Poi, and the Search for Intelligent Life

testing blogger posts...

2006-10-24T01:50:00.000-07:00

Just want to see if my blogspot posts still go through to playpoi...

Who knew poi artists had to spend this much time on the computer?

2006-05-22T16:21:00.000-07:00

Too much time, that's what I say. Oh, but we're so close. So close to my not having to spend this much time at the computer.

Definitely working hard now that I'm back in Vancouver. When I'm not on the computer or practicing, I've been doing heavy renovations over at my Uncle Noulan's house, in Deep Cove, with the help of my little brother, Ben.

...that or I've been Helping Marc with a little P.A. work. It was actually a good gig. We got to help move somebody's stuff out to the Okanagan Valley. It was the first beautiful day of spring and Marc's a great guy to hang out with.

Meanwhile, the website is finally coming together, and I am... about... to... launch!!!!

Oh yeah, so that means go to playpoi.com direct. My main blog will be on the website directly from now on.
:)

Back in Vancouver, Poi DVDs in my own hands!

2006-04-21T11:13:00.000-07:00

After a very long plane trip, and a couple days of Jet Lag, I am sorting things out in Vancouver. There are even more cherry blossoms here than Tokyo, I'm happy to say.

There is also a lot to sort out. I have months of work to get done in two months of time, and I don't even have a home (eep). I'm hoping to launch the new site within a week, and then I can start rolling out all the new videos and photos :)

AND... I have Poi DVDs! They're gorgeous. They radiate love. I can touch them. I can open them. All that work. That ridiculous amount of work... and now they're done. They're in boxes. So many boxes. Can I build a desk with all those boxes? I need one. They are available on luxotica.com and homeofpoi.com. Quick. Go. Order one right now. Yes, of course I mean you. Think of it in terms of coffees and it's an easy decision. Think, "why, that's just ten coffees" and go order one before you have second thoughts. Don't worry, you can have a coffee anyway, afterwards, it's just a good way to make a decision.

Oh, and this is my life. It's packed into boxes, which I get to stack the other boxes on top of. I know, I know, you're saying, "but Nick, I thought poi artists were rich and had swank apartments to go home to, no?"

No.

But we're rich in friends, us poi artists, and with my bank statements burried so far under everything else, I have a good reason not to look at them :)

Japanese Poi Event: Almost Mythical

2006-04-10T21:32:00.000-07:00

On Sunday night I went to "En," a poi event organized by Yuta, Nao, and other members of the Tokyo spinning community.

When I first heard about the "poi event," I didn't know what to think. A fire festival, sure. A pagan dance party in the desert, of course! But an indoor, no-fire-allowed, cover-charge-to-get-in, "poi event?"

Then I started to hear the details: A contest (that I had to help judge, eek), a magic show, a DJ, a bar, prizes... it all sounded so strange, so... foreign. Would it work? Do people do things like this in Tokyo?

4:30pm: We show up at the space: a huge yoga studio in niced part of Tokyo. 15 minutes later a dozen smiling, friendly, perky people are carrying in boxes, gear, decorations, food, beer, spinning toys, blacklights, and other party related objects and setting up the space. It was like watching the A-Team make one of their escape vehicle contraptions. I started humming the theme music.

6:00pm: The crowd starts showing up. I think we had about 50-60 guests by the end, plus 15 or so "staff." (I never asked how much they were charging, but yes, people were actually paying to get in.) The space was just gorgeous and good music was blasting out of big speakers.

6:30pm: The contest commences, and very quickly I get into the vibe. There was a very supportive crowd and heartfelt dances with LED toys. I did my best to judge although I really didn't know what to put in the "comments" field. During the intermission there was a magic show. Yuta was the final entry and did his choreographed dance that you can see with fire on his japan poi website. I have to say, he's really good, and not just technically good. He's got a real sense of dance and showmanship (aka Mojo). I sooo have to get back to practice to keep up with him! :)

After Yuta there was a break and then, eek, my performance. I'd been really nervous as I've been feeling out of practice and injured and etc., and I didn't have anything prepared at all... but 20 minutes before I went on, a little voice told me to just have fun and that improvising can work out better than a choreographed performance anyway, as it can be straight from the heart, so that's what I did, and I had a blast. Don't get me wrong, I do need to get back to practice, but I learned something very important about heart and spirit and confidence.

After me, there were many more performances: Belly dance (with those incredible wings), modern dance, puppet shows, VJ Light show, and more. They finished with a wonderful ceremony of awarding the prizes, with everybody saying what sounded like nice things but I don't speak japanese.

At 9:30pm they started ushering people out.

At 10:00pm it was like the event never happened.

My mind is still reeling.

Long Overdue Update about TOP SECRET LOCATION...

2006-04-03T04:07:00.000-07:00

....ok, fine, it's Japan!

(And following is a bit of a long blog entry. It's usually not a good thing to do in blogs, but I've been behind in posting, as my efforts have once again been sucked into website/DVD stuff...)

I landed here March 21st. Tokyo is amazing, although I would never, ever, choose to live here unless I had a really good reason to.

The city is a maze. Just looking at the subway map is like trying to read your fortune in a bowl of spaghetti. Fortunately I have my Canadian friend Liz and some wonderful Japanese poi spinners to show me around.

I imagined a forest of skyscrapers, but it's actually quite spread out, with lots of middle density sprawl. They don't zone in Asia I hear, Tokyo included, so you get a funny mix of neighborhoods, with factories next to schools next to malls next to old homes, next to huge apartment blocks, etc. Economic factors still lead to things like FORTY BLOCKS OF HIGH-END SHOPPING (where you can buy a pair of high-fashion ripped jeans for $250), and other such neighborhoods, but it's still much more disorganized than cities in N. America.

Oh, and everywhere you go there are vending machines. Thousands upon thousands of vending machines. Drinks and cigarettes only as it's rude to walk and eat.

After orienting myself and hanging out with Liz for a few days, I met Yuta and Nao at Yoyogi Park, where the jugglers and poi spinners play on the weekends. I have to say that the community here in Tokyo is one of the friendliest and talented I've come across. Yuta is an amazing spinner and is certainly as skilled as me, and there are some other spinners here who are learning at blazing speeds, often being quite creative in their approach. If I don't get back to full-on practice I'll be here to TAKE workshops next time. :)

It's been great meeting Yuta and we've doing some little video projects (to be released later). I came here with some big plans, thinking that Yuta and I would have a month to work on videos full time (he just finished University a couple weeks before I came). Unfortunately, he had to take a very full time job which, combined with the amount of time it takes to just get around Tokyo, means we'll have to hold back on some of the plans for now (I'm spending 2-3 hours a day and $15-20 on the trains alone). With a little luck we'll both go to Thailand this winter for "poi camp," hee hee hee.

...and as usual, life has it's little difficulties. I thought I'd have internet upon arrival, but it didn't turn out that way. In fact, there isn't even a phone at Liz's place. This led to some complications communicating with Alex, my brilliant designer friend, so the website is continuing to take forever. This plus more complications with getting the DVDs shipped, plus etc. etc. etc. led me to a few days of feeling a little despondent about my economic situation. Discovering a good place to go for runs is quickly lifting my mood, and reading about the history of Japan reminded me of how hard most people's lives have been, and that I'm very lucky to even have the opportunity to TRY to pursue my dreams.

And I learned a good lesson from the internet difficulties as well. When we proved that there was no signal to pick up from Liz's place, I started looking around for random hot-spots. At first I was sending and receiving email from outside a home-and-garden centre on a busy street ten blocks away. Then I found I could get a signal from the second floor of the local mall. Then I was delighted to get a signal beside the church just outside (but only if cuddle up in just the right spot), and finally I found that I can get a signal if I wave my computer around in the air at the top of Liz's front door! Not exactly the desk I wish to have, but better than nothing. :P

Meanwhile, we've had two workshops, I've met loads of wonderful people, I've been taken many exciting places, and I'm dying to get home (not that I have one yet). I hope to the poi gods in heaven that I can work out a "home" for May and June, because I really need one to rest up, get back into shape, and refocus on rehabilitating my shoulder. Traveling on a budget can make it challenging to keep up certain routines.

I'll report again before I leave for Canada. If you happen to be IN Canada (vancouver), please keep an ear open for places to live!

n

Signs of Intelligence: Earth from Above and Cool Toilets

2006-03-17T22:52:00.000-08:00

How does 100 signs of stupidity = a sign of intelligence?

The answer is Yann Arthus-Bertrand and his photo display, "The Earth from Above: An Arial Portrait of our Planet Towards a Sustainable Development." It is the most impressive photo exhibit I have ever seen. It was on display along the waterfront in downtown Wellington the whole time I was there.

Yann has traveled to over 100 countries, photo-documenting the planet from the air. Many of the photos cronicle the affects of the human population on the earth and on itself, others simply capture our planet's incredible beauty. The images are posted along with statistics and information related to environmental, humanitarian, and sustainability issues.

The exhibit has been traveling around the world for several years, and is a work in progress. You can see many of the photos and learn about the related issues on his website, yannarthusbertrand.com.

And in other signs of intelligence, I'd like to tell you about the toilets in Australia and New Zealand. Yes, the toilets! They are virtually all dual-flush, meaning you do a little flush for pee, and a bigger flush for non...pee. This is such an obvious way to conserve water, and they're obviously ahead of many countries because of their lack of water supplies, but it's still a sign of intelligence.

Next blog: A little update on my travels, website development... and maybe some poi stuff...

Sign of Intelligence: Ben's wacky (mis?)adventures: (R?)Evolutionary Epiphanies: Privilege = Responsibility

2006-03-07T15:26:00.000-08:00

So, this blog is about two things. One is poi. The other is Signs of Intelligence. I thought I'd make a post directing y'all to my little brother's blog about the state of relief work in New Orleans.

Yes, he does some poi, and he's very much a sign of intelligence.

Poi Pilgrimage Continues in Wellington...

2006-03-04T21:46:00.000-08:00

So, Wellington is a cool city. It reminds me a bit of San Francisco with the hills and the way people drive and park. It's also very windy, and I went on some great runs up until I caught a cold.

Things are going well here. We've made some great friends with local fire spinners, who let us camp in their back yard. Big thanks to Todd, Grif, and Jess! Grif took us on a great tour of Wellington hilltops, including a stop at their (one and only) windmill turbine. Hopefully they'll build many more.

We had a particularly good get-together with Migoto, a young Maori woman who'd doing her masters degree on creating a system for documenting/teaching poi momves. She did a big poi session with us in the TePapa museum, where we first met her just after she finished a performance. She showed us a whole lot of "short poi" and taught us the basics. Short poi is blowing my mind. It uses a huge amount of bouncing off the arms and is very rhythmical. I see huge potential.

A few days later, Migoto took us to a Maori Kapa Haka practice with her group. They made us sing and pressed noses with us. It was a very warm, friendly, and funny group of people. They got Dan to demonstrate some non-maori poi, which he did while singing Merry Had A Little Lamb. We spent some time trying to keep up with the group as they learned traditional songs and "actions." At the end of the night they did a short Maori Kapa Haka (poi and song) performance, just for us.

I'm now staying with Tash, and am working away on the website via DIAL UP! It seems that New Zealand is pretty behind the times in the telecommunications department, due to a monopoly telecommunications company that is holding the country hostage. Fortunately I seem to be getting work done nonetheless. For a sneak preview, visit www.playpoi.com/site and give me some feedback.

DVD: Finished at last?

2006-03-04T15:21:00.000-08:00

The DVD is finally being produced, and we should have 1,000 copies as of Wednesday. I have to say: this has been the hardest project I've ever worked on. I don't get why everything had to keep going wrong. We finally, after so many delays, got a DVD off to the print shop, and were told that they would be finished on March 1st. Hurray! Right?

Wrong. It was too good to be true, and a few days later we were told that the DVD failed, except they couldn't really tell us why, and marc was back to working 12 hours a day as a Production Assistant, and I was back to troubleshooting everything from New Zealand, where phone calls cost me 70 cents/minute.

This set things back another week, after so very many "another weeks" have passed. Every anotherweek equals me being hundreds of dollars further in debt, so this was really quite painful. I am pretty sure that I have lost more money on poi artistry related ventures than any other poi artist in the world.

But I remain strangely optimistic! :)

The Beatles doing poi!

2006-02-26T17:27:00.000-08:00

Is it? Could it be? Yes! It is! It's a picture of the Beatles doing poi during their visit to New Zealand, many years ago.

Ok, it's a picture of ONE of the Beatles doing poi. Is that John Lennon? Anybody up on what the beatles looked like when they were young?

We found the picture inside a big museum. Who'd a thought?

North Island and Poi with the Moari

2006-02-26T17:16:00.000-08:00

We were able to meet with Bill Nathan the evening we arrived in Wellington (after a very stormy ferry ride.) Bill showed us several videos of traditional poi dancing and told us more about maori poi and the songs and dances that go with it. Apparently the most popular "traditional" songs are actually based on popular western tunes from last century. He says the more traditional compositions often didn't "stick." The Maori seem pretty hip to change.

Upon Bill's invitation, we got up at 5:30am the next morning to go see a "welcoming ceremony," organized to open a special park, begin the International Arts Festival, and to welcome those who have come from afar. The ceremony was quite fun, with much chanting, singing in Moari, and pressing of noses (a maori kiss). Afterwards we got to have a poi jam with Doras, Bill's wife. We were particularly impressed by the "short poi," which is quite rhythmical. The short poi are bounced off the forearms and hands, with complex rhythms. We're now trying to find other Maori to jam with, and performances to see.

More soon...

Arrived in New Zealand...

2006-02-26T16:36:00.000-08:00

Yes, that's right, I've been in New Zealand for several days. Internet access has been infrequent and expensive, so this is my first blog.

I met Dan at the airport, and we rendezvoused with Jocelyn at the New Excelsior Hostel in downtown Christchurch. After a couple days of exploring/errands (during which time we saw our first sheep), we rented a car and took off to see some sights. The first exotic New Zealand location: The Moeraki Boulders, halfway down the east coast. All the tour books have incredible pictures of these majestic boulders. They looked like they were the size of houses! We imagined walking through a surreal landscape from a Doctor Zeus book. "The Pool Table of God," we imagined. Off we went.

The drive was a lot of fun, though longer than we expected. We passed time by counting sheep. If you didn't know, New Zealand has the highest sheep-to-people ratio in the world. New Zealand has 4,000,000 people and 40,000,000 sheep. We did our best to count all the sheep we saw. Dan didn't think we were seeing enough sheep to account for 40,000,000. I argued the math that we were.

When we got to the Moeraki Boulders we discovered that it's all part of an evil, government-funded plot to get tourists to tour the east coast. At first we thought we were on the wrong beach, as we could see no huge boulders. A five minute walk took us to a dozen round rocks, waste hight, strewn on the beach. They weren't even really that round. Days, and many jokes later, we decided that we were glad the boulders had been so ridiculously small. "Somewhat impressive" would have been even less interesting. At least this had humor value.

After the boulders we crossed the mountains to check out the west coast, where it mostly rained, often quite heavily. The scenery was still beautiful, and the conversation was superb. Dan and Jocelyn are perfect companions for this trip. We are concocting plans about setting up a poi/art/media shop. Where? Maybe Thailand? Maybe Prague? It's too early to know.

After the West Coast we ventured to Nelson, on the North tip of the South island, where we visited Amanda, who Dan and I met at UberOz. Amanda was great and we had a great time hiking and playing with fire.

Oh, and I've started using flickr.com. To see the entire photo set from the South Island, visit the Flickr New Zealand (with a little poi dancing) set.

Next: The North Island and Maori Poi.

Matt Terry: Spherculist Extrordinaire!

2006-02-12T22:38:00.000-08:00

Not sure if you guys have ever visited Spherculism.com, but you should, as soon as it's back up. Spherculism is the brainchild of Matt Terry, one of the most mind-boggling poi arists I have yet to meet. He is the only person who can wibble poi casually. He is one of a very small handful of poi artists truly pushing the frontier of hyperloops. He was at UberOz, and I offer you two short videos of Matt doing hyperloops and wibbles, shot on my little digital camera.

That's Matt in the picture, videotaping Rebecca. Somehow that's the best picture of him that I ended up with...

Travelling with beautiful, poi spinning people

2006-02-12T02:24:00.000-08:00

I have to admit: When I look back at all of this in 30 years (here's to hoping), it will most likely be the people not the poi that I remember most fondly. Travelling with Dan, Dom, Yanika, Matt, and Rebecca has been most wonderful.

Oh, and australia is pretty beautiful as well. A note of warning, though: If you're going to go trecking through the jungle when it's raining, don't wear sandals. The raid brings out very hard working little leaches. The good news is that they don't like deet...

UberOz done. Nick tired...

2006-02-12T00:32:00.000-08:00

Yes, UberOz is done. For a week now, actually. I'm a little slow on blogging as my computer moments are going into finishing the DVD and getting the new website rolling.

To be sure, UberOz was much fun! A huge, open-air school gymnasiam full of poi and staff spinners. Next time I'll take a video camera for sure, I promise.

Also included: A photo of the HUGE spider that lived just outside Gabe's house, where I stayed during the weekend. Gabe, by the way, is absolutely wonderful :)

In OzLand, safe and surrounded by silly poi spinners

2006-02-02T15:09:00.000-08:00

Ok, so after finishing the retreat, packing up my life, cleaning the house, doing DVD stuff... I spent ten hours on a plane to Tokyo, four hours at the Tokyo airport, another 8 hours to Oz, and was very happy to see Rob when I got off the plane :)

This is a happy place so far. My god it feels good to feel happy. It's hot here and there are all these lovable people frolicking about. Rob, Dan, Dom, Gabe... and many more! The rest arrive this afternoon. I'll hopefully get lots of cool video clips and photos :)

January Poi Retreat Went Fantastic!

2006-01-29T23:20:00.000-08:00

So, that was the biggest and most exciting retreat yet! Thank you so much to everybody who came. I really needed that :)

This could be the beginning of a really good thing. If I could keep getting 12 people at a time, there are many ways I could make the retreats better, as I'd have a budget for guest teachers and such. I'm already plotting to bring over some very brilliant object manipulation masters... but don't tell anyone, it's a secret.

Now I just have to pack my entire life into storage, finish the DVD, work out the details of the new website, and...

zzzzzzzz

Getting a little poispective...

2006-01-23T16:18:00.000-08:00

My littel brother Ben and I took a hike yesterday to clear our heads. We're both flinging ourselves into the Internet's latest technologies, and our heads are spinning. Not a bad place to spin, and a great place to have a poi retreat. :)

I spent the rest of the day trying to learn Drupal, the Content Management System that's going to help me roll out the new playpoi.com.

I also keep getting sucked into zaadz, which is an exciting social networking initiative, among other things.

...and I'm doing some poi practice, but I'm pretty distracted. I have this tendency to get very engaged with things. If I can apply myself to communications technologies the way I did to poi... well, I hope to have the same result.

This is actually part of what I've found so hard about the last five years. I had to make a lot of sacrifices to practice poi the way I did. The menial jobs I end up working don't help me with the skills development that I think is so vital to living up to my potential. While it was great getting good at poi, I've had to let my communications visionary hat hang on the wall most of the time, and now I have a lot of catching up to do.
...but I can do it!

Having Ben here is great. I got pretty depressed last year, what with losing everything in my failed running-a-poi-studio attempt. He's really helping me get back on my happy feet, and I'm realizing the studio didn't work because it just wasn't the right thing (ok, not having the skills, resources, or money to launch a studio was another factor). I'm better off having the freedom to travel, and to live cheap when I need to fling myself into a project.

Oh, and Ben launched his own blog last night.

The History of Poi: First meeting with the Maori

2006-01-20T17:19:00.000-08:00

On Wednesday I had the great pleasure of meeting Dawn Nathan, a very friendly Maori woman living in Vancouver, BC.

Dawn came to North America 30 years ago with five other Maori performers. They spent years performing traditional Maori song and dance at schools in Los Angeles. Dawn later moved to Vancouver with some of the others. She visits New Zealand most years.

Dawn was raised near Wellington, on the North Island of New Zealand. She was brought up speaking mostly english, but she understands Maori, and performs the traditional songs and dances.

Dawn bought me a coffee and proved to be one of the friendliest and brightest people I've met. If the other people I meet in New Zealand are half as friendly and smart as her, I'm in for a very life enriching trip.

I showed her some of the videos I'm working on. She agreed that what I do isn't really "poi" as the Maori do it, but that it certainly comes from traditonal poi. She seemed to be supportive of this, which made me happy. She has offered to help me contact Maori Elders in New Zealand, and says I want to go to the North Island, where the majority of the Maori live (and always have).

Dawn told me a bit about the history of New Zealand. Apparently the Maori were never defeated by the Europeans. Fighting between the groups ended in a treaty, and the Maori are very integrated into New Zealand, with their language and heritage intact.

In New Zealand there are about 590,000 Maori, in a country of about 4,000,000. The Maori language is widely spoken, and is now taught in public schools, as are many Maori traditions. There are varying Maori dialects on different parts of the island, but there is no trouble communicating between dialects. This has made it possible for the Maori culture to thrive throughout New Zealand. In fact, as there is no longer fighting between tribes, the culture of the Maori is becoming more inclusive than ever. Maori songs are being sung throughout new zealand, when long ago songs might have stayed within tribes or regions of the island.

Dawn confirmed some other things we had learned: Poi is very much a part of the song and dance practices of the Maori, and is rarely practiced on its own. There are a variety of poi practices: single short poi, double short poi, single long poi, and double long poi. Poi dancing was practiced by the daughters of chieftains, for a variety of reasons, including the development of poise and grace. The men used to practice poi to develop strength and coordination for battle. They also used the Taiaha, a long, club-like tool and weapon.

No, the Maori did not use fire-poi, and to Dawn's knowledge they still don't.

Dawn showed us some traditional poi dancing. She hummed the song as she danced.

I'm very excited that Dawn is helping to put me in touch with Maori elders in New Zealand. I do, however, have to change my original plans, and extend my stay :)

Final Poi DVD Draft Finished!

2006-01-20T17:13:00.000-08:00

We're so close to being done!

Marc left for Mexico on Tuesday morning. We made the big push to finish the DVD and test it and make final changes... but it just didn't happen. Just as well, as it's best if I don't rush things.

We do have a final working draft, and we're just looking for improvements. I'm not going to see the final product before leaving for Australia, but they'll ship one to me.

The picture to the right: Alex, Marc, and myself work out the final details of the Navigation. Alex is my life long friend, and a brilliant designer. He's very different from me. He's organized and takes his time to do things right. Sometimes I feel he takes too much time, but he balances me out well. Marc is probably more like me. I'm lucky to be working with them both. :)

What Poi Artists do for their Day Jobs

2005-12-22T18:33:00.000-08:00

Yes, it's true. Poi spinners aren't rich, expecially not ones who lack certain business instincts. I'm learning, I really am, but I really do need to figure out a way to get some dependable money coming in.

Lately it's been helping my Uncle with heavy renovations. There are much worse places to work. If you're going to spend a whole day hauling wet lumber up flights of stairs, this is the place to do it :)

My plan is certainly to get a part time job once I'm back from Australia and Japan (which is all going on the visa). I just can't handle being in financial crisis anymore. Oh sure, there are all the benefits, the weight loss, the hallucinations, etc. But I would looooooooooovve to not have to worry about next month's rent for a while.

Why didn't I get a part time job a long time ago? That's a good question, and one I ask myself a lot. I guess it's because for the past few years there has always been the next opportunity around the corner. Australia is a case in point. There always seems to be the next tripo... so it's been temporary work in between.

What I'd really love: to get hired by a cool theatre company or circus, or to get an artist-in-residency, or something like that. I've been trying to do everything on my own for so long, and I'd just love some support for a change.

So, if anybody has any tips on any of that: cool part-time jobs, artist-in-residencies, dance/theatre companies that might take me on, opportunities for grants or funding, or anything else that would help me create or find a little support, please let me know. The worst thing is the way I finally had to stop focussing on practicing. I would so love to get back to practice.

First Poi Retreat at Flying Dreams Went well...

2005-12-22T18:15:00.000-08:00

The first retreat at Flying Dreams Studio on Salt Spring Island has come and gone. It was pretty small: Three people showed up on Friday, and four more on Saturday. That was a good size for figuring out the logistics of doing retreats on the island. Everybody had fun, and the studio certainly proved an incredible space for poi research.

I learned a lot. I was too quick to promise people I could pick them up and drop them off at the ferries. I really have to do something about my tendency to be overaccommodating. I also realize that I need to do more organizing for the next one. I wish poi people tended to have money, then I could charge twice as much and pay myself a bit more. That will come with time, I hope.

That said, the next retreat will be better organized from the get go. I've booked it for January 27th-29th, just before I leave to Australia! :)

Pictures...

December DVD Release Retreat on Salt Spring Island

2005-11-12T13:10:00.000-08:00

Yes, it's true, we're almost finished the DVD. It's taken way more time and money than I ever expected, but barring catastophe we'll have a master disk very soon.

To celebrate I'm renting Flying Dreams Studio on Salt Spring Island to have a very special poi weekend. Maximum attendees: 20. Will we get that many? I don't know. Will we have a great time? Yes.

When: December 9th-11th, starting Friday at 6pm for those doing the whole weekend, and Saturday at 2pm for those coming for just saturday and sunday.

Where: Salt Spring Island, at the Flying Dreams Studio. Salt Spring Island is between Vancouver and Victoria.

What: A weekend of poi workshops, poi play, and fire spinning. Lessons taught by me, Nick Woolsey. To learn more about the workshops I teach, visit www.playpoi.com.

Who should come: Everybody who likes poi, but it will be mostly geared for intermediate and advanced spinners.Beginners will certainly learn a lot and be inspired by all the other spinners.

Cost: $125 for the full weekend, $75 for the half weekend. Group discounts available.

Lodging: We're setting up "rustic" lodging at our house and the houses of various friends. There will be an additional fee of $15/night for loding. "Rustic" means couches and floor space. Be ready to rough it :P

And note: EVERYBODY GETS A COPY OF THE DVD! :)

Getting here: For those flying in: You can fly to either Vancouver or Victoria. Vancouver will probably be cheaper, but a longer ferry ride. Either way it's a bus/ferry trip/car drive to get to the studio, so leave ample time. If you fly into Vancouver, ask for the local transit bus to "Airport Station." From there you can catch the bus to Taswassen Ferry Terminal. From there you ask to get to Salt Spring Island. If you come on Friday you'll have to make a transfer at Swartz Bay. It will take you about 4 hours to get to Salt Spring from the Airport. On Saturday there is an 11:45am direct ferry to Salt Spring. It's much quicker. Give yourself lots of time to get to the Island. Related websites: www.translink.bc.ca for Vancouver buses (use the "trip planner," www.bcferries.ca for ferries. If you're coming into Victoria I don't really know how it works, and will post info if I find out :P

What to bring: Bring a sleeping bag and maybe a foamy in case you don't score a couch (if you want more luxory accommodations just write, we can probably find you an upgrade for a little extra money). Bring all kinds of poi toys. Note that you cannot use fire spinning equipment in the studio. The floors are very new and we don't want to scratch them. Practice poi and floor-friendly tools only. Other than that prepare for a weekend of playing and dancing. Bring a rain coat if you've got one.

And email me if you have any questions: nick@playpoi.com

See you there! :P

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Retreat Update, Tai Chi, Cat Attacks

2005-11-12T12:46:00.000-08:00

Retreats: Note that I've added info to the Salt Spring Retreat info below. It's now Dec 9th-11th for sure. More info on how to get there, costs, etc. below.

Tai Chi: So, here's my Tai Chi Studio. This is also where I'm teaching poi classes in Vancouver. Zang Zi Bin didn't want his photo taken so I took a picture of some of the other students practicing. I hope to get Zang Zi Bin to come teach Tai Chi at a poi retreat some day.

Meanwhile, here's the damage from the latest attack on my person from Chobby, the huge cat that lives in the apartment where I'm staying. This cat is exactly like Garfield was in the first Garfield comic book. You may not remember, but Garfiend was once a huge cat with a small head, very different from the Garfield of Today.

Salt Spring Island...

2005-10-31T09:05:00.000-08:00

A weekend on Salt Spring Island, home of this winters Poi Retreats.

I've been living in two worlds lately (when I'm in BC that is). One is Vancouver and the other is Salt Spring Island. I'll be living on Salt Spring and coming into the city two or three days a week. This flies in the face of the "get some stability and rest up" plan, but as I said in a previous post, I do crazy things.

The good news: I'll be living a ten minute drive from Flying Dream Studio, a huge, 1,800 square foot studio owned by a silk arielist. We'll be using this studio for retreats this winter. I'm expecting it to be very magical.

First retreat will be fri-sun Dec 9th-11th or Dec 16th-18th (depending on which works out better for those who want to come) and possibly the week leading up if at least 5 people want to do that.

Pictures below of the ferry trip, the "web" at Andrea's house where I'll be living, and the studio.