Sunday November 4, 2012 – Sunday November 4, 2012
The Island (multi use arts facility in converted police station) Nelson Street
Description:
Chinese Pole with Justine Squire
3 hour workshop in Chinese pole
This is a workshop especially for our Pole Dancing regulars! Although, as with all our courses, all are very welcome
We have invited Justine Squire a leading performer and teacher of Chinese Pole to run this half day event for us!
This workshop is particularly aimed at those who have already attended at least one Intermediate Pole dancing course and have a reasonable fitness level
Justine Squire
Justine Squire ran away to the join the circus after a degree in International Relations in Nottingham. Having then dedicated herself to training at Circus Maniacs school Of Circus Arts in Bristol she went on to perform with NoFitState, Invisible Circus, Circus Ferrel as well as for Cabarets, festivals, Agencies and charities across the Uk and Europe. Despite being addicted to a variety of aerial equipment Justine was always drawn to the traditional discipline of chinese pole. She spends a great deal of time developing work in this area with her doubles partner Tao Guo who she has been performing and teaching with for the past 3 years. Currently Studying Contemporary Dance Theatre Justine continues to train, perform and develop solo doubles an ensemble on work in an effort to combine the elements of both dance and Circus.
The Workshop
We will cover the initial aspects of Chinese Pole work including how to prepare the body and muscles for aerial work, basic aerial safety, building upper body strength (through conditioning on the pole), and learning basic climbs, positions and sequences.
The workshop will be run according to needs of the group and will be a fun and supportive environment to try something a little different and also to explore building and creating new movement sequences on the pole and discovering what’s possible.
The class is suitable for those (16+) with a good general level of fitness and body awareness.
Aerial work requires a certain level of fitness and upper body strength but don’t let this put you off! it just means you will progress faster being able to hold your own weight. The strength will be gained by doing working on the pole and conditioning. The main thing is to have fun and try something new.
What to wear:
The chinese pole we will be using is covered in rubber which allows for grip whilst moving on the pole. Participants should wear comfortable clothing, often 2 layers ( leggings/ tights and jeans) is more protective. Jeans or tough material trousers are essential to prevent rubber burn and get the most from the session – tracksuit bottoms are not suitable. It is useful to have a leotard on or a t-shirt that will tuck into your trousers and to also bring along a long sleeved top. It’s important to bring a pair of rubber soled lace up shoes appropriate for working on the pole, e.g. Converse style is ideal – NOT thick soled sports trainers.
Looking after your body:-
If there are any back problems or injuries it is advisable to discuss this with Pink Kitten before starting the session and to listen to your body and work at your own pace. Ideally you want to start off fit and healthy. We will do a warm up and cool down to prepare the body.
Chinese pole uses a lot of muscle groups therefore after the workshop a hot bath and stretching is a good idea.
What Is Chinese Pole?
Chinese poles are vertical steel poles on which circus performers climb, slide down and hold poses. The poles are generally between 3 and 9 metres in height and approximately 3 to 4 inches in diameter. Some poles have a slightly larger pole that rotates around the static central pole using ball bearings. This rotating pole allows a performer to spin on the vertical axis, giving a performer the ability to incorporate rate of spin into what would otherwise be static moves. By bringing the performers body closer into the pole causes the performer to spin faster. A few Chinese poles tricks have been incorporated with pole dancing techniques.
The poles are usually covered with rubber to improve grip.
The most famous trick is “the flag” where the artist hangs straight out from the pole with his or her hands. This requires a very strong upper body
Traditionally men have mainly performed this circus skill as it requires a lot of strength and men have more upper body strength naturally than women (unless trained).
More recently though, a cross over between pole dancing, and movement work and exploration has led to an increase in women now performing and working on the pole.
This is encouraging new ways and cross over’s of art forms which is now an exciting point for its growth and development as an art form/circus skill.
Venue is at The Training Space in The Island