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


Posted:
The oooh's and aaaah's of performance are nice, no one can deny that. The applause, the whistles, the cheers get our hearts pumping and make us want to do more, push further and sate that craving, seek another fix. The effects of performing well are addictive, as many have found out. But what of the little moments. Have any of you had a minor moment that really touched you and wasn't so minor after all?For example, I performed a couple weekends ago at a wedding. One of the songs, and one of my favorites to spin to is "Unbelievable" by EMF. There were four songs in the set for an almost exclusively adult audience, save for one little girl about 9 or 10. I had spoken to her prior to my performing bout don't ever try this type thing and toddled along my merry path.When the show ended there was the applause, the questions and I was even approached to perform at one of the guests wedding. Patiently this little girl stood nearby very silent with her mother. In all truth, I thought I frightened her. She had this somber, wide eyed look on her face. When the "crowd" thinned and quieted her mother walked up to me with her and said "What did you want to say to her?" With the large eyes and sweet sing-songy voice only a child could have she said quietly "You're Unbelievable." She hugged me despite the stench of soot and fuel and left with her mother. Of that night, and several performances recently, that is the memory I recall first and cherish the most.Anyone else know what I mean?------------------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


Shibakienthusiast
309 posts
Location: Tampa, Fl


Posted:
Yeah Pele, I was just thinking about that yesterday. I went out to the beach yesterday afternoon. They have a very large playground out there. I was dancing around, all over the place. Attracted quite a crowd... Of course the kids were enthralled. So I whipped out most of my poi (I have bunches that I made just for these occasions) and handed them out. You could see the light jumping from their eyes! One little boy didnt have the courage to pick them up and try, but he just kept asking me very intelligent questions! I dont get much of chance to be around children, but they can be wonderful. And it is great to treat them as actual people; individuals. To my mind, most adults act condescendingly towards kids.My only regret was that I was so enthralled with dancing that I didnt fully take in all of their joy... Next weekend I will!Blessing to all------------------We are not physical beings having a spiritual experience; we are spiritual beings having a physical experience.~Edgar Cayce

Wow


Lamarmember
53 posts
Location: Dacula, GA, USA


Posted:
Hell yeah man, kids rock! I went down to a little open area with a set of poi and dead glowsticks on strings to toy around. I kind of wanted to force myself to get used to switching from the 'heavy' weight of the poi to the light weight of the glowsticks... so anyway, while I'm out there these 2 kids come up and ask me what I'm doing. So I explain the whole poi thing, mention fire, and watch one of their eyes just totally light up. So I hand him my set of glowsticks since their lighter weight, showed him the different ways to spin it and started back toying w/ my poi. Literally a minute later he is doing crossovers and his friend is standing there boggled, then all the sudden I hear 'whoa man', turn around and look at him doing a rev. over the head split-time butterfly... so I tell him to lock his wrists together, he does it like he has been doing it all his life and this huge smile takes his whole face over. Definately good stuff. smile

CassandraFroggie ... Ribbit !!!
4,224 posts
Location: Back in Paris... for now !


Posted:
Pele, Shibaki, Lamar, I think you are lucky to have the gift to see the beauty in these little moments , almost suspended in time (oups ... direct translation from French ... hopefully makes sense...)I know exactly what you guys mean. This shine in a child's eyes is just so very perfect and magic. they are a great source of energy !!! When I first joined your BB, I looked at previous talks cause I wanted to tell you how much kids can be a present when they watch you perform and when you let them try the Poiz. the only message I saw was entitled "those damn kids" and I found it a bit sad (nothing personal, just the way my heart felt) cause to me it was quite the opposite.When I spin in a park to relax and practice, I just love being interupted by kids cause they always have these magic sentences such as "your chains look like waterfall in your hands" or "are you a magician ?" real compliments which you can only welcome with a smile... Kids simply have a shine...and when they try it they don't have any restrictions such as pride or fear and they are usually a great source of inspiration to me smileI also remember one day spinning in a very snobbish part of the city in a park cause I happened to pass by and the weather was sunny and I felt like spinning a while. This chic woman came to me with a real tough cold face which seemed to express dispise -or so I thought- she sat and watched and then came to me and asked in a very hard tone "what is THAT?" I replied and then she said "thank you cause it really made my heart beat" and she smiled and I could feel that probably smiling isn't her usual way to communicate with people. I felt really really "honored" to have brought this one smile on her face...shine onCassandra

"I want brown bread... no, that is diesel oil..."
"So I was raised in Europe, where History comes from ..."
"NON !!! La Plume de mon oncle n est pas Bingibangibungi !!!"


NYC_not_PKOne Tyred Guy
203 posts
Location: Camaiore, Lu, Italy


Posted:
As a teacher we call em "warm fuzzies" when something like that happens. The nice thing about teaching is I get them quite often. But they each still mean quite a bit.I've yet to get a poi one (except for my little brother who's just starting to spin.)

PK is a god.. i love the Peeekster.

.:PK:. [poiinthepark founder member]


Educate your self in the Hazards of Fire Breathing smileSTAY SAFE! hug


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


Posted:
I like wht you said, Cassandra, that these "warm fuzzies", as Mr. Mo would call them, don't necessarily come from kids always. There is an elderly couple across the street from me who are raising their grandson. Way back when spring first touched us briefly I was out front with the relay comets practicing. Gramps was taking the baby for a walk, came over and they watched me for awhile. They asked questions said thank you and began to walk away, and as they did Gramps said, "Isn't is nice to have a magician in the meighborhood Bugg? Let's go tell gramma about it." I wasn't meant to hear that. I had a hard time seeing the correlation with magic, though I do now. It was odd to think that moments later they were having a conversation about me, but in that moment, I felt special. Everyone should feel that, whether from poi or something else, sometime in their lives. smileWishing you all warm and fuzzies...however you want to take that! wink------------------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


nomadBRONZE Member
retired
356 posts
Location: Paris, France


Posted:
I can totally relate to the kids stuff you guys are talking about. It's a constant, every time I spin with my zuni poi, those flashy colors attract children ages 3-6 usually. I love how they look at it with big eyes, how they look at me half-intrigued ("what are you doing?") half-scared (i like the "are you a magician?" Cassandra). Then i give them the poi and let them have fun with it. No need to teach them moves! Nomad

becBRONZE Member
member
521 posts
Location: Brisbane, Queensland, Australia


Posted:
yum...I like this topic......it's true Pele, it's easy to get that rush and thrill with applause and cheers, but so much more special to know you've really touched someone more deeply through your performance - and yes children are so much more able to express it, but it's incredible when you see the delight in a "grown-up's" face as well... that you know that it hasn't just been filed in the "very interesting" or "quite unusual" parts of the memory, but in their heart (or somewhere nice anyway...)I can't think of a specific example with fire (although I'm sure there have been many) but some of the other performances I do are "character roving" type things - costumed characters that move through crowds at festivals (you know the story...)Part of this is doing all-ages face painting, or walking around giving out little treasures to people, or a little sprinkle of faery dust on their heads...You see their eyes light up or their face soften and they'll murmur something to you about "haven't had my face all done up like this since I was a kid"... and it's worth a hundred moments of cheers & applause (well, some days... and other times I just need a good fix of crowd energy too...)It has been interesting watching my head-space with performance... the initial nerves and anxieties that I used to get a few years ago have vanished... they got replaced at first with a hunger for appreciation and all the cheers and applause... but now (most of the time) it's a more calm place of emptying away everything from inside of me (no one would notice from the outside - I still do all the hoo-ha that I always did) and being absolutely present and receptive to the subtle energy that you get from the people watching... it's like trying to tap into the unspoken words and feelings that the audience is having - trying to feel what they are feeling so that I can follow that excitement and...? well "energy" is the only word that seems to fit...oops... a little tangent, but how I feel at the moment anyway... hmmmmmm.....

Shibakienthusiast
309 posts
Location: Tampa, Fl


Posted:
I enjoyed reading your words bec...Ive not gotten into festivals and the like, though I have dreamed of it. My own anxieties have kept me back. My day will come though, I know it! As for seeing older folks faces light up, well, after a got a few moves down, I showed my mom! She was enthralled. We are similar in interests, yet she doesnt pursue all that her heart commands her too. I suppose that when she sees me flowing... well, that is the light in her eyes. It is really neat. I bought her some of her very own for Mother's Day. Blessing to all------------------We are not physical beings having a spiritual experience; we are spiritual beings having a physical experience.~Edgar Cayce

Wow


CassandraFroggie ... Ribbit !!!
4,224 posts
Location: Back in Paris... for now !


Posted:
Looks like what gives us so much happiness (and happiness is a precious thing so we might as well seize every second...)is this dynamic of giving and receiving with equal pleasure. "the crowd" during a performance is massive and sort of unpersonal energy which is such a great kick, but this individual look, word, discussion with a stranger is like the most tender hug, feels so gooooood smileand opens up doors to the heart of people you might not have met otherwise... I just love that !!!!shine oncassandra

"I want brown bread... no, that is diesel oil..."
"So I was raised in Europe, where History comes from ..."
"NON !!! La Plume de mon oncle n est pas Bingibangibungi !!!"



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