Specialty Poi Workshops with Alien Jon
Thursday, February 11th, 2010
7:00 - 8:25pm ~ Poi Fu: Teaching Poi to Your Body First
8:30 - 9:55pm ~ Interlocking Partner Poi

We are very excited to announce the next series of specialty workshops taught by poi innovator, Alien Jon! Through years of diligent practice and countless hours of geeking out with friends, Alien Jon has become a world renowned poi instructor. He melds his love of music and dance with his precise and technical way of thinking to create a one of a kind style of spinning. If you like poi, and you want to take it as far as you can, these two workshops will blast you off. They are packed with tons of information, ideas, and practice tips... not to mention they are going to be so much fun!


Watch Alien Jon in Action!

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Poi-Fu: Teaching Poi to Your Body First
Time: 7:00 - 8:25 pm
Level: All

For both beginners and advanced spinners alike, playing at the edge of their technical ability, there is a tendency to plant their feet, lock up their body, and put all of their focus on what their hands are doing with the poi. This workshop gives you the foundational elements, forms, and understanding you need to increase your freedom of movement. You'll develop the tools you need to easily take that move you're learning and move your body freely with it.

Some things we'll explore in class:

• Footwork basics
• Spotting and "un-dizzification".
• Footwork Drills (expect to be a little silly)
• Human anatomy: your body's dividing axes and how you relate to gravity. Understanding your body helps understand what it can do with poi.
• Wall planes, hallways, train tracks: analogies that help you keeping your bearings wile spinning poi
• 4 fundamental modes of poi movement with your arms: timings and symmetry
• Move your feet and your arms at the same time. Catching the wave.
• Focus points and transition points in the 4 modes, wile turning!!
• Where can we push it: Pirouettes and other silliness!

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Interlocking Partner Poi
Time: 8:30 - 9:55 pm
Level: All

What is even more fun than spinning poi? Spinning poi with a partner!
In this workshop, we will learn how to share space and interlocking poi patterns with a partner. Come ready to collaborate with other participants. Bring a friend if you like!

• Partner stances:
• Front to front
• Back to back
• Side by side
• Front to back
• Back to front
• Cross stance ( front offset or back offset)
• Making the distinction between personal timing mode and partner timing mode
• Communication is key!
• Who will keep time?
• Who will be the initiator?
• Stalling over and under each other
• Turning past each other
• Sharing a 4-beat cross-stance weave
• Sharing 3-beat weaves
• Folding between stances
• Turning with each other

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LOCATION:
The Groove Spot
1110 N. Beachwood Dr. 3rd Floor
Hollywood, CA 90038
(park under the building)

COSTS:
$30 - 1 Workshop
$50 - Both Workshops
* cash / check will be accepted at the workshop

RSVP
You must RSVP in advance to hold your spot in these workshops.
E-mailing us here or call 323.793.2812.

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ABOUT ALIEN JON
Alien Jon has been spinning things since childhood, starting with himself, and then with tennis balls in socks, or sticks found in the woods of Maine. He acquired his first pair of devil stix in 1995, and was hooked. Then in 1999, he began spinning poi in the form of glow-sticks at electronic music events. This gave rise to the discovery of fire performance and thus his dedication to the art of contemporary poi began. From devilstix and poi, other object manipulation quickly followed: contact Juggling, contact staff, and diablo to name a few. These talents have been melded with a love of music and dance, including liquid, waving, popping, and other funk styles. Through diligent practice and creativity, Alien Jon has gained world-wide demand as a teacher and is known as a poi innovator.

Some teaching highlights:
Double Rainbow Ranch (2004)
Boulder Circus Center (2004)
1st Annual Boulder Juggling Festival (2004)
Shepherd Valley Waldorf School (2004)
SphereCamp East and SphereCamp Texas (2006 - 2008)
Domba & Mystic Jewell dance Studios (2005 - 2007)
Fall Wildfire (2007)
Clearwater Festival (2007 & 2008)
Florida State University (2008)
Renaissance Festivals around the USA (2004 - 2008)
Open Air Circus (2008)
Fire Drums (2008 & 2009)
playpoi.com UK workshop tour (2009)
Feuershow.de German workshop tour (2009)
EJC 2009 (Spain)
Cortona Week 2009 (Italy)
Playpoi.com poi retreats w/ Nick Woolsey, in Costa Rica, Bali, Switzerland, and Italy (2009)