Forums > Beginner Poi Moves > Random musings on style vs technical

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JaedenGOLD Member
member
220 posts
Location: Edmonton, Canada


Posted:
I am a poi dancer, not a poi spinner. I strive for fluidity in my dance and have been told that my spinning appears effortless. Yet I find the greatest thrill from learning or discovering new moves. I have found alot of the current moves discussed here to be far too rigid, requiring one to stand (mostly) still while performing them. Hyperloops for example. While performing a hyperloop is it possible to move your hands at all? Bear with me, I don't quite know where I'm heading with this yet...

Most of my "new" moves are just silly things, variants on existing moves or simply spinning with my hands in strange places. Hm, that sounds kinda bad... I don't realy feel that these are infact new moves and don't post them for that reason but they do help greatly in developing flow. They allow for continual movement and turning without a break or pause. The last time I fealt I learnt something new was about 6 months ago, a 'sliding' 5-beat weave.

pause for a smoke...

I guess what I'm wondering is if there are others out there with this same affliction. Spinners who are continually learning "new" moves but don't bother posting them as they don't seem relevant to the current theme of the poi moves section. I for one would like to hear of some of these sort of new moves.

Is there a demand for these type of moves? Is it plausable or even possible to post such things, or are they best left to video?

I am affraid that these sort of things border too close to personal style and therefore if the reader does not share your same style the post would be irrelevant. I do remember a time when I first started to visit this site that I would see this type of post from time to time. Your thoughts?

The world is not out to get you but if you fight it you will be eaten alive


simian110% MONKEY EVERY TIME ALL THE TIME JUST CANT STOP THE MONKEY
3,149 posts
Location: London


Posted:
The problem with posting stylistic things about spinning is that so much is lost in the translation.

An explanation of how to do a technical move like a hyperloop is (relatively) simple, as the explanation is just a breakdown of what you need to do to get the poi to do a particular movement. You can do it fast/slow, standing on one leg or riding a unicycle, just as long as they tangle then untangle.

A stylistic move is going to be about speed and/or total body position and/or timing and/or grace etc. Finding words to describe it is going to be somewhere inbetween hard and impossible. Stylistic moves are definitely more suited to video than text.

Thats not to say "Don't post them" though. Even if you can't communicate your idea totally, or if your style is totally different to mine, you can still get ideas and inspiration from things other people post.

And just a note about technical moves restricting free movement, which is something I've heard mentioned quite a lot. I'd say that all poi moves restrict you in some way. When you watch people doing the weave for the first time there's no freedom in their movement, they have to stick to a rigid pattern. Its only through time and practice that your spinning becomes more free and room for stylistic movement is created. The same goes for the 3-beat weave, hyperloops, btb or whatever.

"Switching between different kinds of chuu chuu sometimes gives this "urgh wtf?" effect because it's giving people the phi phenomenon."


colemanSILVER Member
big and good and broken
7,330 posts
Location: lunn dunn, yoo kay, United Kingdom


Posted:
i have very little 'style' as you term it here.

a lot of the time i move no more than a couple of steps to either side when i'm spinning. i never crouch down or use a horse stance or use kung fu forms or attempt to break (although i'd love to be able to, just without poi!).

the 'technical' side of spinning for me is 'here is a move - now do all the variations you can conjure up'.
the distinction between move and variation is a very thin line indeed.
it may well be my attitude to poi in general that i don't consider myself anything other than a spinner. i know people perform with poi but thats not why i spin.
i spin because i enjoy the technical side - the fact that it looks good from the outside is a by product of me having fun.

and to attempt an answer at your earlier question, yes you can move your hands around while doing a hyperloop. they have to stay an even distance apart while tangled but other than that you can chuck them wherever you like.
they're not much more restrictive than a 5bt weave really.

"i see you at 'dis cafe.
i come to 'dis cafe quite a lot myself.
they do porridge."
- tim westwood


simian110% MONKEY EVERY TIME ALL THE TIME JUST CANT STOP THE MONKEY
3,149 posts
Location: London


Posted:
quote:
Originally posted by coleman:
i have very little 'style' as you term it here.
Yeah right

Style isn't quantative, and it doesn't follow that visually pleasing movement must be large movement. Thats like saying that a good picture has to have really bright colours.

Close-in tight spinning with economical movement can be just as stylish or graceful as someone leaping about from Snake to Crane stance

"Switching between different kinds of chuu chuu sometimes gives this "urgh wtf?" effect because it's giving people the phi phenomenon."


JaedenGOLD Member
member
220 posts
Location: Edmonton, Canada


Posted:
ohh, I didn't mean to intone that style was all in the dance. It was kinda late when I wrote that and it was just a collection of my random musings that I've been having for the past little while.

I think style is just how you would spin comfterably and it seems to me that most highly technical moves don't allow for much fluidity (my style). I appologise for that.

As to the hyperloop, that is what I meant. You need to keep your hands in the same orentation, which I don't have to with the 5-beat weave. You can do a 5-beat with one hand out straight and one under your armpit and by the time you've switched to the other side the hands are reversed.

Well, I'll try posting something here to see how it works.

from reverse split-time. giant with your right arm. As it passes overhead turn 180 degrees to your left and keep your left arm spinning in the same place. As you finish your spin your right arm should be coming down on the left side of your body. You finish spinning split-time forwards with your arms crossed, right on top. Silly things.

The world is not out to get you but if you fight it you will be eaten alive



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