Tag Archives: SASS

December Performances

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December was a very busy month as I had 3 performances! The first one was at Southsides Bar in Fort Erie for a Ladies Night. I did this in 2016 with the SASS girls and that was the first event I did with them. This time though, I am a more confident and stronger performer. There was 5 of us girls that took turns playing on the pole to promote the studio. An old friend of mine was there and I made a few new friends, which made the night even better. The studio owner even got me to dance to a Snoop song. Honesty, when the MC announced me as a dancer of Snoop Dogg’s, I beaming with pride of my accomplishments.

The next performance was at a showcase for the Army of Sass dance showcase. Army of Sass is a separate dance company, but they were using the SASS studio to practice, so they invited the SASS pole girls to perform in their show. We had 9 of us performing, so we did various elements, including pole, acro and chair. My piece of the performance was with the chair. It was neat having so many of us on stage together and all coordinated with different elements.

The third performance, which as a day after the Army of Sass performance was for the Paradisaea After Dark winter showcase. I choose the song I’ll Be Home by Meghan Trainor because it wasn’t as corny traditional Christmas song. The routine was a combination of floor work and chair, which a lot of movements were from the Army of Sass routine, and then ending with some pole silks, again, pulling from previous routines. Because this performance was the day after the other one, it was easier to use choreography I was already familiar with. After the show though, the concept of the show was explained fully to me, it was an 18 + show, so I could have had a sexier routine. I kept the routine pretty tame, knowing the issues I have had in the past with being too sexy at a Paradisaea showcase. We all had a laugh that i was pretty conservatively dressed than my normal for performing.

SASS St.Catharines Grand Opening Showcase – October 2019

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For the Grand Opening showcase at SASS, I was in 2 performance, a group and a solo. The group performance was the opening act and I messed up a few movements. I knew I didn’t practice enough but really hoped my muscle memory would take me through. I think my nerves got the best of me so I was happy I was in the back corner of the group!

For my solo performance, I choose to revamp the Lightening Crashes pole silks routine from the June showcase at the old studio. I added in a few new tricks, changed my costume and included my daughter in the routine. My daughter is taking ballet classes, so she danced a ballet interlude while I tied up the silks for the next part of the routine. I loved sharing the stage with my daughter.

Best Birthday Ever! September 2019

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I usually hate my birthday. Every year, I tend to be disappointed that my friends usually bail on plans that we had. This year I dreaded the day.

I went to work at the local radio station and much to my surprise, my co-workers threw me a surprise party! They decorated my desk and that station. All my co-workers, including the radio hosts and my boss, were wearing party hats. They bought me gluten free treats and cupcakes for everyone else to share. I almost cried. I was completely surprised and my heart was so happy. Nobody had done anything like that for me before.

I have started running to improve my cardio strength and endurance. I challenged myself and ran 5km for the first time. I did just over the 5km and was so proud of that accomplishment. I had never been a good runner in childhood or my adult life. I have really began to enjoy running.

On the Friday of my birthday week, the owner of SASS, Shanyn, HD asked me to teach a pole bachorette party and then she would take me out for birthday drinks after the party. All day I was nervous as this was going to be the first party I would be teaching and Shanyn was going to be watching me. I read through my notes from a previous class I had with Shanyn about teaching a party. She told me to pack clothes to go out in, so I included clothes in my bag and went to the studio after work.

Shanyn greeted me at her desk when I arrived, but I noticed the birthday decorations. Shanyn started laughing and explained their was no bachelorette party, it was a surprise party for me! some other girls come out from hiding. Again, I was completely shocked and overwhelmed! They too got me gluten free treats along with wine and sangria! I think I cried this time. We hang out at the studio for a bit, then we went out to Grape and Wine that was happening downtown. I had the best night of my life. We did shots at random bars, drank wine at the festival, danced and of course did some acro and took silly pictures. I realized that pole friends are the best friends! I finally found my tribe, the people I belong with.

I later found out that my husband arrange the whole night with Shanyn. He was on stand by to come pick me up so I didn’t have to worry about getting home. He knew how my birthdays haven’t been great and wanted to make this one special. I had so much love in my heart after a week of surprises from the people that meant the most to me.

I have come to realize that my late 30’s have been my best years yet. I am more confident in myself and continually challenge myself to became a better version of myself every day. Even when I have set backs, I am able to dust myself off and overcome come them easier then I did before. I spend more time thinking a dreaming of what’s next instead of dwelling on the past mistakes.

New SASS and Chair Burlesque Classes – Summer 2019

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The new studio has such a great vibe. I love that it is so much closer, so I’ve been able to attend more classes and more regularly. Most of the girls from old location have come to the new studio and there have been a lot of new faces too!

I have been able to attend chair burlesque classes and have been loving it. It is using a completely different apparatus to dance with but it incorporates a lot of the movements similar to ones that I have learnt in pole choreography classes. Using a chair to dance on and around is harder than I thought it would be. It takes a lot of coordination and balance. But it also makes me feel very sexy and confident. It has also given me a lot of bruises!

End of an Era – June 2019

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The SASS summer showcase was a bittersweet one. That is because it was the last showcase, and very last day at the Stoney Creek SASS studio. The amazing part is the opening of the SASS studio in St.Catharines.

I choose to perform a pole silks routine. It took me a long time to choose a song, ended up getting inspired when I seen the band Live in concert, so choose the song Lightening Crashes. I had the basic structure of my routine choreographed, left the spins to freestyle.

The routine went well, everyone was very impressed with the pole silks. After the show, we took a few group photos as we said good bye to the Stoney Creek studio. I’m really excited for the new studio, but also sad as not all the girls will be joining us at in St.Catharines. Overall though, I’m looking forward to having the studio much closer so I can attend more classes.

Pole Events in Summer 2018

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The summer came and went in a blink of the eye. I spent the summer going to several pole events though out the summer.

The first event was a vendor fundraiser event for a women’s shelter. I went with the girls from SASS, we set up 2 poles in the center of the hall and we did demonstrations. There was not a lot of people there other than the ones working their own vendor booths, but we had fun just playing together for a few hours.

The second event was the Five Alarm Ladies Night, a firefighter charity fundraiser. I went to this event in 2013, which is where I seen the girls from SASS doing pole demonstrations.  I was in complete awe of what the girls could do and it made me determined to try. I was inspired and wanted to be strong and confident like them. Five years later, I was at the event WITH the girls at the studio performing demonstrations.

Being part of a vendor was a very different experience from when I was part of the audience watching the show. Firstly, when the woman came in, they showed zero interest in the pole and it was evident that they saw us as competition. The woman were all dressed up, hoping to snag a firefighter. When they walked in and saw a bunch of girls in booty shorts on a pole, it was threatening to them. Fast forward an hour after the woman have had a few drinks and saw the firefighters dance on stage, their options of us changed. They approached us to try out the pole and asked about classes. We were no longer the enemy; we could help their game.

The following day, I went to the Canadian Pole Fitness Association’s competition at the Toronto Pro SuperShow. I went with a bunch of the girls from SASS to support one of the girls from the studio competing. She did fantastic and placed 3rd in the semi-pro division!! It was nice to hang out with the girls outside the studio for the day.

Lastly, I performed demonstrations at a vendor fundraiser for mental health, similar to the I did with SASS, but this one I did solo. Well, actually I brought my kids along, my son helped me with the equipment and my daughter performed with me. We has performed a combination of pole, pole silks, silks and lyra. It was hot an exhausting putting the equipment up, performing for 4 hours and then taking all the equipment down. Overall though, a great experience and my first paid event!

SASS Wing-Ding Shindig! January 2018

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Planning get togethers to celebrate holidays or birthdays can get challenging with a large group of people. So the owner of SASS come up with an idea to celebrate everything in one night! That’s when the Wing-Ding Shindig was born.
We all had to dress up honouring EVERY occasion: Christmas, New Years, Valentines, St.Patricks Day, Easter, Canada Day, Halloween, birthdays and bachelorette. My competitive nature come out and I tried hard to win the trophy for best dressed. We rented a party bus, and since we are pole dancers, of course it had a pole!

We went out for dinner, went to a winery and then a brewery, and then partied on the bus until going back to the studio.

The shenanigans continued at the studio with party games and poling. I ended up passing out on some pole mats in my unicorn onesie. It was a great night with an amazing group of people.

Showcases in June 2017

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On June 3rd, SASS had its Tribute student showcase. I somehow ended up agreeing to be in 4 routines!  Part of me thought that I was biting off more than I can chew.

The first performance, I did a Prince Purple Rain solo routine. I didn’t have much time to practice so I took the Beatles routine I did last year for the Paradisaea spring recital and modified it a little. Since that routine didn’t go over very well at that recital, this was my redemption. I also decided to let my daughter, Brooklyn, join me in the routine and let her freestyle.  It was a special moment sharing the stage with her. She sees how hard mommy works training for a show and asked if she could be part of it. She loved being a superstar and hanging out backstage with all the girls!

The second and third performances were both group routines that I had learned in class. The first one was a level 1 routine and the second was a routine from the floor work and transitions class I took.


For my last routine, I did I solo hoop performance. Since I have only taken 2 classes, I was nervous putting a full routine together. I hung my hoop outside on the kids swing set and managed to come up with a fairly decent routine. I was the happiest with the hoop routine as it was the most out of my element.  Although, my Purple Rain costume was my favourite and I liked how I performed in Pleasers, pointe shoes and bare feet.

Two weeks after that showcase was the summer recital. I was so sick that I was throwing up all day. I got sick right before each performance. But I didn’t want to back out of the show and let anyone down, luckily I made it through both shows without an problem!

Coming Out of My Shell – April 2016

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I heard about a pole showcase called Something Wicked by Verticalove in Hamilton. They were looking for pole cleaners, or pole kittens, so I volunteered. I got to watch the performances, then went on stage and climbed the poles to clean them between performances. Dancers from across Ontario, including a few from my own studio SASS, and the States come to perform and they were all incredible!

I had a chance to feel what it was like to be onstage in heels and booty shorts. By the end of the second night, I met so many amazing new people and decided that I wanted to be a performer next time.

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A few weeks later, I joined a few girls from SASS at the bar Southsides in Fort Erie promoting the studio. A girl set up her stage pole in the bar and we took turns doing tricks. I got really sick after Verticalove, so performing was very challenging but I toughed it out.

It was actually a bit of a dream come true. When I was in the beginners class, my instructor Shanyn told my class one night that she and her SASS girls were performing at a bar that night. That night, as I was learning basic spins, I dreamt of the day I would be good enough to do something like that. There I was, 2 years later living out something I thought only was a dream. That night I felt like my hard work was starting to pay off.

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Successes of 2015

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I ended 2015 with accomplishing a few goals I had set at the beginning of the year. I finally got cupid and was getting close to shoulder mounting. I learned how to do the extended butterfly pretty quickly. I started working on ballerina and jade.  Ballerina killed my ribcage for quite a while.  My splits for jade needed a lot of work.

I started working on doing more complex combo’s like the one in this picture from class. In order to come up with routines, I need to work on transitions between tricks to make it flow.

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I had my first performance at an open house for SASS. It was for a small number of people but it was an opportunity to perform the routine I learned from the sexy flow class. A girl that attended loved my performance and it got her to sign up for the sexy flow class. It was amazing that I had inspired someone like that.