Beginner's Guide to Pole Dancing

How Do I Start Pole Dancing?

As a pole dance trainer I am often asked, "How Do I Begin Studying Pole Dancing?" I obtained my start in pole dancing when my associates talked about how enjoyable a time they had practicing together. It made them feel attractive, sexy and actually boosted their self esteem.

I learned to be a pole dancer with out paying pole dancing classes, as a substitute I bought a couple of pole dancing videos, books and some hot pole dancing songs and simply did it! At first I practiced with my girlfriends and used their poles, and watched how they did their pole dancing moves, however it wasn't too long before I had to have a pole of my own. I acquired a type of transportable pole so I can take it down and move it easily for practice at home or participating in pole dancing parties.

Equipment you will have to have:

Pole dancing pole
* A dance pole
Pole dancing clothes
* Comfortable outfits with naked legs and arms
Pole dancing shoes
* Sexy high heels or trainers - as a beginner, start off in trainers
Pole dancing songs
* Any music that makes you want to move

Dance Pole Safety

Security First: Before you pole dance, examine your pole, be sure it is safe and fitted in keeping with the manufacturer's instructions.

Ensure you have a lot of room and nothing close by that you just may bang into.
Avoid oils or lotions in your fingers, hands, or body, they make the pole slippery and hazardous.

Wipe down the pole before and after you begin to remove any grease and give you maximum grip.

Always warm up and cool down, do some light stretching.

When you're pole dancing, you are performing aerobic exercise. You should be fit and healthy sufficient to start out this physically demanding exercise. If you're out of form, pole dancing can nonetheless be the suitable type of training for you. Just take it just a little slower, and work on building up your stamina. You can start with footwork, moving around the pole and then move onto beginner pole dance moves.

Why should I begin Pole Dancing?

Pole dancing  is an empowering, liberating workout that strengthens and tones and builds confidence. If you take note of the poled dance moves, you'll quickly discover the grace and ability required to perform the moves. Many pole dancing methods are literally based on ballet, modern dance, and gymnastic moves. So, why not get that dancer's body and have a bit of enjoyment while doing so?

If you are looking for a great alternative to aerobic classes, Caloriecount.com says "As a general guide, pole dancing at a beginner level, where few spins or tricks are involved, burns a similar number of calories per hour as a mild-moderate aerobic fitness class."

And "Intermediate level pole dancing, where spins and other airborne moves are interspersed with more basic moves, is roughly equivalent to a moderate-intense aerobic fitness class in terms of calorie burn."

Pole Dancing Moves

Pole dancing moves include floor work, climbs, static poses, spins and even body inverts. The dancer might even add in some imporvised floor work as sexy filler to smoothly transition between moves, catch their breath and complete their routine. Pole dancing is a much about presentation as it is in gymnastic moves. As you are mastering the art of the pole, you will find there are different pole dancing styles you want to experiment with and add to your routine.

I have gotten 99% of my pole dancing videos and books from Amazon.com because of the ease of ordering and the customer reviews avaliable on almost every product. By reading the Amazon reviews it is really easy to figure out if a product is good or bad or if it is right for what you want to accomplish.

The video courses really do give good instructions on the right technique of each move, which ensures that you are doing the moves safely. Attempting climbing moves can be dangerous when you aren't performing it accurately, and if you're like me, having a video instructor to guide me step by step makes me more comfortable.

You'd be shocked how a quickly you can pick up pole dancing by watching videos when you're a beginner. You may study the fundamental moves, and rewind again and again or watch in slow motion to create your list of basic pole dancing moves and can be the basis to build your repertoire of more advanced moves from there.

Beginner Pole Dancing Moves

Top Beginner Pole Dance Moves

     *Floor work
     *Pivots
     *Spins
     *Slides
     *The Fireman

Common pole dance moves:

Climbs

    * Easy climb (pole climb)
    * Straight climb

Complex moves

    * Double tap
    * Upright V

Dance Moves

    * Ankle hook (B hook)
    * Back bend
    * Body wave
    * Booty pop
    * Crab
    * Floor figurehead
    * Hip rolls
    * Knee hook (Ballerina)
    * Leg work
    * Pirouette
    * Step around (dip, half spin)
    * Step turn
    * Showgirl pose
    * Squatting thrust

Floor work

    *Improvised moves on the floor around the pole

Hand grips

    * Regular grip
    * Palm up grip
    * Split grip

Holds

    * Pole sit (Seat)

Slides

Spins

    * Angel
    * Ankle spin (corkscrew)
    * Attitude heel spin (Hurkey, pinwheel ankle)
    * Attitude knee spin ( pinwheel knee)
    * Backward hook (back hook, goddess)
    * Backward stag (reverse hurkey)
    * Basic cradle (venus spin)
    * Carousel (swan spin, gorgeous)
    * Chair and its variations (sit and spin)
    * Fireman
    * Forward hook (front hook)
    * The Hollywood
    * Jump tuck (basic cradle)
    * Knee spin
    * Toe spin
    * Reverse
    * Side spin (horizontal hook, side princess) 

Stands

Walks

    * Drag
    * Pick up

Resources:

Pole Dancing Benefits

Pole Associations

US Pole Dancing Federation

Pole Fitness Association

International Pole Dance Fitness Association

International Pole Sports Federation

How To Articles:

How Do I Choose a Pole Dance School?

How to choose a pole school and everything you need to know about finding a quality pole teacher.

What Pole Should I Buy?

Some ideas and tips on how to pick a pole to fit your needs and dance pole reviews.

Where Can I Find Fellow Poler Dancers?

Hello, My name is Brenda and I love to pole. Find fellow polers out there who are obsessed with pole dancing. Here are some online sites where you can share your obsession with pole dancing.

Who's Who of Pole Dancing?

Pantera, Felix, Jamilla the celebrities of the pole dancing world.

What Beginner Pole Dance DVDs should I buy?

This section covers some of the many high quality Pole Dance training DVD’s out there which are for beginners. 

Beginners Guide To Pole Dancing Classes

Introduction To Pole Dancing: Pole Dancing Videos

Easy And Safe Pole Dancing Moves

How To Do A Pole Dancing Party

Learn To Pole Dance At Home - Pole Dancing Equipment

Useful Tips for Safe Pole Dancing

Pole Dancing For Newbie's: Beginner Moves

How to Pole Dance - Pole Dancing Videos

Learn Pole Dancing: Pole Dancing Classes

Dancing for Exercise and Fitness: Pole Dancing Exercises

Pole Dancing Moves for Beginners

Pole Dancing Parties

Pole Dance History

How did pole dancing start?

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