Playing With Fire

One of the most memorable performances at Urbanscapes 2009 was unplanned. The Sem-Poi Fire Crew wowed the crowd with their daring performance during which they twirled and danced with fire-lit pois. But what is a poi? A poi is the traditional performance art form of the Maori people, typically complemented with drums and percussions. Poi is also the Maori word for balls, or balls on a string or cord. In their case, the Crew uses stainless steel chains with handles as the cord, with various experimentations for the wick; they’ve used denim, Good Morning towels and more recently, their Kevlar wick! Formed in April, the Crew consists of 10 poi spinners, a didgeridoo player and a percussionist/djembe performer. “We learnt the tricks and moves from online tutorials and when someone learns a new trick, they show it off and reach everyone how it’s done. There’s a lot of love in the group!” says co-founder Sobhi Zainal. Rehearsing at a neighbourhood field before moving into their new HQ at a rock climbing gym, Sobhi says that they haven’t had major injuries so far save from the typical burnt or singed hair. See their pyro performance for yourself by checking out www.sem-poi.blogspot.com.

Text Sarah Chan Photo Cyrus Chang

Article taken from KLue magazine Sept 2009, issue 131.