The costume is designed to be worn in layers over a black shirt and pair of yoga pants for easy costume changes in public as well as less wear and tear on the outfit, as it doesn’t need to be washed as frequently and can simply be used for performance and taken off since all the sweat is on the bottom layer. In addition, having had many challenges over the years with costume malfunctions (especially breasts that just seem to have a mind of their own and want to be exposed to the cool night air), I have taken to wearing a bottom layer that I’m confident won’t spill out any of the good and will hold my body in the ways I want it to be held for fire. Bras simply have never worked that well for me, so shelf tanks are my thing.

The idea was to create something that had contrast and would show up better in the fire than black alone might — the cactus color (lighter green) is going to be especially effective at that.

For my body type, working with something tighter under the bust is often best with flowing fabric that is not fitted over the hips, stomach and butt. In this photo shoot, I’m not wearing the arm fringe. These are pieces that look like the knee fringe only they go above the elbow. (I hadn’t put the elastic in yet for this photo shoot.) Photos are taken at Samovar in the Castro by Addrianna.

The rosette in the bust area was inspired by my days at the Renaissance Fairs over a decade ago when I did bodice and costume fittings. Part of the process was to make rosette’s out of these long pieces of gauze cotton, so I learned that back then and was happy to apply it to this costume. I did not use a pattern and this was really the first thing I did with this serger, though I had some experience with Devin’s serger for the gauntlets I made while I was in Chicago. I’m certain that having a dress form would make this whole costume creation process much easier — doing the back of a shirt is really challenging when you can’t see what’s going on.

I’ve never seen a natural fire that big before. Beautiful experience. And really humbling too. It was clear the fire had traveled pretty far because we could see where the fire department had put out the fire and where it was still moving.

It was so big. Made The Man burning look small. Very small. Very pale.

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.

If you haven’t done one of these retreats, here’s the quick summary. All who attend a Vipassana course must conscientiously undertake the following five precepts for the duration of the course:

1. to abstain from killing any living creature;
2. to abstain from stealing;
3. to abstain from all sexual activity;
4. to abstain from telling lies;
5. to abstain from all intoxicants.

There are three additional precepts which old students — of which I am one — are expected to follow during the course:

6. to abstain from eating after midday;
7. to abstain from sensual entertainment and bodily decoration;
8. to abstain from using high or luxurious beds.

All students must observe Noble Silence from the beginning of the course until the morning of the last full day. Noble Silence means silence of body, speech, and mind. Any form of communication with fellow student, whether by gestures, sign language, written notes, etc., is prohibited.

And you then follow this schedule:
4:00 a.m.—————-Morning wake-up bell
4:30-6:30 a.m.———–Meditate in the hall or in your room
6:30-8:00 a.m.———–Breakfast break
8:00-9:00 a.m.———–Group meditation in the hall
9:00-11:00 a.m.———-Meditate in the hall or in your room according to the teacher’s instructions
11:00-12:00 noon——–Lunch break
12noon-1:00 p.m.——–Rest and interviews with the teacher
1:00-2:30 p.m.———–Meditate in the hall or in your room
2:30-3:30 p.m.———–Group meditation in the hall
3:30-5:00 p.m.———–Meditate in the hall or in your own room according to the teacher’s instructions
5:00-6:00 p.m.———–Tea break
6:00-7:00 p.m.———–Group meditation in the hall
7:00-8:15 p.m.———–Teacher’s Discourse in the hall
8:15-9:00 p.m.———–Group meditation in the hall
9:00-9:30 p.m.———–Question time in the hall
9:30 p.m.—————-Retire to your own room–Lights out

The thing is, while you sit during 3 of the 1 hour group sits, for 7 of the 10 days you are not supposed to move. As someone with a running nose, in close quarters to someone else, I question two things: 1. does this make sense for my health? 2. Does this make sense for everyone else’s health?

I’ll sleep on it and figure it out in the morning…

Aaron bought me flowers some time ago, and not remembering what I had said I liked, made up a flower name — the Moonlight Iris — and brought that to me as a gift. It was a beautiful gift and now iris’ are my second favorite flower. I still prefer the intoxicating smells of the lily.

Of course, I also am growing increasingly appreciative of side split right anti-spin flowers and I even got a cool photo of that at the Palace of Fine arts taken by Charles Russo.

I also enjoyed playing with the sparkling circle theme on my shirt and matching it on my face. The picture doesn’t convey the color shifts with nearly the vibrance you could appreciate in person. In another photo that Charles Russo took, it almost looks like sweat. This picture is of me fire dancing with a hoop.

Are you Clear? That is, do you feel mentally alert enough to be burning fire? Things that might impact this answer are your mood, how hard a day you had, how much you’ve been working, a fight you had with someone, an emotional event in your life, and your use of altering substances including alcohol.

Are you Capable? That is, do you feel physically capable of doing the dancing you’re attempting to do? Things that impact this answer include how much exercise you have done, how many times you have already burned recently, your use of altering substances, and how tired you are. BEWARE of the adrenaline rush! It can deceive you both on a mental and physical level. My friend Rob stopped my from doing a third burn one night when I was more tired than I realize and hyper pumped because of the adrenaline.

Are you Competent? That is, are you doing moves that you are trained and practiced in? At some point in time, each move will have its “first” time with fire and no matter how much you practice without fire, it isn’t necessarily the same feeling with the fire there. I prefer, if I am trying moves that are still wild and not fully practiced, to be extra careful with my hair and ensure my head is covered (even though I usually spin without); hair really is the quickest to burn away.

Read more about fire safety here.