Creative industries in Washtenaw County add hundreds of millions of dollars to the local economy. In the weeks and months to come, host Deb Polich, the President and CEO of Creative Washtenaw, explores the myriad of contributors that make up the creative sector in Washtenaw County.
ABOUT CHADEWICK HARRIS:
Chadewick is a father of two and has lived in the Ypsi area for 20+ years. He is the founder of Ypsi Spin Jam and GM of Great Lakes Flow.
Ypsi Spin Jam is a seasonal free community event that takes place at Frog Island in Ypsilanti, offering free workshops and live music. We are just wrapping up its eighth year.
Great Lakes Flow is Michigan's premier, multi-disciplinary fire and flow arts retreat centered around workshops and a learning environment. With a nightly fire circle, stage performances, live music, and much more.
Our Mission
To help facilitate the growth and sharing nature of the fire and flow arts community while maintaining a safe, supportive, and inspirational environment.
Our Values
Safe ∙ Expression ∙ Supportive ∙ Community ∙ Growth ∙ Passion ∙ Fun
Founded in 2017 our first retreat was in 2018. We also host several smaller events throughout the year in the Detroit and Ypsi area. Our next event is on December 7 at Unity Vibration Triple Goddess Tasting room here in Ypsi.
We have grown over the years and now provide event production services such as projection mapping, fire/LED performance and small-scale sound and lighting.
WHAT IS FLOW ARTS?
Flow Arts is a general term used to describe the intersection of a variety of movement-based disciplines including dance, juggling, fire-spinning, and object manipulation. The broad category Flow Arts includes a variety of pursuits that harmonize skill-based techniques with creative expression to achieve a state of present-moment awareness known as Flow.
Common forms of Flow Arts include Poi & Staff spinning, hula hoop (or “hooping”), juggling, sphere manipulation (or “contact juggling”), and fan dance. New props and expressions are emerging all the time as flow artists cross pollinate with martial arts, yoga, circus, belly dance, and beyond.
Flow Toyswebsite definition
The term "flow arts" encompasses the emerging movement-based artforms that integrate dance and creative exploration of movement with skill-based prop manipulation. The Flow Arts draw from a multitude of ancient and modern movement disciplines from Maori poi spinning to modern firedancing, from martial arts and taichi to circus arts and hula hooping.
Poi is one of the flow arts' simplest and most common forms, where you swing two small weights around on cords. The physical activity feels great and the challenge of the movement engages you so fully that everything else melts away. You can pull out a pair of poi anywhere and almost immediately achieve the state of optimal experience known as "flow".
The Flow Arts are at once a sport and a leisure activity, a hobby and an obsession - a new way to dance, explore and interact with the physical world, a movement meditation practice, a fun and creative outlet, and a serious technical pursuit of mastery. For many of its practitioners, it is a way to achieve the mind-state known as “flow”, a state of optimal experience, also known as "the zone" or getting in a groove.
Many people first encounter the Flow Arts through contemporary firedancing, in which people dance with objects on fire. Firedancing naturally inspires and self-selects the sort of props and movement styles of the flow arts. Also referred to as fire spinning, twirling, and spinning (not to be confused with spinning stationary bikes), the props, tools or “toys” considered a part of the Flow Arts include poi, staffs, clubs, hoops, flower-sticks, swords, spheres, fans and levitation wands. Newer props like buugeng and dragon staffs have also emerged to create fresh possibilities.
While firedancing has inspired and attracted many to the artform, and the thrill is undeniable, most novice firedancers quickly find themselves loving the movement, and prioritizing finding their flow over playing with fire and develop a lasting flow practice with non-fire props.
No discussion on “Flow” is complete without a reference to Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (pronounced CHEEK-sent-mə-HY-ee), a leading researcher in positive psychology, who defines Flow as the mental state in which a person is fully immersed in a feeling of energized focus, full involvement, and success in the process of the activity in which he/she is engaged. According to Csikszentmihalyi, creativity is a central source of meaning in our lives. Having devoted his life to studying what makes people truly happy, Csikszentmihalyi notes that people live more fully when involved in creative pursuits, and discusses the notion of flow as the creative moment when a person is completely involved in an activity for its own sake.
The Flow Arts continually bring people to a state of Flow. The countless number of people who have picked up a pair of poi never to put them down, and who have fallen in love with the hoop or the wand at first flow attest to this awesome attribute of the flow arts.
There is something special in the Flow Arts for just about everybody at all levels of ability. Because of its very nature of exploration and mastery, the opportunities for challenge, achievement and creativity, and hence Flow, are boundless.
RESOURCES:
All Hallows Illumination of Frog Island
TRANSCRIPTION:
Deb Polich: This is 89 one WEMU, and it's time for creative:impact, WEMU's exclusive show that showcases the artists, creative people, businesses and organizations that make Washtenaw County a great place to create, live, work, learn, play and visit. I'm Deb Polich, president and CEO of Creative Washtenaw and your host. You know, one of my favorite things about this show is that it's a surprise to me, I even discover new art forms. And this is one of those days. So, this is All Hallows Eve or, more familiarly, Halloween. My guest is Chadewick Harris. He's the founder of Ypsi Spin Jam and the general manager of Great Lakes Flow. What do spinning and flow have to do with All Hallows Eve? We'll find that out together in just a minute. But first, let's welcome Chadewick. Chadewick, welcome to the show.
Chadewick Harris: Good morning. Thank you for having me.
Deb Polich: Yeah, Glad you're here. So, I'm really delighted that Margaret Woodard, my colleague at Creative Washtenaw, suggested that we have you on the show. And flow arts is an all-encompassing name for your art form--frankly, something I'd never heard about before this week. But thanks to the Internet, I was excited to find out that flow includes dance, juggling and fire spinning--you had me at fire spinning. Flow has roots in ancient and modern movement disciplines. What can you tell us about its origins and how it's evolved?
Chadewick Harris: Well, flow arts come from a bunch of different cultures, really, that have influenced different things. Now, there is all different kinds of props that people use based off of some martial arts weapons from the past, or just things made for manipulation and just to let cool.
Deb Polich: Just to look cool. I love that! I love that! So, was it fire? What brought you into connecting you to flow?
Chadewick Harris: Mainly, I saw some people do it over the years spinning with fire. And I was like, "I could do that." And there was a girl involved at one point, too.
Deb Polich: I'm surprised at how often there's a member of the opposite sex or a love interest in any of these things. So, was it fire first for you? Or did you start juggling or doing other things?
Chadewick Harris: Um, I guess I started juggling balls a long time ago, just randomly, and I kind of fell off of that, but then found fire and flow arts and started off with Poi, which is like pretty much balls on strings that you swing around and started doing fire pretty quickly after practicing with that.
Deb Polich: Of course, most of us are taught never to play with fire. And you erased that for sure. And then, you started doing that work and then Ypsi Spin Jam. Was that the first thing that you started to develop? I know you're also with Great Lakes Flow.
Chadewick Harris: Yes. Ypsi Spin Jam would be the beginning of all that, really. We started that in 2016, I believe, and it just wrapped up its eighth year. It's always a free event that we hold at Frog Island weekly during the warmer months.
Deb Polich: Oh, so it's not just some once of the year thing. It's more often. Oh, I didn't realize that. Well, that's pretty cool. And so, the Ypsi Spin Jam is--you said you started that, but you're also with a group called Great Lakes Flow. What's that all about?
Chadewick Harris: Great Lakes Flow is kind of came from Ypsi Spin Jam. We decided we wanted to throw a yearly festival slash retreat type of thing that is based around learning and sharing skills with each other. We have a bunch of workshops--around 100, give or take--every year, and then we have a fire circle with music later on at night and everybody practices what they learn. And it's a big sharing community. And everyone's very happy to share your new tricks.
Deb Polich: Sounds like a blast. Are young people involved with it? Do they get to take lessons and learn from you all?
Chadewick Harris: There's definitely some young people that do get into it. My children, a little bit, play with props, but not as much as you would think maybe.
Deb Polich: Yeah. Right.
Chadewick Harris: But there are definitely kids that get into it. We have some children in the fire circle on occasion.
Deb Polich: 89 one WEMU's creative impact continues. Ypsilanti's Chadewick Harris is our guest. He's the founder of the Ypsilanti Spin Jam, and they are the featured performers at the Ypsilanti's All Hallows Illumination of Frog Island on November 1st. So, let's get to that event: the All Hallows Illumination of Frog Island. I did a little research and found out that the tradition of Halloween is very well-known here and celebrated here with ghosts and goblins and witches and lanterns and all that stuff. But, according to the Library of Congress, these traditions are rooted in an ancient Gaelic pagan festival that welcomed the harvest at the end of the summer. But people also would light bonfires and wear costumes to ward off the ghosts. Then Pope Gregory, the third declared November 1st as All Hallows Day--hallows meaning saints. Thus, the pagan ritual was rebranded as All Hallows Eve and then became our modern-day Halloween. Today, this All Hallows Eve is in the shadow of Halloween, but it's still really important to a lot of cultures and religions, including the more joyous Mexican celebration of El Dia de los Muertos, or the Day of the Dead. What prompted you to start this event on November 1st?
Chadewick Harris: Really, it was Jeanette Rooke who reached out to us and was like, "We want to do this event, and would you guys like to be part of it?" So, she does a lot of the organization and gets funds from different sponsors and the city and facilitates getting rid of all the jack o' lanterns at the end of the event.
Deb Polich: We do have to watch that, don't we? Disposal of items. So, when I prepare for an event, I like to imagine myself being the customer, walking through it and experiencing it in my mind, so I can make sure that we're well prepared for something. So, take us through that journey. So, we get to Frog Island. And what do we see? And what do we experience?
Chadewick Harris: Well, first off, we encourage people to bring their old jack o' lanterns to line the ampitheater steps there and around the stage some. And those all get lit up. So, when you're walking in, you may have your jack o' lanterns. There's already going to be some there. We have lit up all the trees around the area. We're going to have a like a black light area to play on in this year. And the stage will be filled with performances. There'll be fire, music and more fire.
Deb Polich: More fire. I do enjoy the idea of more fire. And your group will be doing the fire? Or what will you be doing?
Chadewick Harris: We bring in all the lighting and the sound and music and fire and all the entertainment aspects.
Deb Polich: Excellent! That's been going on for a few years. It starts at 7 p.m. Just a dark time. And is it a crowd? I mean, is it families?
Chadewick Harris: Yeah. It's very family-oriented and can get a good crowd going there. We definitely get a lot of people through the night. Not everyone hangs out for real long, but a decent amount of people hang out for the show.
Deb Polich: So, I'm curious, I mean, do people come to this and then, by the next year, are they in the show, or do they want to be on the show? Do they come for you for lessons and things?
Chadewick Harris: We do provide lessons, but most people come and hang out and just hear the thing. We do get some people from the community and add to our show. This year, we are going to have a lot more performers than years past because we don't have Black Jake and the Carnies this year. So, we filled it in with a little bit more performance.
Deb Polich: Okay, so I have to ask. If I was ever brave enough to do something with fire, where would I start? What would be the first thing I'd learn how to do?
Chadewick Harris: There's a lot of different props you can work with, really. Generally, you'd want to pick what prop you want to play with and practice.
Deb Polich: And you practice it before it's on fire? Or you don't do the fire right away?
Chadewick Harris: Ideally, you have a little practice before you light up. And you definitely need a fire safety, and you need to be in all organic materials, ideally, so that they don't melt to your skin.
Deb Polich: That sounds like a plan.
Chadewick Harris: We suggest all organic materials and an experienced fire safety and a place like Ypsi Spin Jam or our retreat or Detroit Fire Collective in Detroit are great places to go and have experienced people keep you safe. And then, the Fire Collective in Detroit actually does a fire safety meeting at the beginning or halfway through their event every month or so.
Deb Polich: That makes so much sense. Well, I have to tell you. I think we're going to pack up the grandkids and bring them over to Frog Island tomorrow. And, you know, I may....who knows if I'll ever pick up something with fire on it or not? Chadewick, thanks so much for being with us, and giving us kind of a peek into what this event is about. I wish you success tomorrow and then, you know, future years as well. Thank you.
Chadewick Harris: Thank you.
Deb Polich: That's Ypsilanti's Chadewick Harris. Find out more about him, the Ypsi Spin Jam and the details for Ypsilanti's All Hallows Illumination of Frog Island at WEMU dot org. You've been listening to creative:impact. I'm Deb Polich, president and CEO of Creative Washtenaw and your host. Mat Hopson is our excellent producer. Please join us every Tuesday to meet the people who make Creative Washtenaw creative. This is 89 one WEMU Ypsilanti. Public radio from Eastern Michigan University.
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