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


Posted:
I'm moody too and right now feeling insecure so...I was wondering if you ever get stage fright? I get horrible stage fright. I shake and cry and everything the night before. It's why I have characters, once I slip into them then I am okay because it isn't me anymore.I am also wondering if any of you feel that what you do is ordinary? What I mean is that a couple of times people have said that something I do sounds amazing or whatever but I don't see it that way at all. Maybe because I am geographically isolated I view myself as a mediocre spinner probably doing moves that most people already do, so when you all respond so positively to something new I post I am flattered and humbled.Anyone else experience this? Like the east coast spin is coming up and I am afraid that people think I am better than I really am...I know it's personal point of view versus outside perspective......I am just ahving an off day.So are you a spinning god or a humble servant to the centirugal deities?------------------Pele Higher, higher burning fire...making music like a choir...

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


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


Posted:
Thank you Malcolm, for everything.For your kind words and thoughts, for your sweetness in setting up the lights in the poi you are sending, and btw..they will be the first set of non-fire poi I will have ever used, for setting up this unlikely family, for making me feel that my nerves are okay even when they are tweaking out! smileI would have to say you are on the god end of the spectrum!Thanks and my best,------------------Pele Higher, higher burning fire...making music like a choir...

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


Finnmember
341 posts
Location: Sydney, NSW, Australia


Posted:
Hear hear Pele smileEverybody loves Malcolm! wink--------------------------------Regarding stage fright - I sooo understand what you mean. The Wick Effect (Flash Fire, Frenzie, myself and three non home of poi boys) performed for the first time together a couple of weeks ago at an outdoor trance party. I completely wigged out. I worked myself up into such a state that i totally forgot how to do poi. frownMy performance was shite... i tangled up, i hit myself, i came onto the performance area on the wrong side, the moves i did pull off were very 'non'.... it was terrible.I had to force myself to go back out there each time i was supposed to. In the end I couldn't even do that. I didn't go back out for the finale.Afterwards I beat myself up about it. It took me a couple of days to stop feeling like I had let everyone down.I was terribly embarrassed. "next time will be better" became my mantra.It's only now, a couple of weeks later, that the feedback trickling in from various sources has encouraged me to believe that I was (possibly) not as bad as i thought I was.In a way I think I created a self fulfilling prophecy...."I am going to freak out, I will suck"so I did... freak out and suck. frownI know that it's something I will really have to work on. I want to perform so much!Does anyone have any advice for a fledgeling fire performer with stage fright?Finn smile[This message has been edited by Finn (edited 29 March 2001).]

ALIBABAmember
52 posts
Location: ambleside


Posted:
nervousness does go i find.myself and some friends did a charity "full monty" a couple of years ago which was originally designed to be seen by around 150-200 people while we were on at least a 3-4foot high stage. on the night there was almost 1000 people there most of which were little teeny bopper girls who had turned up to see a boy band that were on before us and the stage was barely a foot high. i was so nervous that when i held my hand in front of me i couldnt actually see it properly due to it shaking so fast, i was sweating and i couldnt think properly. all i can really remember from the performance though is the adrenaline as we walked on and the sheer elation at the end.it is scary performing anything in front of people you dont know. my friends are so excepting now as they see me practising and i guess have seen all the muck ups but its difficult in front of people you dont know. is it not countered by the "rush" when the performance is finished?i enjoy spinning but have not learnt anything new in a while for one reason or another. i can do all the moves on this site but not much more. just now i am concentrating more on my juggling and unicycling but teach people poi a lot. does that explain. aliiiiiiiiiii

ALIBABACHICKENMANICANSEEYOURUNDERWEAR


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


Posted:
Stage fright for me is this debilitating thing I go through the day before a show, when I am checking everything over. I get myself thoroughly convinced that I suck, tht the show can be done without me, that if I screw up I let everyone down and ruin our chances of getting another job. I am very adept at talking myself into and out of things. I usually cry all the way to a show while driving. I fidget through rehearsals something fierce, shake and my voice quivers, it's not pretty.The day of the show everything is very business for me beforehand and absolute character during, after the show I ride this adrenaline high and nitpick about everything I think went wrong, driving the friends crazy.I have been like this since the day I stepped on stage when I was 5. I have been asked why I put myself through so much everytime...but I **love** performing. I thrive on making people laugh and smile. I love being someone else for that bit of time and being able to do as my character what I can't do as me.I usually try to turn my nerves around and make it work for me, into focus or what ever but it's getting harder and harder as our jobs are getting bigger and bigger. We have a big one coming up and I think that's one of the reasons I am beating myself up now...starting early on it this time.Thanks for the responses, it helps alot.------------------Pele Higher, higher burning fire...making music like a choir...

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


Peregrinemember
428 posts
Location: Mystic, Ct. USA


Posted:
If youve got a good way of killing nerviousness and fear i'd love to hear it...I'm getting my widsom teeth out tomorrow, first surgery ever in my life, first major thing in my mouth and I am scared SHITLESS.I have never really been nervious before fire shows because i havnt done that many public ones. worst stagefright ever was maybe presenting my honours thesis for my degree but that wasnt nearly as bad as what i have today... frownbut i will be all better for eastcoastfiretwirlingfest!Peregrine[This message has been edited by Peregrine (edited 30 March 2001).]

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


Posted:
hmm .. generally when I come on here it's cause I'm feeling sick (conventional doctors merely diagnosed me and didn't really help me at all in telling me to wait a few months for it to pass.[I've already been waiting 5 months]) so Pele, I like reading your 'wordy' posts (you were labelled 'wordy' God knows what that makes me a lot of the time!) i am by far a humble servant to the centrifugal deities - they choose their own paths sometimes =)Pere, I had day surgery for the first time a few weeks ago and they gave me some horrible stuff to drink to clean out my system 24 hours before hand. Which made me feel like a rocket about to take off. For at least 24 hours =/ I was scared/worried too. I ended up crying for a while (and released a lot of it this way) and then concentrated on calm and relaxing thoughts - e.g. stuff that made or makes me feel happy. Try not to let it blow up bigger than what it is - merely a routine procedure for your benefit in the end. (Repeat this 1000 times for extra self-reassurance, I did wink )But trust me, they give you a crapload of painkillers even to take home with you (not that you'll need it straight after as you will probably be in fairyland - avoid twirling fire in this condition wink )Maybe not the best person to be talking to at the moment, western doctors (in general) give me the shits and I won't say anymore cause of Pere's wisdom teeth. Oh yeah - and Rescue Remedy or even St Johns Wort are good natural ways of helping to calm nervous anxiety.

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


Dr.NoodleHeadBRONZE Member
member
170 posts
Location: The Giant Mushroom, United Kingdom


Posted:
Whoever finds a cure for this is going to be outrageously wealthy and loved by the entire planet. Despite being a complete exhibitionist when I was younger, I now have an overwhelming phobia of public speaking, which is a bit of a shame as I have to give seminars as part of my job. The nerves start between two and three months before I'm due to speak and gradually escalate until, about two minutes before the big moment, I hit a full blown panic attack shocked. At that point I'm just praying that a) I can remember how to talk and b) I don't throw up over the front row. My only consolation is that just as having to get up and do it is inevitable, so is the fact that it will all be over really soon. Once up there, time whizzes past, I actually start enjoying myself and then, once it's over, I just have this huge happy mellow buzz which lasts for days afterwards - blissful grin. Even so, I'm probably going to leave this line of work because I don't want to spend the rest of my life stressed out waiting for the next talk - sad, or what. Good luck with the tooth job Pere - my wisdom teeth never showed up but my sister had hers done and lived to tell the tale.

Fish are just like trees except they move and they're invisible


Skyemember
33 posts
Location: Boise, ID, USA


Posted:
I still get really nervous before any public performance but I seem to get a little better each time out, and I don't throw up or shake uncontrollably the way I used to, so maybe some of the things I do may be useful to others.First of all, I picture myself in my mind as a fool, an old fashioned court jester complete with multi-pointed hat and floppy shoes, the whole works. So right away I am able to relax quite a bit because why should I be afraid of looking foolish if I am in fact the fool?If I screw up, get all tangled up, forget what I'm doing, I just make a joke of it. It just becomes part of the act, almost like I intended to screw up intentionally. I also try to concentrate on my breathing, breathing deep and visualizing a perfect performance. I stretch out like crazy, I get in front of a mirror and make weird faces at myself and strange noises.It also helps tremendously if I have a friend in the audience who I can spot and make eye contact with on occasion. They I start to pick other faces out of the audience, other people who seem to really be enjoyiong the show and I'll make a point to look at them from time to time and smile at them and make them think I'm doing the show especially for them, even if I don't know them.Lastly, a tasty beer half an hour before I go on seems to help a lot. For me, I don't think I'll ever stop being nervous, but it does keep getting easier with time.Skye

Jessemember
118 posts
Location: Pittsburgh, PA/ USA


Posted:
Practice makes the nervousness go away after a while. Try making up and performing a show off the top of your head 5-10 times a day 5 days a week for several years... Perform said shows naked. You won't be quite so nervous anymore, when it comes to the shows you've practiced and know cold... and get to wear clothes for...Comparatively speaking... You'll feel almost arrogant, just knowing that *this time*... you've practiced - AND they can't see your love handles...It may sound faceticious, but I think that's why I rarely ever get nervous anymore...[This message has been edited by Jesse (edited 30 March 2001).]

moiravoidmember
8 posts
Location: oakland, ca


Posted:
every single time i go on in front of people.....even my close friends ( sometimes that makes it worse )i try and think of some way to back out...anything. the day before im all gung ho....right before the show i want to bolt. the funny thing is though after its all over and done with and everyone is telling me how much fun they had watching, i feel wonderful! my main fear is that people will not enjoy themselves or just walk out because they have seen this before and we paled in comparison.

gάrbǿ²addict
521 posts
Location: Bristol / London / Norwich / Chennai, India (UK) (...


Posted:
Yeah, i used to be in a ska punk band and I used to get really nervous. When I am doing fire n stuff in front of people I don't, I just loose myself in the noise and the sight of two fire balls spinning around, its very theropurtic. So what if your a bit on the wordy side. we still love yapeace outgarbo tongue

be excellent to each other: safe:


Shibakienthusiast
309 posts
Location: Tampa, Fl


Posted:
Hey, Pele, wordy is what this is all about, you know? Cant have a bulletin board with no words. Well, we could. We could limit everyone to like 2 sentences.Yeah Right! I vote that Pele should not be allowed to write anything short sweet and to the point! (as if you would anyway!);:I went to a graduation ceremony, and a man was speaking. He was such a profound speaker, never faltered, completely in his element. I always admire that, but fall short. I think because I jinx myself. We can all be as great as we allow ourselves to be. Reminds me something of what Nelson Mandela said. When I go home tonight Ill post in on here.

Wow


KTmember
54 posts
Location: Christchurch, New Zealand


Posted:
I dont get nervous about twirling for audiences, because i do it for myself, and i love to twirl so i dont worry about the audience, i just let myself go.i think you should be yourself on stage Pele, theres nothing better than the real you, try it... you never know. And dont worry about people thinking what they think, they're proberly not thinking it anyway, you're thinking it for them by the sounds of it....RELAX. and enoy......

moiravoidmember
8 posts
Location: oakland, ca


Posted:
i have no problem spinning in shows really...its the other part of our show that scares the hell out of me. takes a different kind of thought. ill never get over it.

Jessemember
118 posts
Location: Pittsburgh, PA/ USA


Posted:
I must be a worse commic than I thought... I didn't even get a "har har har" outta that last one...

Shibakienthusiast
309 posts
Location: Tampa, Fl


Posted:
he he wink

Wow


flash fireBRONZE Member
Sporadically Prodigal
2,758 posts
Location: Sydney, NSW, Australia


Posted:
stage fright - what's that? Sorry guys, but I find impending performances nothing but exhilirating! Sure, I'm a show pony and loooove an audience...eh, Finn (who is now over her stage fright, incidentally. She's very keen for next performance smile )? But, the reason why I don't feel nervous in front of crowds (largest crowd about 1500 at Big Air Comp in Whistler BC, Canada) has to do with what Pele mentioned. When I'm in front of an audience, I'm not Sarah - I'm a performer: flash fire. If I'm Sarah, I'll take myself too seriously and all those nasty inhibitions and paranoid delusions that I so frequently bathe in will suffocate me. Flash fire on the other hand is just a vessel for the performance - a confident and in-control persona. Kind of like method acting, in a way. No, I'm not developing a split personality winkConfidence is the key. If people sense you're confident they will be impressed, no matter what you're doing. I was having a paranoid fire day last week - moping about and letting myself think that maybe I'm not as good as I think I am. All it took was a little introspective contemplation and a complement from another proficient fire person to make me feel better. I've come to realise that sure, I may not be the mistress of fire, but the confidence I display when I'm twirling certainly leads people to believe that I just might be the mistress. It's all cyclical.If you believe you can do anything, you will.------------------"she dances in a ring of fire and throws off the challenge with a shrug"

HoP Posting Guidelines
Is it the Truth?
Is it Fair to all concerned?
Will it build Goodwill and Better Friendships?
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If you can answer YES to these 4 questions then you may post a reply.


dangerboyoriginal member
205 posts
Location: Vancouver, BC, Canada


Posted:
Hear hear Flash. I was nervous my first ever show, but luckily that was with a small group of people at a friend's backyard. Since then I only feel excitement and anticipation for shows. You have to figure that, at least in N.A., only a small fraction have ever seen a fire show, so they're bound to be impessed. 'Sides. if you hityourself (or set yourself o nfire like I do) people love it. The know it's dangerous, and they can appreciate the risk we take for their entertainment. Even when you think you suck, chances are, folks love it.------------------Earth my body, water my blood, air my breath, fire my spirit

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


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


Posted:
obviously no one ever read the same book as me when they were a kid. it was about this horse who wanted to jump over a stream. but he was scared he would fall in. so he falls asleep and has this dream that he receives a pair of wings. He is so excited because he knows he can jump over the stream with his new wings. He wakes up, sees the stream, and jumps over it ease. He looks back in his reflection on the other side and sees he has no wings - it must have been a dream. But he can jump over the stream without the help of the wings so he is happy.umm - relating it back to fire performance. surely the more successful shows you do, the more you know you can 'jump that stream'. In fact you don't need to wear a mask at all to help you do what you do so well - you just think you do.MHO

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


fireflymember
52 posts
Location: germany


Posted:
ordinary?you twirl the "great balls of fire" around your head and you think it's sort of "normal"!i think we are all a little crazy(not stupid)to do this stuff.the question i like best after a show is:"did you ever burn yourself"?the last time i freaked was in dominica.(island in the caribien)i did a show for the opening of carnival.as i walked in the stadium i saw 2500,- people and a hugh stage.as i started my show i was concentrated on my routine cause i don't want to burn my body more than necessary!last year i did a couple of shows on 3.5 feet stilts!next time before your show think of ,how would it be,to do it on stilts!keep the fire burning.......

frank bentzin


Tsumimember
32 posts
Location: SF CA USA


Posted:
Always remember to think about the audience's perception...i get nervous when i'm performing even for friends, because i don't think i can do enough for them. I keep forgetting that they're just happy watching something like that anyway..and usually they don't know what they're "missing" except perhaps some jerks who watch people perform only to compare them to others and hate on them. no shame on me just because i can't yet do the 12 beat btb weave.Of course, all this is probably easier for me than for some, since i don't get paid or anything ^_^But it makes me happy to show people because they like to watch it. and there's always more practice to combat insecurity. but i still get terribly nervous even when i tell myself these things. but that just makes the happy feeling afterward even more distinct smileunless i let it get to me and performed terribly...then i admonish myself and it's back to the drawing board.p.s. i too am a fan of Pele's wordy posts. ^^

adrianmember
58 posts
Location: sydney


Posted:
well im an actor and a fire dancer, and i take away the nerves away the same for both.just forget there is an audience, when im acting i become the character so i forget im even acting, and when i fire dance i focus on the flames, abd become a part of the flame and the flame becomes an extension of me. and i find myself haveing a great time, i only realise there are ppl watching me when its all over, as flash fire said confidence is the key, she is confident and leme tell you all she is also reely good, so is finn, and whenever i see them spinning they are confident with what they are doing.i think it also gets easier the more you do in front of an audience. last time i twirled infront of an audience was infront of a few thousand ppl at a festival up the coast, and i stuffed up heeps, but i was commented on how good i was by ppl cos when i stuffed it i recovered quick and looked like i was as confident as all hell. but nerves are just a thing performers have to get used to. try to learn how to harnes the nerves and change them into energy or confidence or something and everything will be tops...now ill go, its late and im sure im rambeling... grin------------------ladies and gentelmen take my advice, pull down your pants and slide on the ice...

ladies and gentelmen take my advice, pull down your pants and slide on the ice...


Bish_the_Dingmember
52 posts
Location: Johannesburg, South Africa


Posted:
Did you ever see/read Frank Hertberts' 'DUNE' ? Rememember the Gom Jabaar (sp?)!? It'll work with most people ... hold a loaded gun to their forehead and a burning cigarette lighter under their arm ... tell them if they move their arm they will die. The point is, is you AWARENESS strong enough to control your INSTINCT? Your instinct will be to move your arm, your awarnes will tell you if you move your arm, you'll die ...In most cases you will be able to burn right through someones arm before they even twitch ...(You see some interesting expressions too)!!Likewise with performances, which is more intimidating/demanding: impressing one specific person or 3 to 4 thousand strangers?Know your motives ...I feel rocks when I drop my pole/poi ... The people watching go "Awwwww ..." not because I'm a spazz but because there's and interuption in their entertainment. They don't want to see me screw up, they want to see me style...Believe it or not, most of them are rooting for you, those that can actually verbalise any sort of jibe are clearly so intimidated by our skill that they have to publicly attack us to feel secure (let me just pee on this here pole to assert my dominance ... BRB )

Hasst du etwas zeit fuer mich?... Dan singe ich ein lied fuer dich ... -Bjork/Nena


Peregrinemember
428 posts
Location: Mystic, Ct. USA


Posted:
well, teeth are out, i am still alive, and the tooth fairy came, and for a substance free person i have to say drugs are good!fear is the little mind killer....etc.etc.life just goes on i guess nervous or not...Pere

flash fireBRONZE Member
Sporadically Prodigal
2,758 posts
Location: Sydney, NSW, Australia


Posted:
thanks adrian! you ain't too bad yourself, cowboy!

HoP Posting Guidelines
Is it the Truth?
Is it Fair to all concerned?
Will it build Goodwill and Better Friendships?
Will it be Beneficial to all concerned?
If you can answer YES to these 4 questions then you may post a reply.


onewheeledweirdomember
35 posts
Location: Brisbane, Qld, Australia


Posted:
how many times have you stood in the backyard or down the park swinging the fire around with your eyes closed?easy huh? then why isn't performing.. you have your eyes open and you can see what you're doing.I have about 4 years professional performance experience and I used to get nervous however I know how to spin the flames and my brain kicks in and makes em spin. Everything goes into a blur as I'm in my own little world. However I try always to be attentive to children or bicycles running through the middle of the show and wreaking havoc.Turn the nervousness into excitement and have fun.

vyvyanjourneyman
92 posts
Location: tell me when you find me


Posted:
Well I just about puke my guts up before every show, big or small. As Chris will agree, I am a nervous wreck too, for all the reasons previously mentioned. It does get better with time, I'm heaps calmer than I was three years ago. Trust in your own ability helps too.

...Firebreathing? Magic is only part of it my friend, diet does the rest!


SimosBRONZE Member
enthusiast
384 posts
Location: London, UK


Posted:
errrr... i am afraid i don't get that stressed; then again i didn't do any reeeeeeally major performances but i wasn't very bothered at the ones i did; i did worry a bit but not more than that - i find out that when poi performing i don't get stressed partly because i know that there is no 'set' moves you have to do, so i can always do what i feel confortable with...when i was playing electric guitar in a rock band, although we played in some relatively major concerts i was a bit stress over my solo parts etc but not very stressed when i was improvising; on the other hand back in the old days grin when i had to play classical guitar in front of audiences i was sooooo nervous; that IS stressful...having people between the audience who are much better than you and no room for improvisation whatsoever; everything must be played with precision and a single slip of the finger can be concidered disastrous frown that's scary; maybe that's why i am not very stressed now about poi because i was exposed to that from a relatively young age, so now poi performing doesn't seem that scary...on the other hand i am sure i'll be quite stressed if i ever do something major...oh well i guess we'll have to wait and see winkhappy swinging,Simos


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