Forums > Beginner Poi Moves > dancing with begginer moves(Need tips)

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warren79BRONZE Member
stranger
9 posts
Location: South Africa


Posted:
Hi Im pretty new at this.Been on and off since November 2007.All in all about 3 months practice...so I know a few begginer tricks eg:front and back spinning same and split time,3 - 4 and 5beat weave,2-4 beat corkscrew,buzzsaw,a little bit of isolations,butterflys and variations etc......nothing to technical.

Can anyone give me tips on how to make these tricks look spectacular?When I see people spinning then it all looks the same in some cases.Although some guys are super fast or much more technical the routines are very similar.Now about a 3 weeks ago Ive seen Nick Woosley for the 1st time on YOU TUBE.....i WAS BLOWN AWAY.The routine I watched of him was simple tricks but just the way he was moving was different.It was freedom.He could put any hand anywhere without concerntrating where the poi would go.He was moving around,bending,spinning his body,etc.......so when I spin it usually means keeping my planes facing 1 way and just doing 1 trick after the other till I run out of them,then starting over......Nicks planes are all over the places,he is all over the place and I want to learn this so Ive been basically copying some of what hes been doing and also got the Scales Of poi.

What I need are some ideas from anyone on how to make simple tricks look cool.Im not a Coreographer so its difficult but as Im practicing so its getting better.......what are your guys routines like?How do you work them out?

Any comments.

warren79BRONZE Member
stranger
9 posts
Location: South Africa


Posted:
Hi,sorry this is in the wrong section....found some good advise in the relevant section....no need to reply unless you want to.

StoutBRONZE Member
Pooh-Bah
1,872 posts
Location: Canada


Posted:
Hi Warren

I guess what you're asking is how to get really really good.

The obvious answer is to practice, lots. Find a few videos that inspire you, watch how the spinners move and emulate what you like.

Practice

Make it like you're doing tai chi, relaxed, planned, in control.

Practice.

Think of transitions as moves themselves with an eye to blending all of the moves into one giant move into itself. This is called flow.

Practice.

Errr, if you do find some sort of magic shortcut, please lemme know.

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


Posted:
Well, he's talking about getting good with the basics... breaking things down to their basic components is good for that. Think you've nailed the btb 3beat? Try crossing your arms behind your back and keeping split time.

Get together a system of how everything interacts... breaking it down to split time, same time, same direction, opposites is a good start... then start thinking about poi to poi, poi to arm, arm to arm interactions as well as later on, head to hand and stuff like that...

Be systematic in your approach to poi... make sure you learn everything in both directions. And as Stout says, practice transitions. There are no "moves" as far as I'm concerned... just different ways to move in relation to your poi.

hug


astonSILVER Member
Unofficial Chairperson of Squirrel Defense League
4,061 posts
Location: South Africa


Posted:
Yeah, the "Learn everything all the ways you can" method is a good one. Trying to break muscle memory later is hard.

'We're all mad here. I'm mad, you're mad." [said the Cat.]
"How do you know I'm mad?" said Alice.
"You must be," said the Cat, "Or you wouldn't have come here."
- Lewis Carroll, Alice's Adventures In Wonderland


warren79BRONZE Member
stranger
9 posts
Location: South Africa


Posted:
Thanks....can't do anything BTB yet and just started learning doing moves in the opposite direction......the thing is,I don't want to pick up my poi everytime and "LEARN".

I want to pick them up at times and just spin what I know with some music.....it always learning,learning,learning,which is good but when do you draw the line and say "okay I know enough tricks" to do a certain type of routine/dance,etc....So Ill spin that routine certain times to perfect it,learn other moves at other times and as I learn new tricks I just add them in the routine.Thats why I asked how can I make the simple moves I know,look good.

When Im alone I can "learn" new things....but with a few guys,on the beach or wherever its time to have fun and not trial,error and frustration all the time......But thanks for the input,practice seems to be the only thing thats really going to help....hours and hours of it.

BansheeCatBRONZE Member
veteran
1,247 posts
Location: lost, Canada


Posted:
Well, one of the simplest ways to make basic moves look good is to do them in a close responsive relationship to the music you are using. Pay attention to both the timing of the music, and the character or feel, ie expressive style of the music, and use all the aspects of it you can.Try keeping the beat with your feet movements,freestyle poi with your arms, then try how different it is when you keep the beat with your poi and do something else with your feet or floor pattern... Try to really feel the music, and use every last bit of it.

You could also try taking whatever basic move you know, and doing it in different ways. Try doing it in the horizontal plane, or long arm, way above your head, or really really small and fast,isolate it, change the direction or timing, do it while turning, do it super super slow and exaggerated-- whatever-- experiment with all the variations you can think of, space, timing, quality of gesture, size, level.

Just one move can offer up so much possibilities! If you do the same move, with variations, it often comes across to the viewer as a pleasing theme. Sometimes people watching dont even recognize it as the same move, they just have a sense that there is a relationship between each movement, it may appear as connection and flow, as opposed to a series of tricks.

As someone else said, it is a very good idea to pay attention to transitions between" moves" . The more these are smooth and natural, the more likely whatever you do will appear to flow, and that seems to make even easy movements appealing.

enjoy!
EDITED_BY: BansheeCat (1227597670)

"God *was* my co-pilot, but then we crashed, and I had to eat him..."


astonSILVER Member
Unofficial Chairperson of Squirrel Defense League
4,061 posts
Location: South Africa


Posted:
Someone (I think Bluecat) suggested in a way dusty and long-abandoned thread (I think) that you write down a bunch of moves in the order they occur to you.

So, off the top of my head:

3bw
5 Petal Antispin Flower
Butterfly
Same-time hip reels
Chase the sun
Thread the needle
Butterfly flower
Buzzsaw

Then, just do those as quickly as you can. Try do them all in as little time as possible.

This will help you figure out transitions and will hopefully improve flow.

It is also a fun way to hit yourself in the face. wink

'We're all mad here. I'm mad, you're mad." [said the Cat.]
"How do you know I'm mad?" said Alice.
"You must be," said the Cat, "Or you wouldn't have come here."
- Lewis Carroll, Alice's Adventures In Wonderland



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