Post date: Aug 22, 2011 11:58:27 AM
Hey guys,
I had a wonderful (if manic) pole weekend, and I thought I'd share a bit of it here. Firstly, I got to do some pole practice with the ever-wonderful Sam Pickles. Sam is a great dancer, and a finalist for the Pole2Pole novice competition. We met just before her heat, when she asked me for some coaching to really polish up her routine. Anyway, she waltzed (well, actually tango'd) through her heat with a stunning performance and has carried on working on it since.
Anyway, we had a great couple of hours on the pole, playing around with ideas, messing about with new ideas for moves and variations. Given how much I'm teaching, it's been a while since I got a good space of time to practice for me, so it was great to have a pole buddy to work with.
After that I went off to teach a private lesson, and here's where it gets a bit deep. I finished that lesson really feeling like I'd done something extremely valuable. This lady had always wanted to try pole, but had very low self-esteem. Her husband had bought her a private lesson so she could try it out, and to help her work on her confidence. Watching, encouraging and coaxing this lovely lady onto the pole, and seeing her natural strength and grace really shine left me feeling really good. Her (much less shy) smile at the end of it really lifted me up.
As someone who was naturally blessed with ego you could bounce bullets off, I sometimes forget the profound impact pole can have on a woman's self-confidence. Days like yesterday remind me not just how much I love being on the pole myself, but how important it is to me that students feel good about what they've achieved. I am so honoured to have the opportunity to make a difference to someone's life in this way. Seeing students develop confidence, particularly confidence that comes from achievement and skill, makes me happier than I can express.
And as I think you can tell from the tone of this post, I'm still walking on air today. You guys are great! And any student who has a lesson today is probably going to get an extra hug, just 'cos I'm so bouncy.
Chat to you all soon.
Much love
Natalie
x