Sam says I should blog more!

Happy New Year!

Well Happy New Year and hope you all had a wonderful Christmas. As you can see I've been slacking with my blog (sorry Sam!) and I can't even recall everything that has happened over the last few months so I am just going to start at Christmas.

Christmas started with a week in Ireland visiting my lovely boyfriend Max, which was most enjoyable. Aswell as many evenings out in Belfast we also headed down to Dublin for the day, which apart from being very cold and expensive, is a beautiful city. I flew back from Ireland on Christmas eve to spend Christmas at home, which was a lovely day full of family, food, presents and family. Oh and not to mention a few alcoholic beverages! Above is a photo of the rather extravagent sparkler my Mum put on the Christmas pudding!

The time inbetween Christmas day and New Year Eve (limbo land!) was spent cracking on with dissertation work (not so fun!) and taking photographs as we are fast approaching deadline time. I'm not a great fan of New Years Eve as it always just seems to end up being more of a hassle, so this year me and my friends decided to invite people to our house and spend the evening in, playing games and drinking bubbly...a wise choice!

So now all the fun is over it's back to uni and deadline time so that means a lot of work to be done. I also very much need to get back into training and work of all that chocolate and alcohol consummed over christmas!

So I look forward to seeing everyone back in class ready for a beasting!

Spot the difference?

Can you tell which one of these naughty creatures has been neglecting their blogging duties and which one is the hacker?

My latest pole dance pictures

Here are my latest pole portraits from Chris Trent at Global Eye Photography;

Half moon pose

Crucifix pose

Gemini pose

Felix figure head pose

Eros pose

PoleDivas - Well that was unexpected!

Well off I went to Bristol yesterday, family in tow for a nice day out, finishing with the South West heats of PoleDivas. After an amazing lunch of spinach and ricotta lasagane with garlic bread and salad from a little homemade stall in the market, we had time for a quick look round the shops before I had to be at the venue, Platform 1.

Apart from my first panic over the ceiling and how it would be possible to do my planned death lay, I settled down with Sam, Hayley and Sarah Jane to munch on grapes and lucozade, whilst waiting for the night to begin. Despite the delayed start of opening the doors, which left me feeling rather guilty as my family waited outside in the rain after strict instructions to be there at 7, the venue was soon filling up and things seemed to be under way. The venue, Platform 1 was a very smart little club which allowed the audience to sit both sides, which I always think is a nice bonus, a good sound system and a nice curtain at the back for us to enter through.

So the performances kicked off with the amateurs, who were all a joy to watch, with their glitzy outfits and well thought out song choices. Up next were the advanced level students, kicking off with our own Sarah Jane, who did the Art Of Dance so proud. Her quirky prop of the fan and classic song choice of Marilyn Manson, Tainted Love led to a spectactular performance, that she should be so proud off. It was tough competition for the advanced section with all four girls showing incredible strength. Carrie, the winner of the Advanced section, I must say blew me away, with a flawless routine. And I still don't quite know how one minute she was on the floor and the next in a handstand!

So it was us up next for the Professional section, kicking off with Sam. Well Sam's performance, was as amazing as to be expected from Sam. She just makes everything look sooo effortless!! Filled with new tricks and graceful moves, it was a beautiful performance. Following Sam, was myself, and apart from feeling that my mighty grip wasn't doing very much I was feeling very calm. I don't really remember much of my performance now I think back to it, but I came off feeling good and I enjoyed my performance so much I don't think I stopped smiling most of the way through it.
After me was Hayley, dancing to Metallica, which I think suites her perfectly. Again her routine was flawless, with some inspiring spins and effortless strength. An amazing debut.
Last on was Kate Johnston, of Spin City, who was dancing to the classic Nirvana, Smells like Teen Spirit. With her sparkly makeup and well choreographed routine, I had no idea who was going to win this one.

So it came to the descisions and as they began to announce the winners, I seriously did not know who to expect that they would announce, and I think the expression on my face made it clear that I was not expecting it to be myself! I was completely shocked!!

I do have to say a massive thankyou to Sam, as if it wasn't for her, her inspiration and encouragement I would not be where I am today, and wouldn't have even considered entering this year. And also for giving me the opportunity to teach others and pass on the skills she has taught me.

I'm Back!

Just a quick blog to say that I am back from my holiday and am back to teaching my usual classes,
hope to see everyone soon!

Birthday Bash!

Well I am still on a high after the Birthday Bash last night! What an amazing evening full of amazing dances and beautiful dresses!

I'm going to start by saying a massive congratulations to all the students who performed last night, for many of which it was there first ever performance. They all did so well and should be so proud of themselves. And I also just have to say how brave Helen was to perform a shouldermount on a pole that had accidently gone on to spinning instead of static, something I definately wouldn't have done!

And as for the showgirls, well i think WOW about covers it! I've never seen Mia dance so beautifully and as for Mel who had never performed before, she was just oozing confidence. And topped off by Miss Glory Pearl who had the crowd in stitches, it was a glamarous, cheeky and delicious section to the evening.

After a buffet, of which I sadly got to eat none of due to being on next! It was the instructors turn, with me on first. I have to say despite the initial nerves, once I got the few moves that were causing me doubt out of the way, I have never had so much fun performing! I even managed to relax and smile half way through, rather than my usual moody, terrified look! And despite a few friction burns and sore muscles I woke with a massive smile on my face this morning!

Once my performance was out of the way, I could thankfully sit back with a glass of wine and enjoy the rest of the instructors. Hayley was up next, in a very nice pink bikini I must say, who never fails to amaze me! She just keeps going from strength to strength and I'm not sure where she keeps getting all these new moves from, I'm definately going to be calling her in for a pole jam soon! After a short break was the lovely Rosanna and her never ending legs! Rosannas medley of music was fantastic and her props of an umbrella and wellies added another twist to the eveing!
Rosanna was followed by Sue. I struggle to find words to describe Sue's dancing as the only way to understand the full power of it is to see it for yourself. I find myself in an absolute trance whilst watching her dance, and her impecible timing amazes me. If I was going to have to use a word I think Hypnotic would be one on the top of my list.

To finish of the evening was the lovely Sam. Jo, who was sadly not dancing, introduced Sam with a magnificent speech, which I could not have agreed more with. Sam, Sue and Jo have struggled so hard over the years to battle the stereotypical views of pole dancing and to fight to get The Art Of Dance the reputation it deserves, but they should all be so proud of what they have achieved. I don't really feel I can say anthing which Jo did not say last night, or even begin to put my thoughts into words. But I would like to say a massive thankyou to Sam for giving me the opportunity to work for her, and become a member of the team.
Sam concluded the evening with a spectacular dance as always leaving everyone in awe of what can be achieved on a pole.

I will stop rambling on now as this is turning into a lengthy blog but I look forward to seeing the photos and videos from the evening!