We recently connected with Silver Inferno and have shared our conversation below.
Silver, appreciate you joining us today. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?
So i was first introduced to my craft in college, i saw someone spinning poi(my main prop for spinning fire) on top of a hill at sundown. She allowed me to join her and taught me what she knew of it. I mostly learned from youtube and i am self taught when it comes to fire spinning, i began doing fire poi 3 months after being introduced to poi. The process could have been sped up if i had found a community to learn from instead but i also enjoyed learning with my friend and on my own. What is most essential was honestly repetition and adapting moves to fit your own style. Not being in a community at first was definitely limiting at first, i really started to learn more when i started going to festivals and meeting other flow artist and performers. Its much easier to learn in person than on video.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
To get into the business aspect of fire performing, i began by performing at festivals, while many are unpaid, it was great for experience and exposure. I learned where to look for gigs that weren’t festival related, and how to market myself and find gigs in clubs or corporate events. I made sure to learn several different props after poi to diversify myself and be able to perform for a sufficient amount of time to keep the event entertaining and fun for the audience. What sets me apart from others is my style, i combine my skills with my props with my different styles of dance, and come up with unique moves not often seen. What im most proud of is my ability to create unique and different performances on the spot to match the mood of the event or music. No performance is ever the same, i always bring something new to the next performance or challenge myself by coming up with new moves or patterns while performing as well.
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
While i love fire performing, its not without its risks, especially if you have preexisting health conditions. For me, I shoulder problems, one of my shoulders is prone to dislocate if im not careful. During a festival performance, while spinning fire poi, my shoulder dislocated, in the middle of the burn. Seeing someone get injured during the festival can definitely change the mood of the show, do i made sure the audience couldnt tell. I switched my poi in my left hand to my right and started doing 1 handed 2 poi tricks instead. I started doing spins so no one could notice my awkward shoulder angle and proceeded to put my shoulder back in place while still spinning. I finished my performance without the audience noticing i was injured. While i do take steps to prevent it from happening sometimes you can’t control what happens, only how you react to it.
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
For me the most rewarding part of being an artist is getting to perform my craft for an audience, i enjoy seeing their reactions, i enjoy seeing if i can connect with them. I get to express myself in different ways, Getting to make the performance emotional, sad, happy, hype, can change the mood just by moving my body and props. I enjoy the control and having all eyes on me.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://linktr.ee/silverinferno
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/silver.inferno?igsh=MTc4cjFocXd3ZGl1bQ==
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/1ERiQirrM6/
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@silverdream5681?si=SnJ0iApKjscmZ3Cc
Image Credits
Tribal sounds production (fire shots)
Immortaleyez photography( led shots)