Gloves
If there was a universal Rave Bucket List, getting a light show from a glover would unquestionably be on it. LED gloves consist of white or black colored gloves with led changing lights on the fingertips. Glovers create a visual experience by creating different shapes and patterns with their hands and fingers, hypnotizing the viewer in the process. Glovers learn different skills to improve their art, such as stacking, finger rolls, flails, tutting, whips, and tunnels. Getting a light show from more than one glover at a time is like encountering a unicorn: a magical and unforgettable experience.
Hoops
When hearing someone say they are a hooper, “hula hooping” is the only thing that comes to my mind. While this type of flow does include “hula hooping,” if you’ve ever come across a hooper at a festival or show, you know there is so much more to this art form. Skilled hoopers are able to navigate their hoop from their ankles to their shoulders, around and through their bodies and up into the sky. Some hoopers like to use two (called “twins”) or more hoops in their flow, which significantly increases the difficulty, the must both be ambidextrous and able to control their hands in separate directions.
Poi
Another form of flow you are guaranteed at a festival is poi spinning. Being a member of flow coming from traditional flow arts (namely to the Maori people), there are many variations to the poi. The most common is a weighted ball at the end of a rope with a handle. Poi come in pairs and their mechanism relies on centrifugal force as the user moves the poi in tandem before and about themselves in an hourglass motion.
Fiber Optic Whips aka Pixel Whips
A fiber optic whip is comprised of multiple loose fiber optic strands housed at one end in a handle with LED lights. The light travels along the strands of the fiber optics to the tip of the strands where the light appears as an extra bright pinpoint of radiance. The flow artist uses one hand with the handle to move the fibers, while using the other to help guide the strands around their body and limbs, creating a show that almost appears like mini fireworks as the strands silently crack through the air. An alternative way some users like to hold their whip is by the strands themselves, using the handle as a weight and the mechanism becomes like that of a dart (see below). More advanced users are able to employ more than one whip at once.
Orbiters
Orbiters work by the user twisting and pull on two strings causing the led disk housed in between to spin in a tornado of light. Users spin shapes and trails before and around themselves, wrapping themselves in a cocoon of light.
Levitation Wands aka Levi Wands
A levi wand looks similar a baton with a delicate string attached to one end with a small loop at the end of the string. The loop is placed on the flow artist’s middle finger of their dominate hand. The levi wand is moved vertically around the user while their nondominant hand follows the wand as if pushing the wand without touching it, like magic.
Contact Juggling
A contact ball is a softball-sized acrylic crystal ball. The flow artist can manipulate the ball along their body, primarily their arms and hands, causing the ball to appear as if it is just floating across the body with a mind of its own.
Staff
Contact staff is derived from the ancient Chinese art of Fei Cha. The principal of flow for contact staff, a long rod with weighted ends, is being able to manipulate the staff around the body without relying on the use of the hands. Artists utilize inertia to rotate the staff around their neck, arms and shoulders, and along their torso.
Similar to Contact Staff is the Dragon Staff, a long rod with perpendicular which uses many of the same principles as contact staff,
Fans
Silk Fans look like your standard hand fan with long lengths of a lightweight fabric attached across the width of the fan. The flow artist holds a fan in either hand and, while using their thumb and fingers to keep the fans open, move their wrist or forearm up and down creating a fluttering movement of the fabric. This form of fan flow focuses on the movement of the fabric rather than movement of the fans themselves.
While still in the fan category, Russian or Tech fans have a much different mechanism than silk fans. These kinds of fans do not have any fabric attached to them, but instead have a hole in the handle where the user can put their fingers for manipulation. Russian grips have a larger hole for all of the fingers to fit than tech which only allows two or three. This form of fans uses a similar concept of flow as off-body twin hoops during dynamic movements, while also focusing on mirroring the two fans to each other during stationary manipulation.
Buugeng aka S-Staff
‘Buu’ meaning “martial arts” and ‘geng’ meaning “illusion,” Buugeng are a pair of large S-shaped blades held gently in the middle and uses the wrist to rotate the blades before and behind the artist while keeping the blades on a vertical plane parallel to the user. A skilled buugeng artist easily hypnotized their audience with their circling, arced blades.
Rope Dart
Also deriving from Chinese martial arts, the rope dart employs a large, heavy ‘projectile’ at the end of a long rope. The user hold the end of the rope in their nondominant hand, while using their dominant hand to move at different lengths of the rope to spin and throw the dart in a plane parallel to their bodies. Skilled users can wrap the rope around their bodies and untangle themselves within moments, allowing them to throw the dart in an incredible dance.
Sunwheel
Based on the Indian martial arts weapon Vadda Chakkar, the sunwheel is likely the least known flow toy on this list. Made of a medium-sized wheel with a rod through the center surrounded by ‘petals’ of rope weighted with colorful plastic pieces forming what looks like a sun when spinning. The artist rotates the wheel in either direction to gain momentum to do their tricks, including spinning the wheel on their palm. This form of flow is typically done on the vertical plane, but with proper manipulation, can be done on the horizontal. An example of this form can be seen on TikTok by the user @space_squidd.
Besides the mesmerizing skill of the artist, one of the most special parts of the flow arts is that there are always new forms and variations emerging. If you have been thinking about picking up a flow art, I encourage you to try out a few. Once you become skilled in one, you will find many of the same concepts translating over to the others. Each new prop will then just become an extension of yourself and how beautiful its expression can be.
]]>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.
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!
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.
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!
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