Ouellette lights up Munising’s artist scene
The Munising Beacon proudly presents, once a month, another “Artist Profile”, a series highlighting local artists and community members that have a passion for bringing beauty into Alger County.
Munising’s Vinnie Ouellette is a character as rich as one of his many performances. A veteran, a vegan and one of the many locals who serve as Santa when the big man himself isn’t around, Ouellette often jumps right into a situation. But when he’s practicing poi — a traditional dance with objects lit on fire — it’s best to stand back and appreciate the art.
“What I do is for the entertainment and to make an event more exciting. I do it for everybody else,” he said. “I smell like gas after and pull muscles and get all beat up, but it’s a lot of fun and great to see the people enjoying it.”
Originally starting as a collective term for the choreography or the objects used by the dancers, poi comes from the Maori culture of the Polynesian region and is reserved for cultural evens with other vocal, musical and dance accompaniment. However, Ouellette practices the modern poi, which has less structure and can be used with multiple types of objects. Modern poi is considered a coexisting art with traditional dances because it usually finds a non-Maori event to originate from.
For Ouellette, his start was working a haunted hayride held at Bay Furnace.
“I was a wizard and I took a piece of jean, wrapped it in bale wire, and soaked it in gas and set it ablaze. I called it the orb of omnipotence. I would pick it up, light it and walk in front of the trailer with it,” he said. “I looked up about flame dancing after that and learned some basic moves. Then you learn a few more.”
After the first year, he had started incorporating a second poi into his dance and doing more complex moves. He said that’s important when becoming a real poi dancer.
“If you learn the double weave, then you’re a poi artist. Until then, you’re a poser,” he said.
In addition to the performance, Ouellette also has to manufacture the poi himself. Certain poi can be bought online for fire dancing made of Kevlar and fiberglass, but he likes to stick to a pair of old blue jeans. It also allows him to craft other poi, like a flame whip and something he calls a spark poi, which operates like a giant sparkler.
“A lot of this took years to really dial in. You learn a few tricks online about making that swivel and adding a little ring here or there,” he said. “The hardest thing was the blister. I finally developed a handle that doesn’t give me blisters. Leather is the key, not the nylon like a dog leash.”
Ouellette has hit himself with the fire poi numerous times, but has not taken serious injury from the burns. According to him, it’s just a little pat to put out the fire, but reaching the spots on his back can be difficult.
“It’s usually not a good night unless you smell burnt hair,” Ouellette said with a laugh. “It’s not so much that you’ll get burnt, but you’ll smell like gas.”
He typically limits his performances for fire poi to just special occasions like Halloween, but has started more performances on the weekend outside By George Brewing. But he’s hoping that he can find a way to pass the art of poi onto his community.
“I would like to do classes. Have a community of people — an army of jesters or something like that. You make your own poi, you learn some moves and start off with balls or flags or something like that, and then you’re walking in a parade or performing and sharing that fun,” he said.
