Today was one of those "barely" productive days. I did manage to tidy my yarn stash, do the dishes, straighten the den, etc. I managed to do some homework before my sister arrived. Apparently the roads weren't plowed well (she was en route from a friend's house to our parents'), and she's now staying here for the night. I don't mind; David's working until midnight and having someone here is a nice change from the way I normally spend my evenings alone.
We spent the evening last night at Matt and Marcy's, at a spin jam. In the winter, those are referred to as "freezer burns". We didn't last long outside. It was about 20 degrees out and you can't really spin in heavy gear or with gloves on, so most of us were pretty frozen.
I think this one looks very "Abbey Road." It's Matt with his poi.
Jim breathing fire.
Dave doing isolations on his hands with fire staff. This was a second attempt to catch this picture. The first time, he dropped the staff. Matt and Joe yelled out simultaneously "Do it again, only less shit!" (Note: with the exception of "Are you going to Wildfire?" I've never heard anyone say the things in that video, or have those pretentious voices. Spinners, at least the ones I know, are way cooler and nicer than those people.)
Joe, being awesome. This was after I figured out how to photograph moving flames. I'm an idiot.
No pictures of me this time. David only took two, and neither of them came out clearly. Oh well. It was way too cold to be sitting outside for more than half an hour, so we ended up going in the house, drinking coffee, eating brownies, telling bad jokes, and chatting about weddings (Lyndsey and Joe got engaged on New Year's and they're planning their wedding for summer '13).
Anyway. This is what I'm dealing with in trying to do my homework.
Sorry, Ollie. That type of distraction is why I haven't graduated yet.
This weekend, I had the privilege of being invited to spin in front of non-spinners for the first time at the housewarming party of my friends, Joe and Lyndsey. It was very impromptu -- the speakers were set up, the campfire fuel was put out, and Lyndsey and Joe invited all spinners to give an improv performance, in front of Joe's parents and other non-spinning guests.
Unfortunately, in my case, it was a dismal failure. But I am choosing to turn my poor experience into a cautionary tale, with another lesson that I learned in fire-spinning that night.
In fire-spinning, this is a bad idea.
In most performance arts, we are told that, when we make a mistake, the best course of action is to shrug it off, pretend that it never happened, and power through the performance. This is something I heard many, many times during my nine years of figure skating. If you think about world-class performers or athletes, if they screw up, they keep going. Most of the time (unless, like in figure skating, it's a serious fall), the audience isn't going to know that you messed up. Just keep going, finish the dance/routine/game. In other words, fake it 'til you make it.
In fire-spinning, sometimes the opposite is true. It is much more dangerous to continue the performance than to stop.
On Saturday night, I was doing my improv fan routine to "Howl" by Florence and the Machine. (Music video shown below). This is one of my favorite songs. I first heard it on a preview for Season 4 of "The Tudors" and I hope to some day choreograph a real routine to it and use it as a signature piece.
In the first fifteen seconds, I misjudged one of my turns, and I ended up smacking the right side of my face with one of the wicks of my fan. Fortunately, I suffered nothing more than some singed hair and a partly-singed eyebrow, no further damage. I wasn't hurt, but it stings (and God, does burning hair smell), and I was pretty shaken, to the point where I completely lost my place and forget everything that I had learned about fire spinning, all of my technique, etc. To the point where I froze completely, with the fans pointed down, which is a terrible idea. With the fan pointed down, the fire goes up, and burns the hands. This is a rookie mistake, and one that I stopped doing the day that I first held fans. This was the first time in months that I did that. I couldn't think, I couldn't focus.
So I stopped. I called my safety (my friend Matt), and laid the fans out on the duveytene, and he extinguished them. Then I went off into the corner of the yard where the campfire fuel was, to assess the damage.
After nine years of skating, and three years of dance, it felt incredibly wrong. I was very upset, I felt like a screw-up, and how dare I not complete the performance? But Matt pulled me aside and said that I had done absolutely right. Fire spinning is not like other performance arts. If you are not "in your right mind" to do it, it can become very dangerous. Had I continued to perform, I could have burned myself again, and badly this time.
When a spinner is not in his or her right mind to perform, s/he should call a safety to extinguish the flames, stop the performance, and then take a breather for at least ten minutes. This will give the prop enough time to "cool down" to the point where it can be re-lit (never soak your prop in fuel immediately after extinguishing the flame, when it is still hot to the touch), and give the performer enough time to gather him- or herself.
I wish I could tell you that I got up again and performed, but I didn't. I decided that was enough for one night, and stuck to safety-ing my husband and friends for the remainder of the evening. David, Lyndsey, Joe, and Matt did a hilarious precision staff performance to one of the instrumental pieces from the movie Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl, and Lyndsey asked me if I wanted to work on choreographing a precision piece with fans to another Florence song (yes!). So I guess the story has a happy ending after all.
The moral of the story? Fake it 'til you make it...unless you're wielding fire.
My friend Matt is a fire spinner, has been for several years. As a joke, stitched into his Duvetyne cloth (the flame-retardant cloth spinners use to put out errant flames) are the words "Safety Third" (I asked what first and second are; he told me "audience" and "performance"). Cute joke, but in all honesty, safety is really crucial when fire spinning.
As my friend Joe says, burns are somewhat of an "occupational hazard" (like any of us are getting paid for this -- though I do know some people who do...). Most times, burns don't go beyond singeing your hair or eyebrows, if you are careful and have a safety spotting you at all times. There are several steps you can take to assure that you are as safe as possible while fire spinning.
1) Wear natural materials -- no polyester. As any knitter will tell you, polyester or acrylic yarn (and fabric) is not naturally flame-retardant (unless it has been treated). When a natural material like wool or cotton catches on fire, it will catch slowly, and wool will often self-extinguish (not that you'll be giving it enough time to). Acrylic and other plastic-based materials will melt and adhere to the skin -- which is very painful and requires professional removal from medical personnel. And it hurts. Wear cottons, linens, wools, denims -- any natural fabric.
2) Limit the use of alcohol-based sprays and aerosols. This includes hairspray, mousse, perfumes, and some bug sprays. All of these are combustible, so if you're piling them on before fire spinning, you run the risk of igniting yourself.
3) "Spin-off" your performance articles after dipping them in fuel. Often, when you dip the wicks into the fuel, the wicks soak up much more fuel than necessary. To eliminate excess fuel, spin your performance object very quickly (I usually put one finger through the hole handle of my fan and spin it very fast), so you can either see (or feel) the fuel spinning off it. This will eliminate the risk of fuel dripping down the object to your hands or skin.
4) Always have a safety. Your safety should be someone who stands a few feet away from you with a flame-retardant cloth (about 2' by 2') and who keeps his or her eyes on you at all times throughout your performance, in case a trick goes awry and you catch something on fire. If the safety sees errant flames, he or she should yell "DOWN" (not "FIRE" for obvious reasons), which will be the sign for you to immediately drop whatever performance article you have. The safety will then use the cloth to first extinguish any flames on your person, and then (if necessary) extinguish the flames on the performance article. Never spin without a safety. Even when you are just practicing in your own back yard. David and I take turns.
5) Always spin fire outdoors and away from pets or children. This should go without saying, I know. Keep all pets either tethered or held a safe distance away, and keep children away. I have never spun in front of children before, but I have spun in front of animals, and you'd be surprised how many dogs think that fire spinning is SO AWESOME. Or they think their masters are in danger and try to run to them. It's best to not spin with animals there until you know how they're going to react to the flames...and even then, have them on a leash or tether for their own protection.
6) Know your props/fire toys, and choose accordingly. When first learning how to spin, it is nice to start with a "stationary" toy, such as a fan or a staff, that has no movable parts. In layman's terms, when you light the wicks of a fan, or a staff, they stay a continuous distance from your body. Where you spin the fire, it will stay. However, if you are using fire poi (wicks on the ends of dangling chains), you have less control over where you are spinning your fire. I had a friend this past weekend at Wildfire light himself on fire with his poi, and he's been spinning for over a year now. Start small.
From FireMecca.com
6a) LED toys are your friends! If you don't think you're ready to spin fire (good for you for listening to your inner voice!), but you still want to spin, LED toys are definitely your friends. LED toys are like regular toys, except that they have LED lights built-in. You can get some ridiculously pretty results using LED props -- one of my favorite things this weekend was a "fire and ice" hoop, which had both LED lights and fire wicks. The result looked like the picture to the right. Awesome, no?
LED toys are great for learning how to spin, or spinning in places where fire is not welcome (such as your rented apartment backyard, if you don't happen to have a sympathetic landlord, or indoors). You get beautiful results, it looks badass, you can practice to your heart's content, and you don't run the risk of hurting yourself or others.
Finally...7) Ask for help! If you want to get into fire spinning, but you're not sure how to start, ask a fellow spinner! Seriously, I don't know anyone who spins fire that doesn't want to help other people get involved and see how cool and fun it really is. I joined a FB group yesterday for spinners in my home state (Connecticut), and someone else posted that she wanted to learn fire breathing. Within minutes, two people had jumped in and commented that they'd be happy to help her learn.
Stick to all of the above, and you'll be well on your way to spinning safely!
Wildfire was AMAZING. I can't stress that enough. Although I'm not a camper (and I REALLY hate the way that dew makes everything in your tent, including your sleeping bag and pillows damp), it was still the most fun I've had in a long time. And I can't wait to go back next year. There's another WF in September, but Dave and I can't afford it and to be honest, as much fun as it is, you come off the weekend feeling like you just took a ride on the world's biggest roller coaster. Fun times, but you need a little while to recover afterward.
The whole thing takes place at a Boy Scout camp, so I was a little disconcerted when I walked in at first. It reminded me way too much of the music camp that Kim and I went to when I was 15 -- which was terrible (mean, stupid people; I got the campsite a metric MILE away from base camp; everyone got sick or dehydrated; one of our friends was a douchebag the whole week; etc). But this camp (thankfully) had plumbing, including flushing toilets and real showers, even if everything else was relatively primitive. Dave chose to pitch our tent in the wooded area, which again, not my favorite place to be (reminded me too much of music camp). Next time we go, we'll camp down on the main field with most of our friends.
The thing I hadn't anticipated at WF is the laid-back, comfort level of everyone. Everyone hugs you. Everyone says hi. Nobody acts like a douchebag. It's kind of amazing. But it was weird at first. I had a little bit of an uncomfortable moment when the fifth person I didn't know gave me a hug. I am not used to being touched that often, and I had a little bit of an anxiety attack once I was alone. But I got used to it.
There ARE no superiors at WF, there are only organizers. The teachers teach some classes and then go on to take some others, so everyone is on equal footing. Everyone is required to do four volunteer hours (I helped cook lunch on Saturday and breakfast on Monday) to offset the costs of the retreat. Cooking was a lot of fun, but tiring -- it's a LOT of work to feed 300 people!
I took a LOT of classes. The classes took place in the main field and in the tents on the field. This is also where we would spin fire in the evenings, once it got dark. The field was clearly marked out by burning lamps and huge braziers, which is where we got fire for our fire toys. You can't really see it from this picture. This is daytime, so everyone was either taking a class or practicing what they had learned.
Dave wanted to only take classes that had to do with fire staff. He wants to get proficient in one area of expertise. On the other hand, I took classes in spinning poi (more fun than I expected), hoop (AMAZING), choreography for fan spinning (I learned how to do a thumb roll on the handles of my fans -- maybe a video to come if Dave and I can figure out how to work the video on the camera) and belly dance (my abs are still tingly!). All of them were a lot of fun, but my body is SORE after this weekend!
This is my friend Lyndsey (the one who got us into spinning), spinning her unlit staff on Friday afternoon before dinner. The circle of benches over there was where we congregated for our "newbie meeting", which basically explained what was going to happen during the weekend and how we were not to spin fire until we took a safety class on Friday night.
We were blessed with extraordinary good weather -- it only rained on Sunday evening, which was unfortunate because it meant that the Performance Class took place in the dining hall instead of in the amphitheater, so nobody could perform with fire. It was super hot on Friday, Saturday, and most of Sunday (see Dave above, drinking water), but Monday was beautiful. Also, you're probably noticing that a lot of guys are shirtless? No guys wear shirts at WF. I don't know why. It's just the way they roll. Dave decided to become one of the shirtless guys and paid for it with a super bad sunburn. Oh well. Live and learn.
I came home sore, exhausted, slightly burnt (on my nose), but it was the most fun weekend away I've had in a LONG time. We're planning on going again -- maybe next May, around David's birthday. They have three Wildfire retreats a year -- in May, August, and September -- but we can't afford to go to all three, or even two a year. It was an amazing weekend, and I can't wait to do it again.
I'm going to my first Wildfire Retreat next weekend in Ashford, CT, and though I could not be more excited for it, I am nervous and feel like there is still way too much left to do! (Such as find coverage for that Monday...). A whole weekend of spinning classes, training, performing, etc. is making me jump out of my skin. Tonight I'm going with David to visit some friends of ours, the same two that got us into fire spinning in the first place, just to some practicing (unlit, since it gets dark so late these days). They're preparing us for what the weekend is going to entail and what we need to bring.
Before Wildfire, I still have to obtain the following:
- A tent (we might be borrowing one from our friends -- must find that out soon)
- Mattress pad or air mattress (might be able to borrow from our parents)
- Bug spray
- Flashlight
- Two canteens or other drinking containers
David is off tomorrow and Thursday, so he said that he would go procure anything we don't have at that point. Hopefully we'll find out tomorrow if we can borrow the tent, or if we have to buy one.
The final class list is out, and these are the following classes that I am (hopefully) going to be taking during Wildfire:
Poi for the Complete Beginner OR Beginning Hoop (I haven't decided and probably won't until that day)
Introductory Fire Fans
Intro to Fan Tech
Fan Choreography
Fan Figures: Spinning with Shapes
How to Spin to Music
Can you see why I can't wait now? Eleven more days!
"Spin Jams" are the colloquial in our group of friends for evenings when a bunch of us get together and fire spin, usually in someone's backyard. Last night, our friend Matt was kind enough to throw a spin jam, and everyone braved the obscene heat and came out to spin.
This is Nick, juggling fire torches (small batons with lit wicks on one end). Nick can do all manner of fire-related entertainment...this is one of his specialties.
Joe, doing both fire poi and fire breathing. In fire breathing, the individual takes a mouthful of paraffin or lamp oil (which I am assured is tasteless, although I refuse to try it and find out) and blows it into the fire, creating the burst of flame you see here.
Lyndsey, executing fire staff. Notice the incredibly clean circles, which come with experience. I assure you that mine look nothing that neat!
David doing fire staff, mid-toss. He went twice, once doing staff simultaneously with Joe, and then once by himself.
Jim, breathing fire.
Jim (left) and Matt (right) experimenting with LED poi, which are generally used in practice and for people like yours truly who aren't ready to use flame poi yet.
Matt spinning fire poi.
Me spinning fans! I had an awesome night last night spinning with my new fans. I'm definitely getting used to the weight of each of them. And and and...most exciting...I managed a toss and catch! I tried three tosses during my spinning, with the fans lit. I missed two, but I caught the third! It was really exciting and made me feel really great. I definitely want to get in more practice and get more comfortable with tossing the fans while lit.
All in all, a great spin jam. Although spinning in 95 degree weather is rough (we were all really sweaty when we were done), we all had a fantastic time.
Up until recently, when I did fan-spinning, I borrowed a pair of fans from my friend Lyndsey, which were three-prong, three-wick fans occasionally referred to as "bat fire fans" due to the distinctive shape, which resembles a bat wing (see right). The one showed at the right is sold by Fire by Riz at $40 per fan or $80 for the pair. The "wingspan" of each fan is 18" x 18" and each fan weighs 9 oz. These are widely considered "practice fans." They were great to get started on, because with only three wicks, they are much less hot, and they are lighter and easier to handle.
Compare these to my fans, which I wrote about in a previous entry. The fans that David purchased for me for my birthday are sold by FireMecca, as I've state before, and they are called "passion fire fans". They have five spokes and wicks per fan, and their prices vary (David bought my fans on sale, for much less than advertised now). The wingspan on these fans is 17" x 26" and the weight is 2.2 lbs.
My first reaction to these fans is that compared to the bat fire fans, these are heavy. Each fan weighs twice what the bat fans weigh. Also, it's unbelievable how much more heat is supplied by just those four extra wicks. You can certainly feel the difference in the temperature after only a few seconds of spinning.
But. There is no denying that these just look better. Their wingspan, combined with the extra wicks, illuminates the dance better, and looks more professional. When I tried them out last night, a friend who was watching me said that I "looked like Kitana from Mortal Kombat" (which I took as a compliment, because I've played MK, and Kitana was badass).
(I'll also mention here that I had my first "fire-related incident" last night, when I swung one fan too close and singed my hair. David was my safety, and made sure immediately that nothing on me was on fire -- I haven't lit myself up yet! -- but there was a nasty smell of burned hair, and I had a bit of a burned patch later when I checked it out. Fortunately, I have short, layered, curly hair that covers up such things easily -- and I'm not too vain.)
Obviously they are going to take some getting used to, and I was prepared for that. I was also prepared to be ridiculously hot when I was done trying them out, because we're having a heat wave all over the United States these days, and it was 98 degrees at 9:30 PM last night when I was spinning. I'm hoping that after Sunday, once the heat finally breaks here, I'll be able to try them out more comfortably. But for a first-time out, I really enjoyed using them!
A lot of people have commented on my FB about fire spinning -- what it is, how it works, why anyone would ever decide that THIS is the hobby that he or she wants to take up? Isn't it dangerous? And so on and so forth. So I'm going to give a little background information about fire spinning, particularly fan spinning. (Please keep in mind that these are my opinions, and not necessarily the opinions of the whole fire-spinning community)
Fire spinning (otherwise known as "fire dancing" or perhaps more accurately, "fire performance") is a performance art that involves the manipulation of objects on fire. Its page on Wikipedia is relatively informative, especially if you are looking for broad coverage of all the elements. In fire spinning, the object of the performer's choice is made of metal, with thick (usually more than 1') Kevlar wicks. The wicks are dipped in fuel (David and my friends and I use white campfire gas, usually used found in sporting goods' stores).
The following are different elements of fire spinning or fire performance (this is not a complete list):
Fire fans are made of welded metal with the Kevlar wicks, and come in a varying range of sizes and shapes. Unlike some of the other fire spinning disciplines, fire fan spinning is closely associated with dance, rather than sport or tech. Granted, there is a rather large technical aspect to fan spinning (a lot of it is based on handling and grip techniques) but fan spinning is a lot like fan dancing or belly-dancing, which is what drew me to it in the beginning. I love the fluid movements and the dance -- I used to take dance and figure skating lessons as a teenager, and that was a big part of my life. I love expressing myself through dance.
A lot of fire-spinning techniques are largely technically based, rather than dance. Fire staff (link to a terrible Wikipedia page) involves a metal staff with two large Kevlar wicks at each end and (usually) a soft grip in the middle. Staff involves a lot of turning, contact motion, and tosses. David's forte is fire staff, and his signature move involves bouncing the staff off of one knee, over his head, and catching it behind his back.
Fire hoop is pretty much exactly what it sounds like -- hula-hooping (or just hooping) with a metal hoop, from which extend spokes and Kevlar wicks. Hooping employs both technical and dance elements.
Fire poi are two large wicks at the bottom of metal chains (in varying lengths, according to the height of the performer) that have small finger holes. Fire poi are easily one of the most dramatic mediums for fire spinning, and have the least amount of performer control, since the chains allow the lighted wicks to go in all directions. Poi spinning is another medium that, like fan spinning, utilizes dance.
Fire torches are small pins, almost like juggling pins, with Kevlar wicks. They are juggled or used in other fire performance skills, such as fire eating or fire breathing.
There are two people involved in a fire spinning performance. One, obviously, is the performer. The other is called a "safety". The safety stands nearby with a 2' x 2' (or about that size) piece of fire-retardant cloth. David and I use a piece of Duvetyne, which is 100% cotton treated to be flame-retardant. Frequently during spinning, the performer may miss a toss, or misjudge the distance between the flames and his hair/clothing/skin/etc. The safety's job is to ensure that the performer does not catch on fire.
If at any point, the performer catches on fire, the safety's job is to shout "DOWN" (not "fire", because hey, obviously things are on fire) and then to pat out the flame with the cloth. If the performer chooses to end his or her performance before the flames on the object burn out, the safety may also wrap the object with the cloth to extinguish the flames manually. (I will be doing a post going more into fire safety in another post)
For those people who have said, on my FB wall, that "I could never do that" or "I would set myself/my dog/my house/my neighborhood on fire" -- if I can do it, you can. I promise you. I'm about as uncoordinated a human being as they come. As David assured one of our friends last night -- it is not easy for the fire to catch and actually burn you. We have a friend who has been doing poi spinning for 10 years, and he has never lit himself on fire to the point of injuring himself. So if you are interested in fire spinning, and you're afraid of burning yourself -- please don't let that stop you. Join a class, find some friends who are trained, have a good safety, and have fun!
Well I changed my domain and my blog name. I chose my original name Read ~ Knit ~ Blog in reference to the bestseller Eat, Pray, Love (ironically, before I'd even read it). And then over the past seven months realized, as I mentioned in my past entry, that my blog has expanded, or has the potential to expand, into more than just books and knitting. So I changed my title and domain, and...here we go.
My birthday is Sept. 12, but my husband decided to go out and buy my birthday present two months early. And the package came today:
(I know, I know...I look like crap. Ignore my terrible hair and sweaty face).
These are my first fire fans! At the suggestion of our good friend Lyndsey, who first introduced me to fan spinning, David ordered them from Fire Mecca, purveyor of all sorts of fire dance/spinning-related goods. Thus far, I have only used smaller, practice fans (with three wicks, rather than five). It was a whole different experience to hold and handle these heavier, wider fans! But I couldn't be more excited! I can't wait for the first day I get to light them and try spinning them to music. I was practicing my grips and transitions tonight, but I still have a long way to go.
If you want to see some really awesome fan spinning (WAY above my technique level), this is one of my favorite fan spinners. Her name is Sasha (link goes to her website), and she's one of the best. Unfortunately whoever shot this video took a lot of extreme close-ups, so you can't see her technique as well as you could if she was in wide-shot. But you can still get the idea. Her dancing and technique are beautiful.
I'm hoping to get in some practice this weekend. I'm also hoping to obtain a better camera shortly so I can stop taking blog pictures with my cell phone. Hopefully I'll have some better pictures soon.
My birthday is September 12th (little bitta trivia for you there). My wonderful husband, David, decided to buy my birthday present two months early. He bought it -- or should I say, them -- today:
These are Passion Fire Fans, from Fire Mecca. I've been borrowing fans from my good friend Lyndsey when we go to spin jams together, and now I'm going to have my own pair! I'm so excited. I don't know how I'm going to wait the five days it's going to take for them to ship.
Even more exciting, I'll have them in time for Wildfire Retreat in August! It will by first one ever, and David's too. I mainly do fire fans and I'm planning on taking classes in fire hoop and poi. David is getting really good at fire staff, and he wants to learn poi as well. We've been practicing spinning for about two months now, but we have friends who have been firespinning for at least a decade. We're learning from some of the best :)
(Really terrible picture of my first time using fire fans. I assure you, I have gotten better since then.)
(David's first attempts at fire staff. He too has improved, way more than I have!)
Five days isn't that long, right? And I have a lot to look forward this to this weekend. I'm seeing my friend Kim for the first time since David's birthday two months ago, and we're going to fireworks on Saturday night (can't wait!). And...yeah that's probably it. My life is nothing if not dull.
