Last Friday I went to visit fellow JETs in Katsuragi. I expected to just show up, drink, and watch a movie. To my delight I was treated to a fire dancing show. It actually has some special name that I've already forgotten, so I just call it fire dancing. We headed to the local park, which is pretty cool in itself. The park in has this huge Buddha statue that is all lit up at night. Ches, Stu, Brad, and Jessica then provided the crazy entertainment. Basically the mechanism is one long cord with what looks like round tennis balls on the end. They basically just put kerosene on them and then light them. Then they swung the fire balls around their bodies. Crazy! I would totally have burned all of my hair off or whopped myself in the face with a fire ball. I took this opportunity to play with the night setting on my camera and the shutter speed. I think that I got some great results. There are also a few photos of Stu and Chess before they actually started swinging, so that you can kind of see what they are actually holding. I was so impressed with their talent and ability not to get injured. Very cool show! Here are the fire dancing photos.
Monday, September 05, 2005
Fire Dancing!
Last Friday I went to visit fellow JETs in Katsuragi. I expected to just show up, drink, and watch a movie. To my delight I was treated to a fire dancing show. It actually has some special name that I've already forgotten, so I just call it fire dancing. We headed to the local park, which is pretty cool in itself. The park in has this huge Buddha statue that is all lit up at night. Ches, Stu, Brad, and Jessica then provided the crazy entertainment. Basically the mechanism is one long cord with what looks like round tennis balls on the end. They basically just put kerosene on them and then light them. Then they swung the fire balls around their bodies. Crazy! I would totally have burned all of my hair off or whopped myself in the face with a fire ball. I took this opportunity to play with the night setting on my camera and the shutter speed. I think that I got some great results. There are also a few photos of Stu and Chess before they actually started swinging, so that you can kind of see what they are actually holding. I was so impressed with their talent and ability not to get injured. Very cool show! Here are the fire dancing photos.
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The "fire dancing" you mention is actually called "poi" and is frequently referred to by its practitioners as "firespinning." It's thought to have originally come from the Maori tribes indigenous to New Zeland, although there are some who contend that it it originated in Thailand, China, Hawaii, etc. If you want my opinion, there's just too much evidence that the Maori did it first.
ReplyDeleteAside from that, spinning poi is a blast, and it's imressive as hell to watch a good spinner. I've been doing it for about a year and a half, but I was using fire about 90 minutes after I picked them up. It's definitely doable if you have even modest manual dexterity.
For more info on firespinning and other pyro-art forms, or to buy equipment and learn moves, I suggest you check out:
http://www.homeofpoi.com
They have quality equipment, a good community, and a lot of information.
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ReplyDeleteThanks for the information Ches. I really was curious about the origin of poi. You guys spin really well. I was so impressed. I am so clumsy, I am positive that I would wrap the cords around me. I hope that you stole some photos of off the album. That's why I post them.
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