WHAT IS POI? STAFF? BUUGENG? HOOP? ...

Meet the most favorite flow props!

When you understand what flow arts are, you're probably curious about all the props we mentioned. Choosing the right one can be tricky, and most artists dive into multiple props over time. Let us help you with a simple introduction of the seven flow props we at Pyroterra Lighttoys love the most.

Zebra Poi, use remote to set wonderfull effects

POI

Poi is usually the first prop most artists pick up when starting their flow journey. This simple yet so beautiful tool is believed to come from the Maori culture in New Zealand. Nowadays, you can find countless forms of poi spinning globally, including styles focused more on dancing/body movement, juggling, or technically advanced poi manipulations known as tech poi.

Poi can have various shapes and weight options, but the basic principles apply to all of them. Spinning the weight at the end of a cord is a fun activity, enjoyable in any age, benefiting your health in several ways.

Here is proof!

We recommend starting with practice poi which you can easily make at home. Later, when you have firm control over the movements, you will probably want to try the fire poi or LED poi. The trails that poi leaves behind are mesmerizing for the human eye and the audience just loves it.

We at Lighttoys enjoy creating with lights more than anything else. We've developed Visual poi spinning as a unique connection between visual arts and flow. Both fire and lights play a significant role in performing arts and light shows.

Do you want to explore the endless world of poi? And what about starting right now?

Check out our article full of inspiring poi teachers and their tutorials.

Futuristic light trails on Visual hoop by Pyroterra Lighttoys

Hula hoop

According to Wikipedia, the hula hoop is a toy hoop that is twirled around the waist, limbs or neck.

It is so much more!

As every prop, hula hoop has it's community spreading the love for this fantastic tool across the globe. Hoop manipulation, hoop juggling, hoop spinning, multi-hooping and mini hoops are just examples of different trick families or styles you can learn.

Hoops used to be considered more of a girls prop, and we're excited that this is no longer true! Men hoopers are incredible, and we fully encourage anybody at any age to participate in this activity.

The history of hooping comes back to at least 500 BCE, which has given this art form a long time to evolve. Hula hooping, including Visual LED hoops, is a circus and performing art form and a hobby activity with great potential to improve your overall fitness. Hooping is often connected with dance, freedom and expression of your feelings.

According to www.healthline.com you can burn calories and body fat, boost your cardiovascular fitness, challenge your core muscles, improve your balance, work your lower body muscles, enjoy a family-focused activity for an affordable budget.

Not sure where to start? Here are some useful tips for you.

Have fun!

Staff

Staff spinning has been part of different cultures for hundreds of years. In Polynesia and Hawai, it's a part of fire dancing, and it plays a significant role in Eastern cultures' martial arts.

Today it is a worldwide popular activity enjoyed by people of any age. In the flow arts world, contemporary staff spinning and manipulation have grown in many directions over the last two decades. Different styles demand using various lengths and weight distribution of the staff. For fast and dynamic spinning people prefer medium size staff, and short staffs for double staff manipulation. Using two or more shorter staffs allows you to play more with shapes and geometry or to juggle. Our Lumi staff offers the size needed for every style!

On the contrary, you will need a longer stick with more weight at the ends for contact staff spinning. As the name suggests, this style is based more on the contact of different body parts with the staff, rather than just spinning with the hands. Long Lumi staff is our biggest staff with a great weight distribution created for contact spinning.

No matter which style you choose, there are plenty of tutorials out there for your growth!

P.S. There is one exceptional staff, which is S-Staff, also called a buugeng. Find more about it below.

LED Buugeng – hypnotizing led programmable buugeng by Pyroterra Lighttoys

Buugeng / S- Staff

As the name S-staff reveals, the shape of this prop reminds people of the letter S. Another simple interpretation can be two half circles.

The idea of this visually appealing and hypnotizing prop was first introduced to the world by the renowned juggler Michael Moschen and then redesigned and named as buugeng by Japanese artist Dai Zaobab. Buugeng is a combination of two Japanese words: Buu – which stands for martial art and Geng translated as the illusion.

The power of buugeng manipulation to create shapes and illusions for the human eye is undeniable. Buugeng can also be spun and juggled like a staff, it's an interesting prop for balancing, and you can even do contact tricks with it! This prop might be challenging at first compared to the poi or staff. We believe that it is worth it because buugeng is a unique visual treat for your audience.

The shape, size, and weight of this prop can slightly differ worldwide. Check out our programmable LED Buugeng.

Fans

Fan spinning or fan manipulation is prevalent among many different dance styles such as belly dance or contemporary dance. The easiest way to combine the fans with any dance form even without technical knowledge is to control the movements as if the fans are just an extension of your arms. Usually, one fan is held in each hand to dance with or manipulate it by using principles of other flow arts props and moves unique to fan spinning.

Are the fans only about dancing? Hell no!

There is a whole world of fan manipulation not connected to dancing. The real beauty for many artists from the worldwide fans community lies in more complicated manipulations referred to as Tech fans. Both our LED fans have the "Russian grip", used by spinners worldwide.

Are you ready to explore the world of fans?

You can find many gorgeous tutorials here: https://www.youtube.com/user/techfantutorials

No matter what kind of fans you choose, we hope you will have a lot of fun!

Juggling Clubs

Juggling clubs are among the most popular juggling props and a part of the circus world for quite some time. According to IJA the origins of clubs juggling comes down to the latter years of the nineteenth century when the first club juggler was Ohioan James DeWitt Cook introduced the Indian clubs to the performing world.

Since that time this prop keeps evolving, including the changes in materials, weight and structure. We are not sure when or where the first LED club was born, but since November 2019 our LED clubs with FT2 chip offer amazing options for light shows and LED juggling.

And why you should learn to juggle? Among many reasons, it sharpens your focus & concentration, and it is one of the best ways to improve coordination. It's a portable workout and a form of meditation for many people.

Whether you want to practice alone or with yourfriends, we encourage you to try this exciting prop!

Dragon staff

Dragon staff is a cool prop just as its name, nobody can argue with that. Imagine a long staff with a cross of three, four, or more heads attached to both ends. These heads are made from kevlar for fire spinning or some plastic materials for safe daily practice.

We prefer to use three Visual poi mini for the LED dragon staff heads, and it looks incredible! When Christian Gora introduced the mysterious name and this prop's form, dragon staff started to gain more attention and today belongs to the most favorite props.

And what can you do with this special prop?

Similar to contact staff, dragon staff is rolled on & over your body. The heads create an extra momentum while rotating and rolling and one aims for keeping the rotation. This makes it different from the contact staff tricks.

No idea what we're talking about? Let's see some inspiration in the Dragon staff chat on FB.

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