negative space and framing

negative space is a concept borrowed from art. Simply put. it's the space in the middle of something, where there is nothing. Think donut... you know if donuts were art.

framing is related to that since it involves the something doing the encasing (encasing of nothing in this case).

So taken together, we are talking about setting up situations in which there is a solid frame that creates a hole and you spin through said hole. As far as patterns go, I think body tracing makes for the best visuals with this. Basically, run your hand along your body (chest, arm, leg, whatever) and spin the poi through the hole created. You get into some pretty sick stuff once you get a flow going. basically, you just have to get comfortable spinning inswings, and learn to coordinate hand patterns with poi patterns.. I recommend practicing with one hand... then practice with the other.. then practice with them together..

alternatively, Bluecat released a vid recently where he shows off a ton of nifty negative space stuff. His vid showcases a lot patterns that are more akin to string manipulations and such. I think its in our vid forum..

Since its more of an approach to the performance aspect, you can incorporate a lot of stuff with this if you put your mind to it. It's really just creating a different way of thinking about the poi that gives you an outlet for experimentation, and the audience something fresh to watch.