can do moves like Chopsticks and Jade, my legs aren’t as flexible as I’d like and so these moves do not look nearly as impressive as they should.
With any style of dance we all have our own default moves whether we realise this or not. This is when your mind freezes and doesn’t know what move to do next, yet your body revert back to its default moves – moves that you can do comfortably and that look good, without really thinking about it.
The same can be applied to Pole Dance. While we continually work and struggle on moves that we find tricky, shouldn’t we also start coming up with our own default Pole moves? By this I mean working on moves that our body naturally likes and finds easy to do.
Why Create Your Own Move?
Creating your own move is great fun. The idea is not to set out thinking that you must create a new move, but more that you’ll experiment with how your body moves and works and see what kind of moves you can achieve. Sometimes it’s better to try new things even if you don’t know what the end product will be, rather than thinking ‘It’s time to try the Cupid Hold again.’
Creating a move is not a competition where you’re trying to come up with a move that no one has done before. It’s about coming up with something that you’ve never seen before.
I look at lots and lots of routines and pretty much every routine has moves that I can’t put a name to. The great thing about Pole Dance, and any dance really, is that you can be very creative. It’s best to work with what your body can do rather than get frustrated with what it can’t do.
My Default Pole Move
Whenever I train I always go back to the same spins and tricks. The one I always do and enjoy the most is climbing the pole and just letting go with my legs – a Pencil Hold with a Bracket Grip. From here I can hold my own body weight for such a long time that I put my legs back on the pole to try a different move rather than because I’m worn out.
I’ve got so many Pole Dance moves that I want to work on which I keep going over and over every workout. I can feel myself getting better but I think it’s time to start working on my own moves.
Make Your Own Move
The key is to start by working on what you do best. For myself I would start seeing how my body could move around from that Pencil Hold – can I lift my legs up, can I hook onto the pole, etc.
It is best to start by thinking of your default move or skills – if you are flexible why not try moves using your flexibility?
The most important thing to remember is to keep yourself safe on the pole. There’s no point trying a jumping spin which could look amazing, if you are going to hurt yourself in the process. Always start small and slow. You’ll see yourself getting more and more creative and comfortable on the pole as you do.
Claim Your Move
There’s no point in having a great new Pole move that you can only do once. You need to be able to repeat it over and over again and make sure you can easily get in and out of this move.
When you feel like you’ve nailed your move you should get someone to film you doing it or take a picture of it. If you want to you can show the world but it is most important to have for yourself, to remind you of the work that you’ve done and the things that you can create. It’ll make you a lot more confident and proud on the pole.
Oh, and you may want to name your move too 🙂
Moves Of Any Level
While I’m using harder moves as examples you can be a beginner and still come up with your own moves. It is exactly the same principle – find out what you’re good at and experiment! You may even find that if you work to your strengths you can come up with much harder moves than you have been used to learning. There’s some inspiration for you!
Have Fun
Coming up with your own Pole move should be a fun experience rather than stressful. If you are getting frustrated with yourself it may be best to have a break and come back to it another day.
If you end up doing a move that you thought was unique but then find that it’s been done before, don’t get disheartened! For you, it was a new move that you created and you should be extremely proud about that. It may even spur you on to try other moves too.
What New Moves Can You Show Us?
Why not get on the pole, have an experiment and let us know how you get on? Your moves can be of any level – and it doesn’t matter if someone, somewhere has done them before. I like to think that if you name it, it’s your move. So let’s get to it 🙂
