Poi Dance Series with Blaze

“You can dance to any kind of music while spinning poi.” But how??

Class Description: 
The focus of this drop-in class series is to provide you with the drills n’ skills needed to start moving and dancing with poi in your own practice. Each week we will explore Poi Dance through a variety of prompts, exercises, choreography, games, videos, and other activities to get you out of your head and moving with your whole body.

This class is open level and open prop; spinners of all levels will encounter interesting and relatable content. This is a studio style class, so rather focusing on one topic/theme a week, we will be learning skill progressions related to Poi Dance over multiple weeks. Our studio rental time is 3 hours long, which allows time before and after class instruction for warmups, skill sharing, and individual practice.

6pm – Studio Opens for warm ups and free flow
7pm – Class Begins (doors locked)
8pm – Class Ends – transition to free flow
9pm – Studio Closes

Poi Dance Topics Covered
– Warmups and conditioning
– Inspins and Antispins
– Turning and Pirouettes
– 2 Step timing and direction
– Horizontal Plane
– Musicality
– Improvisation
– Considerations for Fire and Performance

Access & Getting There
*Open Flight Studio 4205 University Way NE, Seattle, WA 98105*
(across from Bulldog News, next door to Pho Than Brothers)

– Stairs required/no elevator – OFS is on the second floor of an old building.
– Transit: blocks away from University Link station. Nearby to bus routes 49, 43, 48, 31, 32, 70, 71, 72, 73, and many others.
– Parking: street parking available on Brooklyn Ave NE and 12th Ave NE (west of University St)

Cost: Donations are appreciated but not required. $10 suggested, cash or PayPal. Contact Blaze for PayPal info.

Class Schedule
Sundays 6-9pm
October 8th, 22nd, 29th

Mondays 6:30-9:30pm
November 6th, 13th, 20th, 27th
December 4th, 11th, 18th

What else should I know?
1. ENTRANCE – when you arrive, please knock or text +1 616 780 6046 to be let in.
2. AM I TOO LATE? – the front door will stay locked after class begins (~7pm)
3. NO SHOES! please remove shoes/raingear before using studio floor.
4. MASKS highly recommended – stay away if you are sick!
5. DONATIONS are appreciated but not required. $10 suggested. cash or paypal please.
6. EXTRA PROPS – I will bring extra pairs of sock poi, also available for purchase.
7. WHAT TO WEAR – Wear loose/comfy clothing. We will be walking, rolling, jumping, sitting, kneeling, etc.
8. GROUP AGREEMENTS – Please read and abide by the SFAC Code of Conduct (http://seattleflowarts.org/codeofconduct)

About Blaze
Blaze (she/her) has been dancing with poi in the Seattle area for over 5 years. Her unique style integrates tech poi, dance poi, floorwork, house, bellydance, and other expressive movement styles into a beautiful, effortless dance flow. In 2020, Blaze and Arlene founded Seattle Flow Arts Collective, an arts nonprofit that supports the PNW flow community. In 2021 and 2022, Blaze trained with Vojta Stolbenko on Stromboli volcano in the Aeolian Sea. Locally, she has studied with Leah Russell, Nyx Aurore, David Gallina and others.

In addition to dancing with poi, she’s been teaching poi too, most recently in poi dance workshops at KindleNW ’22 and ’23, and previously at FlowShop and in other venues. She has taught poi spinning to parents, grandparents, kids, and teenagers, and adults. You can learn more about her movement art and teaching at <www.blazejayne.art> and on Instagram @brainfreezyflow