Weird Science :: Drex's Poi Blog

Why I spin

ben.drexler@gmail.com (Ben Drexler) — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 05:18:11 +0000

There is something very unique about life.

Basic Poi Dancing Tutorial: Turns Part 3

ben.drexler@gmail.com (Ben Drexler) — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 17:33:18 +0000

The final installment of our first beginners series: in this one we'll take what we know about turning and tick-tacks and apply them to turns between wheel and wall plane in all the different timing and direction combinations. Once you've mastered each of these positions, you can easily flow between them as you perform.

turnspt3.mp4

Drex's Tech Poi Blog #227: Toroid H transitions

ben.drexler@gmail.com (Ben Drexler) — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 17:27:44 +0000

techblog227.mp4

Drex's Tech Poi Blog #226: Spiral wrap contact combos

ben.drexler@gmail.com (Ben Drexler) — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 17:23:57 +0000

This tech blog featuring special guest star Ted Petrosky! We got together for a jam in Brooklyn and he showed me a nifty contact trick that starts with a shotgun-style single hand spiral wrap and it got my gears turning. Here are two fun variants that utilize some other tricks we know and love and that really look cool with this move added in for some extra spice.

techblog226.mp4

Basic Poi Dancing Tutorial: Turns part 2

ben.drexler@gmail.com (Ben Drexler) — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 17:20:19 +0000

This week we go through the basic hip reel turn with our poi in same time, same direction. This teaches a very important concept in poi: when we turn, it appears the direction of poi rotation changes relative to us. Next week we'll go through hip reels in other timing and direction combinations.

turnspt2.mp4

Drex's Tech Poi Blog #225: Body tracer to stack transitions

ben.drexler@gmail.com (Ben Drexler) — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 17:15:47 +0000

I've found that I've been doing a lot more body tracers of late and it's motivated me to try and find transitions for them that integrate with other moves I know well. One such transition that's working out pretty well is horizontal stacks. Here are a couple transitions using vertical body tracers that set up stacks fairly well and as I discovered while filming also then present an opportunity to switch between different body tracers.

techblog225.mp4

Drex's Tech Poi Blog #224: antispin BTH chase

ben.drexler@gmail.com (Ben Drexler) — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 17:13:48 +0000

Kind of a fun brain/kinesthetic workout that came out of a trick I've seen G and Ronan do wherein they play 4-petal antispin against a static spin to create hybrid moments at either side of the body. I took that same idea to a vertical place to start, and then placed the top position behind the head to add a body tracer flavor to the overall movement. Don't know if it has any good performance applications but it definitely gives the brain something to chew on :)

techblog224.mp4

Basic Poi Dancing Tutorial: Turns part 1

ben.drexler@gmail.com (Ben Drexler) — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 17:06:52 +0000

This is the first entry of an experiment: doing tutorials on very basic level poi tricks for people just starting out. No tech to be found here, but if you've either just picked up your first set of poi or are a rote beginner, you may find something of value in these tutorials. In this first series, we're going to tackle basic hip reel turns. Tune in every Friday for the next three weeks to learn the basics of these types of movement.

turnspt1.mp4

Winter 2012 Workshop Tour!

ben.drexler@gmail.com (Ben Drexler) — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 16:33:47 +0000

Took at little while to finalize all the details, but I'm proud to announce my winter 2012 poi workshop tour! In the next three months I'll be visiting, Boston, Springfield (Missouri, not Illinois), and Atlanta!

Drex's Tech Poi Blog #223: More right-angle moves

ben.drexler@gmail.com (Ben Drexler) — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 21:27:45 +0000

While I was in Boulder, Alien Jon and I spent an evening playing around with some movements based around creating right angles with inspin stalls and pendulums. Here are a couple variants we played with and a couple transitions one can use to get in and out of them.

techblog223.mp4