Fire performance
Performance arts involving the manipulation of fire for visual effect.
Fire performance is a group of performance arts or skills that involve the manipulation of fire, typically using equipment with wicks designed to sustain a large enough flame to create a visual effect. It includes skills based on juggling, baton twirling, poi spinning, fire breathing, fire eating, and body burning, and can be found in a wide variety of cultural traditions and rituals from around the world.
- field
- Performance arts
- known_for
- Manipulation of fire for visual effect, including juggling, poi spinning, fire breathing, and fire dancing
- earliest_mention
- Circa 10AD – 70AD at the ceremony of Simchat Beit HaShoeivah in Jerusalem
- cultural_origins
- Jewish, Aztec, Balinese, Jamaican, French Polynesian, Antiguan, Cuban, Saint Lucian, Indian (Siddha Jats), Māori, Hawaiian
Lore & Background
One of the earliest mentions of fire performance was at the ceremony of Simchat Beit HaShoeivah during the holidays of sukkot of the Second Temple by the Jews in Jerusalem circa 10AD – 70AD. It has been said about Rabbi Simeon ben Gamaliel that when he was rejoicing with the joy of the Water-Drawing he would take eight burning torches in one hand and toss them upwards; he tossed one and caught one, and never did one touch the other. Ancient Aztecs performed a fire dance dedicated to Xiuhtecuhtli, the god of fire, and this dance is performed today for tourists in Mexico. In Bali, the Angel Dance and the Fire Dance, regularly performed for tourists, have origins in ancient rituals, both originating in a trance ritual called the sanghyang, a ritual dance performed to ward off witches at the time of an epidemic.
Reader's Guide
Fire performance has grown in popularity since the mid-1990s, both for hobby and professional practitioners. Fire skills are performed at raves, nightclubs, beach parties, and music festivals, with Burning Man being especially popular among fire performers. The art has become increasingly popular as entertainment at corporate events, street festivals, celebration events, and as a precursor to firework displays. The availability of a wider variety of fire equipment and teaching methods has contributed to this growth. Traditional fire shows often incorporate Polynesian costuming and other cultural elements, while modern fire shows vary greatly from choreographed routines to street style shows with audience interaction. Fire theatre uses fire as an element of staged dramatic presentations, and other styles include fire fetish shows, erotic fire shows, ritual fire shows, and fire and belly dance. Any performance involving fire carries inherent danger and risks, and experts generally recommend fire safety precautions be taken.
Did You Know?
- One of the earliest mentions of fire performance was at the ceremony of Simchat Beit HaShoeivah in Jerusalem circa 10AD – 70AD.
- Lighting poi on fire is believed to have begun in the 1950s in Hawaii as a tourist attraction.
- The Māori people of New Zealand are considered the originators of the flow equipment 'poi', a Māori word meaning 'ball on a string'.
- The Aztec fire dance, dedicated to the god of fire Xiuhtecuhtli, is performed today for tourists in Mexico.
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