{"id":13744,"date":"2012-06-12T16:07:02","date_gmt":"2012-06-12T20:07:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/?p=13744"},"modified":"2012-06-20T09:54:56","modified_gmt":"2012-06-20T13:54:56","slug":"fire-flinging-raiders-light-up-the-region","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/2012\/06\/12\/fire-flinging-raiders-light-up-the-region\/","title":{"rendered":"Fire-flinging Raiders light up the region"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Photo<\/a>

Recent Wright State graduate Lara Donnelly is one of three Raiders in the fire dancing group Soul Fire Tribe.<\/p><\/div>\n

By the time they\u2019re in college, most people know not to play with fire. But I haven\u2019t figured it out yet, and neither have Wright State students Astrea Taylor and Anthony Powers. The three of us, plus companion Andrea Huston, spent the weekend of May 10through 13 at Kinetic Fire, a regional festival for Midwestern fire performers. We learned new tricks from international fire-dancing stars and even walked on hot coals.<\/p>\n

We are part of a local fire performance group called Soul Fire Tribe, made up of seven performers skilled in various fire props including hula-hoops, staffs, fans and poi, a Maori tool consisting of two chains tipped with Kevlar weights that are spun in rhythmic patterns.<\/p>\n

Working so closely with fire is risky, but it\u2019s also a thrilling experience. Bad burns are not unheard of, but we\u2019re all safety trained and willing to risk some crisped skin for our passion.<\/p>\n

\u201cBeing surrounded by fire is a very engaging experience,\u201d said Taylor. \u201cAll thoughts vanish and it\u2019s hard to see anything outside of the fire.\u201d She compares it to meditation.<\/p>\n

\"Photo<\/a>Powers enjoys performing with fire because of his interactions with audience members. He said, \u201cAs a performer, dancing with fire is like nothing else.\u00a0 It creates an instantaneous, electric connection from me to the audience.\u201d<\/p>\n

I like the sounds the fire makes, and the sensation of working so closely with something so many people stay well away from. It\u2019s strange to meet other fire performers who are not so awed by the mere fact that I am so close to an open flame.<\/p>\n

But meeting other fire performers has major benefits: learning new skills, swapping tricks and bonding over shared experiences. When Kinetic Fire set up shop in College Corner, Ohio, we knew we wanted to go.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wanted to go because I have never taken a class,\u201d said Taylor. \u201cI taught myself everything I had learned beyond the basics.\u201d<\/p>\n

Taylor spent several years touring the country with the performance group Illuminations before she moved to Dayton. She has been performing with fire for 10 years.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have been watching some of the instructors for years on the internet and they are my personal heroes,\u201d said Taylor.<\/p>\n

\"Photo<\/a>Once we got to Kinetic Fire, all four of us learned new skills with poi, staffs and fans. We also played on a slack rope, a lyra and aerial silks. On the last night of the workshop, Powers and I signed a dire-looking waiver so we could learn to walk on hot coals.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere was a lengthy period of preparation, both of the coals and of the walkers,\u201d said Powers. \u201cWe were asked to enter a state of mental awareness and excitement.\u00a0 We meditated.\u00a0 We stretched.\u00a0 We danced the Hokey-Pokey.\u201d<\/p>\n

We really did dance the Hokey-Pokey. Then they brought in live drummers and everyone who was planning to fire walk ran around a field for 15 minutes, clapping and singing and dancing until we all entered a state of hyper-awareness.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s not a lot of mystery to walking on hot coals\u2014at least not to the actual act. You just do it.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I first stepped onto the coals I was astonished, and then delighted, and then amazed. It was pure, unadulterated fun,\u201d said Powers.<\/p>\n

\"Photo<\/a>What is mysterious is that no one knows how it works\u2014why human beings can step onto a bed of 1,000-degree coals and step off with feet intact. There are many theories, some more reasonable than others, but nothing conclusive.<\/p>\n

While some people say that fire walkers can remain unburned by moving quickly across the coals, Powers stood still for nearly 10 seconds.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I reached the middle of the coals,\u201d he said, \u201cI stopped and stood, waving my arms at the other performers, grinning like a madman.\u201d<\/p>\n

The other performers grinned back, cheering him on. Complete strangers gave him bear hugs when he stepped off the coals.<\/p>\n

\u201cKinetic Fire was an incredible learning experience, and increased our knowledge and love of the art 10 times over,\u201d said Taylor. \u201cWe experienced being part of the fire community, which welcomed us with open arms.\u201d<\/p>\n

You can catch Soul Fire Tribe in June at Yellow Springs\u2019 Third Friday Fling in the Springs, or visit their Facebook page or website: <\/em>http:\/\/www.soulfiretribe.com<\/em><\/a>.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By the time they\u2019re in college, most people know not to play with fire. Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":13749,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[729,725,715,717,719],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13744","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-around-campus","category-home-news-sidebar","category-news","category-photos","category-special-categories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13744","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/20"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13744"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13744\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14069,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13744\/revisions\/14069"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13749"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13744"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13744"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13744"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}