Circus Skills and Pole Dancing

[fireheart]

So I'm thinking of joining a class for fitness and also for fun. I also like things that involve music or putting together a show, I LOVE to perform. So, as a result, I'm now debating between a few classes.

1) Pole dancing-while I'm somewhat curvy, I've heard that pole dancing provides MANY benefits, both inside and out. Obviously this would be strictly private performances .

2) Acrobatics or aerial silks-this is the same company that Nyoibo's part of and I thought it looked like fun. They're also the ONLY group that accepts adults in my hometown. Aerial silks is basically where you've got that giant cloth hanging down from the ceiling and you're wrapping yourself around it. I did enquire and was told that there's no height or weight limits to joining the class, so my weight won't be an issue (I was worried).

3) Flamenco dancing-this one involved more co-ordination and precision and I thought would be good memory training.

AS far as my overall fitness goes, I'm capable of lifting quite a bit up (I've been known to lift around 12kgs max without complaining) and I can walk around 2-3kms without needing to stop at a fast pace (i.e. it takes me 10 minutes to walk 1 km)

What I'm wanting to ask is: Is anyone else/has anyone else done these sort of classes, what should I expect, how to practice and so on, also if there's anything else that could be recommended.

[RayvenQ]

Have you thought about trying belly dancing?

[jedimaster91]

Belly dancing will give you roundish abs. Strong abs, but with the way the muscles are being used, they develop round instead of flat.

I think the flamenco dancing sounds fun.

[shadowpanda]

Pole dancing will help build your upper body strength, and to be honest, IMHO, it would be better to start out with that than the aerial skills. Without good upper body strength, you might be disappointed with the lack of things to do with the aerial skills, but there are loads of things you can do with the pole danicng to use what strength you do have, and build on it.

Have fun

[ArcticChicken]

They all sound like a lot of fun, but, personally, I would start with the pole dancing, it sounds like a lot of fun, and the mental health benefits are not to be ignored.

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

1) Pole dancing <SNIP!> Obviously this would be strictly private performances .

YOU TEASE!

Somebody had to say it.

[Android Kaeli]

Eh, I tried belly dancing at my gym -- it didn't do a damn thing for me. It felt more like I had done two minutes of walking instead of an hour class. I'd go with pole dancing, I've heard that helps greatly.

[Seshat]

Belly dancing will give you roundish abs. Strong abs, but with the way the muscles are being used, they develop round instead of flat.

Is that a problem?

Me, I figure that any healthy body looks good. As do many (though admittedly not all) 'as healthy as possible within the limits of disability/illness'.

[Solumina]

I'm going to break from the group and say go with flamenco. Pole dancing is great for strength and flexibility but flamenco dancing is way better cardio, although if you are going to dance swing is totally the way to go, it will start off as mostly cardio but when you get more advanced it becomes an intense full body workout.

[Jester]

1) Pole dancing-while I'm somewhat curvy, I've heard that pole dancing provides MANY benefits, both inside and out.

I am going to comment on this particular option, as I have some insight into it. I am talking about strictly as a physical exercise, ignoring the other connotation to it, as you are only asking about the physical side of it.

I have met and seen quite a few strippers in my time, I would say a good majority don't do much physically on the pole beyond swinging and grinding, which doesn't involve much physical skill. (Let's be honest...there are a lot of dancers out there that don't actually, you know, dance.)

However, there are some dancers that use the pole in ways that are simply astounding, doing acrobatic moves that are simply astounding, whatever the setting happens to be.

If you focus on this discipline, you will develop both upper and lower body strength, agility, and reflexes beyond what you would think were possible.

It may not be your scene, but you might want to check out a gentleman's club in your area, and just hang in the back, watching the girls on the stage with the pole. Pay special attention to the ones that really use the pole athletically, and I don't mean just climbing it. I have seen impossible spins and jaw-dropping flips on to and off of that damn thing, and it never ceases to amaze me. Can you support all your weight with one leg wrapped around a pole, ten feet off the floor, upside down? I can't. But I've seen it done. And THEN they did a controlled slide/spin down the pole, never using their other leg or their arms. THAT's talent.

A good friend of mine is one of the most talented I have ever seen on it, and one day I actually called her to let her know that I had just seen a dancer that might actually be better than her--which, if you knew her, you would know is mind-boggling.

If you pursue this, it will be difficult, it will be exhausting, it will be painful. But you'll have the potential to be in perhaps the best shape of your life.

[Barefootgirl]

I'd say pole dancing as well. A girl I used to work with years ago took it up, strictly as exercise, and lost four dress sizes - I seriously didnt recognise her 18 months later!

One of my good friends also pole dances and again, she has seen amazing changes in her strength and body shape. She's actually doing it competitively now, and really enjoys it. Pole dancing is great fun, but be prepared for wrist injuries when you begin. it seems like EVERYONE gets wrist injuries.

[fireheart]

One of my good friends also pole dances and again, she has seen amazing changes in her strength and body shape. She's actually doing it competitively now, and really enjoys it. Pole dancing is great fun, but be prepared for wrist injuries when you begin. it seems like EVERYONE gets wrist injuries.

Yeah that's likely to happen with me.

As for my search, the pole dancing classes fill up VERY quickly. So I'm hoping to get in some time later on in the year. I'm going to see how I go.

[Jester]

...be prepared for wrist injuries when you begin.

And bruises. Lots and lots of bruises. Especially to the thighs and calves.

[Seshat]

I will say one thing about pole dancing:

ALWAYS check your pole for oil. If it's oily, sweaty or otherwise 'too slippery', clean it.

You do NOT want to slide off it while you're upside down. Head and neck injuries are no fun and can be fatal - or worse.

[Jester]

Okay, not to make too light of what was just said...but honestly, what is worse than "fatal"?