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PSO Moments: Chad Uyehara

PSO Moments: Chad Uyehara

PSO Moments is an opportunity to highlight our competitors. They share their inspiration and experience to enlighten and inspire. We believe that everyone deserves a moment on stage. Join us as we take a look at Chad Uyehara’s PSO Moment.

 

PSO: When and where did you compete?

Chad Uyehara: 2021 Aries

 

PSO: What was your inspiration or story behind your piece?

Chad Uyehara: As a professional musician and music educator, I was first inspired by the music to create a piece that was dynamic, sassy, and fun. I also love upbeat, energetic music, and Little Mix's "Move" has always been a favorite song of mine. When thinking about the story I wanted to tell through the music, I knew I wanted to show how pole dancing has helped me get through the lock downs during COVID and how it has also become my primary form of exercise. I've been into weight lifting, triathlon, and marathon, but these sports leave very little room, at least in my opinion, for artistic expression. I'm happy to have found pole dance, a combination of sport and art, which activates, stimulates, and energizes my body, mind, and soul.

 

PSO: What would you like to share about your PSO competition experience?

Chad Uyehara: I take competition and performance seriously, so I trained a lot, putting in many extra hours in the studio. Even though I knew the virtual competition allows for doing multiple takes, I still went into recording day feeling focused, excited, and nervous. Would I be able to channel that nervous energy, though? I thought back to my first PSO competition at Northwest 2019 and how I failed to channel the nervous energy to my benefit. I lacked muscle engagement, causing slow spins, broken lines, and mistakes on elements that I had never before flubbed. I was determined in PSO Aries Virtual to channel the nervous energy into muscle engagement that would help me deliver the clean, controlled, and expressive performance I envisioned. While I still wish some things could be better, I am overall happy with the performance I submitted. Also, the high energy and technical demands of my piece really did not allow for doing many takes. I am so thankful for PSO adapting to COVID in-person restrictions by offering virtual competitions. Thank you for pushing us to exercise and train, for giving us a space to share and to express our love for pole, and for continuing to inspire us to pursue our passion for pole.
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