„This is my last competition, I swear! And this time I mean it.“
I have to admit, it’s not the first time I’m saying this. And here I am again, complaining about it.
You’ll never see me performing in a „typical“ pole fitness/sports competition. Can you guess why? 👀
Luckily, there are competitions, where dance, story, creativity and stage presence are more important than tricks and technique. Like Pole Theatre.
And still, it’s a love-hate relationship.
It’s a rollercoaster of emotions.
😃 The beginning is exciting. From the news that you’ve made it to the finals, through having an idea and a vision that inspires you.
💡 The creative process feels different for everyone. If you don’t have experience with creating choreographies, you might feel lost sometimes. But then it’s even more satisfying when you have a breakthrough.
😜 It can also be a lot of fun actually! Look at these photos from my rehearsals with my human props two days ago:
But it’s only fun, as long as you’re not running out of time…
😔 I usually start regretting my decision around two weeks before the event. Which is how I’m feeling at the moment.
Why am I putting myself and my body through this!? Why am I doing this?
Competition training is not a joke. It’s absolutely exhausting for the body and bring it to its limits. And beyond.
Due to the constant repetition of the same moves over and over again, the muscles get overtrained. So, you’re very likely to get injured.
Did I need to mention how mentally stressful it is?
While I absolutely recommend to perform at shows in your favorite local studio, It’s an entirely different story to perform at a big competition where you get judged to specific criteria.
This pressure might make you so nervous that at the end you won’t be able to show your best on the stage.
My first competition was my worst performance ever. I couldn’t deal with the pressure. I was disappointed and I told to myself that competitions are just not for me. One or two years later I decided to take the challenge again and this time I actually enjoyed it.
Now that my third competition is in front of me and I’ve already spent so much time, money and energy preparing for it, I’m second guessing the meaning of it. Is it worth all the effort?
So, why are you doing it? If you’ve competed before or you’re thinking about applying for a competition, please share your thoughts with me. What motivates you?
I competed twice in one year. Back then, I was also very sure and determined to compete because I felt I had something to prove after placing last in my first competition. In my last two competitions, I placed. However after that, I had to take more than a year off from competing because I severely injured my shoulder preparing for those two competitions. It took over a year for my shoulder to feel better and by then other injuries in other parts started.
Sometimes, I feel I have to compete again because it’s expected of me after doing well in the last two competitions but I feel uninspired. I also feel discouraged because I have not been unable to execute new and advanced pole tricks since my last competition. My shoulder pain comes back.
I think I want to compete but I don’t more injuries.
Actually, I have two weeks into my first competition and I feel the same as you described – running out of time, quite disappointed and frustrated. Since my application submission, it hasn’t gone according to my plan at all and I’ve had to deal with lots of obstacles on my way. I hope that enthusiasm and euphoria will leverage stress and negative feelings at the event. I believe there will be an exciting atmosphere that will motivate me to show my best. I will definitely get out of my comfort zone but I promised myself to show up and enjoy it to the fullest.