Mumbai is on fire

From weekend gatherings to regular classes across the city, fire is making a star appearance in art forms, including poi and spinning, finds Kasmin Fernandes. Getting hot, yet?

Laurene Daluzeau slowly douses a fire poi with fuel. Poi includes a weight suspended from a length of flexible material swung in circular patterns.

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A ball attached to the end of a metal chain quickly catches fire. Tightening a scrunchie on her wavy brown locks, she waits for trippy electronic music to start playing. Gracefully, she begins to dance. Her head bops to the music as she circles her arms high above her head, the flames mere inches from her face. She doesn't seem to mind as specks of fire fall onto her clothes. Because she wears a cotton shirt, it is less likely that the material will melt onto her skin. With caution and poise, she continues her dance as the heat warms up a small group of observers on a terrace in Bandra.

"There's something dangerously beautiful about poi," Daluzeau says. The 26 year-old spa therapist is a part of Fire School of Thought, a community of talented poi and staff spinners in the city.

"The Fire School of Thought is a collective for those that subscribe to a school of thought driven by fire in any manner, from fire dancers -- fire twirlers, poi spinners, fire breathers or any performers that use real fire to kickstart the performance," says 28 year-old Janit Gambhir, who started the collective this year.

Gambhir, who also teaches fire twirling, fell in love with the form when studying filmu00a0 in Sydney, Australia, a few years ago. He shot videos of the street performers using fire and exchanged ideas with them in a bid to build his skills. He then taught himself. "When I returned to my hometown Delhi, I started practising with a chowkidar's lathi for hours on end. A friend brought me a fire staff from abroad, and there was no looking back from there," he says.

Fire starters
Fire School of Thought is part of a bigger collective, School of Original Thought (SOOT.in), which also includes musicians and writers who perform at 'Fire Theatre' every weekend in Bandra. The group has also performed at various events, including Terra Madre Day at the weekly Farmers' Market and a fundraiser for NGO Child Reach India.

Another group of fire dancers recently kicked off PoiTrix, which specialises in performances at events.

Dance and share
Sagar Pitale and Maulesh Thaker from Poitrix are doing for poi what Gambhir is doing for fire twirling in the city. "We noticed that there aren't many formal communities for such an enthralling performance art form in India. So, we started Poitrix (.com) where spinners can come together, share and contribute to this phenomenal art," says Pitale. Poitrix also undertakes show bookings for performances involving fire poi and glow poi. The community meets regularly at different venues in the suburbs, such as Diamond Garden in Chembur.

Rockhead firebreather
Part of The Fire School of Dance, but maintaining the unique position of the lone firebreather is the mysterious 'Mac' who refuses to divulge his second name. Rock concert regulars can spot him from a mile, because he entertains the crowd with his firebreathing right inside the moshpit. Purely for fun and pleasure. No charge. The first time he blew fire in public was eight years ago. Says the 24 year-old entrepreneur, "I sneaked kerosene into Independence Rock. The crowds were impressed with my pyrotechnics and pushed me to the front of the stage. Unfortunately, I ran out of fuel. But I was back the next day."

It all started when a wrestler sprayed water with his mouth, at what was then the WWF (World Wrestling Federation). This caught Mac's imagination. He then wondered what it would be like to spray liquid fuel and light it up. Mac began experimenting in the backyard of his cousin's store.

"Ever since I can remember, I have loved setting things on fire," says the bearded pyromaniac. In eight years of blowing fire, the self-taught artist has suffered an injury only once. "My eyelash was singed in what is called a blowback."

The story behind fire dances
Fire spinning has been greatly influenced by the traditional fire dancing of New Zealand's Maori tribes. Each tribe used the dance for storytelling or to improve hand-eye co-ordination. The trend spread to other countries, such as Germany and England, and it has made its way to India.

Natural attraction
"The (fire dance) culture has grown quite a bit in the city," says French amateur poi spinner Laurene Daluzeau. She says, "When I first started spinning after moving to Mumbai, few had even heard of poi. Now, I see more and more spinners everywhere." SOOT member Phalguni Desai was introduced to fire spinning last year at music festival Sunburn on Candolim Beach in Goa. "Coincidentally, a friend introduced me to Janit when I returned to Mumbai, and I got practising his technique," says the 26 year-old.u00a0

"It's fun spinning to music; spinning fire is also a great upper body workout," says Gambhir's student Sangeeta Jaiswal. The 29 year-old architect got interested in fire dance when she saw photographs a friend had uploaded on Facebook. She attended Fire Theatre, and has been learning the art form ever since.

Trend forecast
Coming soon to the city is glow poi. Glow poi is the best way to spin and twirl poi at night. Spinning glow poi balls is much safer than fire spinning and makes for amazing rave gear. Poi performances are undertaken in darkness to dramatic effect with poi including a light source, such as UV-sensitive materials, LED lights, or chemical glow sticks.

Glowstringing: Using glowsticks swung from shoelaces, is popular at festivals and raves.

Meteors: They were cross adopted both from poi and from the Chinese martial weapon, the meteor hammer. The meteor is often constructed like, or from, poi with an additional short chain, rope, or bar in the centre.

The handbook

Safety guidelines for newbies
1. Never fire twirl under the influence of any drug or alcohol.
2. Make sure the equipment you use to fire twirl is free from damage including loose screws, frayed wick, deteriorating grips or other obvious defects.
3. Don't twirl in areas that are susceptible to fires, for example with overhanging trees, dry grass or loose foliage. Be aware of wind direction. Flames may travel if the wind is too strong.
4. Do not fire twirl alone, especially if you are new to fire twirling -- a second person can watch over your safety while you are using fire and help in case of any accident.
5. Wear clothes of natural fibres (like cotton) that are not floppy or loose to avoid setting yourself on fire.
6. Make sure you have safety equipment handy such as a fire blanket or damp cloth (that is never used to mop up fuel).
7. Be very aware of your environment and the people in it. Make sure you have a lot of space around you when you fire twirl and keep an eye out for people who may wander by while you are twirling.
8. The most common fuel used for fire twirling is kerosene. It is inexpensive and readily available.

Where to learn
1. Janit Gambhir holds fire twirling workshops at 4th floor, Naval Kunj, Linking Road, Bandra (W)
Call: 9833879338 for details
2. Poitrix teaches fire poi.
Call: Sagar on 9820962822 or Maulesh on 9820876113.
Email: info@poitrix.com
Visit: www.poitrix.com

My first fire twirling performance
My first brush with fire twirling happened a week ago, when I enrolled for a batch. During a couple of practise sessions, my instructor Janit Gambhir patiently took me through the various base moves on an unlit staff. Me and a couple of other students had to practise each move at least 100 times without faltering "to build muscle memory". So, when I faltered, I had to start all over again. Grr.

All that practise with circling, switching and flips paid off when he said: "You are ready to spin fire now."
The moment had come earlier than I thought. When the ends of the staff were lit, dancing with it felt like the most natural thing in the world. The art form is like a cross between martial art and dance.

My first public performance that weekend, in front of a host of people at Fire Theatre night, went off smoothly, with the momentum building up towards the end. There is a moment -- that lasts as long as the person is skilled -- when you blend with the fire as one element. Completely worth it!