fbpx
info@poleconvention.com
Blog
Whiskey performs at PoleCon 2025

What’s in Your Gig Bag?

We talked about what’s in your pole bag before, today, we are going to talk about what’s in your Gig Bag.

I’m primarily an aerialist, but I’ve done my fair share of lollipop lyra gigs. These are the things I make sure I have before heading out to a corporate gig, aerial or pole based:

    • Skin tone leotard for under my costume
    • Costume pieces–usually a unitard or biketard, depends on the theme of the event

That’s Great, But Why?

Costume Things

I don’t do any gigs without my nude colored undergarments. Most of my gigs are for corporate events that are a bit more buttoned up and the clientele is not looking for my boobs or butt to be out, so I cover everything up and most of my costumes are leotard style with high necklines. Since I do primarily aerial, I stay pretty covered up, if you’re hired for a pole gig I’m certain costume requests will be different.

I also like to keep some TopStick with me, it’s known for being men’s toupee tape, but I’ve also found it holds costumes in place way better than products marketed as costume tape.

I keep pasties with me, even though I never plan on stripping down to pasties for the types of events that hire me. Different states have different nudity laws, and even though I stay very covered up at the request of my clients, I plan for as many things as my anxiety-riddled brain can think of, so even though I’m already wearing 2-3 layers, I still cover up the girls with skin tone pasties.

Grips

When I’m on stage, I don’t want nerves or my nervous system to get in my way. Grip aides are there to help you, so why not use them. Especially for ambient performance where I’m on apparatus for 10-20 minutes at a time, I’ll take all the assistance I can get. Different grips work better on different textures, so I’ll pack grips according to what I’m performing on.

Hardware

For the events that hire me, most of the time I am providing my own apparatus. I always check that all the pieces I need are in place before I pack my equipment, but I also like to bring back ups *just in case* for aerial gigs, that usually means an extra carabiner and swivel; if I’m performing on lyra I’ll also bring an extra span set.

For gigs on my lollipop lyra, I bring extra hex keys. I also like to add UV reactive gaffer tape to my hex keys so they stand out more, especially in dark back stage areas. Hence having a black light flashlight in my bag too–it’ll help the tape glow.

Warmup Supplies

I like to keep a lacrosse ball and set of small looped resistance bands for warmups. Often, you won’t have an option to warm up on your apparatus. The small looped bands are great for warming up serratus anterior, and scapular movements as well as glue med activation (which is super necessary for strong leg hangs). The lacrosse ball is for rolling out tight muscles. In a best case scenario, I’m not in pain prior to a gig so the lacrosse ball isn’t strictly necessary, but I’d rather have it and not need it than need it and not have it.

Conclusion

These are the things I keep in my gig bag, but contents vary performer to performer and gig to gig. Some other things I like to keep with me (maybe in the car, not necessarily the bag) are sparkling water (a little treat for post-performance) and snacks. I usually don’t have a chance to eat a snack mid-gig (though how great would that be?!) but I do like to have some post performance snacks–usually something with protein (like a protein shake) and something with sugar (a piece of fruit is ideal, but I can’t leave that in the car and forget it).

Do you keep other items in your gig bag? We’d love to hear it!

Apply to write a blog for us by emailing info@poleconvention.com

Cora
Latest posts by Cora (see all)

Related Posts

Back To Top