Please remember that, during times like this, falling back on a routine for your training can be extremely helpful. It is normal and expected for everyone to feel stressed and distracted. It would be more concerning if you weren't! Give yourself structure and support so it is one less thing you have to think about. This will free up your energy for what is most important right now.
Here is my personal favorite at home practice routine. Suitable for beginner to advanced pole dancers.
1. Warm Up (2 songs): Walking
Put your shoes on and walk around :) Practice brushing the floor with your feet. Work on your posture and poise. Walk around the pole and walk away from the pole. Pick songs that you enjoy dancing to and make you want to step on the beat. As I’ve said many times before in class, this is when I pretend I’m in a French perfume commercial.
2. Basic Spins (2 songs): Pirouettes and Dips
My favorite spin ever, in this world, is the pole pirouette. You can check out my tutorial for it here. Practice walking in and out of your pirouettes, both right and left sides. Do the same thing with your dip spins. Then, combine the two. Work on your control, speed, and balance. You cannot over practice these two movements.
3. Fluidity (1 song): Bend and Snaps, Body Rolls, and Hip Rolls
I spend at least one song just focusing on letting my body move like a wave. It is smooth, it rolls, it swirls. The song you play at home or in the car that makes you start body rolling is the one you need to dance to for this exercise.
4. Transitions (1 song): Getting on and off the Floor
Lastly, I spend about one song transitioning back and forth from the floor. A simple slide down to your knees is fine, then practice standing back up as part of your dance. Work on your coordination and grace. Watch yourself in the mirror or on tape to see what parts look rough and what parts look smooth.
Lastly, keep it simple. Most people forget that the simple becomes the complex. Not the other way around. The same way a musician always practices his or her scales is so that each note can be executed beautifully when it is time to play. Each one of the skills listed above is a foundational note of pole dance. You don’t have the more complicated moves without them. Let the practice work for you, not against you.
All my best to you,
Ariel Xenia