Poi Dancing: The Beginner Series

Learn and Master the Fundamentals of Poi with Nick Woolsey

Bestseller

(1,183 ratings)

3,231 students

Created by Nick Woolsey

Last updated 2/2018

English

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30-Day Money-Back Guarantee

What you'll learn

play freely and confidently with all the basic moves of poi spinning

Requirements

Just dress comfortably and find some space to practice. You'll learn about making or ordering practice poi when you start the course!

Description

Poi is a form of dance, where weights on the ends of tethers are swung through rhythmical patterns. Join renowned poi-teacher Nick Woolsey to learn and master the fundamental moves and transitions of poi! Move your body while enriching your mind!

Each section of the course includes 12-20 videos, guiding you through Nick's proven system. The lessons will cover many moves such as weaves, windmills, butterfly patterns, buzzsaws, and fountains, along with techniques for developing skill with turns, sequences, and transitions.

For those of you who already know some moves, this course is a great way to deepen your control of planes, rhythm, and freedom of movement, and to discover and learn all the moves missing from your poi movement vocabulary.

Who this course is for:

This course is for complete beginners, or those who know some of the basic moves, but still can't dance freely with poi.

14 sections • 187 lectures • 13h 7m total length

Preview02:17
Preview05:58
Preview02:42
Directions, orientation, and how to follow these videos
03:41

The first thing you should do with your poi...
02:12
The second thing you should do with your poi: Hit yourself, a lot
02:17
Warming up while exploring the Modes of Movement
06:55
Swinging, spinning, and controlling the plane of one poi
05:49
Crossing one poi forward
04:24
Crossing one poi backward
04:38
Turning freely with one poi
04:58
Same-direction same-time turns: high and low
04:46
Same-same turn: poi down behind the shoulders
05:42
Same-same turn: poi up behind the hips
07:15
Crossing both poi together, forward and backward
05:44
Crossing poi forward split-time (2-beat weaves)
06:30
Give backward split-time crossing a try
02:04
Using the world around you for poi feedback
02:48
Summary of phase ONE
00:49

Posture and Poi-Fu for Poi
03:53
Introducing Poi-Fu, starting with "Poitruvian Arms"
05:37
Turning back-and-forth with arms circling split-time same-direction
04:27
Circling your arms in opposite directions
05:25
Stall and reverse #1 - Getting started
07:03
Exploring the modes of poi movement
06:46
bending planes, and split-time butterfly
04:53
Smoothing out the same-time turns
05:47
Practicing all the variables of same-time turns
04:53
Learning same-time butterfly, starting with the arms
05:18
Exploring same-time butterfly further
03:53
3-beat weave lead-up #1
05:44
3-beat weave lead-up #2
05:14
Keep exploring freedom with one poi
02:10
If you are having trouble controlling your planes.... find the Berlin Wall!
02:20
Summary of PHASE TWO
01:47

Practicing poitruvian arms
04:59
Poi-fu: Turning with arms in split-time same-direction
03:24
Stall and reverse #2 - Getting smooth
02:34
Introducing Jiggies
02:48
Crossing one poi front to back, over the head
05:22
Introducing Reels (Looping the same-time turns)
05:31
The forward 3-beat weave
06:21
Forward 3-Beat Weave: Overhead Slow Motion
01:00
Backward 2-beat weaves
04:51
Backward 3-beat-weave lead-ups
04:26
Split time turns in front
03:55
Controlling poi with the arms crossed
02:27
Getting cozy with the super important thumbs-inward-behind-the-back position
03:12
Exploring how to circle the hand and poi on a plane
03:44
Q&A: Developing backward split-time rhythm
03:26
Summary of phase THREE
01:47

Warm Up
07:35
Practicing turning footwork
04:50
Practicing poi-fu: opposites and same direction split time
05:19
Reviewing turning in a circle: How many steps? Where's the weight?
06:56
Stall and reverse #3 - Wall plane
04:50
Practicing the reels and chase the sun
05:31
Adding poi to poitrivian
06:52
Introducing crosspoints
04:10
Backward 3-beat weave
04:11
Backward 3-Beat Weave: Slow Motion from Above
01:02
Split-time turns behind
03:52
Threading the Needle with Butterfly
03:22
Thread the Needle: Inward and Outward: Slow-Motion from Above
00:56
Further with split-time butterfly, inward and outward
04:56
Tips on not getting dizzy
04:04
When to whirl and when to shuffle
01:27
Q&A: Answering a great question about crosspoints
02:18
Summary of phase FOUR
01:15

Turning through a full circle, arms split-time same direction on a wall plane
03:38
Poi-fu: Introducing split-time opposites
02:39
Learning the split-time reels
03:27
Exploring the 3-beat weave
03:08
following the weaves with your body
03:32
Butterfly over the head
04:55
Getting started with Mexican Wave
05:59
Getting into windmill from poi passing the toes
03:36
Windmill: Slow Motion from Above
00:45
Learning corkscrew
04:27
Corkscrew and windmill... are basically the same thing!
02:54
Turning between the weaves from hanging poi (if the last approach didn't work)
03:16
Turning between the weaves... by hugging little teddy bears
03:41
Turning between the weaves: Troubleshooting a common mistake
05:51
Q&A: More on keeping poi same-time
04:26
Q&A: Keeping planes controlled while turning with reels
02:43
Summary of phase FIVE
01:09

Epic poi-fu warmup and exploration of the modes
04:33
Pirouette progression continued
02:44
Poi-fu: Split time opposites: getting ready to turn (the secret!)
02:30
Keep working on reverse right, reverse left patterns
01:43
Turning with poitruvian poi
03:30
More in-depth video for learning split-time hip reels
04:25
Split time hip reels, counterclockwise!
02:33
Playing with reels, chase the sun, and extensions
06:15
Further with Mexican Wave
04:27
Further with thread the needle
05:02
Slowing down and beautifying corkscrew
04:09
Keeping your shoulders safe during big movements
04:00
Q&A: More tips on poitruvian and turning
02:26
Summary of phase SIX
01:12

Warm up
08:29
Footwork: Pirouette progression part #4
03:41
Thoughts on knee safety when turning on cement
04:21
Knee safety on cement continued
03:40
Stalling and reversing one poi inside a spinning poi on wall plane
04:31
Once you start reversing left, reversing right... let go of picking-a-direction
01:42
Poi-fu: split-time opposites: Turning from inward to outward
03:50
Developing circle and plane control while learning buzzsaw
05:09
The 6-beat fountain
02:23
Jiggies into pirouettes
05:36
Split-time butterfly: crossing one poi out and back
04:06
Beginning to whirl with the reels!
06:27
Freedom with opposites
04:30
Q&A: Making sure thread the needle is smooth both ways
03:39
Summary of phase SEVEN
01:24

Stalling and reversing #4 (with your arms crossed)
04:40
Whirling with full pirouettes (getting ready to add poi)
05:13
Turning 180º with split-time butterfly
03:24
Fountain with full windmill
02:07
Looping the fountain-with-full-windmill so you can follow along
02:39
Split-time butterfly: taking it further with turning
03:31
Crosspoints above the head close to a wall
02:51
Butterfly behind the back
04:09
More on butterfly behind the back
05:47
Giant butterfly
03:32
Sky Camera view of forward and backward weave plus turning
02:25
Sky Camera view of turning in the weaves next to a wall
01:40
Sky view of threading the needle
01:54
Summary of phase EIGHT
00:34

More left-right goodness: One poi spinning, the other poi extenduluming
04:12
Keeping body comfortable while hands are behind back
05:36
Reviewing the fountain counter-clockwise
05:02
Freedom with butterfly and opposites
03:52
Freedom with butterfly and opposites continued
02:11
Transitioning between butterfly and weaves
07:31
Freedom with opposites more continued
03:50
Split-time butterfly: turning all the way from wall plane to wall plane
02:43
turning continuously with weaves
03:21
Turning with poi between the arms
02:35
Going further with threading the needle
05:42
Split-time chase the sun
07:02
Working on left/right dexterity with stalls and transitions
04:23
Lockouts and crossy-crossy (which I now call switchy-switchy)
07:10
Sky view of jiggies and pirouettes
02:19
The BIG REVIEW of all the moves so far
01:56

Nick Woolsey

Poi Teacher

4.8 Instructor Rating
1,512 Reviews
5,377 Students
3 Courses

Nick Woolsey is a poi-dance pioneer and a cult-celebrity within the global poi-dancing community. Thousands of people have attended Nick's poi workshops and retreats, and tens of thousands more have learned from his online videos. He is now collaborating with professional dancers and circus artists in Vancouver, BC, to bring a new level of online video resources to the poi and flow arts community.

This course includes:

Poi Dancing: The Beginner Series

What you'll learn

Requirements

Description

Who this course is for:

Course content

Instructor

This course includes:

Poi Dancing: The Beginner Series

What you'll learn

Requirements

Description

Who this course is for:

Course content

Essential Information!4 lectures • 15min

Week/Phase ONE15 lectures • 1hr 7min

Week/phase TWO16 lectures • 1hr 15min

Week/Phase THREE16 lectures • 1hr

Week/Phase FOUR18 lectures • 1hr 13min

Week/Phase FIVE17 lectures • 1hr

Week/Phase SIX14 lectures • 49min

Week/Phase SEVEN15 lectures • 1hr 3min

Week/Phase EIGHT14 lectures • 44min

Week/Phase NINE16 lectures • 1hr 9min

Instructor