It is 2016, and this year the landscape of visual marketing seems to be changing more than ever before. It isn't about content of all forms anymore. The game has shifted to a new playing field, and visuals are on top. The Tools First let's quickly list some visual marketing tools… because I love tools!... Read more »
The post 10 Trends Proving that Visual Marketing is Booming appeared first on Paper.li.
Outside, it's sunny and 50 degrees. Inside North End Studio B in Burlington, it's a sultry 70 degrees - the perfect temperature to start stripping down and doing some pole dancing.
The stereo plays a slowed-down version of U2's “With or Without You,” and the clock reads 11:45. That's 11:45 a.m. Yep, it's the middle of the day, and I'm working out with a bunch of women, not hanging out with ogling men.
Pole dancing is a fitness trend that's been sweeping the nation. In the process, it seems to be stripping pole performance of its sleazy strip-club reputation. Wrap your head around this: According to its practitioners, pole dancing is now a holistic, dance-based approach to wellness.
Alison Mathes teaches this class through Bohemienne Fitness, her new business housed at Studio B. A dancer since age 5, Mathes moved to Essex in 2014 with her husband and young son. She founded Bohemienne Fitness “to inspire strong bodies and healthy minds through the unique power of pole, aerial and dance arts for adults,” as her mission statement reads.
The setup at Bohemienne, which Mathes says is the only pole dance studio in Vermont so far, resembles that of just about any fitness studio. That is, except for the five brass poles spaced around the room.
We ladies - seven of us, with an age range of twenties through forties - begin to warm up by making our arms float toward the ceiling and stretching our hip flexors with a few lunges on each leg. “So we can split someday!” promises Mathes.
After a few yoga moves, such as the cobra and child's pose, we partner up on the poles and listen to Mathes' instructions. “The mantra of pole dancing is 'shoulders back and down,'” she says. “All of your latissimus dorsi muscles, down to your waist - you should feel like a superhero.”
I feel more like the Joker as I attempt to wrap my right leg around the pole to perform a few oblique crunches to Rihanna's “Titanium.” I'm certain I'm going to fall smack on my left butt cheek. But I manage to hang on and find that negotiating the reps is a legitimate workout.
Melaney Pettini and Alison Mathes | Photo by: Matthew Thorsen
“It's great body-weight exercise,” Mathes explains. “When we pull our weight up onto the pole, it creates a lot of strength in the upper body, and that's typically a place where women struggle; they feel like their upper body is a problem area.”
My “problem area” may be coordination, which will be tested later in the class. But first we cheer after Mathes says, “All right, guys, we're going to dance now!”
We begin pole “walks” - essentially prancing around the shaft, using ballet-inspired moves mixed with some swagger. Think swinging hips, proud chests and bare toes dragging across the hardwood floor. “We create a lot of body awareness through our dance training,” Mathes says. “It's athletics and it's artistry at the same time, and that's what I love about it.”
I pause between pole walks to watch the other women in the class. (Elsewhere, men reportedly are pole dancing, too, but not yet at Bohemienne Fitness, though the classes are open to anyone 18 and up.) Wearing loose tops and shorts, they look comfortable, happy and focused on their progress while also having a good time.
The post Bohemienne Fitness Builds Sexy Strength Around the Pole appeared first on Pole World News.
NWAAC 2015 Debbie and Lori
There are a few things polers seem to have in common past our love of spinning on a metal pole; we glitter everything, own lots of cats (or pets in general), AND have a competitive streak as wide as our shorts are small! While the former can bring pole dancers together, they latter has the possibility to create a wedge between even the closest of pole friends.
Competing is meant to be something that helps further polers' careers, ups their skill levels, pushes them to become more creative and dedicated to their craft. And yes, it's about seeing who has the best performance at a given moment, by specified standards. Nothing wrong with that, just also not a something to ruin relationships over. Plus the pole community is small and if you are making a living in the pole community bad relationships are also bad for business. However, the months training beforehand and the final day of competing are stressful ones and it's easy to forget that you are there to do your best and not, in fact, to make sure others do worse than you.
NEAAC 2015 Kaitlin and Sammy
Know Yourself
Know who you are and what you are comfortable with. I've had several friends decide not to compete because they feel that they are just naturally too competitive to do so in a healthy way (showcases are perfect for those who feel this way). I've also had friends turn down opportunities to train together because they know that it will bring out a negative side in them. These are all great and necessary observations to have about yourself and will make your training process all that more enjoyable. Just because you and your friends or fellow studio members are competing doesn't be you have to train and compete together.
Perhaps you love training with others (I do!), that just means you have to know yourself even better because jealousy and a tendency to compare can take hold. Remind yourself often that everyone's competition journey is different, just as everyone's strengths are different. Just because your friend is nailing a super difficult trick you can only dream of doesn't mean you don't have something equally awesome to share with the world. Be confident in your own path and other polers successes and failures won't affect you.
Jealousy Sucks
Jealousy sucks a lot, it does, especially because we often get hit with the green-eyed monster before we have a chance to scare it away or control it. My personal belief with jealousy is that it is going to happen and that isn't necessarily terrible, it is what you do once you recognize that you are jealous that makes it good or bad. Bad: you let it consume you, hinder your progress, talk bad about those who you are jealous of, and spend your time stressing about someone else unnecessarily. Good: you realize why you are jealous of that person, celebrate their awesomeness, and get inspired by them. My trick for combating jealousy, which I get hit with a lot, is I share or comment on their video/pic. By immediately making my envy known I take away some of its power and I get to look at that person's work the way I should – as something awesome and to be inspired by.
NWAAC 2015 Samantha and Malvika
Set Clear Boundaries
Stress is at its pinnacle right before you compete and so it figures that that is also when you are most likely to let it all out on someone close to you. Just because you love training with people doesn't mean you want to spend competition day with them and just because you don't mind spending competition day with them doesn't mean you want to spend the hour before and after your performance with them. That is completely cool, just let your friends and family know ahead of time. Set clear boundaries with those who are most likely to want to interact with you at difficult times that way when you stare straight past them because you are so focused on your performance they know it's cause you are concentrating and not mad at them.
Accept the Outcome
It legit sucks to not be placed where you think you should be in a competition. You should absolutely find a space to let out any frustrations you might have….just not on social media or in the studio or with the polers you competed against. If you have a real concern over scoring speak to the people who run the competition, but more likely you just need to vent – stick to partners and friends not directly involved in the competition. They can be there to support you, but also not be personally affected by your venting. Same thing if win the whole damn thing. Be excited, you kicked ass and deserve to celebrate (as does anyone who participates), but you don't have to rub it in the face of fellow competitors. In fairness, I don't think I've ever seen a poler do this, but I want to make sure to cover all my bases.
Knowing how you like to compete and being clear with friends and family will make your competition experience an amazing one that brings you and your fellow competitors closer together!
The post Compete HAPPY: Staying Friends with Your Pole Competitors appeared first on Pole Sport Organization.
What could be the worst thing to hear about your brand's personality? Maybe that it is obnoxious, narcissistic, arrogant, rude, unreliable… or even no words, just one loud yawn? However, even if negative remarks are used to describe your brand… you should look at the bright side – at least your brand was noticed. Yes,... Read more »
The post Brand Personality and Customer Engagement in the Digital Age appeared first on Paper.li.
[Kimberly Carson | Examiner.com]
Still haven't found an exercise program that moves you? Try pole dancing; and don't let your age stop you.
In our minds, we are forever young, however, as we age our body ages. Age takes its toll through muscles mass loss, bone density decreases and overall strength reduction.
AOL News reports:
But Tomoko, a 70-year-old Japanese woman living in Italy, laughs in the face of all that. While competing on Italy's Got Talent, she wowed the crowd with her dumbfounding skills.
Watch for yourself and prepare to be wowed.
Is age really just a state of mind? A group of students in Port Stephens, aged 10-78, seem to think so as they get into this new fitness trend.
The Port Stephens Examiner continues:
Ms. Donlan, a 51-year-old grandmother, said the sport had come a long way since the days of strip clubs.
“It has that risque connotation to it but I'm here because I love it … it can be hard work but it gives me great satisfaction and pleasure and it keeps me feeling young,” she said. “For the first time in decades I can now stand on one foot and cut my toenails without needing to bend over.”
Pole dancing has many benefits such as strength, flexibility, toning, confidence and friendship.
“It just goes to show that pole dancing is for anyone, regardless of their age or size,” says Donlan.
Well, if Jack LaLanne can pull a tug boat at age 70, why not pole dancing?
Age doesn't limit us; our thinking does.
The post 70-year old pole dancer proves age is just a number appeared first on Pole World News.
[Kimberly Carson | Examiner.com]
Still haven't found an exercise program that moves you? Try pole dancing; and don't let your age stop you.
In our minds, we are forever young, however, as we age our body ages. Age takes its toll through muscles mass loss, bone density decreases and overall strength reduction.
AOL News reports:
But Tomoko, a 70-year-old Japanese woman living in Italy, laughs in the face of all that. While competing on Italy's Got Talent, she wowed the crowd with her dumbfounding skills.
Watch for yourself and prepare to be wowed.
Is age really just a state of mind? A group of students in Port Stephens, aged 10-78, seem to think so as they get into this new fitness trend.
The Port Stephens Examiner continues:
Ms. Donlan, a 51-year-old grandmother, said the sport had come a long way since the days of strip clubs.
“It has that risque connotation to it but I'm here because I love it … it can be hard work but it gives me great satisfaction and pleasure and it keeps me feeling young,” she said. “For the first time in decades I can now stand on one foot and cut my toenails without needing to bend over.”
Pole dancing has many benefits such as strength, flexibility, toning, confidence and friendship.
“It just goes to show that pole dancing is for anyone, regardless of their age or size,” says Donlan.
Well, if Jack LaLanne can pull a tug boat at age 70, why not pole dancing?
Age doesn't limit us; our thinking does.
The post 70-year old pole dancer proves age is just a number appeared first on Pole World News.
[Melissa Seiler | Southern Courier]
The first Australian production of the comedy by acclaimed West End writer Dave Simpson, and features an all-female cast, production company and directors. It's the story of five women of all shapes and sizes, who struggle to master the art of pole dancing, with hilarious results.
All-female comedy: The Naked Truth sees a group of women put on a pole dancing performance to raise money for a good cause. Picture: Braden Fastier
Flowers plays the self-obsessed Trisha, a young woman whose aim in life is to have her breasts surgically enhanced, until her vanity is called into question when one of the group reveals she's had a mastectomy. The women rally together to put on a charity pole-dance show, with the storyline holding special meaning for Flowers. “I lost a close friend to Leukaemia and have many close friends and their families fighting for their lives with cancer at the moment, which makes being part of this play so much more meaningful,” she said.
“The Naked Truth” stars Randwick actor Hayley Flowers, showing April 6-16 at The Blood Moon Theatre at The World Bar Kings Cross. Picture: Braden Fastier
The post All-female comedy 'The Naked Truth' is set in a pole dancing class appeared first on Pole World News.
