Dances with fire: Area man spins poi

Kyle Bunster demonstrates poi fire dancing. (Photo submitted by Louis Bunster) [Click to enlarge]

When a broken femur ended his seven-year stint with skateboarding, Kyle Bunster lost a way of expressing himself. One year ago, he found an alternative.

During the past year, Bunster, 22, has been refining his skills as a poi spinner. Poi is a form of dance that traces its roots back to the Maori people of New Zealand. In its original form, women spin two tethers with weighted ends, called poi, and bounce the weights off of themselves to the rhythm of music. It has been adopted by men and women all over the world, evolving into a dance in which the poi are spun in sync with music to create complex shapes in the air.

Bunster, a Jackson native, discovered poi through a video on the Internet. He has been hooked ever since, and he said it fills the void left by skateboarding.

"It gives you that no-mind state where you can't really think about what you're doing. You just kind of feel it," Bunster said.

Bunster began learning to spin poi from a friend, but taught himself much of what he knows through experimentation and practice.

"It's a great tool for learning movement in your body," Bunster said.

Some poi spinners started using fire, and the practice grew in popularity. When poi are lit on fire, the intricate patterns made by the spinner are visible in long trails of light.

Bunster makes his own fire poi out of chains and knotted Kevlar rope dipped in a mixture of camp fuel and camp oil. The poi keep a flame for about six minutes.

But Bunster did not start out skillfully spinning flaming weights through the air.

"When anybody just starts out, you're going to hit yourself plenty. I've definitely had some rough moments where I've, you know, hit myself in the head."

Spinning fire can be dangerous, Bunster said. He has seen inexperienced people try it.

"Some people rush it and try to look cool. That's not what it's about," Bunster said.

Bunster began spinning poi at parties in St. Louis, where groups of friends gathered to perform fire arts. His fiancee, Emily Liebeknecht, performs with fire hula hoops. Bunster's first public performance was at the SADI Arts for All festival in Cape Girardeau in June. He performed indoors with plastic poi filled with color-changing LED lights. Bunster hopes to do more public performances.

This summer Bunster is offering lessons to anyone interested in learning to spin poi. He already has two students.

He can be contacted at kyle_bun@yahoo.com.

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Pertinent address:

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