Check out my reflective essay on what I discovered and achieved during my project: |
|
Also, here are my journal entries from my journey to Kinetic Fire Flow Festival:
Exploring the Benefits of Flow Arts
Festival Journal
Day 1: Thursday, May 15, 2014,
(Technically Friday) 3:30 a.m.
I’m finally here, at Kinetic Fire! Although it’s dark as a cave out here, I’ve already met some amazing people. After practicing with the band last night in Athens, Ohio and gathering my items for departure earlier today, my friend and fellow performer Eric Turner and I decided to leave around 10:30 p.m. to head this way. The drive took us about 3 hours but we made it here safe and sound. Despite the late hour that we arrived here, I decided to bring my video camera along with us as we explored the camp grounds. Luckily enough, we found two large, cozy fires to sit by, surrounded by a chuckling crowd of early birds. One of these night owls was Juggling Jack, a new friend who lives up to his name in astounding ways- he can juggle seven balls at once! As I watched him toss his glowing LED balls high up into the air, I became entranced and had to videotape. Success! It’s great to know I already have some neat footage. I also talked to a woman dressed in a steam-punk style who delights in fan-spinning. She said she just began but is quickly picking up speed. A few other people had LED poi out around the fires, but I began to feel sleepy so I trekked back up here to my car, where I’ll take my rest. I’m sure I’ll have lots to share tomorrow!
Day 2: Friday, May 16, 2014,
12:00 p.m.
As I awakened from my slumber a few minutes ago, I leaned up in my front seat and right in front of my car I saw a large “Lyra” rig with several women engaging in a group class on how to climb onto and flow through poses on the contraption, a hanging hoop (almost like a human-size dream catcher). What amazes me is that there was nothing there last night when I went to bed - this rig was literally built this morning while I slept right in front of it! I’m going to get out of the car and hop on that Lyra; I mean, it is right in front of me and I love stretching and climbing things, so what a perfect situation this is. Even while I’m sitting here in my car, if I do a 360 degree look-around, I can see people nestled in the trees, already up taking the multitude of workshops this festival has to offer. I looked at a flier and nearly got a headache from the 200 workshops they have crammed in here – how marvelous! Looks like it’s going to be a day of adventure, videotaping, and learning for me.
7:30 p.m.
The beautiful sunshine that I woke up to has been taken over by a torrential rain monster! But despite the mud, it really hasn’t been too bad because every hour on the hour it seems to get really sunny again, and then after another hour it plunges back into downpour. My shoes are destroyed, though. But now more about my discoveries: my mind has officially been blown by the beauty and sense of community all of these people share with their flow props and countless workshops. I had a great time on the Lyra, and after that snuck over to a shady spot where I could sit and record a gathering of people wielding dragon staffs – the long staffs with many wicks at the end (some have up to 40!). Then I ambled over to the giant pasture where nearly a hundred or so people engaged in their flow, with the center of the pasture being a giant hoop workshop on how to “paddle”. While taping the hoopers in action, I spotted my friend Eric, playing his acoustic guitar and singing like a pied piper weaving through the crowd. A social butterfly like me, Eric had made some new friends and told them about how he is going to play in the band Manitoa tonight, and how I’m going to dance with them. These new friends seemed quite engaged and friendly, and invited us to check out the rope dart workshop at the old playground area with them. Rope dart is one crazy flow art that I have never encountered before this afternoon- it consists of a long string (like a jump rope) with a ball or wick (or spike, for the masochists) and can be flung, snapped, whipped, and wrapped around the body in a million enticing ways. I tried out the prop for the first time and found it challenging but quite entertaining! The man leading the workshop amazed me with his movement quality and sharp, crazed motions. I’d say the rope dart must be the most overtly sexy prop – it requires a lot of confidence and gusto! After smacking myself numerous times with the heavy ball-on-string and drooling at the experts in action, Eric and I ventured back to the field, where I met Peter from Minnesota, who avidly supports flowing and who I had a chance to ask some questions and videotape, while a frisky rope darter named Phoenix twirled like a wild hyena around us and then gave me a wonderfully long hug. Both these men enjoy flowing not only for the movement aspect but also because it connects them to other people and brings them a joyous sense of community and love. With these inspiring words and an even more inspiring piggy-back ride from Peter all the way to the other side where I hadn’t been yet, I was starting to feel like all these unique, uncannily woodland-creature-punk-esque people were my long lost family. I indeed have always desired to be an elf or fairy, and I love to spin fire, so it makes sense, but really the appeal is universal – no matter what your style or upbringing, these people accept you for exactly who you are – a person trying to better your skills at flowing. A beautiful sense of purpose and awe arose in me as I walked down the vendors’ path and felt the intensely positive and constructive energy floating through the air. I saw a giant crowd of people spinning contact poi near a giant aerial silk rig and took a bunch of video of them as well as the fan-spinning woman from last night, who had her fans in tote and happily swung them around for me. I’m about to go grab some dinner and take a beginner’s poi workshop on weaving, so goodbye for now!
11:30 p.m.
The poi workshop was really great – I met a new friend there, a girl named Chantalle who is also from Cincinnati, and who also loves brightly colored hats. We had a wonderful discussion about her passion for hooping, and things really got heartfelt when she told me about how hooping has influenced her to lose weight, stop eating fast food, and stop taking her medications. I can feel the ache of this girl’s former self and the intense freedom and happiness she feels now fills me up with joy. She said that she has struggled with anorexia, bulimia, depression, anxiety, and that hooping did away with all of this! If anyone could advocate the healthfulness of hooping, it would be Chantalle. I’m actually now getting ready to squish through the mud and onto the stage to perform with Manitoa – wish me luck! I can’t wait to see all the people spinning fire, and I’ll make sure to record as much as I can.
Saturday, May 17, 2014
10:00 a.m.
To try and find words to describe last night’s events is nearly impossible. It was SO amazing. I’ve never seen so many things on fire in my life, and I collected a huge amount of footage of different people spinning. While dancing with Manitoa, I climbed into a portal into a world of magic and delight, with a bright, beaming moon above me and copious amounts of Zen-filled, rowdy fire creatures below me. After my performance, I rushed over to the nearest fire, where a man named Jesse, with his face painted dramatically, entranced me and several others with his contact juggling routine. At one point he held six balls in his hand and manipulated them to look like a snake curving and slithering towards us - paired with his magician/enchanter expressions and knife juggling routine, he had me in complete awe. Another man, his friend, held a glass orb and effortlessly swirled his hands around it, making it appear to float. I wish I could’ve gotten footage of these men and their amazing skills. I ended up staying up until sunrise, dancing my heart out during my friend Spankalicious’s DJ set and then gathering around a fire eating cheese crackers with several flow artists. After the beautiful sunrise, I finally made my way back up to my car and exhaustedly crumpled into some semblance of a sleeping position, and after a few hours of sleep I’ve risen again. Alas, the time has come to journey on to Tribal Connection music festival, where I will perform again tonight. It’s the gypsy life for me, and I’m loving it! The time I’ve spent here has been supremely irreplaceable, and I made so many memories I will never forget. Along the way I’ve learned so much about others and myself, and below I’ve included some introspection for consideration after engaging in this experience:
· How has hooping by myself compared to flowing with friends?
-Hooping by myself is enjoyable because I feel no pressure of anyone watching me and I can mess up all I want without feeling silly, while really plunging wholeheartedly into the music and letting the endorphin rush envelop me with no restrain. On the other hand, I love flowing with friends because it connects us in an intimate, nonverbal way and gives us a healthy activity to practice together. Sometimes we even try partner tricks! Ultimately, both are awesome in different ways.
· Does location have a lot to do with successfulness in flowing?
YES! Location is very important. Although I can make it work in whatever environment I find myself in (except a tiny dorm room or bathroom-those are just too difficult), my favorite location to flow is a wide, open space. Many people agree with me, obviously, because all the workshops are being held out in the open air with plenty of space. Also, being at this flow festival really strengthened my opinion that organizing flow events is essential to really grow and learn the most possible, with people from all over the world offering tips and advice. It really couldn’t get any better than this, except maybe if we were on a beach. Nature definitely has a profound effect on flow, and many flow videos I have watched have been recorded out on a nature hike or even out in the snow!
· How does music affect my flow? Others’ flow?
Music highly influences flow. When I hear a slow, sultry song my movement slows down as well and when the beat picks up, I love to swing my hoop around as fast as I can. I’ve witnessed this effect on my friends, as well, and I’ve noticed that sometimes we’ll just be sitting around but if a super catchy song turns on, someone undoubtedly will jump up and spontaneously hoop every time.
· Do our flows change in sync with each other as the music changes or are we lost in our own worlds?
Sometimes we get so in-depth into our flow, especially with fire, that the world around us becomes a faint blur. But many times it’s fun to coordinate movement together and try and become “psychic” with each other in predicting movement.
· How easy is it to achieve a meditative state while flowing? How long does it generally take?
Just like any kind of meditation, it depends on the person. Some people find it really easy to snap into meditative flow while others still haven’t mastered enough smooth transitions to feel the full effect of the flow. Over the past year, though, I’ve watched my friends go from unsure beginners to smooth, confident, highly meditative flowers.
· Does it help to practice one trick at a time repetitiously, and then flow through combinations, or does this not help significantly?
New tricks definitely require much repetition and persistence, but if you get bored of trying an unsuccessful new trick over and over, it never hurts to change it up and refresh the muscle memory a little bit.
· How does flowing affect my mood? How can it change the mood in different situations?
Flowing always improves my mood, period. The only exception is when a prop hits me exceptionally painfully somewhere or when I can’t think of ways to switch up my movement vocabulary. Sometimes when I’m stressed or frustrated I pick up a flow prop and dance it out – I do this without props, too. It generally lets me alleviate the pain or trapped feeling, even if I only do it for five minutes. The soul aches for expression and letting myself melt into flow gives me a more peaceful and clear mental state.