As an aspiring pole artist and athlete, I'm used to pain; bruises, calluses, pole burn and torn skin are all regular parts of the training process, not to mention muscle aches and stiffness. These are all fun things to deal with, right? Depends on your attitude, I guess. Personally, I embrace them as badges of honour. Every bruise is a new trick conquered. It actually frustrates me when I get one of those invisible bruises that can be felt, but never actually surfaces on the skin. I like being able to show off these badges and share the accomplishments behind them with my fellow polers. They should be celebrated and accepted with a sense of humour and pride.
As a budding choreographer (at least attempting to be one), I also encounter pains. However, the vast majority of these pains are psychological rather than physical. I'm becoming more and more accustomed to hitting metaphorical walls. It's so easy to see the steps in your head. When creating the choreography, everything flows, every move is flawless; the dancer is always strong enough, always flexible enough, always show-stoppingly expressive. Bringing the piece to life is where the hitches and snags come into play. Reality kicks in and weaknesses are thrown into shocking relief. It can be damn near impossible to push through when things aren't working the way you planned.
Most of the time, I'm choreographing for myself, so it can be disappointing to realize that I'm actually not strong enough to execute a move I'd envisioned, or that my flexibility isn't extensive enough to impress an audience the way I had hoped. Taking it all in stride, I'm continually reminding myself that everything comes through experience. The next routine will be better than the one I'm currently working on, and the one after that will be better still. In order to grow as an artist and a choreographer, I have to actually push through the frustrations, mental and physical blocks, and just keep doing what I'm doing. Not every routine is going to turn out the way I want, but eventually one will. One day, one of my pieces will turn out exactly as I envision it. I think that will be the moment I can officially call myself a choreographer and a true artist.
