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