Meet our March 2024 Teacher Feature: Pole instructor Veronica Chou and Aerial Instructor Dominic Di Felice If you haven’t taken class with them yet, we hope you get to know them a little better through our “Upside Down Challenge” and if you’ve already taken their classes, maybe you’ll learn something new! Best of all, enjoy classes with Veronica and Dominic for $25 throughout the month of March! And if you’re looking to take it to the next level, there are spots open to train with Dominic in our spring Student Showcase, happening April 20 at Drom NYC!
Take class with Veronica: Use code BPVERONICA
Take class with Dominic: Use code BPDOMINIC
**PLEASE NOTE: instructor discount codes are only valid for classes with Veronica and Dominic. Using the codes for any other instructor will result in early cancellation or a $45 single class purchase. No exceptions.
MEET VERONICA CHOU
- What’s a catchphrase or cue that breaks the ice with your class? I would say let’s play a lot or give it a try and see what happens.
- What’s your favorite move to teach upside down? My favorite move is probably this one – outside leg hang.
- What is one of your favorite performance moments ever pole dancing?
My favorite performance is this recent time that we did a showcase at House of Yes, learning from Kira and working with all the teams about in pole, that was amazing experience.
- Had you ever danced on stage like that before? No, and that’s why it makes it so special
- What in your background do you think influences your pole dance teaching the most? My background was street dance, I did hip hop and jazz before and I think that influenced my movement a lot and what I looked for when I learned from a teacher.
- And how did you find Body & Pole? I found Body & Pole because I wanted to come to New York and I also wanted to learn pole dancing from world-best instructors and Body & Pole definitely has most of the world’s best instructors. That’s how I found Body & Pole.
Follow Veronica on Instagram @veronicachou. View Veronica’s class schedule here!
MEET DOMINIC DI FELICE
- What is your cornerstone inspiration like touchstone thing that you draw from? I think the thing I go to most is the music I think that’s always the first place I start and then when I can see movement at certain parts of the music or I connect to some of the dynamics from the music, that’s where my creativity really starts to shine.
- Does it help if it’s a specific type of music, or anything will do it for you?
I think there are stories to be told in all sorts of styles of music. I grew up with music, so that’s always going to be my go-to.
- What do you mean you grew up with music? I was in choir since I was a little boy. I was in band forever. That was a huge part of my life, actually. So, dance was actually not something I was super confident in, ever.
- Do you find that your musical background influences your aerial practice or even your teaching? Absolutely. I think it’s something I really try to instill in my students every class, and listen to the music let your body react to the music and that’s what I call dancing. Is there a particular way of training when you’re learning an instrument or a practice makes perfect, you know, really working out any case is kind of your responsibility with your own practice. So I think it’s about taking responsibility in infusing dance into your practice that makes a more interesting performance performance personally.
- Have you ever thought about doing an aerial act with drumming? I have not thought about using an instrument, but I have thought about using my vocal training to kind of infuse it into a new form of performance that people don’t get to see very often.
- What was your first exposure to aerial? First exposure ever, I think, was here at the studio. I randomly made a wonderful friend who invited me to take their pole class and then once I was in the studio.
- Who was that? Armando, actually and ever since then like Body & Pole has been where I’ve discovered a new form of artistry that I used to really practice and then doing work study you know, aerial art something that I was super attracted to.
- How did you gravitate towards the hoop then? You know I think it was just one of those things where it’s the one I connected to more so than anything else.
- Is there something specific? I love the weightlessness. I love being able to I think I could dance more freely In a loop than when I was on the ground typically And I think that’s only because of What I learned through my poultry Which was to find your own movement.
- How often do you go back to pole or do you ever really go back to pole? I wish I could be in pole way more often than I am. I’ve been training some Mondays with Sam Star who was like one of my mentors before. I would love to be in more classes when it comes to to free time.
- So what would be your recommendation to some of your primarily aerial students? I always say push yourselves past the boundaries that you think you’re able to do. It all comes from trying it once.
- What’s a catchphrase, or something you just can’t help but say while you’re teaching? It’s always, if you mess up, just dance. Just dance. It’s a just dance kind of stuff. Listen to the music. Let it influence how your body moves. and that’s just what I consider dancing. And no one can move the way that you move. No one can do you better than you.
Follow Dominic on Instagram @flyguydominic. View Dominic’s class schedule here!
