Forums > Beginner Poi Moves > teaching spinning to a dancer

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Dragon_Drafinmember
51 posts

Posted:
Okay, quick back story.

My girl friend is a dancer. Theater and stage dancer. She has never actually seen me spin but has seen poi in Hawaii.

She would make the sexiest spinner ever

I want to teach her how to spin, but while she is a most elegant dancer she is concerned about hitting herself. I've told her that its all part of the learning process and a good motivator to learn quickly wink

My fire wicks are actually really big and glowsticks sting like hades when you get smacked by them. What are some other options for teaching someone without going out and buying more toys? (I'm a bit strapped for cash)

Deamon_LlamaBRONZE Member
member
78 posts
Location: Melbourne, Australia


Posted:
For a really cheap option, you could just put something in socks, for example a pair of tennis balls or perhaps some rice in small plastic bags?

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No statements are true unless they can be proven scientifically.
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GothFrogetteBRONZE Member
grumpy poorly froggy
3,999 posts
Location: Nuneaton, United Kingdom


Posted:
yes i would go with socks too, you could always put rolled up socks in the bottom, very soft if they hit and may help her gain confidence before she moves onto the heavier weights

Life's too short to worry about where you put your marshmallows


animatEdBRONZE Member
1 + 1 = 3
3,540 posts
Location: Bristol UK


Posted:
Being a dancer, she doesn't need to learn difficult moves for it to look cool.



I would say take your time with the basics.



practice making circles in different positions around your body, and changing positions, and timing, and stopping/starting, and movement (seeing as that's what she likes to do).



Simple can look beautiful too.

Empty your mind. Be formless, Shapeless, like Water.
Put Water into a cup, it becomes the cup, put water into a bottle, it becomes the bottle, put water into a teapot, it becomes the teapot.
Water can flow, or it can Crash.
Be Water My Friend.


Dragon_Drafinmember
51 posts

Posted:
Ohh socks in socks, I was thinking tennis balls but those cost money. Socks I have pleanty of.

Thank you all for the advice, I'll see what I can do to keep things simple like LTC said.

oliSILVER Member
not with cactus
2,052 posts
Location: bristol/ southern eastern devon, United Kingdom


Posted:
even better than socks in socks is rice in socks in socks smile

Me train running low on soul coal
They push+pull tactics are driving me loco
They shouldn't do that no no no


Dragon_Drafinmember
51 posts

Posted:
Hmm a little added weight but still not 3lbs worth of kevlar spinning at the speed of WOOOOOOSH!!!!

Mother_Natures_SonSILVER Member
Rampant whirler.
2,418 posts
Location: Geelong, Victoria, Australia!


Posted:
Rice in balloons in colourful socks is what I use, about half a cup to three quarters of a cup. Helium quality balloons are the best option, it ends up costing near nothing, and the extra weight ends up helping in the long run.

Just teach her about direction, timing and plane and show her how more advanced movements are simply a combination of more basic ones and I'm sure she'll pick it all up in no time. Thats what I did with one of my dancing friends and she was playing around with expressive dancing VERY soon after.

Good luck!

hug


Dragon_Drafinmember
51 posts

Posted:
Well just an update,

We did a little work. We only had about 20 minutes to do anything but Sunday is another day. She got the plains down and I've thought about using 2/3 of my three section staff as "clubs". The thought line there is that since they are a ridged structure they will be easier to control than flexible practice poi/chains.

Thoughts or comments on that?

Deamon_LlamaBRONZE Member
member
78 posts
Location: Melbourne, Australia


Posted:
They are useful for figuring out where the poi heads and strings are meant to go, but they force your hands into some strange positions, and that means you can't do certain moves.

Worth a shot though. At least if you can't get any particular move you can slow down and do it in hyper-slow-motion and figure out how to do it.

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No statements are true unless they can be proven scientifically.
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CaffeinatedKatieGOLD Member
Teacher, Dancer, Artist, and General Smartass
149 posts
Location: Portland, OR, USA


Posted:
Understanding basic moves and planes will go a long way, and I imagine her background in dancing gives her a good idea of body movement and space, which is also a bonus. When I'm teaching someone, I find it encouraging to tell people that basically all of poi can be boiled down to chase and butterfly patterns, just in different planes and different beats.


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