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still a band geek
Oct. 12th, 2009 04:45 pmStarting in fifth grade, I played the oboe in school band. I never owned my own instrument, so I gave it up when I finished high school. In high school I also played tenor sax in pep band and jazz band, but I was on flag line/color guard for marching band through high school and into college. This combination has served me well in dance, as I can generally get my feet to go wherever I need to for a choreography and I have an idea of how props fit in with the movement.
In our weekly classes, we use zils (finger cymbals) during our drills. Starting from the very beginning, we're moving as we learn how to play the instrument, so we don't end up with the problem of "I can move or I can zil, but not both". This about broke my brain when I started level two, but now my hands play the rhythm whether or not I'm paying conscious attention to them. We've also done some choreography with veils and I like playing with the flowing movements necessary for them.
But now I've started another set of lessons. These are not technically dance classes, though they sort of feed into it. I'm learning how to spin poi from our resident fire goddess. The eventual goal of the class is to learn how to SAFELY spin fire poi, but we start with tennis balls on string or chain, since those hurt a whole lot less when you whack yourself upside the head.
Thanks to my years on flag line, I do not fear being hit by the poi. I accept that I'm going to screw up and whack myself, so when it happens, I'm not surprised. I also hold to the Rule of Whining as dictated by my college flag line group.
So far I haven't hurt myself nearly so badly with the poi as I did on flag line. I spent most falls with parallel bruises on my calves and the backs of my upper arms with occasional outliers about my neck and thighs. Even when trying to use my LED poi instead of the tennis balls, I still didn't get hurt as much as a similar length learning/practice period with a flag.
Of course, the idea that I'll eventually be using fire poi has led me to some vendors. These people also sell fire staves, which look a whole lot like the flags that I used. I got to hold one and the weight distribution is different, but not that terrible. The only major problem is that I have to ditch all the moves that I know that rely on holding the end of the pole, since both ends are on fire.
But it sounds like a whole lot of fun...
In our weekly classes, we use zils (finger cymbals) during our drills. Starting from the very beginning, we're moving as we learn how to play the instrument, so we don't end up with the problem of "I can move or I can zil, but not both". This about broke my brain when I started level two, but now my hands play the rhythm whether or not I'm paying conscious attention to them. We've also done some choreography with veils and I like playing with the flowing movements necessary for them.
But now I've started another set of lessons. These are not technically dance classes, though they sort of feed into it. I'm learning how to spin poi from our resident fire goddess. The eventual goal of the class is to learn how to SAFELY spin fire poi, but we start with tennis balls on string or chain, since those hurt a whole lot less when you whack yourself upside the head.
Thanks to my years on flag line, I do not fear being hit by the poi. I accept that I'm going to screw up and whack myself, so when it happens, I'm not surprised. I also hold to the Rule of Whining as dictated by my college flag line group.
- Are you bleeding?
- Are any bones poking through your skin?
- Are you conscious?
So far I haven't hurt myself nearly so badly with the poi as I did on flag line. I spent most falls with parallel bruises on my calves and the backs of my upper arms with occasional outliers about my neck and thighs. Even when trying to use my LED poi instead of the tennis balls, I still didn't get hurt as much as a similar length learning/practice period with a flag.
Of course, the idea that I'll eventually be using fire poi has led me to some vendors. These people also sell fire staves, which look a whole lot like the flags that I used. I got to hold one and the weight distribution is different, but not that terrible. The only major problem is that I have to ditch all the moves that I know that rely on holding the end of the pole, since both ends are on fire.
But it sounds like a whole lot of fun...
