play poi

Clips from Cortona Fire Show

2008-04-26T18:18:34-07:00

Some clips from a fire show some good friends and I put together last summer. Wish me luck getting more performance opportunities! :)

Advanced Beat Theory and Reel Turns

2008-04-17T21:10:13-07:00

Some fun theory on counting beats, and how it relates to some specific moves and freedom of dance in general.

How to Make Meteors

2008-04-17T21:07:50-07:00

A little video on making a poi-style meteor (traditional meteors use much thicker ropes, but they aren't as fun for tangles and spiral wraps). I like using Colecord but you can use any cord that feels good. Some people like thin climbing rope, which you can get at any outdoor store. Good luck with this one. It requires some patience at the beginning but you'll love it once you get past the first hurdles.

Getting Started with Double Staffs

2008-04-17T21:03:09-07:00

Some tips to get you started with double staffs. This is just the tip of the iceberg but should be quite useful I think.

Polish Interview Questions Part 2

2008-04-06T23:42:52-07:00

The second half of me answering the interview questions sent by the Polish poi spinners.

Turning with the 3-Beat Weaves

2008-04-06T22:21:27-07:00

This one is for those newer to poi: A poi lesson on turning with the 3-beat weaves. Worth watching even if you can do the move, as it will help you teach it to others. Enjoy! :)

Meteor 101

2008-04-03T19:56:23-08:00

Our first non-poi tutorial! Meteor is like combining poi and staff spinning, and it's fun! This video shows you how to get started. Filmed in Switzerland.

Eat Drew's Book, the Video

2008-03-28T18:31:04-08:00

The video we made to promote Drew's amazing Multiball Contact book.

Backwards 5-Beat Weave and Behind-The-Back 5-Beat Weave

2008-03-21T05:42:31-08:00

In our latest poi spinning lesson: 5-beat weaves: backwards and (yes!) behind the back! One of the last tutorials in the coolest place we could find in Berlin. Enjoy!

Colecord, and the Perfect Poi

2008-01-23T01:13:26-08:00

I have loved Colecord ever since Cole (aka Coleman) gave me a pair of poi at the European Juggling Convention in 2006. They were immediately my favorite practice poi because colecord is a) very comfortable, b) very strong, c) slightly springy, and d) has the perfect amount of friction.

I decided then that the whole world should have access to Colecord, but we could only find is as "USD Professional Inline Skate Laces," and it was expensive. My mission to bring colecord to the masses stayed on my things-to-do-list for a year.

Then, last sping, I started to correspond with Homeofpoi.com about gear design (amung other things). I sent them samples of colecord and they found the manufacturer in Taiwan, meaning you can buy Colecord at homeofpoi.com for less than half the price of purchasing inline skate Laces! Yayness!

Oh, and tell them that they should supply the ball-bearing fishing swivels that I love so much! :)

Flowtoys, and the Future of LED Poi!

2007-10-28T14:58:45-08:00

Hey, check it out, we finished our flowtoys.com: video. These are my favorite LED poi, produced by the amazing Sean and Prisna. (Yes, this is what we are using in most of those photos). This is exciting as they've signed me up as an affiliate member, so if you click through and buy something, I get a percentage, which puts me all the closer to getting my own video camera! Oh, and they are selling and wholesaling our DVDs in North America so it is overall very exciting :)

The flowlights were designed from scratch by Sean and Prisna and co. This took a lot of vision, time, money, and love. I'm quite inspired that people from my own circle of friends are doing this kind of production, and I am hoping that I can help rally the community behind them (which will be easy as long as they keep making the best toys.)

The flowlights replace the “streetlights” that used to go inside the flowtoys casings, but the flowlights are brighter, much more durable, and they have better strobing options, designed specifically for spinning.

They also have... removable/rechargeable batteries! In fact, they refuse to sell disposable batteries altogether. Each flowlight takes a single AAA battery, which means you can have extra batteries when you're at a festival. They're using some high-tech circuitry so the lights stay bright the whole charge.

They are sold with tube shells in various lengths, so you can have various lengths of poi, wands, staffs, etc. (We admit that we're looking forwards to Soft covers, which are coming in a few months.)

And the BONUS SURPRISE FEATURE: Flowlights make great handles!

Need I say more?

Poi Pendants

2007-10-14T01:39:48-07:00

The poi pendants are finished and available on homeofpoi.com!

This is one of my cherished projects from Bali. They are carved out of bone and horn by a sweet family of Balinese artists I met in Ubud (the cultural hub of Bali). The design ideas came via a series of visions and a lot of sketching, and were influenced by the people and events and art I encountered in Bali. The symbols have been a work in progress ever since Alex and I designed the first DVD. We'll add more symbols as the ideas evolve.

At first I wanted to make the pendants with silver but Made kept showing up at Chakya Muna to deliver his carvings to the others. He is so sweet and smiley that I couldn't help but work with him. We've made 15 of each of the seven symbols to begin. We'll limit production to 100 pieces of each symbol. I might still do a run of pendants in silver one day but I'll re-design them first.

This is the first manifestation in a series of design-projects. It is hopefully the beginning of a very positive relationship with the talented artists of Bali and a small group of supportive online shops. If it works I can return to training and developing a special show (and more video tutorials of course). I've had visions of performing ever since I started poi, but everything has simply been too hectic. With a little luck this will be the flexible part-time job I've always dreamed of. I might even be able to buy a video camera and a computer more capable of editing videos. That would definitely make more videos more plausible. :)

The other projects include the pants I wear in some of the videos, poi-specific hip-sacks, and practice-poi. The timeline is unclear, as I don't want to get buried under logistics and administration.

All of this has moved forwards largely because I received so much support and enthusiasm from George at homeofpoi.com, Sean and Prisna at flowtoys.com, and Sam at feuershow.de... also Cole and Lisa in England of course, oh, and Ge and Olivier and everybody else from the summer and Jocelyn obviously and my mom and dad for taking me shopping for much-needed supplies but I digress.

So, if you like the videos I've made over the years, please have a look at the pendants and the playpoi-approved poi (coming soon). I think it's a perfect win/win relationship in the making.

Next step for me is finishing the tutorials with Jocelyn and the Website with Darren. Pray that I don't experience too many more "hickups," because we've had enough this past two months!

Much love from... some train in Germany,

Nick