University's Superb Fire Dancers／薪火相傳 火舞表演
University's Superb Fire Dancers
◎English translation: Lin Fu-ju
◎Photos by Lin Yu-en
National Kaohsiung First University of Science and Technology (First Tech) is the home of a unique club which performs Fire Dancing. The club was established in 2011, when President Kuo Yan-fu was still in his sophomore year. He recalls how he himself began with the basics and describes Fire Dance as an artistic and technical combination of music and choreography. Fire Dance can't often be seen, and their audiences have been left enthralled and awestruck. Kuo admits he enjoys the loud cheers and applause.
Two other prominent members of the club include Lin Cheng-lu and Chu Chun-lin. Lin Cheng-lu is the only girl in the group, who draws inspiration from the girl who won Taiwan's Fire Dance championship last year. Chu Chun-lin is an MA candidate, in the Department of Performing Arts at Shu-Te University. He is the club's instructor and has been supervising the three-hour practices, twice a week, since the club began. He hopes more people will get to see Fire Dancing and that they understand it is a safe performance.
During the summer vacation, the Fire Dance club toured Taiwan. The tour was created to spread awareness about Fire Dance and performed for hospitalized children and seniors. The club's students recently received grants from the National Youth Commission, Executive Yuan and Ministry of Education to cover the tour's expenses. Eight of the club's students traveled by motorcycle and performed in 17 locations in 14 cities. Unfortunately, the tour didn't begin very smoothly. On the very first day, the students got hit by a typhoon and heavy rains. This, however, did not discourage them and they pushed on with enthusiasm and performed well for the audience.
The hearty rounds of applause haven't come so easily for these performers. They must go through a series of repetitive practices, in order to get a good grasp on the basic techniques. It usually takes performers two months to get a grasp on controlling the sticks. They also need to learn modern dance and how to perform in front of various audiences. It takes tremendous passion and dedication to complete the process.
Safety is another concern for the fire dancers, so fire sticks are only used outdoors, while in-door performances use LED-lit sticks. Performers cannot wear clothes made of flammable fabrics such as silk. Therefore, they must learn how to perform in fireproof fabrics and how to safely use the kerosene and torches. They must also make sure they keep a safe distance from the audience in case a stick drops during the performance. During performances, one person stays within a safe distance, in order to assist the audience in the rare case of an emergency. Wet towels are also present and used in case of fire or injury. Chu only allows performers to use flames when they get a good control of the sticks.
Chu Chun-lin explains fire dancing gives him a sense of belonging and excitement from being in control of fire. He loves integrating fire with dance. He speaks with high regard of his fellow club members; particularly praising their unlimited enthusiasm. Other club members mentioned they appreciated the opportunities they have had to meet other professionals in the field. It has helped them expand their social network and increased self-confidence.
薪火相傳 火舞表演
◎文／侯雅婷
◎攝影／林育恩
國立高雄第一科大火藝社，暑假期間以火舞表演巡迴全台，為兒童、年長者及醫院病患公益演出。這群熱愛火舞且很有想法的大學生，寫企畫書申請青輔會及教育部經費補助，為了推廣火舞這一門不被人熟悉的藝術表演，全團8位社員，騎乘機車巡迴全台14個縣市17個地點，儘管整趟旅程從出發的第一天就下起了雨、遇上了颱風，但是團員們仍風雨無阻地將火舞表演分享給觀賞的看倌們。
火藝社社長郭彥甫形容火舞是一門結合技巧、音樂、鋪陳及起承轉合的一門藝術表演。火舞稀奇性加上可看性，觀眾總報以熱烈掌聲，郭彥甫坦誠很享受舞台上的掌聲，但掌聲背後，是一連串枯燥但半點馬虎不得的基礎技巧練習，等到棍棒運轉得熟練之後，要2個月的光景，也因此郭彥甫表示，留在火舞社的8位社員都是對火舞有濃厚興趣者。為了使表演者能有流暢自如地肢體演出，社員們還須研習現代舞，以及站在舞台上如何面對觀眾，要做到一出場就是全場目光焦點！
彥甫大二那年(2011年)創立火藝社，從棍棒的基本功練出心得，每天練習火舞，成為他生活的一部份，而團內唯一一位女孩林呈璐說，去年台灣火舞界年度比賽「東北大火」冠軍得主就是女生，激起她練好火舞的決心。火藝社社員表示，練習火舞讓他們有機會與許多專業人士交流，彼此支援，擴展人際關係之餘，更建立自信。
火藝社的專業火舞訓練由朱俊霖擔任指導老師，朱俊霖為樹德科技大學表演藝術系碩士班學生，從2011年火藝社創社，每星期約授課2次，每次3小時的訓練，傾注心力，義務教導學生們火舞，希望讓更多人看見火舞，並且了解火舞是安全的。朱俊霖說玩火舞須做足準備，上火的火舞表演必須在室外，室內表演棍棒上裝設LED燈，表演者不可著絲質服裝，火把的部份，使用煤油燃於防火布上，表演者需與觀眾隔出安全距離，避免掉棍等意外事件，演出團體還必須
有專人待在安全距離警戒線旁待命，其任務是保護觀眾，如有意外發生，立即以準備好的濕大毛巾覆蓋處理。朱俊霖強調，他會仔細觀察每位學員的學習情況，必須要練習棍棒到非常穩定成熟的狀況，才會讓社員練習上火。
朱俊霖說，火舞表演之所以吸引他，是因為火舞帶給他一種歸屬感，表演時，朱俊霖說，能駕馭火，並將火與表演結合在一起，這感覺很棒！朱俊霖談起第一科大火藝社的同學們，他肯定地稱讚他們，練習火舞的熱情從來沒有改變過！