Are you being scammed by your so called poi/hoop/staff instructor?

Today I had what seems like an unbelievable interaction because it's so far from what we create here at Temple of Poi, I was harshly awakened to a reality I find very sad: there are actually flow instructors out there who are scamming students. A colleague shared a story about how ze was paying for...

13 Ways We’re Celebrating 13 Years at Temple of Poi

Temple of Poi celebrates 13 years this month! We're pretty excited about that here at headquarters but realized that 13 has a terrible reputation -- did you know that the gallows traditionally has 13 steps leading up to it and is cited as one of the sources of said bad reputation in some internet lore? We want...

Teacher and Business Training

Temple of Poi is pleased to announce our re-designed, attend-from-home, poi and flow arts teacher and business training programs. These courses take place over a 7 month period via Goggle Hangouts (Bay Area students may be able to attend in person) so students need not be in San Francisco to get trained. However, all students will need to have a working Internet connection...

Teachers: 10 things to Consider when Competing with Other Bigger Name Artists

  Here's a question that came up lately on a teaching forum, a question more and more people will be asking as time passes and the industry becomes bigger. Does anyone teach in a town or city with a way more advanced hooper than you? I'm feeling a lot of insecurity about developing my hoop...

Flow Arts Instructors: 8 Ways to Clarify Tuition Policies

Today's question follows: Pre-payment for registration is required for a workshop - if a participant doesn't show, for whatever reason, and the workshop didn't sell out so they weren't taking up a paying persons spot, do you refund them? First, as a business, it's your job to have a clear policy about this and I'd...

How Much Should I Charge When Teaching Classes?

Today's question coming from the internet forums asks about how to calculate the costs associated with teaching and asks, "How much should I charge when teaching classes??" This article gives you some things to consider and ask yourself when planning your classes. Overall, this plan ignores the prop question which is a conversation unto itself....

Those who Can, Do; Those who Can’t, Teach.

Those who can, do; those who can't, teach... I have considered this statement for over a decade and it recently came up on one of those Facebook lists I love to frequent as someone asked me what I thought about the statement. Generally speaking, I don't think the flow arts instructor field is but an...

Teachers and Technicians: They Use Different Skills

I've been threatening to write this piece for months and I'm finally taking a moment to sit down and do it. After FireDrums and talking to a lot of my students I got really clear that this article might be useful for some folks who assume that because someone is a skilled technician with their...

Paying for Instruction: The Flow Communities Own Double Standard

I was sitting there the other day on the Business for Flow Artists list on Facebook reading a letter that a group of instructors sent to a promoter saying something along the lines of, "We can't accept your disrespectful offer to under-compensate us to teach at your festival." Contextually, I gather this was not for...

6 Benefits of Teaching Inside

There is nothing like teaching a class outdoors. You're outside in the air, likely you're in a park, there is probably something pretty to look at, so what's not to like right? Recently I was discussing the pros and cons of teacing outdoors. Instead of focusing on what I don't like about teaching outside, I...

7 Things to Bring to Your Teaching Interview

A friend in the community has an interview for a teaching job tomorrow and I was thinking about how I would prepare if I were in his situation. Here's 7 Things To Bring to a Flow Arts Teaching Interview that will help you stand out and get the job, or at least would if I...

12 Do’s & Don’ts for Creating a (Flow Arts) Class

The fire and flow dancing industry is actually becoming a market segment and although it is a nascent market, it is blooming like a fragrant flower. As part of Temple of Poi's ongoing efforts to lead the flow rEvolution - an evolution of consciousness focused on empowering everyone everywhere through education - we are codifying...