Tuesday, June 7, 2011

A Journey To Stellar-hood

When I first attended pole classes in March, all I wanted was to learn a dance so sexy it will make me forget about my broken heart. A little over two months later, I can say that I got more than just that.

When I first stepped in Gen Studios on March 22, 2011, I really had no high expectations out of pole classes as I wasn't even sure I'd be coming back for a second class - I just wanted to try it out as something to occupy my then muddled mind and as an item to tick off my bucket list. But the high of my first spin and lift and "attempt" at climbing the pole was something that I knew I'd want to feel over and over and over again.

And so the first session rolled into the next and the next and...as they say, the rest is history.

My lovely teachers, the Polecats, have recently decided to have their very first ever summer recital featuring their students. The show, aptly named "Stellar", had some of my classmates excitedly signing up for the various numbers. I, on the other hand, was not confident enough to do so. But as weeks go by and I start seeing them rehearse - and teacher CD keeping on pestering encouraging us to join - I hesitantly signed up. It was a decision I will never regret.

Suffice it to say, it was fun learning the dances. It was fun knowing that, in a few weeks' time, people will get to see where our hard work has gone to. But more than the vanity of being in the spotlight, "Stellar" has given me access to a wonderful group of people who all believe in their own beauty and their own abilities. These women who were once just strangers to me, who are of different age groups and sizes and background, and who are determinedly climbing and spinning on those poles to prove that they can do it - their energy was so contagious. It was hard not to get excited about this show.

A week before the show, just a day after I signed up for "Stellar", tragedy struck: my great-grandmother (whom I was very close to) died. And I had to go to Catanduanes and see her for the last time. I intended to be back by Thursday, the day of the dress rehearsals. But as fate would have it, Typhoon Chedeng hit the southern part of Luzon and I was stuck in Bicol. I initially thought of backing out, but I reminded myself of the thing that really attracted me to go ahead and sign up for the show: the smile that seemed to be eternally plastered on my classmates' faces everytime they start talking about the show. So I got back on Sunday, with only less than five days to learn the new dance assigned to me. But learn it, I did - thanks to the help of my lovely teachers Myla, CD, and Kayleen and groupmates Pauline and Mara.

But learning the dance is the easy part. Calming myself for the big day was the hard one. Stellar Summer day has come. And down to the last minute, I doubted myself that I could do it. The horror of not being able to climb my pole during the final practice was just so nerve-wracking! But everybody had their own 'horror' stories and everybody served as each other's support group. We all kept telling not just ourselves but each other that, "We can do this! Everything will turn out just fine during show time."

And everybody was proven right. The show started and ended with no one falling off the pole. And the look on every pole kitten's face after their own number said that each one was satisfied with how their performance went. And they should be. The audience loved the show! You can tell it by the way they screamed and cheered and oohed and aahed.

But you see, at the end of the show, each one was not just happy with her (or his, in the case of Tomcat AJ) performance. S/he was happy with the entire show. What one kitten felt was not just the satisfaction of having done her part, but the happiness that everybody looked great and stayed safe. Safe to say, there was an air of friendship, almost close to a family, that wafted through the venue. It was a high that most - if not all - of us would surely want to feel again and again and again and still with the same batch of people and some new kittens that will be joining us soon.

(picture from Mara Andres' Facebook)

Pole dancing has made me reach heights - literally and figuratively - that, just a few months ago, I never thought I would. I am still a few classes away from mastering the Plank and the Skater and from learning those wonderful tricks some of my beautiful fellow kittens can already do. But in just two months of attending pole classes, I have gained more than just a new form of keeping myself fit. I have gained a new sense of confidence and - more importantly - a new family I will forever cherish and love.



Feeling: Photobucket happy
All ears to: F*ck You Lily Allen
Curled up in bed with: A Monk Swimming Malachy McCourt

1 comment:

  1. This post is lovely Hailie :) We're so happy you're part of the Polecats family.

    ReplyDelete