Forums > Help! > School Showing - Need Some info And Ideas

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Dracon388SILVER Member
newbie
10 posts
Location: Canberra, Australia


Posted:
I've Been Twirling Simply Before With And Without fire and I have permission to do a school showing at assembly one day, Im kinda nervous because this will be my first time infront of people my age I useually twirly with some of my bros friends.

Ideas And Info I need are;

Would The Kero-fumes be likely to set off the smoke detectors? they are defnitley alot higher than normal its in the gym

Any good music to twirl too? or should I stick to something personal?

Would It Be Worth Turning It, into something, more like a show, or should I just go out and twirl?

any other ideas would be good

Thanks in advance Dracon

PS: Just notes about me, 15yr old, YR10, Skills Quite Basic But Enough not To Drop It All The Time biggrin

MikeIconGOLD Member
Pooh-Bah
2,109 posts
Location: Philadelphia, PA - USA


Posted:
If youre doing an indoor show, you should use white gas for fuel. Much less smokey and wont leave your gym floor slippery!



Music? If its gonna be all the people you know in school, you should play something rather popular. I dont know what your taste in music is like but its important to please the crowd more than yourself. It should be music without many words, as words distract spectators. It should also be rather upbeat. For instance, if I were in your shoes Id probably play some Prodigy.



I would definately try for a little bit of a show. You dont have to kill yourself making a huge production out of it, but considering you say your skills are rather basic, it would probably get boring if you just spun weaves and butterflies for 5 mins. Throw in some variation to create different moods, include a climax and an ending.



Just my 2 cents. Good luck!

Let's turn those old bridges we crossed into ashes.
We'll blaze a new trail,
and torch the rough patches.

-Me


Dracon388SILVER Member
newbie
10 posts
Location: Canberra, Australia


Posted:
White Gas?, The Main Things I know of are Kerosene, and Citronella mixes, where could you buy this smile?



Music Prodigy -Fire Starter, Not My Taste But It Would Be Funny



And Yeah A Show was what I was thinking at Most It wouldnt be to long Climax's are always important, but I'm thinking something at the start while its still got lots of fuel on would be good what the person who got me into it showed me "Fire balling" can scare the hell out of the person in front of you biggrin, thinking it could be good biggrin





EDIT: Why my skills are limited: I Havent been twirling for too long but Im good for what I know, well At least i think I Am:D, and well Im a youngen I still have lots to learn but practice makes perfect

and thanks I forgot one more thing my Hair Gel Is Flammable.... is that a problem
EDITED_BY: Dracon388 (1110497966)

Adya MiriyanaGOLD Member
*slou?
6,554 posts
Location: Adelaide, Australia


Posted:
Lets see.. flame plus flammable hair gel... yes, i would say that could be somewhat of a problem.. tongue

perhaps a good idea to wear a beanie, or bandana?

polytheneveteran
1,359 posts
Location: London/ Surrey


Posted:
Yes! I'd recommend not wearing the gel AND covering your hair... I can't get the link thing working, but try the search function, a thread called 'long hair and fire' I think, is a good one.

Good luck for the show smile

The optimist claims that we are living in the best of all possible worlds.
The pessimist fears this is true.

Always make time to play in the snow.


KlownyBRONZE Member
Disco Inferno
160 posts
Location: Remote Western Australia Karratha


Posted:
Howdy! umm i do a few shows inside as well the thing i always have to remind myself is that the distance between you and the spectators should a a fair distance especially on your first show coz im not sure but im pretty sure that everyone drops it atleast once so if ya gonna drop it make sure you aint gonna drop it on some poor fools head other wise your firetwriling career at school might be extinguished rather quickly. safety comes first hey, always, then have fun thats important too gotta have fun!

"Only fools are positive! are you sure? Im POSITIVE"


Dracon388SILVER Member
newbie
10 posts
Location: Canberra, Australia


Posted:
Thanks guy as far as the hair goes and I saw the label I was liek damm, so Ill probabley just be soking my hairs it not long at all so its no problem, and distance is at all no problem Its atleast 10ms and Im higher so I think its preety safe. But as far as music goes Im seeing about live stuff because we also have a staring band at our school it would either be combined with them, not sure if it suits though, or some sort of rock biggrin

But FireBug24 you said youve done shows inside do you use Kero or what?

GnorBRONZE Member
Carpal \'Tunnel
5,814 posts
Location: Perth, Australia


Posted:
Im impressed your school is going to be okay with fire inside.
Have safety crew who is well versed with whats going on, especially chance of student walking into the show.
Strut and think you are fabulous.

Is it the Truth?
Is it Fair to all concerned?
Will it build Goodwill and Better Friendships?
Will it be Beneficial to all concerned?

Im in a lonely battle with the world with a fish to match the chip on my shoulder. Gnu in Binnu in a cnu


mechBRONZE Member
Carpal \'Tunnel
6,207 posts
Location: "In your ear", United Kingdom


Posted:
if i was you

i would do a show, and take on advice of all those above

but i would say no to fire indoors

unless your school has a couple of fire marshals who can stand just off stage with the right kits, and knoledgel of what to do if something geos wrong then no

if you do have a low end skills level, then also no.

IMHO if you are asking these questions, then you should not be doing fire inside, do a cool show, but do it dry

and then maybe next term you could ask the school to do it again with fire

have you checked on what liability your school has?

will they be covered of you or some one else gets hurt, what are the legal implications

have you done a safty sheet for the area, whats your stage area like?

where will yuo store the fule whil eyou are spinning?

what safty kit do you have for emergensies?

PLEASE dont breath inside, its uber dangerous at the best of times, and inside over someone to shock or scare them, you have no idea of their reaction, and again the legal implications

please odnt think i am trying to sit on your dream, but its a lot more complex then you think

people above this post are mostly experienced for some time, and they have these things drummed into their brains mostly to think of first

please be very careful

Step (el-nombrie)


MandSILVER Member
Keeper of the Spitfire
2,317 posts
Location: Calgary Canada


Posted:
ditto
Wise words spoken from Mech.

Of course it would be cool to spin fire infront of your classmates, but as Mech has pointed out, there's a lot more to consider than that.

Personally, I would recommend doing a black light show.
You could add some cool body painting in for extra effect.
In my opinion, a good blacklight show can do WAY more than a poorly done fire show.

PS- as for what was previously mentioned about fuels...
paraffin (or kerosene) will leave your gym floor slippy- probably something your school wouldn't be too happy about, as it creates other safety dangers for after the show PE lessons.
White gas (coleman fuel) won't leave the floor slippy, but personally I've only ever seen it in the US. It burns a lot hotter than paraffin, and is a LOT more flammable.
(See fuel safety article )

Lets steal a spaceship and head for the sun, and shoot the stars with a lemonade ray gun.


MikeIconGOLD Member
Pooh-Bah
2,109 posts
Location: Philadelphia, PA - USA


Posted:
White fuel/Coleman's Fuel/Camping Fuel...

Can often be found in camping supply stores or stores with camping supplies in them (K-Mart, Walmart around me). Im sure some sort of variation of this can be found in the UK but I really dont know for sure. If not, you can go with lighter fluid too. It will still be better than kero in an indoor situation, but white gas is most preferable. As stated above, be careful though, white gas is much more explosive than kerosene.

Let's turn those old bridges we crossed into ashes.
We'll blaze a new trail,
and torch the rough patches.

-Me


Dracon388SILVER Member
newbie
10 posts
Location: Canberra, Australia


Posted:
OK, Camping fuel, and Mech, all of those things are good safety is but no problem at our school I have that confirmed for sure biggrin stage area is a good size more than enough room and the fire safety kits its a schoo we have more than enough, but as far as blacklight show its always an option 'cause it was a most probabley I never had the full go Im just getting info and still talking to our 'priniple about it she is good though

And as far as breathing goes strange story but our old Drama teacher used to be in the circus if we had permition we got to be 'taugh fire breathing :P i was the only one who remebered to bring in the note and I was alright but I have no intention of doing it inside or outside without alot more practice


buring hotter is worth loseing the slippy floors Im used to heat and fire just because My skills are basic dont mean I dont know fire smile

But as far as things go Ill get back to you biggrin

And thanks for putting alot more things into view mech biggrin

SpitFireGOLD Member
Mand's Girl....and The Not So Shy One
2,723 posts
Location: Calgary, Alberta Canada


Posted:
If you do use white gas, please be very careful. It is much more likely to ignite than kero or parafin. Have your fuel depot WELL away from where you will be spinning, and spin off REALLLY well before lighting up.

You should have at least two safety folks on either side, and a fire extinguisher or two near by. Someone should also watch over your fuel depot and make sure no one goes near with a lit cigarette.

I've done quite a few public performances, both indoors and out. For our later indoor shows, we actually got permission from the city Fire Marshall.

Is the stage wood? If so, be extra careful not to drop on there.

I'm just a stickler for saftey, especially in situations like this...indoors, with a fairly sizeable crowd. If things go wrong, they can go very wrong.

Good luck, and if things don't feel right, then listen to your instinct.

Solitude sometimes speaks to you, and you should listen.


_Poiboy_PLATINUM Member
bastard child of satan
1,113 posts
Location: Raanana, Israel


Posted:
about the fuel and stuff - I think you should put it back in the container before lighting to minimize chances of people getting near with cigarettes and stuff...

Dracon388SILVER Member
newbie
10 posts
Location: Canberra, Australia


Posted:
Remember its Inside a school we arnt meant to be smoking at all biggrin, the stage is well Hard to say its like wood but not, but as far as kero or white fuel that stage could acctually be covered well

and what clicked with me is that somone said about slippy florr the stage is like retractable it slides back under into the rear of the gym it would be no problem for later PE classes, and the Fire-Exs and blankets will be in easy suppy, as far as things fo its looking good biggrin and the fuel will be nice and out of the road biggrin

NYCNYC
9,232 posts
Location: NYC, NY, USA


Posted:
You need to realize that the floor is going to get slippery QUICKLY. You'll be surprised at how hard it will be to keep your balance once you've started spinning.

I've done many indoor events and that's always been my main concern.

As a teacher I can safely say, you school is STUPID for letting you do this but hey... if they said 'yes'...

This would never fly where I come from.

Best of luck and be safe. Plan safety for something to go wrong and be pleasantly surprised if it doesn't. biggrin

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


KaelGotRiceGOLD Member
Basu gasu bakuhatsu - because sometimes buses explode
1,584 posts
Location: Angels Landing, USA


Posted:
This is where ultra glowsticks come in handy.... 5 minutes of emulated fire. wink

To do: More Firedrums 08 video?

Wildfire/US East coast fire footage

LA/EDC glow/fire footage

Fresno fire


mechBRONZE Member
Carpal \'Tunnel
6,207 posts
Location: "In your ear", United Kingdom


Posted:
Written by: NYC


You need to realize that the floor is going to get slippery QUICKLY. You'll be surprised at how hard it will be to keep your balance once you've started spinning.

I've done many indoor events and that's always been my main concern.

As a teacher I can safely say, you school is STUPID for letting you do this but hey... if they said 'yes'...

This would never fly where I come from.

Best of luck and be safe. Plan safety for something to go wrong and be pleasantly surprised if it doesn't. biggrin





thats pretty much what i thought when i read your post.

like nyc said, what you have to do plan for the worst

this includes planning for the wprst to happen to some one in your audiance, look at it from the point of view that something will go wrong, and then plan for it, and your show will go staright

i hope you do have a good show, and then again in a few months do another if you are allowed

but please be carfull

Step (el-nombrie)


Dracon388SILVER Member
newbie
10 posts
Location: Canberra, Australia


Posted:
NYC, like I said our school is surpisingly leniant if they trust the person (yey for me), And from what all you guys have said Im planning all the Tech-People and where to stick em and what to give them, Worst case scenario Ill make an idiot of myself frown , As far as audience goes Im gona see about having the chairs further away than usual, and Kael, Always an Option Ill get back to you guys with a full post about it, and if you can think of ny thing else feel free to post it biggrin

ZauberdachSometimes sword wofter
199 posts
Location: Edinburgh


Posted:
wow, in one sense respect to your school for open mindedness... but yeah, I'm with the NYC on the whole stoopid thing.

I hope the people who go to your school aren't the sort of people who wear lots of synthetic clothing? If you were to send a toy into the crowd how much damage would you cause?

Only other thought not covered by people is probably fairly obvious, for your tech-people have people who know about spinning who know that setting yourself or the audience on fire is not part of the show.

Good luck.

IMPORTANT: Any views or opinions are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of a sane person.

"just get the f**k on with it and make me the anti-christ already!"


Fine_Rabid_DogInternet Hate Machine
10,530 posts
Location: They seek him here, they seek him there...


Posted:
Written by: Dracon388


Worst case scenario Ill make an idiot of myself frown




Or u cud burn the school down. Soz, thats not helpful.

I agree wiht NYC tho. tis a bit silly, and the floor will get slippy. Wear some shoes with really strong grips. Boots might help...

The existance of flamethrowers says that someone, somewhere, at sometime said "I need to set that thing on fire, but it's too far away."


Dracon388SILVER Member
newbie
10 posts
Location: Canberra, Australia


Posted:
Like a Said with the stage there is nothing beening used on it for a couple of weeks after me so it has time to be cleaned and stuff aswell biggrin, shoes yeah gfot new shoes recenlty not very slippy at all biggrin

and buring the school down, It basically happened to our primary school twice and this one has had issues, but the gym is good as far as that goes biggrin

KlownyBRONZE Member
Disco Inferno
160 posts
Location: Remote Western Australia Karratha


Posted:
yeah i use kero but i usualy make sure i got no spray going on, i also wear a set of grip sports gloves to increase grip because it does get a bit slippery and chip board floor is pretty good in terms of grip most stage floors i have been on are made of chip board but i dunno how your stage is gonna be ste up so yeah, kerosene, maek sure there isnt gonna be any spray and gripped floor so ya dont slip and gripped gloves just for a lil extra protection from it slipping in ya hands, it doesnt affect me personally in terms of restriction of movement but everyone is different im just going on form experience.

"Only fools are positive! are you sure? Im POSITIVE"


mechBRONZE Member
Carpal \'Tunnel
6,207 posts
Location: "In your ear", United Kingdom


Posted:
Written by: Dracon388


Worst case scenario Ill make an idiot of myself frown




sorry to come back and be negative again

but the worst case scenario is that some one dies.

i know that sounds grim and im sorry, but remember what you are about to do, you are taking a fire and playing with it inside a building that has lots of potentialy fire friendly materials that will burn or metal,
I.E. spectators cloths,
curtains
fuel

lots of other thins, granted i dont knwo your school, and if they are letting you do this, they either have sone ideas about special skills and experience in this type of art form, or they have no idea (like my head master) what it is we really do and how much practice goes into a show

when we did some shows at my school with a three others off this bard, i chose them to come to my school and work with and for the kids as i knew they where safe,and would look at the sittuation with a safty eye...

there is no way that i would risk peoples lives like this

do it outside at least on a field

you will lose some of the visual display, but none of the respect, you will still be playing with fire

none of use are trying to say dont spin fire as a hobby or a job, but do it with care, it will only take one person to ruin the image of fire spinners inyour local area, bad news travels well remeber

its not just you that you can end up hurting its many others as well

please re-think what you are doing, you have some really experienced hands at this telling you its a bad idea,listen to them and do a glo show.

Step (el-nombrie)


Dracon388SILVER Member
newbie
10 posts
Location: Canberra, Australia


Posted:
Ive taken all of those things into account mech, and I know what the real worst case scenario is,

A glo show is always there depending, but so Much though and planing has gone into this, this one event Ive been thinking about for 12weeks the 6weeks of Holidays and 6weeks of school I do have basically everything planned I feel confident in this, And I really do see verything your pointing out and Safety is always a first point, Ive seen twirling gone wrong before out side being granted but with things alot worse than youd find inside. All these things your poininting out though of all the inside shows with planning and safety have these things everhappened, By first time spinning was with fire while being wasted in a silk shirst and synthetic-fibre pants seriously I had no problems at all it was like it clicked weird huh but that was so pointless all Im saying is its not a spur of the moment thing I have though about Almost everything this was just to bring views to things I may have forgotten,

Thank you all this will prob-be my last post for a while, and Mech despite you being negative you do point out many things, but as far as on a field or oval goes it would be more likely to 'cause problems right now than inside with wire wool, our ovals are dry as.

Thanks

~Dracon

mechBRONZE Member
Carpal \'Tunnel
6,207 posts
Location: "In your ear", United Kingdom


Posted:
i wish you all teh luck with this

hope it goes well and if it does, show us some pics

ok?

Step (el-nombrie)


Dracon388SILVER Member
newbie
10 posts
Location: Canberra, Australia


Posted:
Meep... Quick post smile, Pictures, ey? Ill see what I can do about that and thanks mech biggrin

newgabeSILVER Member
what goes around comes around. unless you're into stalls.
4,030 posts
Location: Bali, Australia


Posted:
So how did it go Dracon?



Has it happened yet?



Two tips I would make...



There is always a chance of spits of flame coming out of a newly dipped wick. Have everything dipped well in advance and have spun it off outside before you even bring it in. And learn how to do a simple burn off intro (throwing the staff into the air without spinning it) Makes a big initial flare, looks good and burns off some excess without sending it miles...If you have fire extinguishers etc there shouldn't be a problem.



And if you are in Australia you've no real excuse to use stinky kero at all. It's vile stuff. Get some stinkless fuel from Juggleart in Mebourne or Gooble in Brisbane or wherever you can. There are threads on it here.... biggrin

.....Can't juggle balls but I sure as hell can juggle details....



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