Three Essentials

This past weekend was the Fourth of July, good old Independence Day in the US of A, a holiday celebrated with barbecues, lawn games, lots of hot dogs, and, most importantly, fireworks.

So last night, as I tried to comfort my wee canine beast who was cowering from the sound of the explosions, I started thinking about pole dance. Now this is hardly any surprise – I spend quite a bit of time thinking about pole dance, as you might imagine. And as you likely do, too. But, this time, my thoughts ran to how a good performance on the pole is exactly like a good fireworks display.

Think about it. There are three essentials in a good fireworks display. Three things that make them so amazing that we all stand around saying “ooh” and “aah” all night, no matter how many mosquitoes are feasting on us – and they are the exact same things you need to turn your pole dancing into something extraordinary.

1. Start with a Bang

A great fireworks display doesn’t start with some half-assed firecracker and a sparkler. Sure, there are the requisite practice runs, but no matter how distracted the crowd is, everybody there knows when the show begins. There’s no question which bangs are the warm-ups and which are the real deal. When the show starts, you can tell.

That’s how it should be with pole performance. I don’t mean an exhibition of pole moves (although those can be fun, too) – I mean a real performance, designed to make the audience sit up and take notice.

When you’re giving a performance, you structure your dance differently than you would if you were simply pole dancing for fun, and the first thing you need is a great first impression. Grab their attention, put ‘em on the edge of their seats. Give them no room to doubt that the show has started – and they better not miss it.

So, how do you make that great first impression?

• Attitude

Start out strong. There’s a reason they call it “taking the stage.” Own it. You don’t need to be cocky, you don’t need to be aggressive – you don’t need to be anything in particular, at all. You just need to shine your personality for all to see. Whether your persona for that performance is sexy, sultry, playful, or sassy, strut your stuff on to that stage and make it clear that no one in their right mind would be looking at anything other than you.

• Timing

When you start, move with the music – and be sure to choose something with a stunning opening phrase. It can be a loud explosion of sound, or a subtle, softer phrasing, but whatever you choose, it needs to be interesting enough to really move to, and you need to let yourself move with it. If you come out moving beautifully and expressively along with the music, all eyes will be on you.

• Interaction

Unless you’ve choreographed a pole dance that tells a story like a play, the odds are you want some audience interaction. That doesn’t mean people jumping up on your stage or trying to pole dance alongside you. Rather, it means you look at them and welcome them to look at you. This can be done with a glance and a smile or a flirt and a wink, but it is absolutely essential as a way to draw the audience’s attention to your show.

2. Mix it up

Fireworks displays don’t do 60 different silver firecrackers in a row. They don’t do swirly star explosions over and over again. They mix it up. Red, blue, silver, gold, green. High and round, low with a second tier explosion, quiet with endless sparklers. You can’t take your eyes away because every second is different.

That’s what you need to create with your pole dance. This doesn’t mean you should throw in every possible pole dance move. Nor does it mean you should focus your energies on always doing something different.

No, the way you bring variety into your pole dance is by the way you blend your moves and your expression. Even if you only know two spins, you can do them with different hand gestures or different dismounts, or follow them with different transitions, and create a wonderfully exciting show.

There are lots of possibilities. You can mix up your moves, play with your transitions, use the stage around the pole, add floor work, or even – if the music is just right for it – go perfectly still. As long as it goes with the music, it will be stunning.

3. Big Finish

Fireworks displays always have a grand finale. They shoot up faster and faster, one after another after another, more and more at a time, building up to a huge and rousing crescendo that lights up the sky. People love a big finish, and that’s exactly what you want to give them.

In pole dancing, a big finish means lots of drama, and drama means excitement and surprise. It means you’ve created an emotional response in your audience. It can mean ending in an invert or a series of crazy poses. It can mean pulling your movement in towards your body, or ending with a languorous motion of the arm. Or it can mean finishing with a gorgeous spin that winds you down the pole in perfect time with the music.

A dramatic finish is really all about the timing. Whether you’re going for the big bang or a quietly emotive ending, you need to know your music inside and out so you can end perfectly in synch with the song, and bring your audience to a perfect close.

Light Up the Stage

There you have it – three essentials of giving a great pole dance performance, straight from the guys running the fireworks displays. Incorporate them into your pole dancing, and you’ll dazzle them every time!

If you liked this article, you’ll also want to read How to Make a Pole Dance Routine.