With the lights turned down at Carenza's Caravan dance studio, two women wearing simple outfits took the stage. As they prepared to perform, audience members huddled close to the edge of the dance floor in anticipation of what was to come: fire.
From a simple candle on a mat in the back corner of the room, the first dancer took the stage, spinning and twirling to the music. In each arm, a ball attached to a chain, known as poi, was flaming. Gracefully she moved, without a sound from the crowd.
The spinning of flaming poi originated from the South Pacific ritual of hitting taro roots against a rock to make food, Molly Block, Indianapolis, said. Known as WyldFyre, Block is the second of the fire dancers to perform at Carenza's Caravan's monthly Hafla.
"I actually learned how to spin fire through the Internet," she said. "I had seen someone do it with fire once, and I said to myself, 'Wow, I would never be able to do that.' That was in August of 2000 and in January of 2001, someone came by my house that knew how to do that. I didn't get the moves that she taught me, but I went onto the Internet and learned as much as I could."
After learning how to spin fire, she taught at festivals for about three years, becoming a professional during that time.
"The belly dance crowd has been the most inviting (when it comes to fire)," she said. "They treat it like it's something new to play with."
Fire spinning is a total sensory experience. The vibrant warm colors of the fire can be seen, the warmth of the flame can be felt, the whirring of the flame through the air can be heard and the fire's fuel can be smelled.
"When everyone invites us to perform, they inevitably get that nice barbecue smell," Block said. "At Carenza's Caravan, they want us to use a special fuel that keeps the odor down, since the neighbors called the fire department once."
The other fire dancer who performed that night was Pali Endicott, also of Indianapolis. She has done dance all of her life, and when Molly saw Pali perform Molly wanted to teach her fire dancing.
"You start out [spinning] with really soft practice equipment," Endicott said. "You will get hit many times. But the benefits are really good. The balance you achieve and the strength in your arms, as well as posture correction, are all beneficial. It's really awesome stuff."
For Block, spinning fire allows her to express herself in ways that she never has before.
"It's a different medium and in some ways it is an art form," she said. "With fire I just open up with it. I'm not afraid of anything. I'm a professional and I know what I am doing. I hope to continue to get the art form out there one venue at a time."
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