10 tips for making your first pole dance performance a great one

It's your first time planning choreography. Suddenly every song on your spotify playlist sucks, you're frantically scribbling down all the moves you know, and you have no idea how to transition from your back hook but you really want to keep it in. Sound familiar?

Every pole dancer who competed or performed has been there, so don't worry, you're not alone. Even pole goddesses like Kitty Velour or Sarah Scott were probably sitting down at one point scratching their heads over a routine, costume design, or coming up with a theme.

So I went right ahead and compiled a list of all the best tips and tricks that I know, as well as interviewing some bad ass pole dancers and instructors to share their wisdom with you.

1. Be cohesive

A great routine is a well planned routine, but I'm not just talking about smooth transitions and impressive tricks. Themes in routines are important, they tell a story and make the whole thing captivating. If you're aiming for a sad and emotional performance, you could opt for darker costume colours and a touching song. Maybe don't go serving a contemporary sad lewk while Fergalicious plays in the background. Be super creative ( see: Tiff Finney's cow performance) or keep it as simple as you like, but try and find a common theme between your make up, outfit, the song, and your dance style. Incorporate some appropriate facial expressions and maybe even some props if it feels right, and you have yourself a cohesive performance!

Gallery: My outfits from some themed performances. Photography: Rich Sayles Photography.

2. Dress rehearsal

Always rehearse your routine in full costume. You never know if that gorgeous hairstyle will fall out as soon as you do a dynamic spin and get in your way, or if that beautiful flowy dancing skirt will end up tripping you up and stop you from climbing. When planning your performance outfit keep in mind what grip you will be using so that your clothes don't get in the way of your tricks. The last thing you want to do is buy a brand new pole set and find out you can't perform in it. In my first ever competition performance I insisted on wearing a dance skirt only to take it off less than a minute in, so I also recommend to really consider the necessity of costume elements too.

3. Practise, practise, practise

Practise at your studio, at home (if you don't have a pole just gesticulate wildly while you go through it in your head, we've all done that), write down the routine, and listen to your performance song on repeat. Emily, a pole dance instructor at Off The Ground pole dance studio in Sheffield, says: "I practice my routines to death. TO. DEATH. Until I'm sick of them! I know everyone's different, but I need to be able to really internalise my routines before I can feel them and perform them. Remember to film your routine and get people to watch and give you feedback. Off the Ground and the UoS Pole Fitness Society is such a great support network and source for advice if you get stuck! And remember, there's a big difference between 'I can do a leg hang' and 'I can't mess up my leg hang'. I would always encourage people to start with moves they are 100% comfortable in and can't mess up!"

5. Give them attitude

So you have a killer routine, but are you serving face? Gemma Rose, instructor at Off The Ground pole dance with six competitions under her belt, says: "Connecting with the audience is the most important element of any performance. You want to make them feel something. If it's an upbeat sexy routine, throw out a cheeky smile. If it's a horror themed routine, try wide eyes and leering stares. Attitude and face is key. Try to vary your facial expressions to keep audience engaged. Try not to close your eyes too much or look away, instead take any and every opportunity to make eye contact with audience members or judges. This is a shared experience, so try and make someone feel special by interacting visually with them. I guarantee they'll remember your performance and love you for it! If the 'staring deep into someone's soul' is too intense and scary, look in-between someone's eyes or their forehead!"

Pictured: Gemma Rose competing at Varsity in 2018. Photographer: Rich Sayles Photography.

6. Keep calm and carry on

Lauren Brannon, an instructor at Polefire Studio in Salford, who most recently placed 3rd in the instructor category at Heir To The Chrome, says: "Learn to carry on even if you mess up. It's something I've always been told when rehearsing, there IS a chance something might not go exactly how you'd planned on the day. It's really beneficial to do full rehearsals where you just carry on if you mess up (obviously as long as you've not hurt or injured yourself) rather than stopping and starting again. It prepares you just in case things go slightly differently on the night, for the same reason it's useful to have a back up plan for any tricks that you think could go wrong on the day. Even if you never need it, you'll feel better knowing it's not the end of the world if you don't feel able to nail the trick you originally planned to do. Lastly, don't rush, point your feet and don't wipe your hands on your shorts as tempting as it might be!"

Pictured: Lauren Brannon competing at Heir To The Chrome in 2019. Photographer: denyerpro.

7. Be yourself

Em Short, an instructor at Cherry Dance Academy in Newcastle, says: "My biggest piece of advice for any first time performer is bring something new to the table and give the judges and audience an authentic taste of you and your style. Play to your strengths and deliver what you do best whether that be aggressive Russian hard style, silky serpentine flow, or classic old school charm. Your biggest advantage in any competition is that there is only one you, that's your super power so use it! Why try to replicate what others are doing when you can create a masterpiece around your specific skillset. Comparing yourself to others is selling yourself short. Know and embrace your very own bad-ass-ness and own every minute of it!"

8. Charles Philphot, pole dance instructor at Off The Ground and aerialist, says: "Performing for the first time in front of friends and family is scary, we’ve all been there and still made it out alive! 'How?' you may ask? Well, a few tips I’ve learned along the way about competing and performing have made me much more confident with my performance and might help you too! Do routine specific conditioning every time you train. If you need to do an aerial invert in your routine, make sure you can do five on each side without fail. Performing is very tiring and without sufficient conditioning you might miss key moves if you haven’t trained them enough before. Finish your routine two weeks before the performance. Not only does this avoid last-minute panic choreography, but gives you time to run the whole thing through multiple times and embed your routine into your muscle memory."

Pictured: Charles Philphot performing at Cloud Stockport Pole and Hoop Competition in 2019. Photography: Darren Turner.

9. Don't tire yourself out

Pole dancing is hard work, when you think about it a performance routine is basically three minutes of a non-stop hardcore cardio, stamina and strength work out. That's why it's important to think about the order of your tricks. It's best to put your high intensity tricks and spins first, instead of going for a dynamic spin when you're already out of breath. Bronte, who has been poling for 4 years, says: "Be realistic in terms of your choreographing. Put in moves that you’re comfortable with and you know won’t be a struggle for you, especially at the end of your routine when you’ll be super tired! I find that planning my tricks like this makes it easier for me to enjoy myself during the performance and focus on things like serving good face and making pretty lines."

Pictured: Bronte performing at the Off The Ground Halloween Showcase. Photography: Rich Sayles Photography.

10. Transitions between poles

The devil is in the details! It’s really important to make your transitions between poles just as exciting as the rest of your routine. You don’t want to bang out an impressive combo and then awkwardly get up and walk across to the spin pole, you want to glide or roll or cartwheel over there! There are multiple ways you can move across the stage. You can use your floor work skills and slink, slide, and flop around until you’re on the other side. You can be acrobatic and pirouette, flip, or walkover to the other pole. If you’re flexible, try some splits and bridges to break up the empty space. Or simply put some meaning and power into your step. There’s nothing wrong with walking if you incorporate it well. Add some appropriate hand motions, a little spin around, fancy leg movements, a dramatic pause, a pose and lots of eye contact. Maybe even point at someone if it makes sense for your routine or smile and blow kisses as you strut your stuff. Always keep in mind how big your stage is, where the spin and static poles are, and what the flooring is like when you’re performing. This will ensure a smooth transition.

And most importantly, have fun! Your performance will go by so fast it'll be over before you know it, and hopefully the adrenaline will have you hooked on performing and competing in the future. Good luck!