Why a Pseudonym?

Welcome!

So I've suddenly created this new website, Twitter, and now blog for myself. Because I needed to post under a new name.

It's a little weird for me. I'm a very private person who lives very publicly. On one hand, I hate prying questions, never talk about what I consider personal matters, often refuse to answer basic questions even by people who know me.

On the other hand, I'm a writer, a performer, a prolific tweeter, and a long-time blogger. I've had a lot of websites, I write press releases and send them to newspapers, and I don't shy away from talking about day-to-day life on my many platforms.

So most people who know me know I teach aerial pole. It's been a big part of my life for many years. So why the sudden pseudonymity?

Well, I am more a teacher than a performer, so I didn't usually have to use a stage name. I mostly taught people I knew, friends and friends of friends, so I never had to advertise. People knew me from aerial acrobatics and my general wide social circle.

Now I moved to a new city-- well, it's sort of an old city 'cause I lived here when I was a teenager, but that was a long time ago-- and I need to start over. So all of a sudden I'm having to advertise and reach out and connect and put myself out there in a way I didn't have to before.

I do way too many things. I have a pretty serious music career, many day jobs, and I'm currently in school for another career. I'm up for two jobs so far in my new city-- one in a church, the other in a high school. So even though I'm relatively open about doing pole, it's not the first thing I want people to see when they Google my name.

Not because I'm ashamed of it, but because I don't want to confuse people who might think I'm less serious a musician and writer because I also have another career in aerial pole. And because there are some sheltered, conservative people who don't understand that pole dancing and stripping are two different things, and might not want anything to do with me, or want me near their children. I have no problem educating them, but I'd prefer to do so in person, rather than be prejudged by them based on pictures of me standing on the ceiling in a bikini.

A lot of pole dancers and other aerialists use pseudonyms, but they don't usually switch over to one this late in their careers, which is why I felt like I owed my many contacts an explanation.

Anyways, I have a lot of things to blog about, so watch this space in the near future for my thoughts on pole and its sister aerial arts.

Pic by Valkyrie NYC.