Fire Conclave

42 different fire groups communicated intention to join the Fire Conclave, 33 groups submitted audition video for review, and 28 were invited to dance in the Great Circle before the burning of the Man. Five groups were invited to be Sentinels, a positioned designed to delineate space between groups. This year’s Fire Conclave membership, totaling 1,117, was made up of more than just fire performers (687), fire safeties (206), Helmsmen (28 radio communicators), musical accompaniment (113) and documentation (33). There were also the Ambient Drummers (56) and Procession, including Lamplighters (43) and the Sentinels (100). This year 25 of the groups were returning groups, and 10 of those had a new Shin (leader). There were three new groups.

SUCCESSES
Information flow from the Council to the Fire Conclave was greatly improved in 2013 with the implementation of a syllabus type document, the comprehensive Handbook of Awesomeness (HoA), issued to Shins at the beginning of the cycle. The Handbook of Awesomeness is maintained as a living document, the Council will update the HoA with new information for the coming year.

The Fire Conclave Council designed and implemented more active space to the Fire Conclave Convergence camp, adding an open shade area for the Council and fire performance groups, Ambient Drummers, Sentinels and Luminists to use for meetings and gatherings, and an open performance area available to Fire Conclave groups to share and showcase their Fire Art performances during the week. The extensions of Fire Conclave Convergence were well received and utilized throughout the week of the event.

For Safety reasons the perimeter size of the Great Circle, the area surrounding the Man and Pavilion, increased from a 300 ft. to a 400 ft. radius. This gave the fire performers and all those that support the release of the Man more space to perform and work. Safety will always be the highest priority within the Great Circle and this expansion was a great success.

CHALLENGES

The Fire Conclave Council works with the Shins of each group to collect information about their members to build the Fire Conclave lists each year. The Fire Conclave has outgrown its current information management system, which requires a review and update. In 2014 the Council will evaluate the current system of data collection so that we may design a more efficient and effective intake process with the goals of reducing opportunity for errors, while improving efficiency in the workflow processes.

2013 FIRE CONCLAVE MEMBERSHIP
The following groups worked long hours to participate in the Great Circle and show off their fiery magic in dances dedicated to the Man before it is released in pyrotechnic delight:
25 – Returning Group ( 10 with a New Shin )
3 – New Groups

  • Burn Academy ~ Long Beach, CA USA ~ Returning Group ~ Returning Shin www.burnacademy.com
  • Burning Sensation ~ Orange County/ LA County, CA, USA ~ Returning Group New Shin
  • Cascadian Fire Collective ~ Eugene, OR USA ~ New Group ~ New Shin cascadianfirecollective.webs.com
  • Church of Flaming Funk ~ South Central Alaska, AK USA ~ Returning Group Returning Shin
  • Controlled Burn ~ Reno, NV USA ~ Returning Group ~ New Shin www.controlledburnreno.com
  • Empire Fire Collective ~ New York, NY USA ~ New Group ~ New Shin
  • Fire Muse Circus ~ Salt Lake City, UT USA ~ New Group ~ New Shin www.firemusecircus.com
  • Flameology ~ Las Vegas, NV USA ~ Returning Group ~ Returning Shin flameology.com
  • Flow Temple ~ Los Angeles, CA, USA ~ Returning Group ~ Returning Shin www.flowtemple.org
  • Fractal Tribe ~ Boulder, CO and Ukiah, CA USA ~ New Group ~ New Shin
  • Garnish ~ Austin, TX and Portland, OR USA ~ Returning Group ~ Returning Shin
  • HoT CoCo ~ Denver Metro, CO USA ~ Returning Group ~ Returning Shin
  • LA Fire Brigade ~ Los Angeles, CA USA ~ New Group ~ New Shin
  • Local San Diego Fire Tribe ~ San Diego, CA USA ~ Returning Group ~ Returning Shin
  • Luminesque ~ Mendocino, Sonoma Counties, CA USA ~ Returning Group ~ New Shin www.luminesquefiretroupe.com
  • Minneapolis Fire Collective ~ Minneapolis, MN USA ~ New Group ~ New Shin www.minneapolisfirecollective.com
  • MythMaker ~ Vancouver, BC Canada ~ Returning Group ~ Returning Shin www.mythmaker.ca
  • Nero’s Orchestra ~ Oakland CA USA ~ Returning Group ~ Returning Shin
  • Nocturnal sunshine ~ Santa Cruz, CA USA ~ New Group ~ New Shin www.nocturnal-sunshine.com
  • NW Conclave ~ Seattle, WA, USA ~ Returning Group ~ Returning Shin
  • Oregon Fire Conclave ~ Oregon USA ~ Returning Group ~ New Shin
  • Pois in the Hood ~ Hollywood, CA USA ~ Returning Group ~ New Shin
  • Radiant Heat ~ Vancouver, BC Canada ~ Returning Group ~ Returning Shin www.fireplay.ca
  • The Hawaii Fire Artists ~ Hawaii, USA ~ Returning Group ~ Returning Shin hawaiifireartists.com
  • The Ministry of Flow Fire Collective ~ San Francisco, CA, USA ~ Returning Group ~ New Shin
  • The UK fireworks collective ~ UK, London, Bristol, Manchester, Scotland ~ Returning Group ~ New Shin
  • Utah Fire Tribe ~ Salt Lake City, Utah USA ~ Returning Group ~ Returning Shin
  • Vulcan ~ Lafayette, CA USA ~ Returning Group ~ Returning Shin http://www.vulcancrew.com

SENTINELS

  • Chico Fire Ninjas ~ Chico, CA USA ~ New Group ~ New Shin
  • Fire Arts Collective ~ Oakland, CA USA ~ Returning Group ~ New Shin  fireartscollective.com
  • Kids with Matches ~ Ventura and Santa Barbara, CA USA ~ Returning Group New Shin
  • PyroKlectic ~ CA – FL – TX USA ~ Returning Group ~ New Shin pyroklectic.com
  • Solar Flare ~ San Francisco, CA, USA ~ Returning Group ~ Returning Shin www.solarflarefire.com

Submitted by,

The Fire Conclave Council: Q Hart, Tabasco, Beth Scarborough and Crimson Rose