Where did this all start? I guess it was Starwood a number of years ago, I got to play with a three foot, green, flaming sword, after photographing a performance. It’s like nothing else in the world to handle something that only exists in movies and books, especially when it is starts to roar when you move it, the sound and light block out everything else and you enter a private world of movement and energy. I knew I was never going to be able to put fire down after that. I came home to find two of my best friends were actually hosting some fire performers, Ember Erebus and Flint, of the S. Vestas Circus and we were about to have two weeks of private instructions and lessons. There was no turning back.
Two years later I met my partner Gillian and we decided we had enough talented people to try to book some gigs. We managed to attract a lot of amazing attention and a few media spots got us going, now we have over 100 shows under our belts, and are seeing a group of friends becoming a trained and disciplined troupe of performers.
I specialize in “soft weapons”, nunchucks, three-section staff, rope dart, and most recently, bull-whip. “Soft” because they have moving parts, they still hurt. In martial-arts they are called “self-disciplining”, because your master doesn’t need to hit you when you mess up. Training myself to perform with these dangerous props has been no easy task, the three-section staff was really kind of brutal, one of the most taxing physical endeavors I’ve embarked on. The plus, is that you learn fast! I really like working with the unusual movements of the flexible weapons and exploring what sets them apart from other weapons and props, pushing those limits into a unique performance.