Pole Technique & Pole Fiction: Suit & Tie

I had a double hitter with Kelly on this particular Friday night. She taught one of the first classes I attended, so I'm always excited when I get to have her again.

For pole technique we mainly just focus on new moves, some filler, some a little more skilled.

• Crab filler - Stand beside the pole, kneel while you rub down your leg, and back up while you stand and extend your back backwards. Really let your head fall for a dramatic touch. Or if your back is on and off like me, you will barley move backwards and look as if someone just punched your spine.
• Crab - This is a really slick floor move that involves almost crossing one leg over the other, then throwing it to the other side, followed by the other, while you roll over to your stomach and snake up.
• Snake - Climb the pole, then slowly (I may have been speed racing this one) reverse body roll down, while moving around the pole, like a snake. Really arch the back to get a good effect.

 It was all fun and games until the final pole circuit when I managed to remove a nice area of skin from my foot. I'm talking 2x3 inch area. After my last snake (the move that did it) I felt a stinging on my foot. The lights were low so I couldn't see it. But when I touched it and felt my skin roll beneath my fingers I panicked. I was afraid I was bleeding. And was already pre-embarrassed my foot was probably making.

Luckily there was no blood, but it stung so bad...and I still have another 90min class. Ugh. I rinsed it off in the bathroom sink (the tallest bathroom sink known to man) and managed to breath through the pain. The next day it looked pretty gross and cool all at the same time. I met up with Jess for dinner and she thought I had spilt ketchup on my foot because of the red color. delish! I did put peroxide & neosporin on it, left it uncovered, and it ended up healing in 4 weeks time. Made things interesting pole climbing with my other foot. And this, ladies and gents, is why you should always practice all skills on each side of your body. Lesson learned. The new skin is still sensitive and I'm afraid of it happening again. Who knew pole will be so dangerous?

The second class Kelly taught was a dance inspired by J.Timberlake's "Suit & Tie." It was so much fun! Even with my jacked up foot. AND we used props: obviously a tie. The dance only had two pole tricks that were beginner level, so it was a nice reminder that something doesn't have to be extra complicated in order to look good.