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Hi Mitch,

Ive been there with you many times and you are a most lovely flagger, and have never been one to impose yourself in anyone’s space. You wrote a wonderful and very diplomatic letter, and I think the Tracks management will respond positively. Let’s just hope this is not “new policy” but a bad night on the part of a clueless night manager. Many of us flag & fan before the “main crowd” gets there in our clubs, as it is sad that more clubs dont feature/allow more flagger-friendly space. Since Nation closed, Washington DC has been a very poor city for flagging in clubs.  We have to resort to going to other cities to flag!

It is quite a blow to one’s heart & ego, when asked to cease our flagging.  It is still one of  the things that mystifies me about flagging, especially in popular GLBT venues. Good luck & I hope this is quickly resolved in your favor!

Your buddy & brother in art and dance,

Jack Gerard

To Issa and Peggy, and all of the other excellent posters that have
spoken up on this "silk thread", thank you!

I wanted to say that this has dramatically opened up quite a dialogue
that perhaps could have happened even sooner than this:
the inevitable merging of two very similar artistic cultures, but
each with its own unique social characteristics. Poi Spinning is a
bit "different" to most of us that flag & fan in a more traditional
GLBT setting. I started noticing poi spinners at Grateful Dead shows
several years back. And then, before I ever flagged, I was amazed by
the poi & glostix spinners at raves & alternative music gatherings.
The glowstix on strings could be frightening to some, because of the
distance required to stand back. It is similar, but in a different
way it required more room, than that required by flaggers. Then many
clubs started to ban "glostix on strings" and I was one of those
pissed off by that rule, even though this protected the club owners.
Then I learned to flag & fan from a few of my dear mothers and
daddies, brothers and sisters, which I will truly treasure and be
eternally thankful for.

However, since many clubs no longer allow glostix on strings, it is
harder to mentor and teach poi in a club-like setting. One has to
seek out more alternative dance festivals & gatherings like many held
in the Portland and San Francisco areas. And at Burning Man. Many are
held outdoors. And one very big event is held every New Year’s in San
Francisco. That is called Sea of Dreams. And on the East Coast, we
have Gaian Mind once a year at Four Quarters Farm.

I’m trying to make a couple of points here. I am fascinated by this
growing art form, and want to see more of it. Not many of us can get
to one of these festivals for various reasons. The hippie/alternative
lifestyle may be off-putting to many of us, but the ART is definitely
there, and well worth SHARING with more of us! And if it is taught
in a structured setting, that is great. And to effectively teach
some to future instructors, that is even better!

Last year in May of 2007, I attended the Texas Flaggers Workshop in
Dallas, and was amazed at how many of our group have done some poi,
and how several regularly practice poi. At our after-hours pool
party 12 or 13 of our group performed fire poi – and two people did
it for the very first time! It was truly fascinating and mesmerizing.
So if Issa can teach more folks to carry the torch to other areas of
the country and the world, and make it more "mainstream", that would
be wonderful. Don’t we all love to go to Cirque Du Soleil and see it
performed? I could not make it this year to the Texas Flagger
Workshop, but I know that Issa was there. This merging of the
poi/flagger/fanning community is inevitable, healthy and so
exciting! Perhaps most of us will never be able to perform with fire
at clubs, but just to see regular poi being performed artistically in
dance festivals and clubs is welcomed.

We can all learn (and teach) even more from each other.

With love & respect,
Jack Gerard WDC

I’m just trying to get a guage on who in Spin Tribe (and their friends)
are planning on going to The Saint At Large SALEM Halloween Party on
Sat. November 1st at Roseland. The website does not list DJ’s, or does
Box Office Tix, but I hear it will be Junior Vasquez & Jonathan Peters.
Is that correct? Please reply back if you have any comments and if you
have heard if folks are going. Thanks!
Jack Gerard WDC

Cindy, THANKS for sharing this fabulous U-Tube video with us.
And HATS OFF to Kris Kono, you are beautiful in this! I hope to see
many of y’all at The Black Party and/or at Odyssey with Susan Morabito!
Jack Gerard WDC

Hello Folks,
Of those of you that attended the MAL Reaction dance, Joe Morris found one pair of flags about 2 ‘ by 3 ‘ with white and blue squares with some yellow/orange mixed in.  He said that someone left a stack of flags on top of his bag, and he separated them out… but when he got home there was one pair in his bag that are not his.  Please reply to this post @ Spin Tribe, and/or to Joe Morris at cuirlash@…  or his cell # 202 255 3657
Joe lives in Washington.  And if you know someone that lost a pair, and they dont see/view this site, please let them know, OK?
Thanks so much, Jack Gerard for Joe Morris

— Access Central TV Team <accesscentraltv@…> wrote:
>
> How far away is DC from NYC, haven’t driven there in a while.
>
> Mykel
>

Hi Mykel
It is a 4-4 1/2 hour drive (depending on weekend traffic) , or about
200 miles. Train is easier, but much more expensive.

Hello folks,
If anyone is in DC for MAL weekend in January (during MLK, JR.
weekend)…does anyone know yet if they will provide stage access
again this year for fanners & flaggers? The Reaction Dance on Sunday
will again be held at The 930 Club, and last year they made a special
arrangement for the stage all night for fanners/flaggers! It was
fabulous, and so was Warren Gluck. Warren, if you read this, can you
please reply with a post to Spin Tribe and/or to me directly?

Thanks so much & Happy New Year!
Jack Gerard
Silver Spring, MD

Edited with love by the moderator