New Post with Bad Kitty USA! Learn three classic burlesque moves that you can incorporate into pole routines and choreo. http://www.badkitty.com/news/classic-burlesque-dance-moves-pole/ Video of Classic Burlesque Moves! Pole’s heritage comes from diverse sports and dance mediums and shares a common history with burlesque dance. The Burlesque dance in the United States began with hurly-burly girls of the 1860s, dancers and performers who provided entertaining social commentary

Strength is obviously a key component in making a break through in pole, however teaching the body the mechanics and how to engage muscles in a proper order also contribute to moving off a plateau. The point of the selected moves in this article are for total body engagement and working on feeling connected to the entire body, or employing complete muscle groups during pole. The goal is to not only connect to the dominant muscles, such as the upper back, but to start uniting

As an instructor for pole, I am always looking for fresh ways to incorporate core work into class. Obviously, students want core work and need core work, but being creative and making core moves part of a routine or choreo helps keep class exciting. Traditionally, the way of teaching exercise class was to insert core work at the end of class, but when core is treated like an after thought, it becomes an after thought. For pole, the core work is crucial for progression and st

This post is a follow-up to a post for the PoleCon Blog, which is a short tutorial on the Butterfly. The focus was on the Tuck position and getting the correct arm positions, shoulder engagement and core engagement. Learning the Butterfly with progression is critical, start with the tuck, then the Butterfly and finally the Extended Butterfly. After mastering the tuck position, then and only then is it time to try Butterfly. I put together a short video on how all the componen

Many students need the strength work and many teachers are looking for ways to teach strength work in the aerial hoop. We wanted to discuss working eccentric movement exercises and how to work them in the aerial hoop. Quick Movement Discussion Isotonic Movement means that the working muscles shorten or lengthen. There are two types of isotonic contractions, concentric and eccentric. During a concentric contraction the prime mover shortens during the movement, an example is a

The shoulder mount is a one of the moves I like to classify as a plateau move. It's possible to work the shoulder mount for many months before achieving the move, and even then it might still be a struggle. Many polers have the strength to do the shoulder mount, but strength is not enough to make this movement happen. The shoulder mount is a gymnastic move, the body is inverting in a back flip using the pole. As discussed in Part One of the post series, the proper form of th

Continuing our journey down the path of strength, flexibility and health for shoulders in the world of aerial arts and pole, here is part two of our series on the Thrower's Ten. Check Out Part 1 The Thrower's Ten is a series of Physical Therapy Exercises that were designed to help with shoulder girdle strength and movement. As Polers and aerialists the entire series is a excellent set of additional exercises to train with outside of the studio. However, if you are training a

Protein is so hot right now! The diet industry is the king of cool, making the latest diet fad look like the solution to weight loss and building a ripped body. The real solution is a lifetime of healthy eating and exercise, as discovered from years of scientific studies. But let's not digress, athletes do need extra protein. Protein is made up of essential and non-essential amino acids. Protein is a macronutrient, like carbohydrates and fat. The human body needs bigger po

New students to an aerial class come from many different places. Gymnasts see a performance or video and recognize movement patterns that they have experienced. Dancers are attracted to the movement and the grace. Fitness buffs are always looking for fun workouts. And some new students will be coming off the couch. As an aerial arts and pole instructor you will likely have many fitness levels, strength levels and body awareness levels happening in a beginning class. A great

How do I teach aerial or pole to out of shape clients? This is one of the most asked questions we get from instructors. I wanted to create trainings that had progressive teaching method and material that was applicable to the average client walking into a yoga studio, gym, aerial arts or pole studio. This client could be very fit; he or she could participant in other sports or workout regularly. Or this new client may not be regularly exercising or has not exercised in a long