In the beginning, there was... fire!

People have been fascinated by fire from the beginning of time. Keeping it alive and rekindling it was one of primary inventions in prehistoric times of our civilization. As a source of light and heat, it has incessantly played a significant role in our lives, however it has also been used in the increasing number of brand new areas, an example of which is the use of fire during circus and juggling performances.

Records about fire-eaters or people walking on red hot coals have been found already in the works coming from antiquity. The earliest recorded and renown fire-walking event took place over 4,000 years ago in India. Later records speak about such shows organized in Ancient Rome as well as they mention African rites using fire walking. Fire eating, on the other hand, has been widely used by fakirs and in Voodoo rites and rituals. Fire shows and rites with the use of flames have always drawn countless crowds of watchers. Over the years, the audience got much more demanding and the artists were forced to prepare new, much more diversified and startling shows. Luckily, human awareness as well as technology have advanced great deal since that time and right now we can watch extremely impressive fire shows.

Show must go on!

First of all however, let us think what a "fireshow" means? It is a cluster of two English words.

And so, a "fireshow" is to show us fire. However, the media have excessively used the word ‘show’ to denominate ‘something presented with great pomp and ceremony’. Therefore, such a show must be something more than just a mere coming out into the street with a torch. Fire has become something ordinary in our minds; today, it can be lit be everyone, it is enough to buy a box of matches at a newsagent’s. That is why, it must be tamed in a spectacular manner employing an aesthetic and attractive form, often giving the audience shivers down the spine. Nobody will be delighted with a waving stick with a burning rag at the end anymore, there must be something more to it…

We burn more and more

Human creativity has no limits and so it continually gives rise to new developments making the show even more attractive. Over the centuries, performers dealing with this type of juggling, who started from crude torches, arrived at a whole host of specialist devices. And this is how ‘poi’ – balls set on fire attached to chains allowing to spin complicated fire figures was born, together with batons with ends set on fire which can be spinned with dizzying speed, thrown high in the air or rolled across the body in a dignified manner, or fans on fire which perfectly match graceful moves of the human body. These comprise the most popular elements used in fire shows, however creativity of the ‘fire people’ is unsurrpassable and so we can watch all types of fire swinging devices, some of them more spectacular and original than others, used by performers during the shows. That’s all very fine, but is it really safe? And at this point, we are rescued by…

Technology

The 20th and 21st centuries were the boom of technical developments. Fire shows have used them as well. Until not long ago, in our country fire blankets were widely used which, as it later turned out, had been made of carcinogenic asbestos. This material is resistant to high temperatures and absorbs fuel very well, therefore it was believed that it may very well replace rags which were attached to devices dipped in different fuels and set on fire during shows. However, the fact that it was extremely harmful to human health determined its exclusion from use as a common showing device. Fortunately, in 1965 in France kevlar, a revolutionary material was developed. Kevlar is an aramid used for spinning synthetic fibres displaying very high tensile strength. And this property determined its popular use in the manufacture of safety clothes and even bulletproof vests. It also displays a number of features in which artists using fire during their performances became interested. As it is non-flammable in temperatures of over 400°C and it displays excellent absorption of different liquids. At the same time, it is manufactured as an elastic textile of different thickness and sizes. These features determined its use in fire shows and replacement of carcinogenic asbestos. Firmly attached to proper handles, it is soaked in low-temperature fuels (most often, white paraffin oil) and set on fire. In this manner, you obtain a relatively safe, sound and harmless to your health device to perform in front of the audience.

Fire theatre? Fire dancing? Or maybe theatrical fire dancing?

As with any other artistic activity, there are artists who are less and more advanced, with different concepts and ideas for their artistic image. Although some of them prefer solo performances, association in the so called „Fire show groups” has become increasingly popular. Many groups beside having their own name (usually very mysterious and very often including Latin or other loanwords more or less related with fire) use a kind of explanatory nicknames such as “fire theatre” or “fire dancing group”. There would be nothing wrong with that, if not for the fact that usually these groups present very poor quality at the beginning. They find it difficult to include these art forms in their shows and their performances are completely at odds with theatrical and dancing forms.

Looking ahead...

Luckily, there are groups which have mastered the technical aspects and which startle us with highly attractive and unconventional performances. It really doesn’t matter whether the group went in for theatrical, dancing or miming experience or simply offers excellent entertainment to their audience. What matters, is that they should enjoy it as much as the audience who can appreciate a well-prepared performance. Let us hope that fire shows in Poland will continue to flourish and leave us blown away with the new ideas.

By: Marcin "Kot" Kawecki

References:

1. Website devoted to fire walking, http://www.spacerpoogniu.com

2. Wikipedia – the free encyclopedia (Polish), http://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page

3. Wikipedia – the free encyclopedia (English), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page