Playpoi Blog

My friend Annika is involved with an awesome social circus project called The Rickshaw Circus, part of The Afghan Mobile Mini circus for Children (MMCC). The general aim is to support circus arts as a therapeutic tool and to work with children and youth affected by war, natural disasters and other forms of trauma. They teach juggling, poi spinning, clowning, acrobatics, contact juggling, dancing and theatre, next to other educational programs. The MMCC has worked successfully for over ten years now in Afghanistan, but they are facing major problems in their funding now, as the troops pull out of Afghanistan. That's where we come in! Want to join us in supporting them? If so, visit their website to learn more and go to their Indiegogo campaign to offer them some support!

Alien Jon and Thom Thumb join Nick for a 4-Class Partner Poi Series (first two weeks of July) AND a Weekend Poi Intensive (July 8th - 11th). Come play with us in Toronto! For the locals, get a discount for taking both courses!

We're pleased as poi pickles to announce the new playpoi.com! Read more for info about the upgrades, including a new navigation system, video lightboxes, facebook comments, the disqus comment system, community forums, and a Frequently Asked Questions section!

We had a great third year in Bali! Check out this album for a peek!

Thanks to Shin and Alistair for their beautiful photos.

2010 was a fun year for Playpoi retreats! Here is some recently rediscovered footage of Alien Jon spinning fire at retreats in Bali and Switzerland.

Meet our good friend and Cirque du Soleil veteran Srikanta Barefoot! He's an amazing performer, artistic director, and teacher from Santa Cruz, CA.

We highly endorse his workshops, so if you're thinking about doing one, do. (this is especially true if you're hoping to develop yourself as a performer). Ad without further ado, we give you... Srikanta!

Nick and G had a great time in Toronto at the Intensive and Workshop Series!

Thanks to the Centre of Gravity, all the lovely spinners, and our awesome friends who came to visit!

If you missed it, no worries! Nick is returning in June for a beginner and intermediate poi workshop series.

Toronto Workshops: We're happy to be offering two more eight-class poi courses in Toronto this January: Fundamentals of Poi and Beyond the Basics. 

Ottawa Workshops: There are also several spaces in the Ottawa Poi Workshops, Dec 11-12 (although we realize that's not actually 2011). 

Bali Poi Retreat: Join us forpoi and yoga in Bali with Nick and G as the poi teachers and Banyan and Adrian as our Yoga teachers. This retreat will be a balance of poi and yoga, so it's for those who know they love yoga. 

Costa Rica Retreat: or come and be part of our poi and yoga retreat in Costa Rica with Nick and Chris Rovo as the poi teachers and Banyan as our yoga teacher. This retreat will be a balance of poi, more poi, yoga, beaches, and maybe some surprise hooping opportunities :) 

In a few months we will also announce summer and fall retreats, probably closer to Europe. Happy playing :)

We've wrapped up our third annual Swiss Poi Retreat at the Balmeggberg! It was great fun -- spinning, sauna, and yummy organic food.

Check out our Swiss Poi Retreats album on Flickr for some beautiful photos, and check out our vlog from a day of training!

Did summer leave you wanting to learn more poi? Great! Below is a list of upcoming playpoi workshops and retreats with Nick Woolsey:

Nick, G, and Pali trekked to Singapore for a super secret project with the illustrious Karen. See the silliness, and get a behind-the-scenes look at what we've got in store.

2010 Bali Playpoi Retreats: Go!

Setting up Poi Headquarters in a lush tropical country can be interesting...

The next video in this series got promoted to inspiration status!  Find it in the inspiration section:  100% More Poi.

This is our second blog as we continue to map poi and go on adventures in Bali (now with 100% more ducks)!

Nick, G, and Pali have fixed up an old house in the rice fields of Bali to serve as poi headquarters while we bring you a bunch of new poi videos and community resources.

This is our first vlog of what we're calling "The Great Bali Poi Mapping Adventure"!