Pyronauts - the international all-star fire troupe

So, you can imagine, to those who devote their time to it, fire dancing is not just a performance art. It is also part spiritual practice, like tantra and tai chi, part neotribal ritual that pays homage to our naturalistic origins. Like martial arts, it is a multi-sensory meditative practice that demands the full mental and physical presence of the participant, and doles out painful lessons for lapses. Fire arts require discipline and focus, commitment and passion, so it is not for the weak or faint-hearted. And the end product is something transcendent, to both do, and behold.
 

Of all the Fire Conclave troupes that converge in the Great Circle, one stands out from the rest. They are called Pyronauts, and they bill themselves as an "international all-star fire troupe featuring 77 super-hero performance artists originating from 19 U.S. states and 23 countries worldwide." During the other 50 weeks out of the year that Black Rock City stands empty, the Pyronauts exist in diaspora, some performing with Cirque du Soleil and others winning the HomeOfPoi.com "Circles of Light" international video competition, which every year crowns the best fire spinners in the world. Pyronauts also feature two world record holders, and since their inception, have performed on the Great Circle's prestigious 6:00 side of the Man, which is Burning Man's highest honor for a fire troupe.

Pyronauts are the brain child of Vatra Amidzich, a San Francisco fire performer and 15-year Burning Man veteran, who was encouraged in 2005 by BM Creative Director Crimson Rose--Mistress of Fire and organizer of The Great Circle--to create a new Fire Conclave troupe. It wasn't until Vatra thought outside of the "local troupe box" that the concept and intention of Pyronauts was born.

"When you think about starting a performance troupe, you naturally think of people in your area so you can choreograph and rehearse together, but I didn't want to rob the top talent from the Bay Area Fire Conclave troupes and make them weaker just to start my own troupe. Then I started thinking about some of the world's most inspiring fire dancers who didn't belong to Fire Conclave troupes because of their remote locations, and I came up with 66 names. I invited each of them to become a Pyronaut, and all said yes! It was going to be the largest Fire Conclave of all time, and my first time ever leading a troupe."

 

When he first submitted the Pyronaut performer list, Vatra goes on to explain, Crimson Rose was shocked by the unprecedented size and stature. "But she recognized that our intention was to create something magical so she went with her intuition and the rest is history."

The Pyronauts also put together a fire performance theme camp which has returned every year since 2005. This was set up, according to Vatra, as "A centralized convergence point where fire dancers, spinners and movement artists can share and learn in order to propel the fire and flow-arts forward."  Recognizing that fire dancing can be intimidating to beginners, Pyronauts Camp also offers interactive workshops in the various disciplines of the fire and flow-arts. But their biggest attraction has always been their spin jams during the day, and performances at night followed by epic fire jams which attract some of the largest audiences anywhere on the playa.

Since the Pyronauts have no home base and are rarely all in the same place together outside of Black Rock City, their choreography for the Great Circle performance is put together differently than the other troupes, who are mostly based out of different cities and have all year to practice together.

"Every Pyronaut is a professional with a high level of skill and dedication to their art and everyone rehearses and performs together in their respective locations throughout the year, so everyone's acts are highly polished." Vatra adds, Once gathered together on the Playa, he then splits the troupe into two alternating groups by "energetically matching" the various routines of the smaller pods within Pyronauts. Later the entire troupe gets together to work out the intricacies of the choreography which further galvanizes the intention and flow of the performance. 

 

"We showcase our deep creative pool so everyone's hard work and dedication throughout the year is honored rather than squandered. I merely orchestrate a framework that establishes a cohesion which makes the whole greater than the sum of the parts."

Although they rarely perform together as a full troupe, Vatra and a select cast of Pyronauts will often perform at events like The Crucible's Fire Arts Festival, Harmony Festival's Techno-Tribal, EarthDance, Raw Spirit Fest, and many other festivals, as well as private parties, openings, and corporate events.

"Sometimes its just me and one other performer, and other times there's a cast of up to 20 of us. That's usually about the limit of what you can do outside of Burning Man. It would be insane to try to get all 77 together for an outside gig!", he laughs. "But I would say that our performances could best be described as Sacred Theatre... incorporating archetypal characters, various international styles of dance, and breathtaking costuming and theatrics fused with the primal element of fire and highly skilled displays of fire dancing. We're blessed to have the opportunity to share our art with those who would otherwise not be exposed to our unique montage of fire ritual and performance art, and in this way, I feel that we make a dramatic impact."

 

Yes, Burning Man goes deep. Deep within, down there where all that you are is mixed and matched. The connections it makes in people are life changing, and once you go, you are never the same. This is because, at its most fundamental level, Burning Man is archetypal and alchemical. It taps into and reorders our most basic symbols by which we understand who and what we are, and more importantly, where we came from as a culture and where we're going. In this most technological and hyper-connected society, Burning Man provides a space in which to reacquaint ourselves with our tribalistic natural world consciousness and build new relationships with the elemental structures of our existence: Earth, Air, Water, and most of all, Fire.

Look for Pyronauts Camp on the playa and come by Wednesday or Thursday night for their performances and fire jams... and try to catch their Fire Conclave performance on Burn Night, but come early to get a good view! The official placement of the Fire Conclave troupes within the Great Circle will be listed at Fire Conclave Convergence near Center Camp and it will also be listed on the websites below.