When I Saw My Pole Style
Like a lot of newbies, when I first started poling I didn't know too much about pole celebrities for a good 18 months or so.
I'd watch YouTube, read articles and the like, but I didn't know names, didn't recognise faces, know who was from what country, who did what style.
I was a blank slate really.
Then I attended Pole Festival 2014 and the line up was awesome, I know this in hindsight. At the time I didn't realise the caliber of the teachers, to me they seemed nice, did lots of talking, hung out with us students, and it was nice and relaxed.
I thought Jedda was cool, exotic looking, really sweet, and a great teacher from the very beginning (and I know a thing or two about great teachers). I had three workshops with her, and each one taught me so much more than I thought it would.
On the Saturday night, the instructors held a performance night at a local club. After teaching 9 x one hour workshops that day, these amazing women then performed their hearts out for us participants.
A throw down was announced, it came from Jedda I found out afterwards, that all performers needed to add a Slut-Drop-And-Bless-Yourself move to their choreo. The move was briefly explained, and demonstrated, and we waited.
Jedda came out and performed to Roger Rabbit's Why Don't You Do Right, and I thought "Oh, that was cool, classy, sexy. Yeah well done"...
And. Then. The. Beat. Changed!
Beyonce's Partition.
Jedda just kept going. She was just EXPLOSIVE!
She did the throw down almost at the start of Partition.
The audience, well we just screamed!
I'd never seen anyone change up their pole dance like that before. It was mind blowing, it was magic to me! Jedda danced for 6 minutes all up. And that was when a switch in my brain said,
"Yes! Yes! THAT’S how I want to dance!"
I saw her do my style! Well she revealed to me the style I wanted to make mine one day. And I still do. I still work on it. I'm not there, and I probably never will be - certainly not to her level, but the journey and the experiences along the way are definitely fun ones.
You know, I'm still blown away by that performance!
Whenever I watch it I know the exact moment when Jedda showed me the pole dancer I want to be... and yes it was at the Slut-Drop-And-Bless-Yourself moment. The hairs on my forearm stand up, my heart beats faster even!
I'm forever grateful to her for that, and because of it she will always be one of my most favourite pole people in the world. She showed me, the me I want to be as a pole dancer.
I'm lucky that Jedda is guest instructing at my studio this term and I am learning as much as I can from her. I'm recording everything and trying hard not to be too creeper like.
Even though her style has evolved and progressed from that point in 2014, as it should and she is damn good at what she does now. Every now and then that old style appears and I'm like, "Oh, hello you there. I remember you!"
And I'm taken back to that moment and I still get that adrenaline rush.
