Evolution of a Freestyler

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Maybe some of you have heard that after 7+ years Freestyle Friday is back! But why does it matter? Why did I bring it back? What does it help, especially for someone like me that has 10+ years of experience under their belt? So glad you asked! Freestyling is an excellent way to monitor your progress as a dancer. It allows you to pick up on patterns, habits (both good and bad), practice your ability to connect movement, develop your movement creativity and think on the spot. Oh, and in the case of Freestyle Friday, discover and practice movement with different music types.

I brought Freestyle Friday back for a few reasons:

  1. For myself (also the very reason why I started it). I needed something that forced me to push myself and to get moving again. I love teaching, competing and performing, but they can be a (a very rewarding) energy and creativity drain. Usually when I find myself at a sticking point, I compete or learn a new apparatus. This time I decided to go another route and revisit an old friend!
  2. Others wanted and supported the comeback!
  3. I remembered my WHY! I initially opened up Freestyle Friday and started my teaching career to make a positive impact on the pole community AND to help others on their pole journey. Bringing back this tool and resource is a way for me to continue doing what I set out to do – and to also expand it to the Aerial community.

What Does Freestyling Help?

In addition to the things I’ve already shared, I believe that Freestyling helps you connect with your body. You learn how to listen to yourself, trust yourself and allow yourself to try new or different things without fear. Even for someone like me, that has a lot of experience under her belt, I still learn so much with free styling. I learn about my movement style and preferences, current movement/style influences, I see how I protect past and current injuries, I can see what tricks I’m most comfortable with and that are my go-to moves, I can see the moves that I may be currently working on or teaching. It’s an endless observatory!

Purposeful Evaluation
The key is not to judge yourself harshly or speak negative about your performance. The goal is simply to observe your movement. If you want to constructively critique your performance for the purpose of growth and improvement then here are 11 questions that you may consider asking yourself:

1. What did I do well?
2. What could I do better?
3. If there was a “mess up” did I keep it moving or did I allow that to affect my momentum and confidence?
4. How were my lines (watch for micro bends in the knees and flexed feet)
5. Could I see myself thinking, planning or reacting?
6. Are there moments of musicality that I missed? If so, what were they?
7. Was there any moments of musicality that I absolutely nailed? If so, what were they?
8. Did I incorporate anything I’ve learned or practiced recently?
9. Did I see/feel any improvement from my last freestyle
10. What would I like to use in my next performance/freestyle?
11. How did my body feel during my dance?

So let’s see some freestyle learning and observation in real time! Below are three of my Freestyles. These three freestyles showcase me in three different elements.

1st Freestyle Friday (My FIRST EVER Circa 2012)

This first freestyle in 2012 is me at the beginning of my Freestyle journey, still very uncomfortable in my movement, yet fairly confident about my ability level. My goal was simply to push myself to move. As I watch the video now (for the first time in 5+ years) I notice a lot of bad habits, choppiness and a lack of awareness in my body and movement (as seen in my lines).

Freestyle Friday Reboot: Week 1 (October 2021)

This Freestyle from yesterday (and the first Freestyle Friday reboot) features a more experienced ME, but also a me that is out of her element. This song, which was a fun spooky number, was a lot faster than anything I would normally choose to dance to. In addition to trying new movements, I’m coming off of an injured hip, so I keep kept it mainly floor-based and grounded movement. 

I see maturity and awareness in my lines and movement, but I can also see a lack of connectivity to the music. I appreciate the elements of surprise if my face when I felt a moment of connection or a “that felt cool moment”, and I see less of a focus on throwing all of my “best” or “hardest” tricks, and  more baseline movement. 

Summer 2021 Freestyle @ Shine Showcase

My third Freestyle is from our  Shine Fitness Studio Summer Showcase last month.

I feel like this represents the performer that I am at heart. It’s me in my element, and even though I did not pick the song (or know what they were going to play) it was a song that I was familiar with. The slowness and familiarity of the song allowed me to move in a way that was natural for me. Like my previous freestyle, it wasn’t about throwing a bunch of hard, tricky moves (although it was about putting on an enjoyable show for the audience). 

I see more moments of musicality, awareness of my available space and proximity of the audience, smoothness and connectivity in my movements, clean lines, and definitely a change in my body and my flexibility – especially compared to my first 2012 freestyle.

In Conclusion

Clearly there’s plenty more that I could appreciate (or pick at), but my goal was simply to share the growth that can occur with practice, and the value of filming your journey – so that you’re able to go back and compare your movement gains. 

And I love Freestyling because it helps you step outside of your comfort zone. It is in these outer limits that you discover new music, new movement and new ways of connectivity. This is when and where growth occurs – in the discomfort, the unknown and  in having to do something different.

If you have thoughts or a freestyle journey to share, please do so below! I’d love to hear from you!!! AND if you want to join in on the Freestyle Friday movement, learn more here.