EMBERS TO ASHES

Talofa!

For those wondering, Talofa is the greeting of Samoa. I’m excited to greet you back to another month of Embers To Ashes! Let’s dive right in.

Life in Fire Knife

Last week I shared with you the equipment used for Fire Knife dancing—the knife itself, the materials, and fuel used for a performance. Let’s take a step back by looking at what Fire Knife dancers use to learn and practice Fire Knife.

The Material

Unlike a performance-ready Fire Knife that has metal, burn material, and fuel, practice Fire Knives are much simpler. The core components include a stick, towel, reinforcement tape, and grip tape.

The Stick is a rod that is typically made out of wood or metal. These rods usually have a 1” diameter with a varying length according to personal desire, however it’s best to create one the same length as the actual Fire Knife you would spin in performance.

The Towel is the primary component of the practice knife that influences weight distribution. I’ve tried all-purpose towel and microfiber, so really any type of towel can be used. Notice from the shape of a Fire Knife how The Head is significantly longer than The Butt, so the amount of towel used on each side can determine where the balance point is. Again, lengths of each side can vary but it’s best to keep them the same to the knife you end up using in performance.

The Reinforcement Tape is the 1st layer of tape that securely fastens the towel to the stick. Duct tape is standard, however you can choose any durable tape as desired. You WILL be dropping the practice knife a lot, which typically results in a stick puncture on The Head or The Butt over time, so you want to make sure to reinforce the towel very well.

The Grip Tape is the 2nd layer of tape used for, well, grip. I’ve only ever used electrical tape due to its well balance between sticky and smooth, but I’m sure you can experiment with other material. You can also choose to customize the color/look of a practice knife as the grip tape is the outermost layer.

Weight

Weight is also an important factor when building a practice knife. My suggestion is having two separate practice knives: a lighter knife for experimenting new moves/tricks, and a heavier knife for reinforcing/strengthening known moves. Here are some factors that can affect the weight of a practice knife:

• Material of the stick (i.e. wood, metal, plastic, material density)

• Towel density or number of towels used on either end

• Layers of reinforcement tape

And that’s pretty much it! I’ve seen all sorts of variations of practice knives that other Fire Knife dancers create, so there really isn’t a strict guideline on how to make them. I hope this brings some more insight into the life of a Fire Knife dancer!

Check out how I build my practice knives

April Progress

Back in June 2023, I started a 1-year challenge where I would practice every single day for 1 year straight; currently I’m on Day 329/365.

New Tatau

The beginning of April went with a bang—I got a brand new tattoo! For those of you that don’t know, I dance for a Polynesian dance academy and every year we have a tattoo (tatau) artist come from California to give members of the academy a tribal tattoo. I ended up getting a forearm tatau that was an extension of an arm band I received last year. The special thing about this tatau is that it holds a lot of deep meaning to me, specifically with my journey in Fire Knife dancing, through the symbols and style of the artwork. I decided to get it on my forearm because I wanted to give myself a visually-obvious reminder of the work that I am pursuing, the goals I hope to achieve, and the dedication to a craft I hold dear to my heart. If you’d like to see what it looks like and what the symbols mean, check out my tatau breakdown video on YouTube.

Drone Video Shoot

As Summer is creeping in on us here in Chicago, we’ve had a couple of beautiful days out this month. Mid-April one of my friends, Elias, held a little get-together on the Chicago Lakefront in celebration of his birthday and to a prosperous summer coming up (check out my vlog of the event). Elias is the Founder of Rich Mind$ Promotions where he helps artists and creatives find opportunities to share their work. We did some grilling, vibing, and I did a set of performances to end the night. What’s cool is Elias invited a couple of videographers to the scene and they BOTH brought drones, so we ended up having a pop-up drone video shoot! Take a look at the finished result:

This inspired me to try and initiate more storytelling visuals with Fire Knife, so I’ve actively been reaching out to videographers and scheduling more shoots like this. More to come this year 🔥.

Chicago Fire Regulation

In my first newsletter, I spoke about the harsh fire regulations Chicago has implemented and how it makes it difficult to do shows in the city. This month I had a chance to speak with Devin Sebastian Bean, the president of the Full Moon Jam Organization, about fire regulation and what that entails. What I’ve learned is that it’s actually NOT about the building fire codes, but about the permitting/licensing process.

In the State of Illinois, no one is allowed to use any flammable/explosive device toward a public audience (such as a ticketed event) without the following:

• Venue approval letter from the owner or representative

• Approval letter from the Alderman or city official

• A permit at City Hall (~$200)

• Have a registered Pyro-Technician on site (~$1000 to be there)

• A permit from the Illinois State Fire Marshall, delivered by the registered Pyro-Technician.

Now, this wouldn’t be too bad if the Pyro-Technician was easily accessible for performers. However, the only Pyro-Technician that works in the Fire Arts community is unwilling to work with other dancers because of her power and authority over permits, so she has a monopoly over the Fire Arts (in Illinois) and has the ONLY special events company in the state with a permit for fire dancers. To become a Pyro-Technician, you have to become a Flame Effect Operator by apprenticing a Pyro-Technician for ~1 year, then must take the Pyro-Technician test and pay $10,000.

Many people have tried becoming a Pyro-Technician under this lady, including Devin, but she has gone back on her word about helping with the process and has even threatened to shut down the Full Moon Jams. I would try to become one myself, but I don’t have the resources at the moment to invest in the process so, unfortunately, that blocks half of my prospects and business opportunities. I’m able to still do private shows, which is nice, so I need re-strategize my approach and optimize for those.

To be honest, I was pretty bummed hearing about the permitting process with this crazy lady at the helm, but I know I’m gonna make sure that changes at some point. Just a little bit of patience and planning can go a long way 😉.

Move of the Month

Every month I post a move to educate people on the culture and vocabulary of Siva Afi.

This month’s move: VILI LIMA TASI or 1-HAND SPIN

Vili = Spin

Lima = Hands

Tasi = 1

This is another fundamental move in Fire Knife dancing. Similar to how animals enlarge themselves to becoming more intimidating, having your other hand out can allow you to make yourself seem bigger and draw out that warrior presence.

That’s all I’ve got this month. A lot of action-packed events coming in May as it gets warmer out, so stay tuned for that!

See you next month, and like always, Be What Remains.

— Embers