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adamricepoo-bah
1,015 posts
Location: Austin TX USA


Posted:
Check it out:https://www0.mercurycenter.com/premium/arts/docs/firedance17.htmThere's a comment at the end of this article that I find a little troubling--but possibly correct.

Laugh while you can, monkey-boy


Jessemember
118 posts
Location: Pittsburgh, PA/ USA


Posted:
Yeah. I read that article too, and that's EXACTLY what I've been so worried about in the "Pennsic" thread. Terrible, isn't it that something previously "unknown" to the public could one day be represented by the one person that we all consider to be an idiot???!

SupermanBRONZE Member
member
829 posts
Location: Houston, Texas, USA


Posted:
all those worries can be put aside with a little preparation and safety precautions..Fire extinguisher handy, someone always ready to use it, and just use your head."Hey guys, lets twirl some fire next to gas station while we stand in a large pile of lighterfluid moistened hay, and have our buddies throw lit matches at us..."S'------------------"Only the warrior that hears the call will know when to leave, Where to go" -unknown

Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear--not absence of fear.


- Mark Twain


adamricepoo-bah
1,015 posts
Location: Austin TX USA


Posted:
Actually, although there's no reason Ajmani *must* be right, she probably is. There are responsible firedancers and reckless ones. I don't like it, but that's just the way it is. I have no reason to think Ajmani is one of the reckless ones. There are some people who confuse acknowledging danger with inviting it, and there are others who just don't see that far ahead. (I've e-mailed the reporter with these observations as well).

Laugh while you can, monkey-boy


dangerboyoriginal member
205 posts
Location: Vancouver, BC, Canada


Posted:
Every time i read or hear a reference to fire spinning becoming trendy or cathing on "faster than rock 'n' roll" (gag), I quail inside. This was supposed to be an alternative art form, dammit! All I can hope is that most people who do it because it's trendy will pick it up and soon put it down.

Earth my body, water my blood, air my breath, fire my spirit


Jeff Duncanmember
140 posts
Location: sidney, bc, canada


Posted:
i agree with dangerboyif they do it cause its the "in" thing to do then those people will most likely not be very good and put it down very fast! (i hope)besides i like being the only person other then 2 close friends in my whole school who can do this. if more then 20 started to do this i would loose my individuality!!! (and respect for playing with fire so dangerously)see just look at me and my friends mad mad mad

AnonymousPLATINUM Member


Posted:
I know Sue Glover. She's been playing with fire for, I don't know, eight or nine years now. I know how she feels about the recent popularity of fire performance. I'm sure her implication is *not* that the boon in fire performance is a good thing. BTW, Jesee, are you saying Angel is a idiot? Diana

AnonymousPLATINUM Member


Posted:
Popularity is immaterial.Someone that is doing it to be 'cool' (ha!) is never gonna flow like someone that loves it for what it is.the risk factor tho...is a problem. I wouldnt be surprised if they introduce some kind of licencing system if it gets really outa hand...Sounds like the capitalists are really cashing in on it, there is no way they would outlaw it, better to make MORE money from licencing it. Mainstreaming it.but then it will burn out (ha! thats twice!).and all that will be left are us glowing embers...Josh

s-p-l-a-tmember
383 posts
Location: Brisbane, Qld, Australia


Posted:
hmm but I can't see many people staying addicted to streamer poi.. I really don't think you can be any good at twirling fire unless you really like it..(past the basics that is). Healthy surges of competition aren't bad. I honestly think its blown out of proportion by the newspapers. And I also reckon that a lot of people will put it down once they burn themselves a few times. Because learning so you can 'look cool and be better than everyone else' is completely the wrong wave to start off with and those people will never be half as awesome as those who go into it with an open mind.

The beautiful thing about learning is that no one can take it away from you.- B.B.King


PeleBRONZE Member
the henna lady
6,193 posts
Location: WNY, USA


Posted:
I agree that fads will come and go and to many, this is a fad. Because it takes specific skill and practice,or because so many are picking it up, many will grow weary of quickly.I have noticed, no offense is meant to anyone on this site, but many of these kids get into poi/fire for raves, parties and social aspects surrounding college/university. What do you think will happen when they graduate, find the job of their dreams, marry and have family? I doubt they will continue to rave and certainly several will stop spinning all together. It is much like skateboarding of the 80's where everyone tried to do it and yet we are now mesmerized by the styles of the few professionals who survived it's craze. Everything has it's cycle and I am certain this is not poi's first nor its last.I think the article had merits, voicing the concerns of many non-fire (and some of us fire) people about the newbies. I also think that the representation of us all being hippy-psychedelic like is funny, but I understand that he wrote from the perspective he is handed and not the broadest view available. I think the article mirrors exactly what is going on even on this site, where it seems everyday there is a new voice to poi. It's the way things are and while I don't relish the idea of an art I treasure being inundated by kids who don't recognise it for it's true potential or for the very real danger to others if precautions aren't taken, I realise it's mainstream popularity grows daily (though thankfully not in my portion of the US yet!).For those of us who are professionals, these newbies really don't pose a threat for they don't dedicate themselves as completely as we do. I have no fear about that. And for those that it reaches who do dedicate themselves to it, then I welcome them and await whatever they add to the art, and we all do add to it eventually.Overall it is a subculture. Like Harley Clubs and Weight Lifting we live by our own understandings and rules by night, while leading "normal" lives by day. I see no problem with that, or it being represented in an article. I do think that perhaps there should've been a broader base to those interviewed however, to cover all spinners and not simply the club spinners. I don't know if San Fran is really the hub of this subculture, but it sounds good from that reporters point of veiw obviously, and it can't be disputed SF puts out *alot* of fire performers for the US.That article and the growth of interest in fire really changes very little in my life. I know I perform my own way, which no one else can do. I know I own what I do. I know I love fire and performing is a perk. I know that long after the fad has died and I am back to ensemble performing I will still be pushing the envelope in fire for a personal growth and fulfilment. I know I will still be here and beyond that it doesn't matter to me if everyone else loses interest or everyone else learns.Besides, lets not forget that you can't buy into everything that you read! smilelove and fire to all------------------Pele Higher, higher burning fire...making music like a choir..."I prefer not to go where there is a path but to blaze a new one!"

Pele
Higher, higher burning fire...making music like a choir
"Oooh look! A pub!" -exclaimed after recovering from a stupid fall
"And for the decadence of art, nothing beats a roaring fire." -TMK


AnonymousPLATINUM Member


Posted:
I ahve to say - I think the article is pretty crap in only dedicating one sentence to the origins of Poi'ing. I bet there are a hell of a lot more fire twirlers in New Zealand than there are in San Fran.I mean it almost made it sound like the guy from red Bull invented non-fire Poi! Shite.sorry kids. but I had to let it out.Jsh

Jessemember
118 posts
Location: Pittsburgh, PA/ USA


Posted:
Diana: Heavens, no, I wasn't implying that Angel is an idiot. I've never met her, so I really haven't much of an opinion on that matter. Perhaps a bit of an explanation is due here.I love to watch a good performer of anykind, and the first time I saw Rowan performing with fire, I was mesmerized. The idiots I'm referring to are the ones who jump on the band wagon of fad without learning it's safety precautions first. Almost any fad applies. Some fads only represent a danger to the "idiot" themselves. (I've seen plenty of kids out there with awful tatoos and messed up piercings, because they didn't bother to do the research and find out who the responsible and experienced tatoo artists were before they got one...) Where as other fads can represent danger to "innocent by-standers." And when those "innocent by-standers" get hurt, many times (especially when there isn't an overall public understanding of the fad) the entire community gets blamed. And that's what I'm so worried about. For a while when tatoos were popular, there was also a big trend for people to become "apprentice" tatoo artists or piercers. But because many of these people were in such a hurry to jump on the bandwagon, they did not bother to learn the appropriate safety precautions... Or they were just to impatient to deal with them. So in Ocean City, Maryland, for example: Due to the re-use of tatoo needles and the lack of serious sterilizing equipment (autoclaves), there was an outbreak of hepatitis. Consequently, it is ILLEGAL to give a tattoo anywhere in the COUNTY unless you are an MD. And on the Pennsic thread that I've been ranting on: Three days after one girl saw Rowan's initial fire performance, she decided she wanted the kind of attention that Rowan was getting, so she decided to start performing with a lit staff at a crowded party full of drunk people, where two performers were already performing. Fortunately, she only managed to set her OWN hair on fire... (I didn't know anything about fire performance at the time, but I could TELL what was going on, just because I've been in performance long enough to recognize an attempt at show stealing when I see one. I was very tempted to add a decidedly SEVERE scolding to her other damages.) But because of people like her, I'm very afraid that the management of Pennsic will make it so difficult for legitimate performers, that I may never be mezmerized by a fireshow there again... And that, my dear friends, is what I meant by "idiot."Jesse-the-ever-long-winded.


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