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Not So Full Split Allegra

I'd like to review my pole journey with Allegra in this post because it's pretty, relatively easy and has so many different variations to play with. I saw someone in the studio practising it and thought that it just looks fantastic. Back then I had no idea that learning it with result in the most massive bruise I've ever had since I started pole dancing. 

So my first Allegra was a simple one handed hold which was quite secure. It's pretty straight forward once you're 100% confident with your inside leg hold. It did take some time to adjust and get rid of that enormous bruise that appeared straight after I tried the move for the first time. Once the hold itself was secured I took a photo of it. And, well, it wasn't a split. Same issue persists, good side Allegra turned out to be a bad split side. So instead of a nice straight line I ended up with a wide angle. It was particularly hard to straighten my knees, that resulted in narrowing my split even further. However I was overall happy with it.

October 2015. Just got my Allegra. Clearly not a full split, but it was a start

March 2016. Overall slightly better, however I'm holding on to the pole with my other hand. Not 100% sure if it helps holding a split
The next step was a Closed Allegra; an entirely different story. Imagine a cat trying to reach a piece of sausage through a narrow gap, how funny its paw is grabbing the air while the desired treat is still out of reach -  that's me and my foot. Overwhelming frustration. Most of it is about a back bend and this is where I'm no good at all. Fortunately my instructor got tired of my pathetic attempts and gave an advise that hugely improved my performance with Closed Allegra. Instead of jumping straight into it, I was told to fully relax into Gemini (inside leg hold) first, and then grab my back foot only slightly changing a body position. A miracle occurred, the foot was captured! Barely at first, but still it was a milestone for me.

September 2016. My Closed Allegra still looks like shit, but I can securely grab my foot
Some time later, it turned out there was also an Allegra Split. Probably one of my favourites. Go into your Allegra and grab your front foot with your spare hand. If you can hold your normal Allegra, the split version will be no different in terms of hold difficulty. But what's truly fantastic about it is that if looking at it from a certain angle you may cheat into making your Allegra Split look like a full split, even if you're not there yet. I just love those moves that let you pretend you're awesome :) My knees are still not particularly straight when I go into my Allegra Split, but overall it looks good.

May 2016. Decent looking Allegra Split. Not perfect, but a big step up, done on my bad split side
And finally the last variation. Not sure about the name. There's some bad news for me here. It's sort of a mix of the other options: normal Allegra grip on top, but instead of grabbing your foot it's the thigh you need to hold on to while keeping your back leg straight. I thought about it a lot, but looks like the only way to get it is to be super flexible. Extreme flexibility doesn't happen overnight of course. But what's great about Allegra is there are still other variations that look just as good. Just remember to always point your toes!
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