Forums > Social Chat > the compliment dilemma

Posted: 7th Aug 2001
lap it up I say!! good on you. So long as you're aware of where you're realistically at you should enjoy receiving compliments and take them to heart.It's great having people say nice stuff aboot ya!I don't get nearly as many compliments now as I did when I was first starting out...go figure.Perhaps you're not as bad as you think you are. Although you may not have the technicality down, you obviously have a good presence; something which the photographer picked up on and something which any audience can feed off.more power to you!(BTW - where in BC are you?)

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Posted: 7th Aug 2001
First of all, people who have been at this awhile concider themselves rank amatuers. I am one of them though I perform for a living.My audience doesn't know it. And out of a general audience you *might* get one twirler there who knows what you are doing. So what, they should be happy for you. Kudos to you. Yes, compliments can be humbling but they are also exciting. I think they add a little push to make you want to do better to live up to them, you know?I agree with Flash, eat it up. Take it where you can and run with it. Be gracious. Blush if you must. Keep practicing and next time you will wow them even more. Think of it this way, if they loved you this time, and you are a beginner, just wait til next time they see you!!! Congrats ------------------Pele Higher, higher burning fire...making music like a choir...https://www.pyromorph.com

Pele
Higher, higher burning fire...making music like a choir
"Oooh look! A pub!" -exclaimed after recovering from a stupid fall
"And for the decadence of art, nothing beats a roaring fire." -TMK

Posted: 7th Aug 2001
I consider myself a joint resident of Kamloops and Vancouver. I live in Coquitlam, but go home frequently. I think the reason I get compliments is because most people have never seen anything of the sort. I'm not really *bad*, but I'm nothing spectacular.I have trouble accepting praise in general, but I find myself tempted to argue when people give me too much credit...I just wish i could show them what an expert looks like!

Posted: 7th Aug 2001
if you have trouble accepting praise, don't check your inbox!::flash ducks for cover::I lived in whistler for 2 years during which time I frequently performed for the hundreds of thousands of tourists. At the time, I could only do single staff and was totally self-taught (therefore had a fairly limited repetoir) however, they always loved it. I realised much later how 'bad' I really was, but I had massive audiences cheering and clapping for me!Like I said before - if the audience can feel your passion it doesn't matter if you're not the best.------------------"she dances in a ring of fire and throws off the challenge with a shrug"

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Posted: 8th Aug 2001
Ha! That used to happen ALL the time when I'd swing dance at weddings with my girlfriend at the time. The problem was that the two of us used to dance at a studio with REAL dancers including Frankie Manning, one of the true originators of the art (great old black guy who can still cut a rug!) We did get pretty good but were no "real" dancers. Now at WEDDINGS, we'd bust out the lindy hops and charlestons and crazy jump turns and people thought we were gods. Mostly because everyone else was doing "step, together, step, together" that you did in 7th grade. In fact, we'd sometimes get FLOODED with people coming up to us afterwords, asking us the standard questions, and it would get awkward.I then decided that we were "THE BEST SWINGDANCERS IN THE WORLD AS LONG AS NO ONE ELSE IN THE ROOM KNOWS HOW!" Sadly, I have since forgotten most of my swing steps.But, I feel exactly the same way about poi. I'm still a newbie but knowing butterflies, weaves and such makes me.... "THE BEST FIRE TWIRLER IN THE WORLD AS LONG AS NO ONE ELSE IN THE ROOM KNOWS HOW!"And to you, chicazul, I hereby proclaim you... "THE BEST STAFF TWIRLER IN THE WORLD AS LONG AS NO ONE ELSE IN THE ROOM KNOWS HOW!"Enjoy the compliments. Some of them may be compliments to your skill. Some of them may be compliments to having the courage to try such an exciting art form.

PK is a god.. i love the Peeekster.

.:PK:. [poiinthepark founder member]


Educate your self in the Hazards of Fire Breathing STAY SAFE!

Posted: 8th Aug 2001
Chicazul, I can relate. The first times I performed in front of people, (looking back) I can say that I sucked. People still liked it and it made me feel good. But I didn't feel like a fraud since I hadn't seen other people spin at that time.I think I improved a lot since I made my own poi a couple of months ago, because I actually like it and have been practising a lot more with it. I really "feel it" now. 2 weeks ago, I performed at a party and got my biggest audience. People from neighboring houses were also on their deck watching and everybody was cheering really loud. I ended up doing 3 or 4 sets, and I'm the kind who always think people will get bored after 1 or 2 because in the end "it's just circles of light". I got lots of compliments at the end. I mean LOTS. Of course, it helps that it was late and everybody was pretty buzzed. Anyway, I still don't know how to react to compliments. I have never been a performer and even though I enjoy getting a lot of attention when I spin fire, I don't know how to handle it. I don't know if I should smile, be proud, be humble, just say thank you or what. Another problem I have with that is I don't feel comfortable with that many people coming up to me after a performance because it takes me several minutes to get out of my "Poi mode" (can be very trance-like sometimes).

Posted: 8th Aug 2001
eah I know what you mean nomad.. for me it's staff mode though..they come up and are like wow, that was awesome, and I just stare at them blankly and try to catch my breath..I can't even seem to relate to them, I forget that there are other people around.And I get uncomfortable too, when people compliment me.. I still consider myself an amateur, and always will, even though I've been doing this for 1 year and a bit obsessively now, and probably about 10 years passively.There is still a million tricks to learn, new moves, two staff progressions, maybe even juggling with three, flatspins, gymnastics, spinning tosses, multiple person tricks, all sorts of shit I aspire too.I love my staff. I made two more small ones 2 feet long. but now I think they are a bit short, maybe 3 feet would have been better.

~whoosh whoosh whoosh~