"the skinny fat girl"
This is so impressive right, Australia’s Got Talent features three jaw-dropping, heart-popping pole-dancers from Girlfriend Fun & Fitness / tradeys. Check it out. Even judges Kyle Sandilands, Dannii Minogue and Brian McFadden were impressed. Hope they get through to the next round.
“Yay for the sport of pole-dancing!” Danii Minogue emphasized.
Honestly, the bruises (previous blog entry) don’t hurt as much as my hand blisters and entire body’s muscle ache. Shows how unfit I have been and 7 hours of pole-dancing just pushed me a little over the edge. I’m recovering now and have Josiah’s professional massage therapist booked for a one-hour session tomorrow, yay!
Now I just dread washing my face, my left hand does better with only one band aid compared to my right hand (above).
Pole Camp at Pole Divas, 10am-6pm non-stop dancing with two 15 min breaks and a 45 lunch break which was way too short for the food to be digested for spin class afterwards! I almost gave my lunch away to the studio floors! But, all in the name of fun. No pain, no gain. Bruises and blisters but my body would not recognise what it feels like to be empowered, if not for the pain I endured.
I just love the feeling of not only dancing, but the strengthening involved in pole-dancing, the fact that I am able to overcome my fears of doing certain gymnastic stunts, handstands and upside down pole tricks. The fact that I am also not inhibited dancing, because they’re all women in my class. Women who are depressed, fat, thin, short, recovering from illness or pregnancy, who come from various backgrounds – doctor, student, scientist, goth, wife, etc. Pole-dancing does not discriminate. It is just heart-warming to see all these people try hard, people who suffer worse bruises and so much more pain I cannot even explain and this is just a hint of what athletes endure.
Everytime I dance, I think of the pain my husband goes through. The pain I feel is less than a fraction of his daily pain. I cannot even imagine what he endures, I only try.
The pole camp started off with alot of warm-up exercises led by owner of Pole Divas Kennetta Hutchens, and then the basics of pole-dancing – what we should and should not do while pole-dancing (ballet posture involved here!). After that, the petite Louise Landers stepped in with her balletic poise, showed us some new pole tricks. Our bodies started to react in a negative way afterwards, begging for food and fluid. We went for a quick lunch during the 45-minute break and got back just in time to step in for a roller-coaster spin class. We had to adjourn to the other pole Spin Studio, where poles are on spin and not static (we have to control our movements or be able to withstand the dizziness from spinning away!). We learnt an entire dance routine before adjourning back to the Aerial Studio where Louis Landers taught us a very sexy dance to Jessica Simpson’s “These Boots Are Made For Walking”.
It was then that I had to request for band aids to plaster over my finger blisters. I had never had them before. I refused to buy gloves because I presume that is the kind of pain I should endure. There were tricks I could not do, because they were catered for those who wanted a more difficult routine (students were from different Intermediate levels 1,2 and 3) but we were all made to improvise anyway.
The final class was Pole Flex where we stretched away for the entire hour. Thinking back now, that one hour of flexing away went by so quickly, I just forget how important it is to stretch (even if I’m in front of the tv) because there are just so many stretches to do, with the many variations!
Of course I was tired!!! I felt like a zombie. I dragged my feet out of the studio in search of food. Writing this now (after 3 hours) I still feel like a zombie!
The band aids on my hand.
T-bone steak. Not the best one, but it nourished me enough, after all the loss of this and that in my body.
2 hours after pole-dancing the entire day.
Pole-dancing is so popular even David Jones’ Australian celebrity supermodel Megan Gale took on the sport recently in the article on Herald Sun here. However, I’m not sure how she’s going to withstand the bruises having to go for model shoots and all. *shock*
The experience? Yes, well worth it.
During the Easter weekend, I was very lucky to be invited to join the Chang sisters on their day trip to Dandenong, about an hour and a half away from the CBD of Melbourne. It’s a cute little town, and the drive there is pretty equivalent to Cameron Highlands, with great view, winding roads and it only gets colder as you drive up. Fortunately, it was a sunny day and since the road signs were visible, it was not difficult locating the stores we particularly wanted to visit.
Think Dandenong of a cute little town with shops that sell organic, home-grown food and such. They sell teapots, Victorian-style clothings in the new century, fruits, vegetables, antique, mythical paraphernalias and so much more.
Of course, the first stop had to be Pie In The Sky. It’s like eating pie in heaven, definitely metaphorical of how yummy the pies are ranging from vege to meat.
It was a really long queue but before we knew it, we had a table at a cute little corner.
The Chang sisters. Liz, Pat & Louise.
Spinach, Cheese and Rice Pie. Absolutely yummy!
I was 99% close to buying this bicycle pot holder for my balcony. Shrugs. It was just a little too big for the car booth. Argh!!
Later on, we went to Miss Marples and was told we were an hour too late. It was 4pm then. If anyone wants to go there, they should prepare to wait at least 3 hours before their meal, apparently.
In one particular tea house next to Miss Marples….
Of course I enjoy myself. It’s not everyday I get to travel out of Melbourne. Being a city girl makes me feel somewhat restricted too at times.
