SAIIER 2014:A fire-spinning performance with youth
 "The Viziers of Bassora" |
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 Dehashakti School of Physical Education |
| A fire-spinning performance with youth | ||
“I like working with fire because it makes me feel big and strong but at the same time it makes me feel free, open and happy.”
“I started fire juggling four or five years back... It was at that time a sport for me, slowly we began growing as a group and put together a small performance, there was a new me I found that day. The experience was unique, for fire had become my friend, myself.”
“Each time I light my stick and it slowly lights into a big flame, I feel accomplished. It is as if fire completes my being. It is a joy that one cannot get by simply staring at a candle, but it is when you control fire's movements that it controls your heart. The warmth is not just physical, but it fills your body from the inside too. For that feeling of being a part of the flame... I would give anything for it.”
“This long time of being with fire seems short. It has still not taught me all of its magic, but enough to be its disciple.”
“Fire is a brush, you the hand, paint on the surface of the earth, all you need is your heart.”
Introduction
Fire juggling and spinning is an art which consists of moving one's body along with instruments holding fire. The goal of these classes, are to develop a contact and confidence with the element of fire. To develop a control and grace of the body, a capacity to listen to music and express it through movement. Most of all to develop the capacity to work in a group and as responsible and independent individuals.
Description of project
A diverse group of ten teenagers, age 11 to 17, from 4 different schools have been studying this art for 3 years now. The students learn to make and repair all the material they use. On making the materials some students reflect:
- “Aurévan taught us to put the mesh on the sticks with copper wires and screws. We drilled holes in the sticks and stuck on handles. It was difficult to put the screws and it was hard to cut the materials for the handles.”
- “Fixing light sticks was easy, but it took really long to connect all the electrical wires to the right places. We were all frustrated and angry when we had to make them again because one detail had gone wrong.”
- “Learning to make the sticks was a very important step because it taught me to make the tools for the craft which I practice, so made me less reliant on others.”
Once the basic vocabulary of movements is acquired, they learn the meaning of choreography, what it is, and how to create a mood and atmosphere, according to the music they choose, the number of people on stage, the type of instruments and above all what they wish to communicate.
This year ten youth participated in regular weekly classes of 1h30 juggling, 3h gymnastics. With additional sessions several months a year, to prepare performances or simply work more intensely, these can go from 2 to 10 additional hours a week, evenings after Dehashakti timings and on Sundays.
There were two teachers this year: Aurévan teaching and leading the group during the fire spinning classes, and Samuel who has taught gymnastics to the same group as part of our program, three times a week. Rebecca, an American newcomer was present as our sound operator for practices and various performances.
This year the students created three different performances: the first with the assistance and aid of their teacher, the second and third created entirely on their own. The group performed on seven occasions.
Next year a large scale performance is planned, bringing in all the elements the students have discovered this year. The students next year will also begin to conduct workshops for children, teenagers, and adults wishing to learn this art, so as to pass on what they have learnt and to see how much they have truly understood.
Reflections
The most interesting moment this year both for the students and myself as an observer, was when in February I proposed to them a challenge. The group would be divided into two, each group would have six weeks to prepare a 20 to 30 minutes performance from scratch, i.e. new music, new story, new choreographies, which would then be presented to the other group, family and friends. All this completely without my help. They leaped up to the challenge, set up more regular meetings. Very soon they realised the difficulties involved:
- “During our Challenge, I realised how hard it was to work in a group, in which we didn't have a clear leader; a person who was authorised to make vital decisions; save us the dilemmas of having to chose music and deciding the layout of our choreographies. We spent much of our time arguing and debating about what or should not be done, which proved to be rather tedious, considering how nicely it had been presented to us by the teacher during our previous performance.”
In education we all know that it is often challenges which are the occasions for the developing youth to rise to new heights, provided the challenge is proposed at the right time in their growth and they accept the challenge:
- “I have progressed over the years, but I have learned movements mostly in bursts of time, for example, when preparing for a performance.”
The group has been working together as an entity for over 3 years now, the personalities which make it up are very different. Over the years there is one thing the entire group has learnt, it is that each one of them is there for the love they have of fire, and the possibility of self expression which this medium offers them. Once this very crucial fact is truly understood by each individual, it becomes clear that if each of them puts forward at every moment the very best of themselves, the very reason for which they are there, they are able to find solutions, observe and accept each others capacities and difficulties, and create something of beauty.
We spend quite some time analysing what works and does not in the group; what each person needs to develop, or progress in. The group has discovered that there are three elements to working well together: one is observation, growth in awareness; which leads to the second i.e. sincerity about situations, oneself, others; the third so as to keep work harmonious always is care and kindness to one another.
About the month of the 'challenge' one of the students writes:
- “It was a crazy month... with a lot of conflicts, a lot of ambition and a lot of experience... I learnt that each one in my group had their own way of working with flame and each one of us is unique, this performance was a part of us, made by us, and we all dove into the depths of fire eager to learn and grow, to connect with one-another. I was immensely satisfied, for the outcome was a shock, and joy was present in each movement I did...”
Another writes:
- “Everyone in the group has different personalities and opinions so it is quite hard to decide one thing without someone disagreeing with you. The less people, the easier to work with. The more people, the more distracted one can get and the more disagreements there is space for.”
After the 'Challenge' we came to discussing modes of governance, and the participation and attitude of each individual. Following reflection on a discussion one of the students writes:
- “Dealing with the group can be really hard sometimes. I think I should give more ideas to the group because often (not always) I let the group decide what I should do and I just obey it. I need to give more opinions and I need to speak for myself.”
Conclusion
Through our work with fire-spinning students learn to manage their time, to deal with one-another, to take responsibility, create. Most importantly they learn to find the best of themselves, and bring that forward, to give themselves wholly, to fire, to the group, to the audience, to life, and through all these to the Divine.
