 How I started Pole Dancing at 4
I didn’t start pole dancing and aerial dance until 2003, I was 42 years old. That was 19 years ago, (do the math). I know that may seem old to all you young folks out there, but dance has been my life since I could walk. My mom insists that I came out dancing. I have been professionally involved in all sorts of styles of dance from classical ballet to Brazilian samba, and a dance fusion style known as afro contemporary. I am the first one on the dance floor at a club and the last one to leave. Being able to express myself through movement, and in total harmony with music is where I feel the most at home. When words fail me it’s my body’s ability to project what I’m feeling in dance that gets me through the hardest times of my life! I have extensive experience in various other forms of fitness and sports as well including gymnastics. In the past I coached the local high school girls gymnastics team for several years, as well as taught at the gymnastic school where my daughter took classes. Around the time pole dancing came into my life I went to see a Cirque du Soleil show. They had this amazing, sexy, flexible, strong woman performing on these incredibly high, bold crimson curtains. She was wearing a nude colored bodystocking and had her dark hair down. All I can say is that I wanted to be her at that moment. So totally in her body, so totally fearless, and so totally sexy! Pole dancing would eventually help me get a slice of that sexy, strong, but very female feeling! I was offered a job at a pole dance studio that was opening in San Francisco. That meant that I would need to do some very intensive training over the course of a couple of months. I knew I would be a good teacher (I’ve had my personal trainer, and group exercise instructor certifications for 20 plus years) but I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to ever do any of those cool tricks that I saw the other teachers doing, even with my gymnastics and dance background. The flying and spinning tricks looked so impossible, and I was just in awe any time I saw them done. Once I was able to get on the dance pole and play I began to feel movement in a different way in my body. I began to love having this new element in my dance. Gravity is also such a key player in pole dancing, and I discovered quickly how to harness its energy. I love to feel myself pulling away from the pole, only to be pulled back into it to create the energy for spinning tricks. I love to feel its tug as I’m inverted. Exerting its force to coax me back down the pole to the floor, thus creating the constant ebb and flow of my dance with pole and floor, sometimes floor heavy, sometimes defying gravity and keeping my dance of the moment more pole connected. Ah, pure freedom. My passion for movement, and in particular pole dancing, has taken me on a pretty incredible journey for the past nine years. I have met some very lovely people because of it. It has brought me to a place where I am now teaching for myself in a big beautiful studio in the SF Bay Area (with 12 twenty foot dance poles) and I am able to continue to create my own hybrid style of dance. I have helped found an award winning aerial burlesque dance group named Cirque Noir, we perform but we also teach and help women to realize their potential as performers. And lastly it has continued to allowed me to help women connect with a side of themselves they perhaps didn’t know existed. I have taught women of all shapes, sizes, and ages, and even a few men. No matter the age, shape, size, or gender they all can pole dance! I will continue to dance, pole dance, teach, perform, and share as long as I am able. It is as much a part of me as breathing!!
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 How do we define sensuality? In the dictionary it's as easy as saying it relates to pleasure thru gratification of the senses. When we come together as we do in our weekly classes it's in the format of sensual movement. We are seeking out the pleasure that comes from embodying the full meaning of the word sensuality. It can be luxurious and indulgent. Voluptuous is a word I love as it evokes, in my mind at least, a juicy fullness of body as well as movement. And yes, sensuality can definitely be voluptuous in nature!
This week without using words to describe it let's explore this word 'sensuality' that gets thrown around whenever we're discussing how we move and express ourselves at Steel Heart Dance. Wrap yourself in fabrics that you love to touch and feel against your skin. Indulge YOUR musical taste. Rock, country, folk, rap, it doesn't matter, as long as it's what brings YOU gratification. Slip on those delicious heels. Dab on a bit of your favorite essential oil, and wash your hair with your favorite smelling shampoo. Wear your favorite color, and most of all; move in ways that your body craves. Let her feel absolutely indulged. I can't wait to see all of you sensual creatures soon! Xo Deb  Hello lovely dancers! I hope you had a beautiful week. Spring is such an exciting time of year. A time to plant seeds of all kinds. Spring holds the promise of longer days and summertime fun. We know for a fact that if we plant seeds and care for those seeds in a good way they will begin to grow, become strong and eventually bloom, blossom, or in some awesome cases, yield food that can feed and nurture our bodies! The same is true for pretty much anything that we do, whether it's an overall picture of our life, or starting something that's new to us. Every day and every moment can be a sweet series of small springs or beginnings. Your pole dance and sensual movement journey most certainly can be thought of like this. You plant the tiniest of seeds in your first class and each and every subsequent class is a chance to feed, water, fertilize and nurture those juicy tendrils of luscious sensual movement embodiment. Sometimes it's an easy job and sometimes it feels like there's hibernation happening. But one things for sure, once you've experienced one class of this deeply sensual liberating style of movement there's no retreating back into the ground! This week outside of class listen to music with attention to what moves you. Wear that pretty dress that you've been saving for a special occasion. Or slip on that matching set of bra and panties that have been languishing in that back of your underwear drawer! Notice something lovely about the woman in line next to you at the grocery store? Tell her! Share the love with your sister ladies out there and lift each other up. Has anyone told you today how beyoutiful you are?? Well, I am telling YOU right now. Xoxooxox Deb Dance to live~ Live to dance
Hello beautiful dancers!
I hope you're all having a week that you feel good about! I am so grateful for you all. I'm grateful for my life and my deep connections that I have with so many empowered women. I am grateful for my mom in particular, she shows me constantly how to love unconditionally, how to live life just the way it should be lived, without limitations. She also shows by example that we are never too old to try something new. She's been thru so much heartache and struggle and brilliant highs too. She's the perfect combination of strength and softness which is a lovely thing not only in a woman but in a human. Does strength mean hard? Unwavering? Not necessarily. Adjectives like strong or tough are often applied to people who have walls up or who never reveal vulnerability. You might be strong, but that doesn’t mean you have to be hard. Likewise soft isn't a dirty word either! Soft doesn't mean we are pushovers or dumb. I feel like soft is the ultimate adjective for the word feminine. The good thing about the idea of femininity is that within it is a big spectrum. Heighten whatever femininity may mean to you and be the most of it you can be. We shouldn't be ashamed. Ultimately, there’s strength in softness. Embrace your intuition, your emotions, your ability to nurture, your curves and anything else you were taught to hide because it made you “such a girl”. These qualities are what make women strong and we need to celebrate that. What if we think of ourselves as rope? Ropes are strong and can bear a great deal of strain, but they are also soft and flexible–malleable. Ropes are made of multiple fibers that together make the length of rope. Each piece is strong, but woven together, they are even stronger. There is tension in a rope when it’s pulled on, but that’s when its strength is revealed. Rope can accommodate to meet the needs at hand. It’s strong when it needs to be, but soft and malleable when it needs to be. When we are able to let go when we dance and find our flow the movement is soft. We are using our muscles but without straining. It’s not effortless, but it isn’t painful or uncomfortable, either. We are focused, strong, in the moment, able to tap into what we are feeling. I like to think that in those moments, we've found the balance and space between strength and softness. Have you always wanted to learn the sultry art of sensual movement and burlesque? Is there a sexy, sweet, campy or even dangerous vixen within you? Come spend the weekend with the performers of Cirque Noir for our All-Levels Burlesque Boot Camp. Explore dance and movement in the safety of a small group of powerful women and professional teachers. The workshop will focus on building intrinsic strength and flexibility while teaching you the basics of classic burlesque, chair dance, working with props, developing choreography and your own unique burlesque persona.
Dance Ground Keriac 1805 Divisadero St, SF, Ca Saturday and Sunday from 10:30am to 5:30 pm February 28, March 1, 2015 Cost is $290.00 for this heart opening self discovering event! Sign up here: 
Burlesque Boot Camp at Dance Ground Keriac, San Francisco, Ca
Did you know that I also do private and semi-private personal training sessions? I mix up your workout with a combo of pilates reformer and hand weights, as well as body weight exercises! If you have a specific goal in mind, whether it's to compete at the bjj worlds event or mastering a new pole trick, I can help you attain that goal. Or maybe you want your arms to look toned in your wedding dress! No goal is too small or big. Contact me for details :) If you've got it, I have the antidote! How does a whole month of diving deep into the creative and technical aspects of making dance and performance sound? Within our next Cirque Noir workshop that takes place beginning September 28th, and goes thru October 25th, 2014, we will lead our dancers along a path of finding their own authentic movement. Through the use of various aerial apparatus, and floor work, students will use their bodies to explore space, musicality, and emotional connection. You will be encouraged to luxuriate in the space of unrestricted expression while pushing yourself to harness the power of the creative process! Our goal as leaders in this process is to challenge our students to grow as artists, dancers and women. While empowering their lives through movement. Our groups will perform on October 25, 2014 at the amazing Steel Heart Dance studio in south San Francisco. That's right! PERFORM! This is the perfect venue. Imagine it filled with supportive family and friends applauding and cheering for you and your cohorts! All levels are welcome, although you should have some knowledge of pole or aerial arts movement. Knowledge of both is not necessary. You will get stronger, you will create lasting bonds of friendship, learn things about yourself, and come away with a feeling that you could do ANYTHiNG!! Contact me for details! I can't wait to dance with YOU! 😘💃 
More strength building exercises you can do at home!
You don’t need to go to the gym every day. And honestly if you have a couple of inexpensive pieces of equipment you may never need to go ever again!! * Begin with a pull up bar. You can get one at Target or online, the type that you can mount in a door frame. These are simple to hang, they actually use leverage to hold themselves on, no permanent attachment needed. Follow the directions that come with it tho to install correctly. * If you are unable to do even one pull up on a bar here is a starting point for you: Grab a kitchen chair and place it under the bar so you can stand and very easily reach it. With palms facing you in an underhand grip engage your biceps and lats (upper arms, and back) try to hold your body weight and count to 10. Step onto the chair to rest. Work up to a set of 5. Then as you get stronger you can start the same way and then lower yourself by straightening your arms slowly. Eventually you will be pulling yourself up and lowering slowly down. * Try the pull-ups with palms facing away now in an overhand grip, or a mixed grip. (one palm forward, one palm back, then switch) work up to doing sets of 5 or more. * So keep that bar in place! * For push-ups you don’t need any equipment at all. You may do these on your toes in plank position or on your knees in a modified plank. Engage your central body to protect your back. * You may do these with hands in slightly different positions, if you have any shoulder issues take them shallow at first and do a little body inventory to see how you feel. Here’s one hand position: With hands lined up right under your shoulders begin to lower down, keeping your elbows next to your rib cage. Lower halfway, push back up. Try lowering all the way down. Do these exercises 2 to 3 times a week and they will definitely help your pole dancing by improving your upper body strength including your hand grip. Did this information help you? Let me know. Thanks so much for being you, now get to work! Keep on spinning What Should I Wear For Pole Dancing?
That answer is easy especially if you are dancing in the privacy of your own home; Anything your little heart desires. But let’s backtrack a bit…… There have been times when I’ve danced in my jeans and a t-shirt. Of course I didn’t do much except a few spins and walks around the pole, but that was what I needed to do at that moment. If you are really going to get into it and work up a sweat and climb and really move, I suggest some comfy yoga pants and a hoody to start. I find it super fun to incorporate a strip out of your top layers to reveal something a little more “revealing” underneath. I think it’s totally acceptable to be working out in your sexiest bra and panties! We are talking pole dancing after all. I know it’s the latest fitness craze, but come on, let’s be real here, it’s sexy. If you want to do any climbing or perching on your pole you definitely need to expose those luscious thighs, all the way up to where they meet at the top J. The more flesh exposed the better. For inversions it’s the same thing, skin, skin, skin. Take care not to have too many dangling straps on your attire tho, as these may be dangerous, impeding your grip or getting wound around the dance pole. (Tip: no lotions on your body on pole dancing days) If you are dancing on carpet at home that adds some extra consideration on your part to protect your skin from carpet burns. If you are going to be kneeling on the floor, or rolling around, plan accordingly. Legwarmers will help cover your knees, and look cute in the process. When you are just starting out learning how to pole dance I suggest bare feet. Once you are feeling a little more adventurous you may add in “dance shoes”. Can you dance in your cowboy boots? Yes, but believe me 6 inch stilettos have never made more sense than when paired with some tiny booty shorts. “Dance shoes” are made for pole dancing, they have a one piece solid construction sole, and will not break. For your first pair the shoes with an ankle strap are the easiest to move in. I really like this website for shoes: http://www.wickedtemptations.com/shoes-360-ct.htm But of course there are many others. Let us know if you find something you like. I am a real person, a pole dance instructor, a mom, a sister, a woman just like you! And I love to hear your comments a feedback so shoot me an email, or leave your comments on the website blog post. Keep on spinning! XO Deb I didn’t start pole dancing and aerial dance until 2003, I was 42 years old. That was 9 years ago, (do the math). I know that may seem old to all you young folks out there, but dance has been my life since I could walk. My mom insists that I came out dancing. I have been professionally involved in all sorts of styles of dance from classical ballet to Brazilian samba, and a dance fusion style known as afro contemporary. I am the first one on the dance floor at a club and the last one to leave. Being able to express myself through movement, and in total harmony with music is where I feel the most at home. When words fail me it’s my body’s ability to project what I’m feeling in dance that gets me through the hardest times of my life!
I have extensive experience in various other forms of fitness and sports as well including gymnastics. In the past I coached the local high school girls gymnastics team for several years, as well as taught at the gymnastic school where my daughter took classes. Around the time pole dancing came into my life I went to see a Cirque du Soleil show. They had this amazing, sexy, flexible, strong woman performing on these incredibly high, bold crimson curtains. She was wearing a nude colored bodystocking and had her dark hair down. All I can say is that I wanted to be her at that moment. So totally in her body, so totally fearless, and so totally sexy! Pole dancing would eventually help me get a slice of that sexy, strong, but very female feeling! I was offered a job at a pole dance studio that was opening in San Francisco. That meant that I would need to do some very intensive training over the course of a couple of months. I knew I would be a good teacher (I’ve had my personal trainer, and group exercise instructor certifications for 20 plus years) but I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to ever do any of those cool tricks that I saw the other teachers doing, even with my gymnastics and dance background. The flying and spinning tricks looked so impossible, and I was just in awe any time I saw them done. Once I was able to get on the dance pole and play I began to feel movement in a different way in my body. I began to love having this new element in my dance. Gravity is also such a key player in pole dancing, and I discovered quickly how to harness its energy. I love to feel myself pulling away from the pole, only to be pulled back into it to create the energy for spinning tricks. I love to feel its tug as I’m inverted. Exerting its force to coax me back down the pole to the floor, thus creating the constant ebb and flow of my dance with pole and floor, sometimes floor heavy, sometimes defying gravity and keeping my dance of the moment more pole connected. Ah, pure freedom. My passion for movement, and in particular pole dancing, has taken me on a pretty incredible journey for the past nine years. I have met some very lovely people because of it. It has brought me to a place where I am now teaching for myself in a big beautiful studio in the SF Bay Area (with 12 twenty foot dance poles) and I am able to continue to create my own hybrid style of dance. I have helped found an award winning aerial burlesque dance group named Cirque Noir, we perform but we also teach and help women to realize their potential as performers. And lastly it has continued to allowed me to help women connect with a side of themselves they perhaps didn’t know existed. I have taught women of all shapes, sizes, and ages, and even a few men. No matter the age, shape, size, or gender they all can pole dance! I will continue to dance, pole dance, teach, perform, and share as long as I am able. It is as much a part of me as breathing!! 
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