Wicked Wicks and the Earth Music Arts Festival

On April 18th and 19th from 10am till midnight, the 2nd Annual Earth Music Art Festival will happen and most of us will be there. I'll be there during the day taking photos of the event but when the sun starts to go down the other guys will be out to spin a little fire. If you happen to be in Bloomington- Normal that weekend or you were looking for something to do, please stop out and see us. There will be some awesome local artist, and plenty of music too. For more information and directions check out The Blank Canvas Project.

Angel

Fire Spinning and Winter

Well it's starting to really get cold here so fire spinning season for us is coming to a close. It's pretty hard to spin when you can't feel your fingers. Screwy and I have also been really busy getting settled into our new place. I am hoping to get a few spinners out once we have some snow on the ground. I always thought it would be really cool to photograph fire on snow. Since we won't have a whole lot going on thru the winter I would share some older photos with everyone. Below are a few pictures to start off the winter season.











--Angel

The Downs Haunted House

Just a quick reminder. The 24th and 25th of October will be our last weekend at the Downs Haunted House. This is a great deal, for a dollar you get all you can eat hot dogs, a hayrack ride to and from the haunted house, plus Wicked Wicks as entertainment while you wait in line. Proceeds from the Downs Haunted House goes toward charity. If you make it out to the house please stop by, say hello and introduce yourself.

The local newspaper came out and shot some video of the haunted house and also capture a clip of a few of us spinning and eating fire. Check it out at http://www.pantagraph.com/.

I also want to apologize for not posting for a while but we just moved and have been busy at our new place unpacking and painting. I promise to post some pictures of us spinning at the haunted house soon.

- Angel

Halloween Public Performance

For those that would like to mark their calendars, Wicked Wicks will be performing in Downs, Illinois at the Downs Haunted House. Admission is just one dollar and you get all you can eat hot dogs plus entertainment. How can you beat a deal like that!

The haunted house is open Friday and Saturday, during the last two weekends in October. It opens around 6pm but you may want to get there a little early. With a $1 admission we tend to stay busy.

We have worked the Haunted House for the last two years and we enjoy performing for the patrons waiting in line. If you come out make sure and stop by and say hello. We would love to meet you and show you our art!

Although, a majority of the Wicked Wicks members will be at the haunted house, some will be working inside. We've spent the last couple of months tearing out last years scenes and setting up new ones. Trust me it is worth the cost and you never know who you will run into, while waiting in line.

This is a family event but the haunted house has been known to creep out a few of the kids. Hey, it's Halloween and it just wouldn't be the same without a couple of screams. Please come see us in action, you won't have many opportunities after we perform in Downs.

- Screwy

Chicago Fire Events

As the Chicago rep of the Wicked Wicks I thought I would let you know about a few upcoming fire events in the city. There is such a large community here, and spinners are getting together and rocking out all the time! I've had a blast at all the events below, and if you are near the area I would highly recommend checking them out.

Give Peace a Dance: Oct 3rd, Friday, 9:00pm - 1:00 am. A public alcohol-free conscious-dance event which starts out with a drum circle and fire spinning. There is also a black-light space for spinning right off the main dance floor. Happens every month, and spinners attend the event for free. You MUST contact the hosts of the event before planning on spinning: http://synphorium.com/gpd.html

Full Moon Jam: Oct 14th, Tuesday, 6:10 pm.
An amazing event for spinners, musicians, and spectators alike. Though the crowd may be intimidating there are many spinners there for support, and you can enter the circle and spin and many times as you would like. Located about 1/2 mile south of Foster Ave Beach on the Lake Front. To see the full schedule of jams view: http://www.spunn.org/comm.shtml

Thursday night practices An informal gathering every Thursday night around 8:00pm...great time to practice, learn, and chill with fire spinners in the Chicago area. Contact chicagofiredancing@googlegroups.com for information on attending.

Also, I've been giving private lessons, which are great for anyone interested in one on one attention to learn or improve their poi skills. I can provide sock poi for practice if you don't have any of your own (you can also purchase a pair from me for $10.00). For more info you can view my website www.voortrek.com or email me at krvw@voortrek.com.

Hope to see some of you out and about in the city!

- Krimzen

How About a Little Video?

I have got a few request from friends to post up some video footage. So today is the day. Some of our troupe came back from Burning Man 2008 with a ton of pictures and a little footage. This is video footage of Zach spinning at the camp with the neighbor campers drumming in the background. Funny thing is the drummers had no idea Zach was spinning on the other side of the RV.

--Angel

Burning Man 2008

A couple of the troupe members adventured out into Black Rock City for a week. For some of them it was a first time experience and for a couple of others their second year going. While they are still catching up from the trip, I offered to post and put up some of their images from their journey. Burning Man is one of the largest gatherings of fire performers in the world. This year alone there were more then 49,000 attendees (not all fire performers). The theme for 2008 was The American Dream. Enjoy the images.

The Temple (built this year with scrap from previous BM events)


Part of Mutopia from The Flaming Lotus Girls


The Man himself!


The Bummer


Babylon


Really cool perspective statue!


The Hand (story is every day they would wake up it was striking a different pose)

Holiday Weekend…. for Some

While most of us are enjoying our holiday weekend, people in the Louisiana, Mississippi, and southern parts of Texas are spending this time evacuating. This weighs heavy on my mind as my whole family, including my parents live near the coast in Louisiana. They have lived there all their lives and this weekend they have to leaving due to Hurricane Gustav. While I am somewhat relieved since for Katrina and Rita they stayed home and stuck it out, at least this time some of them are leaving. The news channels this morning are saying that the storm is heading right for Louisiana, and is projected to hit my hometown. I want to let my family in Louisiana and the people of the southern states know that our prayers are with you. I pray that everyone is safe and returns to find minimal damage when the storm is past. Please keep the people effected by the storm in your thoughts as you enjoy your holiday weekend.

Thank you,
--Angel

New Photos

A couple of weeks ago I got a mesaage saying some of our fellow fire spinners would be in town, so I sent out a couple of texts and got some folks together for practice. Some of our friends who hadn't seen us perform before came out to watch. We would like to thank them for bringing their family out to check out our skills. It's always nice to have new people come out and let us share the fire arts with them.

Our dear photographer friend David Beasley Jr. came out and took some new photos of us. We would like to thank him for his constant support and for always spreading the word about our troupe. Check out his blog for some awesome new images: www.davidbeasleyjr.blogspot.com

--Angel

A Fire Spinner Q&A Session Part 1

When I started writing the, “You do WHAT???” post, I came up this idea. As fire spinners we get a ton of questions and surprisingly not all come when we first meet people. Some people who have known about it for years still ask questions once and a while. So, below is a Q&A of questions we have collected and of course we had to throw a few pictures in too (I couldn’t resist).

Q: Is it dangerous?
A: Well anything dealing with flammable fuels is dangerous. We do not recommend trying this without a safety always present. It’s also a good idea to have an experienced spinner as a mentor. Most of us started with either glow poi or tennis balls on rope.

Q: Does it hurt to get hit with the poi?
A: A tightly bound piece of fabric spinning rather fast doesn’t feel like being hit by a feather but you will survive. We try to spin with items that are comparable in weight this makes transitioning into the fire poi a little easier. A wick holding fuel (which is a liquid) tend to be heavier then a tennis ball. When spinning at a high rate of speed it tends to leave a mark.

Safety Tip: If you are able to practice the trick without hitting yourself you might be ready to try it on fire.
*** Please use your own judgment and always practice safe fire spinning! ***

Q: How long did it take to learn how to spin?
A: The time it takes to learn really depends on the person’s patience and dedication to learning it. You will find some tricks come really easy and then others seem to take forever to learn. You will really notice this if you spinning with a group of people or decide to learn with someone else. Don’t let this frustrate you or keep you from practicing. Your turn will come! I can almost guarantee you will learn other tricks faster then people you spin with. Repetition is good, never rush thru a trick be thorough about it.

Q: How often do you practice?
A: When we started we faithfully practiced twice a week for several hours and did that for years. Nowadays we don’t practice as often but anytime we have a chance to get together we do. Obviously the more you practice the better you get. If you are luck enough to find a place that has mirrored walls like a dance studio you have the advantages of being able to see your moves. This will be immensely in improving your performance.

Q: What types of things do you guys spin?
A: We have standard poi with several wick types (i.e. cathedral, monkey fist, gorilla fist, moon blades, and cores). We also have staff, double staff, segmented staff, rope dart, whip, fire snakes and fire fingers. There are also a couple of fire-eaters and a fire breather in the troupe.

Q: Where does fire spinning originate?
A: It originated with the Māori people of New Zealand (the word poi means "ball" in Māori). Women and men used it to increase flexibility, strength, and coordination and in particular the dexterity of the wrist.

Q: Is spinning difficult to learn?
A: Just like anything else you have to practice, whether it be piano, drums, guitar or fire spinning. Basic moves can seem difficult at first, master those and you will find the more complex moves easier to grasp. When watching a practiced fire spinners, pay attention to body movements, hand placement and timing. These are keys to becoming a fire performer. Start with one poi and practice spinning in each hand, both directions (spinning away from you and then towards you). Learn your planes and practice your timing. Once you have those mastered you will find poi/fire spinning a bit easier. Then it becomes an object of creativity.

Q: Where is a good place to find more information or training on spinning?
A: http://www.homeofpoi.com/ is a company based out of New Zealand. They have a good selection of training information, equipment, and have a good system for finding other spinners in your area.
If your from the Chicago area Krimzen does private lessons and sells sock poi (practice poi), her website is listed in our links of interest.

Well that is it for the questions for now. If you can think of any more questions, please feel free to leave them in the comments of this post and we will add them to Part 2.

--Angel & Screwy