Poi is a beautiful movement art driven by a pair of weighted balls tethered to the hands. This workshop will teach the foundations of poi's unique method of combining together art and geometry to create complex patterns in mid-air. You'll learn the basics of butterflies, reels, weaves, and wraps, engaging in an art that is as much an exercise for the brain as it is the body. Amaze your friends by becoming a living spirograph!

Ben "Drex" Drexler is a native of Boulder, Colorado and began his performance career as a musician before turning to dance and the circus arts. He has a background in poi and hoop fire dancing, performing frequently at various events, festivals, and retreats all over the country. A passionate teacher of movement art, Drex teaches a weekly poi class in the Washington, DC area in addition to hosting a regular video blog featuring his object manipulation-related experiments at drexfactor.com. Recent work includes "Shadow Matter: Exam Log X" as part of the Source Theatre Festival's Artistic Blind Date Program and The Foreways Project, a creative collaboration of national-level fire artists. In addition to his poi and fire dancing work, Drex is in his third season of residency with the Contradiction Dance company based in Washington, DC.