Camp Fire is an annual retreat located in Minnesota. It serves as a focal point for the performing arts community to gather and transmit the experience of collective and individual transformation through active participation in expressive forms of communication with the ultimate goal of promoting conscious living and a culture of sustainability.
Camp Fire’s goal is to bring the community together to expand our understanding of movement-based knowledge through education offered in workshops and through peer sharing. Refine your technique and experience others passionate about their art and get inspired.
Carl Sparkz
Taught at:
- FLAME
- Campfire
- Kinetic Fire
What’s your secret power?
- What’s my secret? My open-minded weirdness of course! I open up the floor and welcome all those that surround me to be the best weird they can be! I love to encourage the self conscious to express their inner freak and not feel ashamed of it. My teaching methods vary from audience to audience, because well everyone learns in different ways, and I always aim to ensure that my students are taking the learning lesson home with them to continue practicing on their own.
In terms of flow: If I’m 100% connected with my prop, then who cares what others think I look like?
I aspire to inspire the world to express themselves entirely.
When you aren’t a flow superhero, what is your Clark Kent alias?
- I’m a Jane of all trades. A diligent worker in many service industry fields, but my favorite ‘muggle’ alias is always being a nanny. The innocent creativity seeping out the children’s pores fuels my drive in turning this world into a less self-doubting place.
What are your main classes?
- Unleash Your Dancing Spirit: Based on the belief that everyone can dance and that it comes from within no matter how much experience or exposure one has. This class also aims to help dancers add texture and variations to their moves. Dance /Movement.
- Space Exploration: Based on the belief that the entire world, its contents and all, is our dance floor (stage). And that the empty or ‘negative’ space around us is absolutely usable in our dance. Dance /Movement.
- The Absolute Beginner’s Hoop Guide: This class aims to provide the absolute hooping beginner enough material to continue their own journey at home. I explain terminology, planes, basic tricks of the trades, and the advice many ‘OG’ hoopers wish they had known when starting.
Additional Teaching:
- Children’s Hoop Workshops at Harmony Park’s Project Earth Gathering, and Shangri~La Music Festival (MN)
- Hoop Dance Workshop at the Illumination Station during Shangri~La (MN)
- Flow Camp (KY)
- Alchemy: Regional Burn (GA)
- But truthfully, I teach wherever I go. Anytime someone comes up to me with a question, I find myself teaching them five more things than anticipated and making friends with them.
“I truly feel honored to be among the top five [for Campfire]. I look forward to what the future holds for the progression of our community.”
Charlie Faraday
Taught at:
- Campfire
What’s your secret power?
- In terms of teaching, I’m a big dork who likes math and puppets: normally this combination is horrifying, but somehow I think it works. A lot of things are jerks who want to crap all over your day (the fabric, gravity, physics in general) and you just have to outsmart them.
When I perform in the air, I gravitate toward strong emotional pieces with weird elbowy body shapes. When I perform on the ground I’m usually a really really dumb clown. (REALLY dumb)
When you aren’t a flow superhero, what is your Clark Kent alias?
- I’m always Superman! Sometimes I play producer, costumer, seamstress, music editor, choreographer, etc, but I killed my mild-mannered alter ego long ago. Long ago…
What are your main classes?
- The Physics of SpinStudents apply the principles of torque, the moment of inertia, and angular momentum to spinning and orbiting movement to improve the look, integrity, and ease of spinning skills.
- Fabric/Rope Drop DevelopmentAdvanced students learn methods for creating and safely testing their own variations on common drops, then create brand new drops that are uniquely theirs.
- Hip Circle TechniqueStudents study each part of the hip circle rotation and learn how momentum is gained, then perform a progression of drills that leads them to clean and reliable hip circles while minimizing discomfort.
Additional Teaching:
- Darker Marker Productions (my studio)
- The Stomping Ground
- Web-based coaching
“Thank you A THOUSAND thank yous to the staff and everyone who attended Campfire this year. I had to leave the festival for a few hours to go to my first appointment at the Mayo Clinic where I later had a grapefruit-sized tumor cut out of my belly. Teaching, performing, and connecting with all the lovely people at the festival kept me a little more sane than I would have been. I love you fantastic people!!!”
“Btw, I’m now tumorless, healed, and back in the air where I belong!! While I was grounded, I made a miniseries.”
Facebook |www.charliefaraday.com | Tutorials
Emily Perkins – Perkulator
Taught at:
- FLAME
- Campfire
What’s your secret power?
- My secret power is having a ton of somewhat obsessive energy to burn and a passion for growth- the growth of myself, my community, expression, society, and the world. I am excited about all forward progress, and because of that, I work hard to ensure I don’t get in my own way. I see this benefitting my teaching, performance, practice, and business. The less shitty I am, the more effectively I can help everyone else become less shitty!
When you aren’t a flow superhero, what is your Clark Kent alias?
- I suppose in the way of a “day job,” performing is what makes the most money for me each year. So I guess I don’t really have a Clark Kent, I’m just always Superman….YES, childhood dreams achieved! (No one told me about the crippling periods of self doubt though, wtf)
What are your main classes?
- Foot Tricks! Learn to pick up, transition, spin, toss and catch hoops with your feet. Great for creating fresh textures in your hoop dance.
- Intro to 3 Hoop3 Hoop is all the rage right now- let’s dive in and figure out the basic vocabulary for creating 3 hoop manipulations!
- Twin Hoop TexturesLots of fun hybrids, two hoops in one hand, and other shapes which can build into even more fun and exciting twin hoop manipulations.
Additional Teaching:
- MinneFLOWta
- Spin Summit
- Flowmotion Symposium
- European Juggling Convention
“Thank you thank you thank you!”
Frank Fortney
Taught at:
- Kinetic Fire
- Campfire
What’s your secret power?
- I figured out how to harness the power of creative visualization in order to allow myself (and others) to practice at times that they used to see as wasted time. Additionally, I have mapped out 8 Step CAPs into a chart that can be read and translated to any double props.
When you aren’t a flow superhero, what is your Clark Kent alias?
- Definitely nothing as cool as being a Science teacher, I make pizzas at my local Pizza Hut. It’s still really fun though because I can toss dough and juggle the cheese cups and quality rings.
What are your main classes?
- 8 Step CAPsAn 8 Step CAP is a complex pattern that can be done with most double props. This workshop aims to teach you the hand paths of these 8 step CAPs so you are able to read, write, and understand the inner workings of an 8 step CAP. With this knowledge, it should not be difficult to translate these patterns to the prop of your choice.
- Diabolo 101An introductory course on a not-so-common prop. Participants don’t need their own props as I have extras. By the end of the workshop, you’ll be wanting one of your own though because you’ll know how to get it started on the string and how to do a few cool tricks!
- How to Spin NothingThis workshop channels the power of creative visualization to help you refine your techniques at… well… just about anything. While we will focus on using this to better our flow artistry, the same principle can be applied to just about any area of your life that requires practice. I can’t tell you too much, otherwise, you wouldn’t need the workshop. See you there!
Additional Teaching:
- Let me start by saying that the classes I taught at Kinetic Fire were renegade classes, just in case you intended on looking at the lineup to find me.
- Flow Motion Chiller
- The Spin Summit
- PlayThink
- So Ill Flow
- Hyperion
- Flow Camp
- Mo Flow
- Flow Motion Symposium
Katrina Gay
Taught at:
- Campfire
- Fahrenheit
What’s your secret power?
- My best secret power is being a professional hippie cat wrangler! For real… this power is magical!
My second is pure passion and creativity!
Third… I always wear a watch. Seriously, nobody ever knows what time it is!
When you aren’t a flow superhero, what is your Clark Kent alias?
- When I am home I am a Certified Nursing Assistant in a short term rehabilitation company for senior recoveries after surgeries or other needs. I am also a certified Medical Assistant, Phlebotomist, and EKG Technician.
When I don’t have my big girl pants on at home I’m an artist of costuming, hair, makeup, and jewelry! 🙂
What are your main classes?
- What the Weave, Fan? – A Beginner/Intermediate Class of exploration of all the different weaves you can do and then putting then together.
- Dancing With Your Fans 360 Style – An Intermediate Class of multiple moves you can do while turning in a 360 circle to allow more dance movement.
- FAN-cy Combos! – An all level class where I break down my personal favorite combo of moves!
Additional Teaching:
- Flowida Flow Fest
- Wildfire May and August
- Fahrenheit
- Campfire
- Flow Camp
- Florida Flow Fest
- FlowMotion Symposium
Organized:
- FLAME
- Kinetic
- So. Ill.
- NEFF
- Flow Camp – Director
“I cannot thank everyone enough who has helped me in this magical journey. Just the recognition alone has motivated me to do even MORE in the future to help this community grow! Love you guys!”