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Poi Balls, Glowsticks, Batons,
East Coast "Flags," and
Other Toys •
There are so many cousins to the Fans and Flags. Poi Balls a well known by the general public from National Geographic and Hawaii 5-0. Glowsticks are now part of the Halloween culture as part of costumes or as safety lights, but dancing with them is still mostly unknown to all but club kids. Batons, well everyone knows about them - but the example that I show in these photos ain 't your typical marching band.
They say "…it takes a faggot to make it pretty!" and it is soooooooo true.
In this set of photos, I first have the orange Fringe Flags. UV reactive orange strips of fabric sewn onto a rectangle of light-weight black mesh.
Next are pictures of Ken and his Wonder Batons which were extremely photogenic. The batons were programmable to change the colors and speed of the flashes of light. I want to incorporate the technologies into a set of fans or flags. Could be very trippy.
At the end of photos are some pictures of Angel and Eric playing with Poi Balls. I've also seen Glow Sticks attached to a length of cord used in a manner similar to the poi. Poi originated in the South Pacific, coming from the ceremonies of the indigenous Maori people of New Zealand. For more detailed information about Poi, a great site is Home Of Poi. Be sure to check them out.
One toy that I don't have any photos of are East Coast Flags. While West Coast Flags are rectangles of fabric with weights sewn into the hems, the East Coast variety don't have the weights. Instead, a thin dowel is inserted into the hem along one side. Additionally, "EC Flags" were usually made from very light material, chiffons were popular. Depending upon the taste of the dancer, there may or may not be any of the dowel exposed at one corner. Any exposed dowel is used as a handle. "EC Flags" are played the same as "WC Flags" but usually much slower. The weight of the fabric plus the dowel, created the possibility for extended "hang time."
In many ways, "EC Flags" were a blend between Fans and "WC Flags." The dowel gave a degree of control that was similar to Dance Fans. The light weight fabric plus the fact that there was only one "rib" (compared to the 17 or so in Dance Fans) gave them the volume of color and fluidity of movement "WC Flags." are know for. In case you are wondering, "WC Flags" were known as Scarves back East.
