Forums > Beginner Poi Moves > How to become a ballerina?

Posted: 14th Jan 2003
You mean you don't assume that we're dancing while doing all these silly moves? I'm sure at least half of us do. Some people that twirl throw all kinds of crazy dance moves in, some tap their feet, bounce, sway back and forth, while other (*cough*PK*cough) just kinda move around and let their arms/wrists flow like water.

As far as advice goes, just do what comes naturally. If you can dance without poi, you can dance with poi. Your body just takes time to adjust to the way you move your arms. (Be careful though, the more you move the more likely you'll be to hit yourself.)

~And when the day arrives I'll become the sky, and I'll become the sea, and the sea will come to kiss me for I am going home. Nothing can stop me now.~

Posted: 14th Jan 2003
How cool would that be if I could just let everything go and dance around as it comes!
But this is why I posted this, I'm a fucking elephant !

Posted: 14th Jan 2003
u should give up smokin u got a right cough there dude.

whats wrong with elephants in TuTu's?.

all i can add is to let yourself go, ur gonna get battered and bruised, scars heal and chicks dig scars [steve@TePooka].
have fun the more you move, the more feeling you get, like your poi are just an extension of ur arms. it will all become natural in time.
a 2 beat weave is a technical move, its is how you move with them, transitions, fluidity, moves and dance all = ur own style.
good luck.

AnonymousPLATINUM Member

Posted: 15th Jan 2003
Hi

I reckon two things about this, here they are;

1) HOP tends to emphasise the tricks, because its harder to describe a whole body movement than it is to describe the poi / wrist / arms in isolation (which is all you have to do with most technical moves). So this might lead one to believe everyone is obsessed with tricks (and some are - this is true) but most people do have their own style, but it isnt a deliberate thing.

2) There seems to me to be VERY few people who really do full body dance while pulling technical moves, dont ask me why, but there you go I guess some like the rush of getting the newest baddass trick.. While others like the rush of being able to let go and go with the music (which I might point out, seems also to be a big factor).

I think you cant help dancing if you always practice with music?

mmm is that three things?



Josh

Posted: 15th Jan 2003
nail in the coffin josh! well spoken.

Posted: 15th Jan 2003
Music.

Music helps me tremendously. I do feel a bit stale all the times I spin without some solid tunes.

I still don't dance enough, but it helps.

Well, shall we go?
Yes, let's go.
[They do not move.]

Posted: 16th Jan 2003
There's a recent thread that goes along these same sort of lines so I'll chip in my same two cents:

Cent Number One: Move with your poi, and keep out of thier way. That sounds a little contridictory but it makes sense, you'll find out how to move through getting adventurous and hit.

Cent Number Two: Bring all your movement from your hips, they gereate the most energy with the least effort. Go ask a dancer or martial artist.

Enjoy.

A wise man once said to me, Hey! You! Get out of my wardrobe! and in a way, I guess he was right.

Posted: 16th Jan 2003
Hey

You should go play with Kali - she's in Berlin methinks.....and she'll help you dance (and she's lovely )

Also - spin to whatever music you like best. No matter what the pace or the style whatever music really gets you going will put you in that happy relaxed/energized mindset and all will begin to flow.

I know some people who can only spin to trance, and some who can only spin to metal - I personally like bouncy folk

It's hard to describe dance on here but some spinners I have met from the board move and flow with grace and beauty that I can't even begin to achieve. But then it gives me something to aim for

Geologists do it in the dirt................

Posted: 16th Jan 2003
Hey

Thanks for the help at first, but sadly it wasn't any kind of advice than let yourself go. I know about that now.

Actually I had this Idea spinning staffs or poi while doing some kind of ballet dance and I might think it's very well possible to describe moves, f.e. I'm doing something like a scale (Do you know what I mean?) while turning a far spreaded butterfly which I wrap around my leg behind the back when my front and my foot are exactly horizontal, then back to front and while turning in this position I'm doing I think what you'd call and alternating butterfly tricept wrap or so. I had to practice so hard for this one!!!

I'm trying on dancing to classical music (I recommend Chopin), so all would be about slowly lifting the leg up here, doing a pirouette there and so on. But it's not possible with every move. And it's not so easy to combine some wrap stuff with a double rittberger (don't know how to do these sadly )

So I didn't really meant that I don't know how to swing my hips from the left to the right. This might sound stupid now, but I'm not that much an elephant! Though thanks a lot for your help. I'll post it, if I figured out something new about that.

Thanks everybody...Charlotte

[ 17. January 2003, 06:49: Message edited by: Charlotte ]