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Le Skunkmember
84 posts
Location: NYC, New York, USA


Posted:
OK, here i go again gettin all preachy...i was at a party this weekend, a party which i was scheduled to perform at but got cancelled and then relocated, but to make a long story short, i get there and there are about 7 or 8 people there doing poi and staff.i go running to join them, and find out they have no means of safety, no fire extinguishers, no spotters, no wet towels, nothing. this was on a rooftop, water was not readily available, and it was quite windy. I look down and i see the fueling area is RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE of the circle where people are spinning. furthermore, i see some people lighting up their wicks, without spinning off excess fuel first, and while the fuel drips from their wicks they light up while hanging DIRECTLY over the fuel can. When i approach the person doing this and ask them to kindly move, he says to me "oh, it doesn't matter. kerosene isn't going to explode, don't worry".Now this person obviously didn't know who he was talking to, he had no idea that i had any experience at all, but still, to stand there and explain to me (and i do have quite the background in chemistry and understand well the concepts of volatility and vapor pressure) that this was "safe" instead of taking the same amount of time and energy to move 15 feet away (5 meters for you on the decimal system) so as to eliminate the risk completely, is absolutely stooooooopid. Why, oh why, would you even wanna take the chance? and by the way, i've seen kero tanks explode. they may not quite go boom, but they are readily happy to set fire to anything and everything around.People, please, for the love of all that is sacred, please practice safely. I can't stress this enough. it takes minimal effort and is so worth it. I understand that very few people actually get hurt, but you might curse yourself if you don't take precautions and end up with 3rd degree burns on your face. If anything EVER happens to anyone because they were unsafe and got hurt, all of us who perform for a living and do it safely would be out of a job. people will no longer understand that a fire performance CAN be safe and all venues will shut down their fire priviledges. cities and countries will pass laws forbidding these practices and we will all be arrested. and lord knows i don't need to be arrested any more times...I apologize for the rant, but once again, cannot stress enough how important safety is. and yes, people have gotten hurt in the past. really hurt. people who are better performers than most of us can ever hope to be. if you ever talk to an experienced performer, i'm sure such person will echo my sentiments. as my legendary fire performance idol Joemama once told me, "what would your mama say if she knew you were playing with fire without safety? or all fucked up?" she would not be happy. think about it.safe peax,SkunkPS another point of safety - heads up!!! if you have a lot of people around you, or if a bunch of people light up at once, you gotta keep your eye out not to jump into someone else's patterns, unless of course this is a practices skill and is mutually consensual.

*Spinstar*member
6 posts
Location: Kansas City MO, US


Posted:
I'm mostly a spinster when it comes to poi preformance since I live in a town that has no love for the contriversial, (rave promoters with full permits still find themselves in court. They have been victorious so far but the cops still harrass them.)So I have more than a few valid reservations with our keepers of the peace. Despite this hesitance I do intend on preforming at the Kansas City Art Institute's Bo Arts Festival. Boy, I'm nervous, I've never SEEN another poi dancer in Kansas City.I have someone to spot me and I think I will also ask them to take care of any jumpy onlookers to explain our saftey precautions(at least most of the crowd will be aclimated to such inspiring performances since it is an art school.)I guess I should also have the spotter on watch for any meandering drunken folk so I can concentrate on my performance. I'm not ready for duos yet! I'm hoping this will be a catalyst for aceptance of all things poi. So ya see if an incident goes arye(or someone fu*ked up performs) it could snuff the fire from poi and have a law so quik against it that it would make only your head spin!Saftey is crucial, even if you have full confidence in yourself! Last thing I wast to do is run away from cops while spinning burning poi!

carnelian angelmember
31 posts
Location: New York, NY, USA


Posted:
It's funny-I was at that party up mentioned at the top of this board, i soaked up far away from where tha folks who were already there did and went to join them...yeah that was pretty scary.....So, In regards to indoor shows....I find that the lamp oil marked "ultrapure" works best for me indoors, it seems to last the longest with the least fumes...if you are going to pre-soak so that you can spin out outdoors, white gas tends to evaporate quickly...however, lamp oil residue is slippery and if you are performing on a smooth surface(i.e. a wooden stage) it can be a bit slippery...bear in mind that white gas residue is slippy as well, though not as much...squeezing wicks with a pear of chemical safety gloves rated for use with fuels works for me, you just have to squeeze really hard to eliminate the need for an outdoor spin out...when I do it this way, I don't need to pre soak....In regards to safety, I always use a spotter with a water towel and a bucket of water if it's availible...at indoor shows I usually commandeer a fire extinguisher from the venue, and make sure my spotter knows how and when to use it...if it makes you feel more comfortable, at hardware stores they sell mini b&c class extinguishers about 8 inches high that easily fit into a gear bag...permits...hmmm....the only time i ever came close to a problem indoors i had to talk to a fire marshall when i was performing at a megaclub...he told me I could only use white gas(oh well I lied-so shoot me) and seemed to be making sure I was sober, coherent and confident....have fun at the show!!

Pele'sWhippingBoymember
442 posts
Location: Rochester, NY, USA


Posted:
Starburst, let me help you out with that link: https://images.clubbed.com/photos/P1/0009150014.jpg
------------------FYI: I am not Pele. If you wish to reply to me and use a short version of my name, use: PWB."Those who can, do. Those who can't, critique"Pyromorph.com - Let the fire change you

FYI: I am not Pele. If you wish to reply to me and use a short version of my name, use: PWB.

English? Who needs that? I'm never going to England. - Homer Jay Simpson


CantusSILVER Member
Tantamount to fatuity
15,966 posts
Location: Down the road, United Kingdom


Posted:
Or, Whipping Boy, if you wished to be flashy, you could do it like this:Starburst's linkBut you're obviously not as big a show off as me grin wink

Meh


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