NZ Summer Pole Camp

February 20th - 23rd: NZ Pole Dance Camp

You know you have your priorities straight when you hitchhike from Picton to Queenstown so you can attend Pole Dance Camp. Point is, I made it to Queenstown the night before Pole Dance Camp started and boy, was I ready to get my pole on. #holla.

I have never been to a pole dance camp before… I have been to pole expo twice in Las Vegas and I had a blast, but I think I enjoyed the NZ pole dance summer camp more than expo. The summer camp was held at Queenstown Pole Dance Studio and it was a series of 4 days with 8 workshops and all workshops were with a different instructor. The workshops that were held include pole groves with Raha Star and Bobbi Gold, yoga with Anna Ashton, Contemporary dance with Lee, core training with Alaine, and pole moves and strength classes with Carlie Hunter, Andre Corey, and Amy. This summer camp provided such a great variety of classes for me to take and it helped me step out of my square and expand my horizon. #helloworld.

I’m at a point in my pole journey, where I tend to want to focus on doing the harder moves, the strength moves more so than doing the flow portion of pole which means, I probably have to work on my flow better since I hate doing it. I got my time schedule, went in with an open mind and learned some new strength moves, exotic dance moves, and some contemporary dance moves. Watch out world, cause I’m about to let me body move. #makethemovementmove.

Raha, the owner of the Queenstown studio set up a instructor showcase at one of the local fancy restaurants. We ate, drank and watched our instructors dance the night away on the opening night of camp. It was a great way to gain some inspiration from some of our #polecrushes and a great way to get to know all the girls who had come from near and far to attend the nz pole dance camp. At the end of all the workshops we also had a beach pole party and set up some x-stages, ate pizza and watched the sunset. I love this, the camp has around 100 people attending and it was so nice to get to know other attendees, talk to the instructors, and be with like minded pole dancers from the south pacific. Big thanks to Raha Star and all those who organized this event. #biglove

When I say I enjoyed pole summer camp a bit more than expo, let me explain a little as to why. At pole expo, you pay nearly $200 for an entry fee to see vendors (and spend extra money at the vendors booth, cause pole dance stuff is awesome), do some free workshops (but no free pole workshops and all free workshops are in a very social location, sometimes making it difficult to focus on the workshop). On top of that you pay $85 or more for a pole class workshop that has 20 or more people in the classroom. I’m not saying it’s a bad thing, I love pole expo and I am hoping to attend it again this year as well. The people are amazing, the venue is incredible, and the workshops and private lessons are always fun. It’s a road trip that I always enjoy with my girls from Kairos Fitness and one that I hope to continue if at all possible this year. All I’m saying is it would be nice if at least one pole workshop was included in the entry fee for pole expo.

It’s like when you purchase an all inclusive cruise, everything is included on the ship except for drinks. With pole expo, you need to book the hotel for however many nights your staying and it’s best to book the hotel where the expo is being held, the convenience is so worth it. Then there is the expo pass fee, the fees for whichever workshops you would like to take, and don’t forget about the vendors. No, you are not required to buy anything from the vendors, but for me, I always stash away some money so I can buy stuff from the vendors. I love pole and yoga clothes and if I could I would run around in them all day. Generally I’m wearing them everyday anyways underneath the big globby clothing I’m forced to wear in “normal society.”  What I’m getting at is that buy things from the vendors whether it’s clothing, equipment, or memberships is worth it. It’s always nice to do something nice for yourself and for me, pole expo is where I put myself first and buy myself nice yoga clothes that I will wear forever and ever.

All in all, I loved pole dance camp, I loved the semi-private lesson that me and the twinsies took with Carlie Hunter, I loved the showcase, the beach party, and the pole jam at the end of camp where I could barely move because of #toomuchpole. Such a fun event and so glad I was able to attend it. #imisspolecamp.