Will somebody pinch me?

[palidances]

Has your state of existence for months on end ever seemed too good to be true? Have you ever not only met your longest held icon and idol but become excellent personal friends and joined him/her in the very thing that you worship him/her for?

This May I traveled to Bali, Indonesia, to study poi with Nick Woolsey. I had been watching his videos for years and always loved his style. Upon arrival I found him as approachable and friendly as I imagined he was, and not only did I get to polish my poi a ton, but also found him great to talk to and be around.

When I returned to the states after my 10-day visit, we continued communications. He invited me to come visit him in Vancouver in July to help teach a beginner series and serve as his fire tech for a festival where he was performing, and I delightfully consented. It was highly educational to see how he ran his poi classes, and great fun to go camping with him!

While there, he asked me to come to Halifax in August to help him with a series of shows at the Halifax International Busker Festival. He was to put on a half hour show twice a day for ten days, which is a lot for just one person. I agreed, and it was a blast! I put out tools, made and lit circles of fire jelly, worked a fire puppet, spun a fire hula hoop, and even performed fire rope duets with him.

As the summer comes to a close, I find myself so thankful that I was able to travel to Bali and meet this amazing walking gift to the art of poi! What could next summer bring?