Pole Dancing Final Results part 2

I woke up on Sat, Nov 29th (the day after the competition) with a pain in my muscles…my shoulder, my back, my neck……and all these bruises had appeared along my lower legs and thighs.  I also had this strange looking scratch on my arm!  

Just to clear things up…I’ve been training for this pole dancing competition for the past 2 months…which is only 3 to 4 months after I started pole dancing!  Frankly, I was not really ready to compete….I had lack of confidence since most people have at least had a year of experience.  My teacher, Anya reminded me that I actually have a life of experience with my background in Rhythmic Gymnastics, jazz, tap, ballet, and some kung fu….I guess it was my training to become a pole dancer..hahaha

So, the competition was down to 10 finalists.  They had a competition a few weeks ago for the people of Manila and those 3 contestants competed with us.  We got into the competition by sending in a video of our routine into the competition and getting the ok.  There were supposed to be 15 girls competing but, in the end,  5 people dropped out because of injuries!!!  Melodie and I were also a bit injured..but, not too serious, I think…The countries included…Japan, Hong Kong, Manila, U.S.A., Moldova, and Belarus.  We were placed in alphabetical order by the last name…so, I was obviously last to go!!!  Unfortunately, a rule that I have since competing in Rhythmic Gymnastics is not to watch until I’m done…so, besides Melodie (because she is my friend and I was nervous for her and wanted to support her) I didn’t watch anybody else.  From what Melodie said, all of the girls were really good.  

So, for this competition we each did one routine and the judges placed us into 3 categories…pole fitness (a more acrobatic approach to pole dancing and less dance like), pole dance (this has more dance moves put together with the tricks but not as difficult acrobatically), and pole art (which combines everything from music, costume, flow of the dance w/ the acrobatic..the more original the better)

I am proud to announce….drum roll please…..that I came in 2nd place for pole dance ad 1st place for pole art!!!  Yay!!! Can you believe that?  I didn’t even know you could win in 2 categories!!!  I was so shocked that everything seriously seemed like a dream to me….I knew that the winners would have to perform again at the end…and I was sort of not wanting to win because I was too tired to do it again…hahaha..but, the final dance turned out to be my best performance because it was without the pressure.

So, there you have it….I have gained yet another competition experience in my life…..and I hope to God that it is the last!!!  I made some really nice friends and had a great experience!  

Ah, finally….my back really needs some rest now.  It’s still not really 100% and I’m scared that I could damage it even more…so, after these next 2 weeks of teaching…and the performance that I have to do tonight in Shenzhen….I’m going to really rest when I go for vacation in the U.S…..got to heal!  

Yes, there is going to be a DVD of the competition….once it is edited, I will post my peformance….