If you’ve ever been to a rave or electronic music festival before, you’ve seen people dancing with flow toys. From hoops, to poi, to gloves, and many more - flow props are a great way to express yourself and blow people’s minds in the crowd. Giving a light show with an LED flow toy is one of the coolest feelings in the world! It’s a beautiful experience to get lost in the music, tap into the flow mindset, and feel the thrill of being completely in the zone.
If you’ve never dipped your toes into the world of flow before, it may seem intimidating to start. Here are some ideas for how to find your flow.
Listen to your heart.
What prop are you drawn to? There’s so many to choose from, so look around and see which one calls to you. For me, personally, I fell in love with levitation wand and bought a cheap one to see how I liked it. Many years later, I now do fire levitation wand and double wands! Pick something that strikes your interest and stick with it. Here is a list of some types of flow props for you to look into.
Staff, hoop, double hoop, poi, double staff, levitation wand, gloves, whip, orbit, kendama, yoyo… the list goes on and on!
Get inspired
Either at your next rave or festival, or take a look online. Instagram has a huge flow artist community, so there’s lots of inspiration out there. Connect with other flow artists in your area to bounce ideas off of or meet up. You can make lots of great new friends or just learn some new tricks!
Once you decide which prop you’d like to try, I suggest getting an affordable one to start. See how you like it and whether you see yourself sticking with it. Maybe, you can invest in a nicer prop once you find one that resonates with you. There are some LED flow toys that range upwards of $1,000, using smart technology that allows you to import custom images. I would definitely not recommend these super fancy props for a first timer. However, once you commit to a prop, look for a nicer one that’s made for durability, LED brightness, and a size and weight you like.
You can shop flow toys at our sister store, Emazing Lights, for one of the best selections of flow toys in the rave industry.
Think about your learning style.
For me, there are two main ways to go about learning a new flow toy. There are tons of tutorials to help you learn various tricks on YouTube, ranging from beginner to advanced. Learning concepts like flowers, anti-spins, and more will help you tackle different tricks.
Personally, I’m not the best at learning from YouTube. Seeing difficult tricks effortlessly pulled off can discourage and frustrate me - especially if I’m just starting to learn a new prop. Put your expectations aside and just do it! Yes, it’s easier said than done. But, you will develop your own, unique style that’s different from anyone else! Putting on your favorite music and getting lost in it will help you connect with your flow toy on a whole new level.
It can be hard not to judge yourself when you’re first starting out. But, no one becomes good at something overnight! Practice, play, and try to find that “flow zone” - when you get lost in the moment and nothing else matters. This state of mind can even help release feelings of anxiety!
One of the coolest aspects about flow arts is the community. Connecting with other people at raves and festivals who also flow is such a great feeling because you can trade advice and tricks, and get inspired by seeing other people’s styles. Look to see if there’s a flow community in your city, too. Where I live, I’m lucky to have lots of weekly events where flow artists gather. It’s great to get involved with this community to expand my knowledge and meet like-minded people.
Happy flowing!
