PoleAndAerial.com

In September, I got a call from Collette Kakuk, owner of OC Pole Fitness, and manager of the amazing Felix Cane.  She recently started a website called www.PoleAndAerial.com, a site that produces instructional videos for pole and aerial enthusiasts.  She very kindly hooked me up with a free membership so that I could take advantage of all areas of their website and provide a review to all of you, my loyal blog readers!  I was very excited to watch ALL of the videos for my review.  Then the job-situation happened.  The day I got back from Pole Expo in Las Vegas, my former boss told me I should start looking for a new job.  I found a new job quickly but am now commuting into San Francisco every day.  It has left me very tired and with a lot less time for fun and exercise.  I have spent some time on the site (and know Bel from Twirly Girls has spent a lot of time there herself), so I feel comfortable still giving you a review of my findings.

PoleAndAerial.com offers instruction from some of the top pro pole dancers around the world: Felix Cane, Jenyne Butterfly, Marlo Fisken, Mai Sato, Brandon Pereyda, and Erika Labansat.  This month, they are featuring videos from guest instructor, Michelle Stanek, USPDF's most recent champion. 

I love that the videos are broken down between various levels of difficulty: beginning, intermediate, advanced and extreme.  I also love that they offer the same tricks taught by various instructors and even offer instruction in Spanish.  It is good to watch the various techniques, since each instructor has their own way of teaching.  The video genres are also broken down into pole, hoop, silks, floor work, strength and flexibility.  There are sub-genres that can help you further pinpoint what you are looking for. 

The terminology used is associated with the terms defined by the PFA (Pole Fitness Association). While I don't have a problem with their terms, I recognize that there are so many different terms used around the world for the same moves.  I would be nice to see more "aka's" included when you search videos for a certain move. 

I would also love to see a series of modified moves for those of us who may not be strong enough to do certain moves, may be taller or curvier than the average pro instructor, or may be recovering from injuries or dealing with chronic pain or health problems (for example, those with high blood pressure might not be able to invert but would love to have a lot of spins and twirls to work on).  I would love to see a larger pole dancer demonstrate how someone maybe with a little more in the chest area can place their hand or arm on the pole in certain moves.  I know for myself, I can't always reach across my chest for a move such as chair.  I have to reach higher or lower because my boobs are just too big. 

I am not the biggest advocate of learning pole dance at home alone, especially once you get into the more advanced moves.  However, if there are no studios near you, I believe PoleAndAerial.com will provide you with safe and proper instruction.  Please read and watch their safety precautions. 

If you are a studio owner, I think having a subscription can help you take your classes to the next level.  If you have a laptop or iPad at your studio, you can choose a move, watch it performed by multiple pros, and then teach it to your class.  I don't think studio owners should think of a website like this as competition, but should use it as part of their lesson plan, to complement their class.  Everyone learns differently, so being able to watch the moves performed by multiple people can help it "click" in someone's brain.  Also, as a beginning pole instructor, who may be able to talk someone through a move (and spot them flawlessly), since I cannot perform the advanced tricks, I feel like PoleAndAerial.com is a tool for me to help the more advanced students not be bored in my class.

If you haven't checked out PoleAndAerial.com, please visit their website.  You can view their free videos HERE.  A 30-day pass is $29.95, or your can purchase a year for $249 (barely $21 per month -- and hey, if you're a studio, is a business expense and tax write-off!).  I look forward to continuing to use PoleAndAerial.com to help myself and my students learn the newest pole moves in the safest manner possible.  Thanks again, Collette, for allowing me to check out your site and provide this review to my blog fans!

Power of Pole: Here's Angela!

So Ange is another friend from OC Pole Fitness...we are not only pole sisters but gastric bypass sisters as well.  And I thought it was funny she found OC Pole on MySpace...OC Pole on MySpace years ago was my FIRST interaction with a pole dance studio too!

How long have you been pole dancing?

 

I just celebrated my 2 year pole-versary on November 14. I say pole fitness since my primary goal was fitness while incorporating dance. I tend to say that because I do live in Southern California where there are strip clubs all over the place and I want to make people, guys especially, understand that this is fitness first, dance second, and something I most likely will not be letting them see me do.

 

 

What first drew you to try it?

 

I had just had my gastric bypass surgery and was looking at a variety of workouts to do. I'm certified to teach Turbo Kick and Hip Hop Hustle, but I just wanted something really challenging. I also have a sculpting cert and I figured I could manage my own workouts as well as try some new things. I had originally been looking at Tribal Belly dance and several other dance type classes, ie. Flamenco and Tango.

 

A friend had called and asked me to look up a local bar/grill's live music schedule and the easiest way to do that was through Myspace. While on their page, I saw this avatar of a woman nearly upside down on a pole. So I clicked the image and there was the OC Pole Fitness Myspace Page with Collette doing the most amazing trick. Since I'd just gotten back from my Surgeon's office where he'd just told me, point-blank, "Go Work Out!" I knew I needed to find something and get going. You'd think that at 330 pounds, I'd never even consider pole, but I called that minute and signed up for my first class. That was November 14, 2009. I started that Saturday morning with Collette herself and I weighed 325 pounds my first day of class.

 

 

 

Do you have a pole at home?

 

I do. It's in my garage, currently as I'm moving in with my Fiancé and haven't moved it yet.

 

How often do you pole?

 

4-6 times a week (counting my aerial hoop class). I had a shoulder injury in July and have been off for a few months so the rotator cuff could heal. But once I move my pole, I plan to practice and attend classes again.

 

What else do you do to keep your body in shape to pole?

 

Body Bar Boot Camp, Hoop, Two Flexibility classes: All at OC Pole Fitness.

 

 

Do you like to dance in shoes or barefoot?

 

Neither. I wear ballet slippers. I wear a particular type that has the instep cut out so that I can move better, but the ball of my foot is covered and I can pivot better.

 

How do you deal with dry skin on pole days and on off-pole days?

 

I have very dry skin. So dry that if I don't oil/lotion up (even on pole days), I'm much more slippery on the pole than if I just greased the pole with lotion.

 

What is your favorite product to help you stick to the pole?

 

I use Dry Hands, but that's because I haven't tried anything else. I'd like to try a few others because I still slip with Dry Hands.

 

Where do you buy your pole clothes?

 

When I was heavy, I wore these awesome cargo shorts (long) that I used when I taught kickboxing and hip hop. Climbing wasn't going to be in my future any time soon so I went for maximum comfort.

 

Now I'm best friends with booty shorts and tiny tank tops courtesy of OC Pole Fitness. I have a deep love for their comfortable pants and long skirts. So comfy.

 

 

What is your favorite song to dance to right now?

 

Zombie by Natalie Kills. Mainly for Hoop.

 

How do you feel like pole has improved or changed your life?

 

I lost 210 pounds so that was an improvement. But what pole really did was allow me to grow into my weight loss with grace and humor. Because of the movements in Pole, I never had that "melting sludge body". My surgeon was captivated by the fact that I not only lost evenly, but with much less skin issues than he'd ever seen in a 200 pound weight loss. He was also ecstatic over the fact that I developed great musculature and reset my metabolism. All because of the dynamics of pole and the fact that it is a total body workout as opposed to cardio. As pole requires a lot of weight bearing and because an individual becomes so caught up in pushing themselves to achieve their target (trick, move or transition), you get amazing definition and pretty rapidly, too. I like to say it's the hardest workout you'll ever love. I've gotten a couple of my friends turned on to Pole and it's been wonderful watching them blossom and drop pounds while gaining confidence and cultivating a feminine sexiness.

Power of Pole: This is Annette!

I first heard Annette's story when I was at OC Pole Fitness' open house in September.  It was awesome so I asked her to tell us about it!

How long have you been pole dancing? 
I have been pole dancing since February of this year.

What first drew you to try it?
I was first drawn to it when I saw the owner of OC Pole Fitness, Collette Kakuk out somewhere (I still don’t remember specifics), but she was wearing her OCPF hoodie and I was intrigued. That same week I got a Living Social/Groupon email with a coupon to try out 5 classes at OC Pole Fitness. I thought this was the perfect opportunity. It took me a while to go in the first time and my coupons were about to expire. I wanted to try to lose some weight before I went because I was embarrassed. I finally went for my Intro to Pole Workshop with Collette (which was absolutely amazing) and I was hooked…I knew this was something I had to do! Around that time, they opened up a new program which was a Pole New You 90-Day challenge…I signed up and began my journey.

Where do you take classes?
I take classes at OC Pole Fitness – I try to attend both locations because all of the instructors are so amazing I need to get my fix of all of them.

Do you have a pole at home?
Yes I do have a pole at home, but it doesn’t get as much time as it should LOL

How often do you pole?
I attend classes about 3-5 times per week, including flexibility classes, bodybar/bootcamp classes as well as aerial yoga hammock and cardio cabaret.

I heard you lost a significant amount of weight...tell me about that!
Yes I did LOL! I have lost about 40lbs since starting my workouts at OC Pole Fitness. The program is absolutely amazing, it keeps me so motivated. My body has transformed day after day since starting. Not a week goes by that I don’t notice SOME change in my body. My abilities on the pole are far beyond what I ever expected and the strength and flexibility I have gained are the best I have ever achieved….and I’m only just beginning!!!

What else do you do to keep your body in shape to pole?
I combine the classes at OC Pole Fitness mainly and really try to take full advantage of the array of classes and the great program structure they have built. I will do some stuff at home on occasion, but a lot of it are skills I have learned in class or just simply running around with my 2 pups and fiancé.

Do you like to dance in shoes or barefoot?
I love both. It totally depends on my mood and the song. I really love wearing heels because they really help make me feel feminine and I can do a lot more floor work with heels on without damaging my feet or pedicure. hehe I love the look of barefoot dancing though too…its so simple and pure and really helps to show the accentuation of pointed toes, etc.

How do you deal with dry skin on pole days and on off-pole days?
I actually don’t have dry skin issues…my big issue is that I get sweaty skin when I dance. This sometimes causes problems for me during my free dances and makes me worry during a performance when they come up. I wish I knew a better solution. :/ I do tend to keep my skin moisturized as I know it does help.

What is your favorite product to help you stick to the pole?
Right now I am actually playing around with a few different products. I like using Dry Hands for my hands and sometimes other parts of my body which does help with the sweating a little. I have also tested out some other more tacky products such as iTac2 and Tite Grip which are great for learning the more advanced tricks that don’t require spinning and while building up my strength. I also love the tackier products for spinning pole. 

Where do you buy your pole clothes?
I buy a lot of my pole clothes directly through OC Pole Fitness – they have a great boutique with a really fun selection of products. I love the Bad Kitty Pole Fit collection as well as a lot of the cute Leg Avenue products.

What is your favorite song to dance to right now?
Wow there are so many…but my ultimate favorite right now I would say is Nero-Guilt. Something about that song just really gets me going. I love dancing to dubstep…it is my fav!!!

How do you feel like pole has improved or changed your life?

Pole has both changed and improved my life in so many ways. I am so much more confident now than I was before I started pole and I am constantly learning something new to add to my little piggy bank of moves. I love the constant progression and noticeable changes in my skills day to day. My fiancé also loves that we have a pole at home. LOL He’s even taken a few classes with me and built up some pretty amazing skills! 

Poletry in Motion: OC Pole Fitness - Aliso Viejo!

Although Rita and I were staying in Long Beach, we drove down to Aliso Viejo (Orange County) to take a class with Collette at OC Pole Fitness before driving home on Monday.  I understand they have a Huntington Beach location, which would have been closer (and I think they are building a new one -- to be opened soon!), but we really wanted to see Collette.  

As I said in the blog about OC Pole's Open House on Saturday, I really expected the people at the studio to resemble Real OC Housewives or whatever that reality TV show is -- blonde, plastic, mean, fake.  I didn't find that at all.  I guess I shouldn't believe everything I see on TV.  Collette is the anti-OC reality TV soccer mom.  Not that she wouldn't embrace them if they walked through their doors, but she has dark hair and there is nothing fake or plastic about her.  She is also so supportive of her girls.  It was really touching to see that other pole studios ARE families -- just like Twirly Girls!

OC Pole offers a GREAT program that is called A Pole New You.  It not only encourages the ladies to work out regularly but gives them the support that they need to succeed.  Check out this success story on YouTube. 

Anyway, back to our experience at the studio.  Rita and I arrived pretty early (we are never sure how traffic is going to be), so we sat in the aerial silks room and stretched and chatted with the office manager, Shavonne.  When Collette arrived, we formally introduced ourselves (we had attended the open house, of course, but it had been packed and Collette was busy, so we didn't introduce ourselves then).  We chatted for a few minutes, then walked into the studio.  There are mirrors in the front and along one side of the studio.  There is a small stage with three poles, then another five poles on the main floor.  There are heavy curtains along the window, so no one can peek in.  There is also a big, overstuffed chair (probably for chair dance class!), which I used as a towel rest.  It's a very warm and welcoming studio.  Most of the rest of the ladies in class claimed to be in their 40's, but you couldn't tell -- they all looked young and beautiful.  They were all friendly.

Collette turned the lights down, turned some music on and we got to the warm-up.  Collette's warm-up was extremely sensual.  She closed her eyes, moved so very slowly and smiled and mouthed the words to the song as she warmed us up.  It is hard to describe the warm-up.  I would like to say that I was warming up but I was mostly watching Collette.  She was so beautiful to watch.  Every move was sexy and with a purpose.  I mean, even her ab circles were sexy!  We probably warmed up for two to three songs.

Once we got up to actually get on the pole, we had a full house, so Collette would demonstrate on someone's pole then would walk around as each of us practiced the move.  Again, Rita and I were probably way out of our league.  We weren't as advanced as most of the girls, but we still really enjoyed the class.  I did my first spinning/floating angel, where I climbed on the pole and brought my body through on one side.  It only lasted a quarter of a second, but it was something new for me! 

Again, I loved that everyone watched each other and clapped and cheered when someone accomplished something new.  After we were done with pole, we went down to the floor for some killer ab sets.  I'm still sore!  

We sat around after class and chatted with Collette a little more.  She and Bel have spoken in the past, so it was fun to meet someone in person on behalf of Bel and Twirly Girls.  As proper pole dance ambassadors, we brought Twirly Girls shirts to share, and they gave us one for Bel (I'll give it to her tonight so we'll have photos to share tomorrow).  

I was so impressed with Collette -- as a mother and a business person.  She has two beautiful daughters (who attended the open house and looked adorable in their tutus) and her studios, plus she manages Felix Cane and is involved with the Pole Fitness Association.  I can't even imagine how crazy her life is, but I'm really glad we got to meet her.

OC Pole was a really nice studio and I would suggest a visit if you are in Southern California!

OC Pole Fitness Open House

Saturday after our class at BeSpun, we drove to Orange County for the 80's themed open house at OC Pole Fitness.  It was like crossing into the promise land.  Most things in Los Angeles seem to have a slight tinge of grey...and the OC is all painted in gold.

OC Pole Fitness had an open house at their Aliso Viejo location.  We had an awesome adventure driving over -- learning much about driving on toll roads (next time, we will bring Fastrak!).  (P.S. Non-OC drivers...always have change so you aren't standing at a bucket trying to dig out quarters so you can pay $2.50 to drive one mile on a toll road through the canyon.)  The studio is in a strip mall.  When you walk in, there is a reception area, with silks in one room on the right and the pole studio in the back and to the left with a door for privacy.  It is a BEAUTIFUL studio.

We watched the teacher showcase, student showcase, lyra, hoop, silks and silk hammock demonstrations.  I was absolutely amazed and inspired by these performers.  I saw curvy ladies absolutely ROCK their performances -- proving that you don't have to be a size two to do aerial arts.  I saw THREE generations of pole dancers stand for photos.  I met a bunch of super friendly women who, like the Twirly Girls, are so supportive of each other.  I loved that OC Pole's owner, Collette, cheered and clapped and called out to each dancer as they rocked their difficult moves.  It really felt like a family and it made me feel like I was home. 

I will talk more about OC Pole with my Poletry in Motion post (we took a class on Monday before we came home), but I have always heard that The OC is filled with fake blondes with big boobs and no brains.  And there was none of that there.  There were larger ladies, smaller ladies.  Blondes.  Brunettes.  All kinds of body shapes and personalities.  There was no cookie cutter perfect woman.  I loved it.

I saw a lot of ladies that I'd love to interview for this blog.  If any read this and are interested in participating, please let me know!  :-)

Here are videos from their performances:

Collette's solo:



Aerial silks:



Burlesque:



Felicia:



Hoops:



Lyra:



Poi:



Silk Hammocks (unfortunately, the audio was disabled due to copyright issues):



Student Showcase:









Weight loss success story:



Zumba: