with Local Flow Artist Marie Barnett

Marie Barnett’s dreams never included the remotest possibility of becoming a performance artist who swings balls of fire in circular patterns around her body. In her wildest imaginings, she never envisioned stepping beyond the comfort zone of her successful architectural career to perform in front of audiences. But all that changed when she hired a belly dancer and poi performance artist to entertain guests at her birthday party in 2007.

Mesmerized by the woman’s grace and skill at twirling balls of fire suspended from strings tethered to her fingers, Barnett heard her technical mind whisper, “How does she do that?”

“Even though I realized that it wasn’t a logical thing for me to do,” Barnett recalls, “I knew in that moment that I wanted to learn poi, which is a traditional performing art of the Maori people of New Zealand.”

A successful architect who specializes in environmentally friendly home designs, many of which operate sustainably off the grid on Keewaydin Island, Barnett’s passion for becoming skillful at poi has rewarded her in ways she never anticipated. As a creative tool that helps Barnett focus her mind, poi practice also allows her to tone her body and to shut out the gazillion things she regularly multi-tasks. It also helps her focus her attention on only the moment she holds in her hands. “Within five minutes, I am having fun and grinning from ear-to-ear,” Barnett exults. “In 10 minutes, I’m totally immersed in a meditation of movement, and in 30 minutes, I’m finished, totally relaxed and rejuvenated.”

By the time Barnett met Leandra Harrison, a fellow flow artist who hula hoops regularly on Naples and Bonita Springs beaches, she had managed to overcome her shyness when onlookers gathered at the beach to watch her perform poi and dance. “After I added the dancing and fire to my art, sunset admirers stopped to watch,” advises Barnett, “but when I got into my meditation zone, they disappeared, and so did my stage fright.”

Today, Barnett and Harrison teach their flow arts, together and separately, at workshops like the one Barnett has scheduled for February 13. They perform both alone and together at public and private events, and get together for some fun at local beaches with members of their Meet-up group. With poi in hand and a big smile on her lips, Barnett declares, “We perform for ourselves and the setting sun, which frequently rewards us with the same beautiful afterglow that we feel inside.”

Contact Marie Barnett, BLAZEnaples, at 239-961-4100. Visit www.BLAZEnaples.com.

Contact Leandra Harrison, Pure Magic Hoops, at 239-777-5157. Visit www.Leandrah.etsy.com. Visit Facebook: NaplesHoolaHoopers.