Visual Poi & Fire Show @ Brampton, ON Tree Lighting

I swear, Canada's this bastion of artistic acceptance. Everything from the lack of red-tape to cut through in order to perform legally as an American to the social acceptance of "Artist" as a job title.

I had the pleasure to perform for the City of Brampton at their annual Tree Lighting event. There were ballet dancers, character actors, and laser shows. I was there to main stage a Visual Poi show, immediately followed by a fire show. The crew even went out of their way to provide a canvas tarp to roll out for the fire breathing finale - in order to help keep the stage clean and clear for the act immediately following.

The crowd was nice and appreciative. I do believe they had it down - no one wants this 15-30 minute show. Audiences only have the attention span these days to focus for 4-7 minutes per act, tops. I may need to start trying to educate the American clients I work with to adopt a similar attitude, though I understand that to their mind it's a "band-for-your-buck" sort of mentality.

Will I get to do this again? I'm unsure. I would like to, but I suppose it really depends on whether or not someone more local steps up to fill the specific performance roll that was left empty with Terrance Drake retired.

Fire Eating & Circus Performance @ Shyamaween 2016

It's always a pleasure to perform as part of the Boston Circus Guild! Once again I had the honor to head out to Philadelphia, PA to perform for M. Night Shyamalan's non-profit's Halloween bash. Unlike last year I was cleared to welcome the VIPs in with a fire eating set - though I admit that true to form, most attendees made a bee-line for the bar; hardly acknowledging either myself or my friend Ryan Freeze who was embodying this phenomenal Steampunk stilt-walker.

After the VIP reception we moved across the street to the main venue, The Foundry at the Filmore, and I made sure to stake my claim on the dance floor before it filled up to get some LED poi spinning in. After the crowd thickened I switched over to contact juggling, while Marina Petrano and Melissa Knowles continued to, quite literally, fit themselves into smaller and smaller spaces (that's how the contortionists DO).

I got to close the night's performances with my whip routine, cracking the heads off of roses. The came right on the tale of the auction, and well into the night when the audience was perhaps... less inhibited than they could be. Still, everyone was well behaved, and after Marina helped demonstrate some fancy contortion positions, we were able to get a few attendees up on stage to try it for themselves!

As with last year, I'm excited to have this opportunity again in 2017!

Wedding Fire Show @ Hammond Castle

When a client comes to me and asks if I can perform my fire show for their dark, gothic, faerie wedding celebration, and follows it up by telling me it's at a castle; I cannot accept quickly enough.

There's not too much to say about this. It was beautiful. Hot, sweaty, but beautiful. Day-time fire is always a tad odd, but the audience was incredibly appreciative, being more than happy to interact in a more personal way than is often the case. Fire eating a foot or so away from someone is a vastly different experience than fire eating from the safety of a stage.

The bride herself was the direct client, and easily the most excitable person there, along with being a stellar audience member - there wasn't anything that made her happier than to see a giant fireball go off during her procession.