A student told me once:
„YOU use your upper body a lot, when you dance!
And MY upper body looks stiff!
I should work on my flexibility and stretch more.“
This made me smile at first, because my upper back is the stiffest part of my body. lol
But let’s take a second and clear up a common misconception – the difference between flexibility and mobility.
You could be flexible in certain poses, but limited in your range of motion (ROM), when it comes to functional movements. Also, you don’t need to be extraordinary flexible to have a great mobility.
Flexibility is important for a lot of pole shapes. But when it comes to flow and dance expression, actively using your FULL range of motion makes all the difference.
So, where does my upper body expression come from?
In my case, it’s from the most classic dance exercise – chest isolations. Despite my relatively stiff upper back, I learned how to activate new muscles and use a bigger ROM in that area, thanks to isolation exercises.
I’m sure that they’ll be helpful for you too.
In today’s tutorial I’ll help you tune into parts of your body that you’re usually „forgetting“, when you’re dancing. And we’re going to turn these sexy moves into a beautiful, sensual choreography.
If you want to look expressive and still feel sexy in your dance, this is your tutorial.
To find out how much your chest affects your expression, simply try the exercises from this tutorial and make a Before and After video. You can use the same choreography or another routine/freestyle and focus on your chest and upper body.
Feel free to tag me (Instagram or Facebook) or to send me a video via email. I’ll feature the best videos in my next email.
Oh, thank you for this, and for the arms/hands as well. I am like a dancing t-rex with my stubby arms!
Thank you for sharing and congratulations on your accomplishments
I LOVE how you teach this lesson! You break down each step in a very simple manner! I am going to focus on it this week. In the beginning you teach the moves in a very isolated manner. Would this make a good stretch out and warm up before beginning the lesson?
Thanks!!!
Felicia
Hi Felicia! I’m glad that you like it. Yes, you can definitely incorporate the isolation exercises in your warmup. They don’t replace a warmup completely though. Make sure that you do exercises which mobilize and warmup ALL parts of your body.
Thanks for taking the time to give me your input!! 🙂
Your videos are always so helpful. We forget about using different body parts but are now starting to remember they exist! Hopefully one day we will be as graceful as you 🙂
Awww Thank you, Cat & Lyn
Thank you? i had to quit pole dancing lessons because of crazy schedule at work…now i have my pole at home and your tutorials are exactly what I was looking for …i dont really want to know all the tricks and moves, just feel good when I dance and your videos are so helpful in getting more confident with my body and drawing lines in the air? keep up with the great job
Way to go, Roxana! Happy that you feel excited about pole dancing again.
I love the way you explain! It helps so much! Thank you!!!!
You’re welcome! Glad it helps.