Under the Spinfluence 2013

In early September some of our club members packed up and headed off to the Brookfield Scout Camp in Wainuiomata for the three-day madness that was Under the Spinfluence 2013.

It’s the second time this fire spinning and circus arts festival has been held, following its successful debut in 2012 – and this time it was bigger and better. Fire and circus lovers from all over New Zealand rolled in, as well as some new friendly faces from all the way across the ditch.

The Friday evening came around in the form of an Instructors’ Showcase, where the talented performers who would be running the workshops and other lessons over the weekend showed us what they were made of. After a busy day of workshops on Saturday we were entertained with the Renegade Show -  a show that anyone could enter to flaunt the new skills they’d learnt from the workshops on offer. More workshops followed on Sunday, including the hilarious Circus Olympics that saw competitors performing some unusual and very entertaining tricks to take each other out of play.

The overall vibe of the weekend was very chilled and relaxed, and the weather was much kinder to us than it was this time last year. We were free to roam the camp grounds which included access to facilities such the lake, open-air cathedral, flying foxes, bush walk, confidence course and incident course.

The weekend’s resident carnies scheduled their own days to fit in as many different workshops as they could, and we all tried a lot of new arts and toys. Some ‘glamped’ it up and stayed in the cabins on site, while others camped it up in their tents in the fields. With the shows, extended burns into the night and a dance party, there was never a lack of something to do. Also notable was the fantastic aerials dome that was constructed in the middle of the camp, the vegan meals provided by the awesome kitchen crew, and the frequent cries of ‘MORE DANGER!’ that are somewhat Spinfluence-famous.

The biggest thing we all took from this festival was inspiration. With so many passionate fire and circus performers all concentrated in the one place, it was hard not to feel the firey love.

Club member Carolyn Edgecombe tells us why club members who have yet to venture to Under the Spinfluence (and anyone else interested in learning and experiencing what it’s all about) should head on down with us next year: “Spinfluence is amazing and you not only learn heaps but you start to build an extra crazy carnie family around you. It's also a great way to get to know new people and you learn more about people in club who go as well. It's really just an awesome opportunity”.

Our club President Steph Yeung says: “I cannot emphasise how amazing of a weekend it was. I learned so much and have been inspired to do so much more. The people there are absolutely amazing! Not just skill wise but they are a lovely bunch. I think a big part in developing one’s own performance is to meet other performers and expose yourself to new ideas and styles”.

Check out Steph P’s Spinfluence video at

Check out the official website for Under the Spinfluence at http://underthespinfluence.weebly.com/instructors-and-performers.html

OUT WITH THE OLD AND IN WITH THE NEW!!

So it’s that time a year where we get a new committee and it seems we have almost had a complete overhaul so let me introduce the new troupe.




Firstly we have out New President Stephenie Yeung (Also known by The Asian)  showing us the intensity of how much of an awesome president she plans to be this year.

 

Second we have out new Treasurer Katheryn Pascoe Serving us fierce 80’s colour pop realness 








Next Up is the boy who recently decided he will no longer grow up and admit to being as crazy as the rest of us our new Safety and Gear officer is Scott Newberry

Returning in a new position we have Carolyn Edgecumbe As our Performance coordinator
















This year Our Fuel is Taelon Batty  Again and since last year we only had a pic of a cat and a water melon here is Taelon as a cat and a bat .

 

 

 

And this yeah Myself Matt Gray am filling the role of secretary

This year we also have Ty As our Assistant……. EVERYTHING
And finally this year we have our Patron Lynelle Munns

 

 

Super Happy Fun Times in Wangas!

Yes, you read that right! You can have Super Happy Fun Times in places other than Palmerston North.
Now, calm down Palmy... It's summer break! Uni's been over for a while and, as you would know, people do some crazy things over Summer Break...

But, as alway, I digress. We got invited to a Festival of Cultures by the local council and we jumped at the chance to hang out in the River City! We rounded up the kids and set up camp at The Riverside Motel, and we bought the fun to the party!

This was also an introduction of our stilt walkers!

A rather sinister shadow in the back....

From there, we were invited back for a couple other shows, such as the River City Caboodle. This was a day celebrating the vintage eras and was a blast for all involved!

Look, they think they're Beatles!

I can't tell who was the Egg and who was the Spoon in this race...

Some-one call a Doctor!

Moving on to the most recent stint in the River City, we've been doing some stuff for the NZ Master Games. As yet, there are no photos of this event, as we are waiting for them to be released, but we rocked out some fire shows over the last weekend and have one more this week! This was a fantastic event and gave the crew an opportunity to discover the pitfalls of togas! Much adjustment on the night!

Will keep y'all posted on our next event!

See ya soon!
Ty

Return of the Club

Well...

It would seem that things have one again gotten the better of us over the last year... But let's be honest. If you look through the last little bit of our blog, you'd likely see that its a fairly common theme. However, given that this is a new year and it is actually at the start, We shall endeavor to appease the masses and make some updates! One can always be hopeful!

So, with the end of the last year, we had another change in leadership with the tragic loss of Steph and Claire, due to study related incidents. But who am I to judge?

Carrying on!

We have new people on the Committee this year, and with the wonderful powers of the Internets, I shall present them forthwith, using some of the worst photos possible!

Taking the lead this year is our new President, Beth! Or... Iron Bess... Or Amy Army! Sometimes even going by "Oi, you there!".

Coming in safely and on the new front, is the ever co-ordinated Te Rina, as our new Safety Officer

And rounding out our list of new comers is Taelon! This wonderful young man is our new fuel guard!

Unfortunately, we couldn't find a picture of him, so here is a cat pushing a watermelon out of a lake... I hope that appeases you.

Now, mainly because I'm lazy, and it saves on read length (honesty and logic is how I work), I present, in all their... Glory?
Lynelle (Performance Co-ordinator), Carolyn (Treasurer), Nicky* (Assistant Performance Co-ordinator) and of course, Ty/Myself as Secretary!

*(O.K. it is a pretty good pic of Nicky, but that girl is strangely photogenic... Or she know how to be awesome infront of a camera).


Anyway, enough of this hoohah!
The next one will have what we've been up to!

Peace!
Ty