PoiPriestess » hoop

Poi-la-Hoop and Poi Practice Sets

PoiPriestess — Wed, 13 May 2009 17:33:19 +0000

First written week of March 23, 2009:

I’ve been on vacation this week — quite an interesting experience in and of itself. That, alas, for another post. This post is dedicated to the fun poi-la-hoop practice I had on the 25th (shortly after my 40th birthday) to “Tom Sawyer” remixed by Z-Trip. Fun, fun, fun! You can download it through the Temple of Poi podcast or see it below through YouTube if you prefer. In addition, I had a really fun set with my flag poi which you can also see through the Temple of Poi podcast or through the YouTube link below. The Temple of Poi Blog has a listing of the moves being practice, in case you want more details.

Photos: Chronicles of GlitterGirl Vol. V

PoiPriestess — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 05:03:53 +0000

Photos and links to the original blog entries for August 2006. Direct access to the articles is available using the archives link on the top of this page as well.

January 1: Happy 2007

PoiPriestess — Mon, 01 Jan 2007 08:35:00 +0000

I had a fascinating new year’s eve. I had a gig that I accepted for less money than I would normally require. Why? Ultimately, because of my (unfounded) fear of not being able to pay my rent.

I arrived at the site and within minutes fell in a construction ditch (about a 4-5 foot blind drop — didn’t see the hole because it was dark) while surveying the performance area on the other side of the construction zone. The client led us there, in case you’re wondering.

I sprained my finger (and put more pressure on the finger I had two days earlier dislocated in practice for a show I’m doing) and sustains some bruises and abrasions on my rather ample butt. Apart from that, I walked away from the accident laughing about it. It was, objectively, funny even if my subjective experience included injury, pain and discomfort. Surveying the situation, I consider myself lucky in that I could have fallen onto some rebar or broken my leg or twisted my ankle and had some really serious injuries.

Anyway, the client hadn’t provided an appropriate area for managing our fuel and set us up in the neighbors driveway — fairly close to the ditch I fell in with the performance area just on the other side of that. The neighbor was understandably upset and confronted us — he was not pleased we had fuel in his lot near wood and was naturally concerned that an accident might lead to a fire. So after setting up and getting everything ready for our first performance (this means soaking all our tools which we’d passed through the construction area to our safety person), we had to pack up our gear and move
it to the sidewalk in the front of the house.

By this point, we’d missed the performance window — we were supposed to go on for our first set before midnight but the delays made this impossible. Some time later we performed our first set using live music rather than the music I had spent 5 hours editing for our intended show. The tools wouldn’t light well at that point. Why? The fuel had evaporated because we’d been waiting so long.

Our second set was more of the same, with the client refusing to tell the DJ to play our music when the DJ wouldn’t do so. During the second set, I slipped on the carpet outside — a wet green leaf got under my shoe. I’m told I made it look like a break dancing move. Not bad for a sore girl with swollen fingers and a bruised bottom.

While we did not perform the show we’d intended, we did perform an amazing show and earned ~15% tip from the client.

In the 5 years I have been a professional fire dancer I have never had a client fail to meet so many of the agreements of our contract nor have I had an experience laden with so many difficulties.

Upon reflection, it seems like a blessed experience. Those who witnessed my first fall indicated they were concerned they would be transporting me to SF General — not just the client, but the other dancers and witnesses present. I then performed two fabulous sets in the face of all sorts of opposition and earned a tip from the client.

I imagine 10 years ago I might have looked at this experience as a sign that the new year would be fraught with challenges — a “bad sign” about the things to come.

Now, thankfully, my world is different. I was inspired becayse as we were leaving the venue, one witness went so far as to say I must be a special being to be able to walk away laughing from something like that when I could have ended up injured in the hospital, let alone performing the way I had.

I am grateful to say it seems more natural for me to view this event as a sign that the new year will be filled with the ability to flow through challenges and walk away with a smile on my face, laughter in my voice, and abundance in my pocket… even in the face of obstacles that quite literally will drag me down than the less positive perspective I might have had 10
years ago.

What I learned I offer you now as follows:

May 2007 bring you all you desire, including the resources to laugh when you are down, the strength to pick yourself up and keep going in the face of that which you hadn’t planned being foist upon you, the will to move through the pain that can sometimes stop you in your tracks and the capacity to remind yourself just how great a joy all that you have really is.

RamHawk: Blue Spiral

PoiPriestess — Tue, 12 Dec 2006 04:42:00 +0000

Temple of Poi performed today in Union Square. What an honor to once again get to support the San Francisco Food Bank’s Canned Food Drive! We also sold copies of the Temple of Poi 2006 Fire Dancing Expo DVD and donated a portion of the sales proceeds to the Food Bank as part of our contribution to the beautiful work they do.

Working with students was really fun for this event despite the sound challenges we had, as is evident in Sarah and Devon’s piece. Considering all the sound challenges, they did a super amazing job! I am proud to have contributed in any way to their success and humbled by the professionalism they had while performing.

A Children’s Party

PoiPriestess — Mon, 30 Oct 2006 02:09:00 +0000

Hunter (isn’t he hot? that picture is amazing!), Atreyu (who wore a mask which scared the children — but it was Halloween! aren’t masks okay?) and I were off to do a gig for a 6 year old.

I acquired this gig through a beautiful woman I met on the N line some months ago to whom I gave my card. She saved it, called me out of the blue, and hired us to perform. Butterflies are of course fabulous for children’s parties, so I went with that. Unfortunately, I didn’t take a picture before the gig, so the picture here is what is left over after getting home. And lucky us, we got some fire photos out of it too. The really bright one in the middle is us doing this move that everyone loves where I do hip reels with my poi around us both while Hunter does some sort of figure 8 up high so we don’t get tangled. Of all the moves we created, that one was the most random — we just did it in practice one afternoon. Oddly enough, easy as it was for us to create, crowd consistently love it. What a fun thing to be a fire dancer. I love my life.

3 Gigs in One Day

PoiPriestess — Sun, 17 Sep 2006 00:48:00 +0000

But only one makeup job. And yes, that necklace is painted on. It makes hooping so much easier and I had to hoop at all 3 gigs.

Gig Day

PoiPriestess — Sat, 09 Sep 2006 21:47:00 +0000

Done with that particular incarnation of a mohawk experiment, I was reinspired by the first day I had shaved my head. Unfortunately, I forgot to take the photo before the Gig, so this is the aftermath of sweat and performing and lost gems and decorations.

Sunset on the Beach

PoiPriestess — Tue, 22 Aug 2006 20:07:00 +0000

In retrospect, I suppose it would have made more sense to put this word of the day on my head the day we were making the hoops. Alas, that did not happen.

Lexi had her new hairdo going on with the awesome dye job Matthew and his assistant did for her — To be honest, when she said she wanted purple hair, I had thought of Steve Freed’s crazy mohawks when we lived together at the Poof all those years ago and the manic panic brightness of color you see at Burning Man all the time. I was surprised at how subtle and beautiful the purple looked and was quite impressed.

Anyway, this being the girls last day in town, we went out to the beach and got a great sunset just before the fog rolled in. It was actually great timing and since we hadn’t had the weather during the week at sunset previously, I was grateful to give the girls an opportunity to touch the other ocean that bounded this continent. I hadn’t touched both oceans until I was well into my 20′s so I was glad to facilitate it for them at a younger age.

It was, in typical San Francisco summer style, not warm on the beach, so I was grateful for my cat hoodie (thanks Josie!) because my bald head was cold.

We collected shells, coral, rocks and of course beach glass, played around in the surf, enjoyed the sun going down, played with the camera and finally piled back into the car just as the sun faded over the horizon and the fog covered what might have remained of it. A really fun last evening and I was glad the whole trip had ended on such a positive note.

At the time, I was quite exhausted from the whole trip. Because I am so accustomed to relating with adults, I had no idea how to build rapport with Courtney and Lexi and I consistently wondered if they were actually having a good time or not. I remembered thinking, “How do parents do this?” And I thought of my own parents having five children and was more clear than ever my purpose on this planet is not to be a parent. With time and space having passed from their visit (I write this November 25, 2006), I have a much more keen appreciation of the experience and I would absolutely do it again. Of course, it would be much easier next time since I know them a bit more now and I have a better idea what to expect. I hope when they think back on the trip they will remember it with some fondness, as I do.

Hoop Day

PoiPriestess — Fri, 18 Aug 2006 18:43:00 +0000

Today was a stay at home sort of day. We made hoops and then I gave the girls a hoop lesson. Later in the day we had a different sort of experience, introducing my nieces to raw food at Gratitude Cafe. And then we went on a car tour of the city where we got some great pictures of the dirty windshield — on yeah… City Hall is back there somewhere too.