Tap Dancing Elephants

Saturday April 28th was the final for the Pole Candy Semi Pro Championship 2012, and can I tell you up until Friday night I was doing pretty fine nerves wise, then a heard of tap dancing elephants took up residence in my stomach.

On Saturday my morning started by forcing myself to eat a small bowl of cereal (those damn elephants take up a lot of room) then headed to a cupcake decorating class with my mum, her early mothers day present, it was heaps of fun we learnt how to pipe icing properly, how to use fondant, and most importantly it took my mind off my nerves for about 2 and a half hours :).

After that was over we headed to Westfield's for some final Pole Candy shopping, lipstick, eyelashes and shaving cream etc, we were also both covered in corn flour which was highly attractive. This is when my nerves hit in full force, I tried to eat some lunch, yep that wasn't happening, and then there was the random groaning and grabbing of my stomach while my poor mother kept asking what was wrong. 

When I got home I did my hair and packed up all the things that I would need for the night into my suitcase (yes I said suitcase, I have a lot of stuff and I tend to overpack), checking things off the list I had made in my head, which I probably should have written down. By this stage the Elephants had broken into a full scale production that would have given Michael Flatley Lord of the Dance a run for his money! Mum saved the day and produced a bottle of Rescue Remedy for me, seven drops under the tongue and about 30 mins later the Elephants had called an intermission.

I decided to head over to the Roxy early so I could have a play on the poles so that I could make sure that I could do all my tricks on a thicker pole. The poles were 45mm Brass X-Poles, I've never danced on poles this thick before and was a bit worried but there wasn't a noticeable difference which was great.

The Roxy Theatre in Parramatta is BEAUTIFUL!!! I fell in love with the venue as soon as I walked in, it has that really old theatre kind of feel to it, tiered seating and a beautiful ceiling. The stage was about 2 meters high which was perfect because it meant that no one would miss seeing any floor work done by any of the competitors.

Inside the Roxy Theatre during rehearsals


I decided not to run through my routine in full, just practice the tricks that I was worried about, they all went great and I was really happy and excited about performing that night. Unfortunately for me there was a long wait before I was on so I decided to go for a walk get something to eat and force myself to eat it.

Tap Dancing Elephant intermission over...

After putting on my makeup it was a long wait till my turn (at about 10pm) most of this time I spent pacing from the dressing room up the stairs to the Dressing room occupied by the Suzie Q teachers and guest performers where it was a bit warmer, chatting to last years winner Bailey Hart, Daisy, Candice, Carlie Hunter and Chelle Hafner, I even went and sat back stage for a bit and watched a few of the performances from back there, which was cool, you couldn't see everything that the person on stage was doing but still get a feel for their routine while not getting to pysched out.

I need to say a bit thank you to Carlie Hunter, we sat backstage and chatted for ages which was fantastic cause not only is she a cool chick and we had a few good laughs but it was a great way to take my nerves so THANK CARLIE!!!

I got into my costume during intermission and not long after Luxe took all the girls in the second half up stage (she also went and collected my baseball bat for me after I got half way up the stairs and realised I'd forgotten it!!).

My Shoes! Glitter Heels in Pink Diamond
Photo by Liz Machan Photography

I was on last and by this stage a little tired but itching to get on stage! but it was finally my turn to get on stage and do my thing. Everything started really well, the one move I was worried about, the dead lift, was great I nailed it so I was pretty happy and fired up for the rest of my routine. Then I got on the spinning pole and a things went a little pear shaped, I didn't get high enough for my combo and then slipped a bit on the pole and my batwing was a massive fail :( i got into it fine but was so low on the pole my bottom leg ended up on the floor, BALLS. I also had to change a bit of my last combo as well because the pole was a bit slippery which meant that my timing was off for the end of my routine and i couldn't hold my iron x at all. 

But these things happen. The one thing I think is the suckiest about pole dancing is that for a comp/performance there is always that one element that you can't control. The pole, until you get on stage and get on it you don't know how it's going to be, super spinny, slippery or sticky. Which is why I usually  have back ups for some of the bigger combos that I'm worried about so that I know if I'm to slippery I have an alternative, but that's not really necessary either, most of us have enough tricks under our belt to just freestyle and pick up our routines at another spot (which is why I think it's really important to listen to your music a lot so you know it well).

Anyway I came off stage pretty disappointed, because I knew I could have done it better and upset cause I really really wanted to nail that Batwing, I've done it so many times before, to stuff it up on stage was a major let down. Other than that and my last combo I can't really complain, the rest of my routine was great my costume looked awesome (well in my opinion it did).

All in all it was a great night and a fantastically run competition. Suzie and Charlee, you are amazing, Pole Candy is such an amazing competition and you run it so well, it was an honour to be apart of it again !! Also a need to thank Luxe and Bailey for looking after us backstage and Toby for making sure that our music was queued properly and that our props were looked after. And the pole monkeys for cleaning and sticking up the poles for us.


The Winners:

1st Place - Sam - Vertica
2nd Place - Masayo - NT
Sponsors Choice - Thom - SQPS

Billie
xx



Here are a couple of photos from the night, I'll post more when I get them :)

Beginning of my routine
Photo by Tim Smith (and hijacked by me from Facebook)



and again.
Photo by Justin Tran Photography





Comments

  1. I love this post, it's so interesting to have an insight into what goes on in a competitor's head! I've been stalking FB for pics of you in the costume underneath, still waiting! :P

    I'm forcing myself to go in the Pole Now Eisteddfod next week just for fun since I've been putting off going in an Amateur Night for so long... argh nervous already!

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