Theme Big: The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel Pole Class!

Continuing some of my themed pole posts, this is a 60-minute pole class plan based on the fabulously fun show The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.

General instructions:

• Dress up! I would loooove to own Midge’s closet! You really can’t go wrong dressing up for this theme. Put on your sexiest 50s neglige, or whatever strikes your fancy.

• Free 60-minute playlist.

• Both sides! As a physical therapy student, I cannot stress enough how many injuries are caused by muscle imbalances. Do yourself a huge favor and always do both sides, even if one of them is terrible.

• How to scale the class to your level: If you are a beginner, I suggest doing moves from the floor without climbing up the pole, or only doing from one climb up. If you are an advanced student, challenge yourself by putting your pole on spin mode or by focusing on your non-dominant side (ideally everyone is doing both sides).

Warm-up:

If you are following my playlist, the first 3 songs are for warm-up and conditioning. There are a ton of hilarious workouts in The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, so here are some gifs to inspire you:

Potential Pole Moves: 

Here is a list of potential moves at various levels, with the corresponding song in parenthesis. I like to do 2 combos for class, with only 2-3 new moves total (the rest are ones my students will have already learned or are simple to pick up). Click the hyperlink to see a photo or tutorial I found on the interwebs. 

• Hello Boys

• Martini Sit (or Martini Drop if advanced)

• Teddy - there are so many fun variations on this move! I love a simple passe position

• Cradle

• Wrecking Ball- the end of Season 3, am I right? Oof that ending made me cringe so much.

• “Tits up!” climb - starting in a normal climb, complete one pull up with your chest up before connecting the second leg

• Stargazer 

• Fan kicks - floor or aerial

• Rockstar 

• Boyfriend slinger walks 

• Angel spins (play One Less Angel while working on it)

• Victory 

• Drama Queen 

• Sailboat Spin

• Fallen Lady Spin

• Corkscrew Spin

Final Freestyle: Feeling Good (Nina Simone)

I picked Nina Simone’s Feeling Good because who doesn’t love that song? It’s great for a final freestyle because nearly everyone will be familiar with it. You can have your students play with style- this song can be very sensual or more contemporary. Mix it up!

I normally wouldn’t share this, but here is one of the first poleography routines I ever taught. Ignore the awkward baby giraffe style:

Would love to see any videos or photos if you try it at home or in your studio. Tag @valpolephant so I can see them!