Spooky Special

With Halloween just a couple of days away and the competition just days after that we decided to so a scary themed blog! We let the girls have free reign this week to let us know what scares them, or just to give us something spooky and aerial themed!
​Read on down for an extra special scary story from Lexi! Watch out for our Monday Montage on Halloween to see all of our creepy prop-filled fun!

DracuLauren
So things that scare me as a student… I tend to give anything a try whether its spins, drops, inverted moves and this is on both hoop and pole, which for me instructor I think can sometimes be quite scary. There is one move that I can say scares me, which is a brass monkey bridge, this is due to the simple reason of I fell out of it when I was filming a video entry and really hurt my back, even though I had done this move many times before without fail. I have done move since, as I didn’t want it to stop me doing it. Heights have never been a problem and since I have lost weight and gained strength I think me fear levels has got even less as I have more confidence in myself that I can/or should be able to do things. Another thing I do tend to get scared to do something if I know it’s going to hurt! I am a wimp when it comes to pain. If something is going to hurt/pinch or anything like that I will have to be forced to do it. When performing on stage I do tend to get nervous and scared, but this is more that I don’t want to let others down. Where I used to be a dancer and compete nearly every weekend, the competing side of things it ok, I always go out with the aim to try and deliver a decent routine and not come last. If I achieve that at the competition I’ll be happy. This doesn’t matter whether it’s doubles, solos or a group routine.

Hannahbal

Soooo scary things....this week's topic. How about we are performing in just over week!!! How's that for scary?!! I am loving my routine but scared I will mess it up...every performers nightmare I guess. Moving forward there are many things I would still consider myself to still be afraid of...mainly as it hurts but also because I have built up a mental block around the fear of not being able to achieve them. These include outside leg hang, inverted thigh hold and good old embrace. I will always squinny and whinge at times but that's what keeps me motivated to try harder and when I look at what I have been able to achieve for this competition compared to last year, I see that this is what it's all about and I love it!

Sammonster
So this weeks theme is scary things in honour of Halloween! I absolutely love Halloween it's my favourite holiday! I have a blow up ghost that is up in my house all year round and my entire wardrobe / bedroom is themed for Halloween all year round. So it's no surprise that I love all spooky things, horror movies, ghost stories, demons, witches and I personally think black cats are a sign of good luck! Especially on Friday 13th! Things that scare / distress me are small children, unicorns, anything distressingly colourful and ironically performing in front of people! So if a small child rides in on a pink fluffy unicorn during my routine that would basically be my worst nightmare! As well as performing in general, there are several moves that really scare me in pole and hoop. I hate any kind of roll in hoop and I always scream whenever I have to try them, I'm generally convinced that I'm going to die every time I attempt it! I'm also terrified of any handstand related moves on pole! I love the look of the drops you can do on both pieces of equipment but I'm not sure I'll ever be brave enough to attempt them! So I'll stick to trying to conquer my fears of competing for now, and hopefully avoid unicorns!

Spookfie
Scary things! Well I'm scared of snakes,spiders you name it I'm probably scared of it haha! On a serious note, there are a few moves I'm still scared to do or they make my heart skip a bit...this is mainly things such as handstands on pole or drops on pole...if only I could get over the fear...well soon see!!

Hexi
​I leave the hustle and bustle of the dressing room, full of friendly competitors and stepp onto the Solent stage. It’s silent apart from the floor creaking ominously. I take a tentative look at the audience and notice with horror that they are all slugs and snails, and all really judgey and mean. I close my eyes and wait for the music to start. It does, but it isn’t right! I did not choose Bieber! I try to dance but the moves all come out in the wrong order and with unpointed toes. I go to the hoop but it’s covered in caterpillars! Terrified, I brush some caterpillars off and start my routine and then fall out of the hoop. I run backstage to find Sami running around screaming followed by a stampede of children riding unicorns, Zorena fighting off a swarm of giant ladybirds and accidentally backing Lauren into a tiny box. Sophie’s on the practice hoop, being pushed in an endless barrel roll by a massive spider and Hannah is covered in bandages. I look up to see Emily snorkeling through the air just as a giant cruise ship starts crashing through the wall. It comes thundering towards us as, suddenly, I wake up. It's the morning of Solent… nothing can go that wrong… can it?!

Scaremily
Week before Halloween and we are talking about what scares us!  Well… for me pretty much everything performance related! I worry a lot about letting everyone down, especially when I am doing doubles… Me and Lauren still haven’t fine tuned our routine and that freaks me out. I get really nervous when I know I only have one shot to do something right! Weirdly enough I am not really scared of getting hurt, falling off or getting beaten and bruised… I just worry that the performance on the day won’t be the best that I can do! Even if I come last as long as it went as well as I know it can then I would consider that a win!
Pole and hoop moves that scare me are any drop-type moves or moves that change my balance around, but I think that is quite normal to be afraid of!
Two weeks away from competing at Solent I am pretty much just in a state of perpetual fear of messing up and letting everyone down! Having done that already this year I really don’t want to do it again. To combat my fear at the moment I am just keeping busy and trying to stay chilled out even when rehearsals don’t go to plan!