Pole Private Lessons Vs. Group Classes

Some people like private lessons,

others only like group classes,

some like a mix of both,

and some haven't tried private lessons.

I personally like private or semi-private lessons,

and I prefer to teach them too.

Private lessons allow the teacher to focus on you and your strengths.

Sometimes I have a class of girls and some want to learn a really flexible trick,

while others want to learn a strong trick.

Some girls in my class don't have the flexibility yet to get into some tricks,

and some of my girls need to work on their strength to get the strength tricks.

I do my best as an instructor to teach both students what they want,

but in essence, I feel like your time and money isn't being spent as well.

When I am teaching a private lesson I can work on a specific trick or combo for you and YOUR body.

I will always tell my girls to work on BOTH their flexibility and strength in unison,

but all in all group classes can sometimes not be as beneficial for the student. 

Especially depending on your goals:

Do you WANT to compete? Do you want to improve at a faster rate?

Or perhaps you have time constraints:

Do you only have time for one class a week?

 I especially love private lessons when my student returns. 

This I think is the very best way to have pole progression with an instructor.

I can have you repeat exercises to improve them, we can work on perfecting our transitions and tricks, and all in all we have a better relationship so I know how to teach and respond to you well!

When it comes to things like Pole Expo or studio workshops, 

I only pay for private lessons.

They seem more costly, but if I'm going to spend money on a workshop, I may as well spend a little more to get more from the teacher that may just be visiting that ONE time!

We all learn at different levels and have different needs. 

Some are more flexible or more strong,

and private lessons allow you to enhance your strengths and work on your individual weaknesses more.

I think if I am going to pay for an instructor I want to get the most out of them I possibly can :D

Don't get me wrong.

I love to teach my group classes.

I love teaching.

I think you can learn a lot from classes and they are cheaper.

There also are a lot of perks to group classes: friends, observing other students, more support from others. 

I'm not saying you should eliminate group classes entirely. 

Just my thoughts on why I like private lessons more.

 I think if you want to progress and make your money worth it, take a private with a teacher you trust and respect and who will teach you SAFELY and SMART.

Those are things you will come to understand or see over time. (Sometimes feeling safe is just inherent and doesn't need to be learned though. Don't ever be afraid to tell your instructor you don't feel safe or you need extra spotting, or maybe even that trick just isn't for you at the moment.)

Also, ASK. Ask others who may have taken a private with an instructor and see what their experience was. 

If you have a pole star coming into town, send out a FB message asking about that instructor or make a status asking who has taken their workshops before and send a private message to talk to them.

I am not going to lie, there are a couple instructors I wish I had asked about before I paid $100+ for a private lesson or workshop with. 

I hope people in the future ask me what kind of instructor ____ was and I will tell them honestly what I thought about their teaching style, use of time, and how safe I felt. 

Essentially,

spend your money wisely. 

Think about your goals and what you want.

Ask about instructors.

Try private lessons.

Have fun! 

Love yourself.

I could go on forever from here ;) 

<3 

xoxox 

Lindsay Lithe

"History of Pole: Told by the Stars"

Coming soon!!

I have always been fascinated by how pole as we know it started, how it evolved, who were the first studio owners?
How did they teach?
What were the difficult tricks?
What was the attire?
How has pole changed?
Have my idols won their first competitions?
How long have the pole stars been at it?
What age did they start?
Etc Etc etc!!

So... I ASKED!!

Soon I will be sharing a series of blog entries that are answers to the questions above and much more told and quoted by mine and your idols!!


So far I will be sharing stories by:
Jamilla Deville
Felix Cane
Cleo the Hurricane
Sergia Louise
Karol Helms
And so many more!!!

Why Classes and Privates Aren't Cheap

As someone who is a part of an AMAZING pole studio and someone who has asked tons of people about the details of what it's like to run a studio, I am still only getting the surface of what it really takes to be a studio owner myself.

I would like to someday be one, and I intend to, but from what I am told repeatedly is that it's:

1) exhausting, and 

2) not lucrative. 

These are the main statements I get from studio owners past and present. And not even just pole studios but dance studios of many kinds. 

As an instructor though, I do know the effort and time and soul that I put into my classes and privates and that's why I am hurt when people are so shocked when they find out how much classes and private lessons cost and act like it's absurd.

Don't get me wrong, I understand it seems like a lot for an hour. I can't even afford a latte without feeling like a guilty spender I am so broke at the moment, 

but I also know how much goes into those "only one-hour?" classes and privates.

Since I started teaching I have had the same drive to give each and every student the most I possibly can in that one hour. 

As my knowledge has grown, I try to educate and help each student even MORE than ever!

For each class I take the time and focus in my own personal life how to find new warm-up routines, new stretches, new patterns of stretching, strength techniques, etc so that each student can get the most out of it.

As for classes, I try my best to find challenging yet attainable goals and tricks or at least building blocks of tricks that still make students feel successful.

All of these are not easy when there are so many varying levels of body awareness, strength, flexibility, personal goals, etc. 

I work hard to make sure everyone can get something out of everything though because I know that $20 a class is a lot of money to each person. 

As for privates,

a lot of people think that privates are WAY over priced, and yes they are expensive,

but the effort that goes into teaching privates is quite intense.

After private lessons I am often too tired to train myself, or at least as much as I would like to.

Private lessons are not just watching a student do a trick you showed them once, 

but it takes a lot of time to find diction the student understands, learn their flexibility, their pole knowledge, go through each step of each trick, do the trick yourself again and again so they can see it, and try and do it as clean and as perfect as possible because if they are going to pay you, they wanna see it done the best!

It's mentally exhausting trying to say it the best way each time as well. 

I think many think "wow $60 for an hour private is a lot," but I like to compare it to therapists and body workers. They often make around $80 at least an hour for a session for listening and talking or doing their body-work practice, and we accept these prices because they went to school for this knowledge. 

My reality is that I went to a 4-year university and plan on going back to grad school to be a therapist and I am telling you, in the two years of pole dancing I have learned and put more time into that than anything else. 

The time training, the injuries, the classes I paid to learn, the money I spent traveling to learn from people in other countries, the money for workshops, the money it cost me to pay for my poles - all of this to me is school that I don't get a paper degree for. 

All of this and more is why a private is expensive. I did go to school and I did learn all of this and I did earn the ability to teach and that's why it costs a certain amount more than we might like for private lessons. 

I also always tell my students that taking a private is like taking three classes in one hour since it's so condensed because you are my only focus. 

Unfortunately I have been a part of private lessons where I didn't feel I got my money's worth, but sometimes I definitely did and I would keep giving my business to that person.

I trained with Tristan Brinkkotter from Australia and she told me that she doesn't even give a price to students, she simply tells them to pay her what they feel the private was worth. I thought that was pretty BA :)

Don't misunderstand,

I LOVE teaching and I LOVE private lessons,

If I could that's all I would do for the rest of my life alongside my own training,

and I just want everyone to understand that as pole instructors, we LOVE you, we WANT you to get all of your goals, we want you to be fit, and healthy, and happy, and proud, and confident, and safe, and all of that takes effort on our part as well as yours :) 

<3 <3 <3

Don't Ever Let Anyone Tell You What Kind of Poler You Are

When I started pole I knew one thing,
I liked tricks.
When I was teaching myself at home using YouTube videos I always saw "insert trick name here Tutorial."
I learned spins and I taught myself tricks and this was what I knew.
Over time I became known as the trickster and I identified with that name.
As more and more time went on I started being told in various ways by various people that I "wasn't a dancer" or "I need to work on my dance" or "you obviously hate the floor/floorwork"
I started to believe this and make it my reality.
I said things like "I HATE floorwork" "God why can't I just WALK to the other pole?"
It got to a point where I took an opportunity to perform in front of hundreds of people I know and love and I just wanted to use it to "own up" to "my style" as just a trickster who didn't like or know dance.
In March I performed at Elevated Art and the moment I saw the video I had a huge smack of a revelation.
"This actually isn't me" is what came through my mind.
I did a freestyle this July and it was to a song I could ACTUALLY dance to unlike my last performance (that song was picked subconsciously I'm sure so that I couldn't dance to it) and it looks like a different person performing.
I have advanced and improved and worked on learning new floorwork and flow but the reality is that it was inside of me all along to move more like I do in this video:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nVf8Lcd51nE&list=UUOzr4ir6Fx6L3PvRh6_79Aw


My point is don't just be the kind of pole dancer or performer that people tell you that you are. They may be right or people may accurately point out/highlight your strengths but we are never just one thing.
-You change constantly
-You are always learning new things and learn new ways to move your body and be aware of it
-Your song/mood/audience/etc changes the way your body moves
-Your experiences change the way you move
-Just because you have a certain background doesn't mean that is the only thing you can be (gymnast, ballerina, industry worker, etc)
-Try to find you and don't pigeonhole yourself because so much more can be unveiled and learned and changed

Many pole dancers have their style and it's present in their movement and walk and performances and I believe that we have our own notable styles but our poling is never the same :)

<3
Love you all

Pole Trick: The Phoenix

I heard about this move a long time ago because a teacher at my studio had been struggling to get it for years.
The first time I saw this move in action was when the gorgeous Sergia Louis Anderson did it in her winning performance at the 2013 U.S. National Pole Competition.

Link>>> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X9rSUud8PmQ (2:10 she does it, but I recommend watching the whole performance because she is just flawless).

Watching my friends struggle with this move who were more experienced than me I figured I wasn't even going to try it for awhile until I felt I was advanced and strong enough.

Then I wanted to get it.
I went to the UK to train with Sarah Scott (check out this beauty if you haven't: https://www.facebook.com/sarahscottperformer) and I injured my wrist the first day but she gave me numerous fabulous tips and preps for it and I wanted to badly to start training it.
Due to a few other injuries it wasn't until about a month or so ago that I finally started to work on it, and I finally got it. (Granted it was not beautiful, my lines are awful and I dead lifted a bit into it more than I would have liked but here is the video: http://instagram.com/p/nZBc4xJ--B/ (and my incredible friend Erica cheering me on - still makes me want to cry because of how beautiful her support is for me). However, this journey was not a good one.

The Phoenix for one is a really difficult concept. The attention and things that have to be in place for it to work out, as far as I understand, are many. For instance:
You have to get enough swing/distance when you go around the pole,
you have to wait at a certain time before you push into the bottom arm,
you have to push your chest out,
you can't have too much grip or too little, 
you have to (if you do it properly), bring your legs up straight (or at least one),
you have to push into the bottom arm and pull with the top arm,
you have to look up,
you have to turn your hips and chest up,
you have to keep the bottom arm bent,
you can't drop your butt down when you swing around (keep your hips high),
etc etc etc.
I can't tell you how many teachers I have gotten tips from, how many stars they have gotten tips from, how many tips I've had to learn on my own, gawd.

There are a LOT of intricate little things that make this move work. Even after getting it three time that day I went back to try it and I didn't get it.
Most importantly about this journey was that I injured myself - pretty much every time I practiced it.

One of the worst parts I think about this trick is the shoulder. I have heard of a lot of people, and a lot of famous polers, injuring their shoulder from this movie and I did too. If you don't push your chest out and get your back muscles working for you, then your shoulder takes a lot of pressure and strain and if you are doing this move improperly and doing it trying to power through just the shoulder over and over and over again, pain and injury will arise. My friend explained the "crunching" noise and feeling in her shoulder that I am too familiar with.
I hurt my shoulder every single day I was practicing this move besides the day I finally did it properly, even when I knew that I needed to push my chest out and use my back.
I also hurt my wrist from swinging on it so many times, not to mention the constant chafing and dragging of your top wrist around the pole over and over again. 
I am honestly a little fearful and worried for my friends and students who will attempt this move in the future.
Everyone wants to get it but the cost everyday that I tried maybe wasn't worth it.
I feel like people are going to want to get this move too early on before they understand the mechanics, and even when I knew about them I still got injured, a lot. And when it comes down to it, I really don't know if anyone can get this move without failing so many times before it clicks in their own body what they have to do.

The overall theme of this post is that this trick is dangerous and scary. There are so many important parts that need to happen all at once and when you don't do them properly injury is all too easy to come across.
Beautiful tricks like this though are something we all want to be able to do, and stars that make it look so effortless and beautiful and this keeps us others from understanding the reality of what can go wrong.
I do like this move, I think it's beautiful, but I don't know if I want to encourage it for my students until they are far into their pole careers because the injury from it is just too easy to produce.

Love the Process

Not even a year and a month ago when I started pole I told myself something I am grateful and proud of all of the time:
"I am in for a very difficult, challenging, frustrating, rewarding, beautiful journey."
I knew even before I could do a spin on the pole that I was in for a lot of work and a lot of struggle and a lot of joy.

I go through phases like I'm sure many pole dancers do where I either get a ton of tricks at one time, I feel like I can get no tricks at all and I have probably peaked or at least have a lot of work ahead of me, or I am getting some tricks but not all of them.

I went through a minute in December where I realized that I had accomplished so many strength moves and tricks that now it was time to learn the really scary and hard stuff...

The fonji and reverse fonji, the back flip, the aerial cartwheel, the kamikaze, etc.

I was willing to learn all of it, but since they are all so much more intimidating I couldn't get them like I had been getting other moves in the past.
I wasn't getting them right away and I felt like I hadn't been able to achieve any new moves that I had been working on for a long time.
I started to feel frustrated, as I have in the past in various other periods,
but I always remember what I told myself.

I accepted what was ahead of me and when I realize that it's part of the process, I learn to love what I hate.
I learn to understand that each thing that is more difficult to learn is all that much more special when I can do it.
I have a million tricks that I want to work on right now and all of them are going to take more time that I would like to get them, but I am accepting of this fact and believe that I can get all of them someday.

It's easy to get upset and want to bail and want to dip out of training all of the time.
Sometimes it's okay when you are frustrated to step away for a little while until you can come back. I have realized that when I am frustrated after doing an hour of training and feel tired I really need to just get some food in me and breathe for a few before I return.

 I just want to remind all of my polers that we all go through shitty stagnant and unhappy experiences in pole, but if you keep at it you will get a move and suddenly that feeling disappears. And in the mean time - be proud of what you have already achieved.

Also if you feel like you aren't doing that great, I recommend just free styling - finding yourself through losing yourself and being proud of dancing to a whole song that no one could ever dance like you to.
The fact that you pole at all is incredible and requires a great deal of strength and passion.
Be proud of all of the little things you forget about, because if you pole, you probably kick ass ;) 

Pole Anniversary!

Today is my very first pole anniversary!

One year ago today I walked into the doors of Boulder Spirals in Boulder Colorado into a room with 4 girls wearing booty shorts and sports bras, climbing 14 foot poles.
I was nervous and enthralled all at once.

I took an intro to pole class with my friend, and the amazing and beautiful platinum blonde Colfax  Chrissy taught us our very first class. She was wearing blue brazil shorts and clear 7 inch high heels.

I was instantly hooked and knew that I had to come again.

Two weeks later I bought my very own pole and set it up in my house.

I remember asking my sister to take photos of me whenever I started feeling more confident and she soon got tired of how often I wanted to capture new moves because I just kept learning them everyday.

Since the day I went to Boulder Spirals I have looked up pole tutorial videos, studied pole stars, watched competitions and performances, and have devoted my entire life and energy into pole.
What I eat, who I hang out with, what I do with my time, why I work out, and what I have dreams for all surround pole.

Never in my life would I have imagined having such a powerful thing to come out of no where and change everyday of my life forever.
I am so grateful that I came to Boulder because I know that I otherwise wouldn't have probably heard about pole for another 15 years.
I couldn't imagine anything else coming into my life that could be better or make me happier and healthier.

This pole world has the best people I've ever met.
It's a community of mostly women who are supportive, and loving, and caring.
I feel more confident, strong, healthy, and happier than I ever have in my life.

I am so excited to continue to grow, to meet more people, to discover, and to bring more people into the amazing lifestyle.

These are some of the first photos on the pole I ever took: