Pros & Cons of Competing - Part 2
Pros:
-Goal setting: When you decide to compete, essentially you have set a goal for yourself. I find it so rewarding to set a goal, work my butt off, and the sense of accomplishment felt when stepping on the stage is amazing. It feels so good to acknowledge the hard work that went into achieving that moment, regardless of what the outcome is.
-Creative process: This is probably my favourite part. I LOVE putting pieces together. You start with a blank slate and get to create what you want to put out for the audience/judges. Different competitions have different focuses, some competitions focus more on this, like Pole Theatre Canada, which is why it's great to research what competition best suits you and your style as well.
-Forces you to be well rounded: When you compete, you can't just throw all of your favourite moves into your piece and hope for the best. Judges are looking for you to be well rounded. You should divide your time equally between static and spin pole, which can be challenging if you have a strong preference for one and a general dislike for the other. You should also aim to have a variety of moves in your piece so they aren't all flexibility- based or all strength based tricks. Most competitions usually score you on how well you use the entire stage space, so you need to consider your time off the pole as well as the height of the pole and how you are using it. There is so much to think about when putting your piece together for it to be well-rounded!
-Reward: The reward can be very subjective, depending on who you talk to. Some people are chasing winning the title, others are there for the experience. When you are thinking about competing, you should know why you are doing it. What do you want to get out of this? For me, nothing beats the feeling of being on stage. Knowing you hold the attention of the entire room and everyone is watching your piece of art is both exhilarating and intimidating! That being said, all of the hard work boils down to about 4 minutes on stage, and it might not be your best run. So you have to work on being okay with whatever happens that day, which I have found a struggle.
This is by no means an exhaustive list. The more times I compete, the more I could add to the list, as each experience is a new one. If you have ever thought about it, I highly recommend competing! If the thought intimidates you, studio showcases (miss these so much, hopefully won't be ages away until we can host them!) are a great place to start! It's a similar environment, without the expense or judges. If you ever have questions or just want to chat about competing, please reach out to me (on social media for now) as I love to talk about competing and would love to help you get into it!
-Sheri