4LeafCloverSILVER Member
Never confined to a single belief
32 posts
Location: Canada


Posted:
So I have been doing poi for almost a month now. I am fairly good, the only things I really have a problem with is anything behind the back, and SOME complicated high reels. But I have been able to do everything else I came across so keep that in mind, for the following.

I need to develop a routine by December. I have read threads to help that by finding music and using the beats to go along with your moves, which has helped me. But I have a problem changing from move to move. Some of them are easy enough for me to do. One thing I thought about was going from a buzz saw to a 3bw, then an air wrap, then go into a butterfly and some more variations.

But for the most part, I cannot make most of the moves flow when developing a routine. So if anybody could help me with that, or even better. If you could post a tutorial of a sample routine for a beginner. Then I can work on that routine, and develop it to fit me.

It would be much appreciated.

May the Centrifugal Force be with you.

::Ignorance Is Bliss


LazyAngelGOLD Member
Carpal \'Tunnel
2,895 posts
Location: Cambridge UK


Posted:
think about your footwork and spinning: half the time people get so caught up in doing the super complicated trick they forget that it's only half the picture

think about the attitude you want to convey: can you make a pose out of it? can you turn in that pose without falling over? do you need facial expressions? do you even need to have some banter with your audience?

Because ActiveAngel sounds like a feminine deodorant

Like sex, I'm much more interesting in real life than online.

'Be the change you want to see in the world around you' - Ghandi


4LeafCloverSILVER Member
Never confined to a single belief
32 posts
Location: Canada


Posted:
Well facial expressions and interaction with the audience would be pointless, I would be on a stage in front of just over 1000. And I tend to wear a hat when I practice, just because my hair could easily get in the way, because my hair is fairly long.

The foot work point has helped, to get a 50/50 of moves and the actual dance aspect.

As for the moves, I have been going through my music that is appropriate for poi. And I have either come across fairly fast-paced songs which give the performance an exciting mood.

Or slower, but more intense songs. Which seem to make the moves more interesting, and give the audience time to enjoy what is happening.

May the Centrifugal Force be with you.

::Ignorance Is Bliss


MuckySILVER Member
Rum-Swilling Combustioneer
227 posts
Location: Macungie, PA, USA


Posted:
See if you can't find a song that has both - performances are considerably dulled by having a single tempo for the entire duration. Variety will not only keep your audience interested, but it will also give you a lot more freedom in selecting your moves.

You can do the same basic move over and over again, but if you change the style or tempo, your body motions, you can really change the way the whole performance looks. Just switching between fast and slow can really spice things up... Or opening your arms up or keeping them close to your body...

If you're developing a routine, try to avoid incorporating moves you aren't 100% comfortable with - you'll want to spend all of your practice time nailing the timing and choreography without distracting yourself trying to perfect new movements.

To help get your moves to flow into each other, practice each move you know in every position you can - forward, reverse, high, low, forward, behind (where appropriate). One thing that may or may not help is practicing with one poi at a time, spinning it in all positions while turning around - this will make it easier for you to control it and maneuver it according to your motions.

Bouncing Baby Pipe!


MRCSILVER Member
Funky Blessings Daily
215 posts
Location: USA


Posted:
Don't fool yourself. Facial expressions still matter, is the front row 50 feet away? Maybe some one will have a camera. What's more the expressions you convey facially become part of a bigger picture, if you intend to express ANY emotion with this performance, think about what your face is doing.

I gotta say, a month in doesn't sound ready to be in front of 1000 people, but that's up to you I suppose. For me performance is much less about skills as it is about dance. A highly skilled performance can be a hard sell, a well skilled performance with dance elements is an easy sell and even a bad set of skills with some good dance will satisfy people.

Advice given to new musicians is that if they have 30 minutes of music, they should assume they'll play a 20 minute set, just because you'll get nervous and do everything too fast. Same for poi, so I'd recommend a track that was a little slower just to remind you of you pace, but at the same time you might end up moving ahead of it. Knowing the venue/event/or whatever would really be helpful, since you should probably be playing to the audience.

Actually rereading Mucky's post I agree, slow fast, is probably important. In music you can build a lot of interest with quiet and loud dynamics the same goes for any art.

4LeafCloverSILVER Member
Never confined to a single belief
32 posts
Location: Canada


Posted:
Thanks guys. This is really helping. MRC, I do not think it is the amount of people that matter. Also I have almost three months to do it, the performance is in December. And I have been doing it for a month.

I am still having trouble changing some moves, but I'm getting there.

May the Centrifugal Force be with you.

::Ignorance Is Bliss


MuckySILVER Member
Rum-Swilling Combustioneer
227 posts
Location: Macungie, PA, USA


Posted:
I think MRC was saying that the people up front will definitely be able to see your facial expressions, so don't discount that from your routine - a well-planned routine is more than just the poi *or* the dancing; it's the character. One thing I always show people right away when I teach them poi is the often huge amount of difference a tiny variation can make in the performance of a move or set of moves.

You can try it for yourself: stand in front of a mirror of some sort and do the TTN in a few different ways. Firstly, keep your arms rigid and straight, and hold the poi in clenched fists - it should look very much like punching, and with the right attitude you can make whatever "character" is doing TTN this way look very powerful and direct. Now continue doing TTN, but open your hands as wide as they can while holding the poi (ball or stick handles help with this, or wrapping the poi around your fingers to keep it from flying will do the trick), and make sure your wrists are really supple so they bend and flow with the motion - you can get your arms and shoulders to flow with the rhythm really well too. Same exact move, as far as the poi motions are concerned, but now instead of a solid, strong figure, you are a free and graceful figure - two totally different approaches.

Now try varying the timing (split-time or single-time) and the tempo, and you'll begin to see just how much can be accomplished by one single "move." You can do the same with every move you know. One of the other things I try to teach right away is that performing with poi isn't about stringing moves together - that always looks contrived; it's about one holistic motion that lasts from the start of the performance to the end. Watch some really good performances on youtube sometime - you can pick apart what the performer is doing, but you'll see that it's rarely as clean-cut as "going from 3-beat weave to reverse 3-beat, to butterfly, to reels..."

Facial expressions will aid you in this way - audience members further away will still be able to see your overall body movements, and humans are surprisingly good at recognizing expressions even from a distance - if you are going for free and graceful, you should not have an expression of deep concentration on your face; if you're going for strong and powerful, you shouldn't be sticking your tongue out, &c.

Good luck!

Bouncing Baby Pipe!


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


Posted:
Mucky, that was well expressed, I like what you said about not just 'stringing tricks together' but having a flow.
It's December, how are you doing with it, 4LeafClover?

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



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