Poi and Fire Spinning Class at Britannia Centre
Class Details
- Mondays, 8:45-10pm
- January 18 to March 22
- Britannia Centre
- Class is held at 1655 William St, 2nd floor
- $140/ten classes or $16 drop-in (see note at bottom)
- Practice poi are available for purchase
How to Register
Since this class is offered through Britannia, they handle all registration. To pay, you may:
- Visit them online here: Britannia Centre
- Pay at the Info Office, 1661 Napier St
- Register here: Fire and Poi Registration
- Or call 604-718-5800.
About the Class
This is an all level class for beginning and experienced poi spinners, covering fundamentals, exercises, tricky moves, advanced spinning concepts, flow, and guided movement practice.
Every class begins with movement exercises to increase awareness of how we move between the poi. Then students will learn and work on general concepts as well as specific moves. Transitions, musicality, and a strong movement foundation are all highly emphasized.
I approach poi from three angles:
1) Technique - without it, the poi just get in our way! With really strong technique, the poi are transformed from objects we move around to extensions to of our own movement and expressiveness!
2) Movement - we can spin the poi around ourselves while standing still and achieve interesting things. We can move with the poi and do even more. When the body and poi dance together, the effect is spectacular (and it feels good too)!
3) Music - I find I can spin in silence as meditation, but the poi and my body truly come alive when I'm responding to music that moves me. We'll work on forging a deeper connection to the rhythm, melody, and texture of different kinds of music.
You can register online.
Fire Safety
In addition to indoor classes, we will organize at least one time for outdoor instruction and fire safety orientation. Information will include types of fuel, how to soak, spin off, and snuff fire tools, what to do when something or someone catches on fire, and how to care for your tools. My goal is to help everyone in the class feel comfortable around fire!
An additional cost of $2-$5 will apply, to cover fuel, extra class time, use of fire tools, etc.
NOTE: Full Course vs. Drop-in
In order to make this class work for as many people as possible, I'm allowing drop-ins at any time. If you show up part way through the course, you can expect to feel at home right away - the movement warm up is always non-intimidating, the poi concept of the day will apply to everyone, and I always rotate between students and give individual feedback.
However, in my ideal class situation, every single student would start at the beginning and continue until the end. This gives everyone in the class - me, you, and the other students - the greatest possible sense of consistency and progress. You'll very likely learn a lot more by developing a weekly practice than by dropping in once and a while.
In the end, I leave the choice up to you! No matter what, I'm just happy that I have the chance to teach poi to such amazing people!
Can't Afford It?
Over the years, I've had a few students tell me they simply couldn't afford my class. In those cases, I did my best to help out by offering one or two classes for free, charging a reduced rate, trading services, or even asking other students to help them out. Although I can't possibly do this for everyone, the sentiment is there: I'd rather help you learn than turn you away for lack of funds! So, contact me and let me know about your situation, and I'll do my best to help! Britannia also offers financial support for some classes. Under "Programs and Services," look for "Subsidies."
Where Can I Get Poi?
To keep the class fee down, poi aren't included, but there are several sources for buying your own pair!
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For students who are interested in buying poi in class, I will have several choices of poi to test and then purchase.
The primary source for buying poi online is Home of Poi. Their shipping is surprisingly quick, their customer service is great, and they have a large selection. This link provides Night and Day Dance with referrals points which help us collect more tools for future classes, workshops, and performances!
What Are the Basics?
Here is a list of what I and others would consider to be the "basics" of poi spinning. These are the types of moves you can expect to learn during the workshop, Of course, if you already know everything here, I'll show you how to expand on what you know and push your abilities to the limit! There are always more complex variations to master (see below)!
- Same direction, forward or reverse
- Opposite directions
- Turning with the poi in front or back
- Same direction split time, forward or reverse
- The weave, forward or reverse
- The butterfly, forward or reverse
- Split time butterfly, forward or reverse
- Windmill, both directions
- Corkscrew, both directions
- Buzzsaw
- Transitions between any of the above
What Is Considered Advanced?
This is continually expanding territory, as there is always more to learn, and there are always more complex versions of old moves. Here is a list of the current core "advanced" moves and concepts:
- Turning with the buzzsaw
- Opposite direction buzzsaw
- Stalls (either hand, in any move, in any direction)
- Behind-the-back weaves or butterflies
- Under-the-leg variations
- Isolations
- Hyperloops/orbitals
- Hybrids
- Flowers
