When it comes to poi, there is one name every clubber in London knows – CanaDark. I saw CanaDark spinning on stage the first time I went clubbing and was completely mesmerised, for hours he would hold the attention of every person in the club, like a celebrity cameras are attracted to him and there are probably more video clips of him than any other clubber in London!!

Since seeing CanaDark (Neil) on stage I’ve tried poi but its safe to say I should stick to taking photos and definitely far safer for anyone in the near vicinity.

But if you are like me and have mastered the art of swinging poi in a slightly dangerous way then this is something you need to know about…

Neil has teamed up with London’s hottest hard dance night to teach clubbers at Night Shift the tricks of how to do poi and how not to knock out anyone walking past.

On the run up to the lesson with the master of glowsticks, fire and I’m guessing a number of other items I caught up with Neil to find up how he got into spinning poi.

How long have you been doing poi and what made you get into it?
I've been doing poi for 5 years. I've always been very intrigued by fire. From a very young age I built camp fires in the woods. I saw my first fire poi show when I randomly arrived in Switzerland on the national holiday, at an Australian hostel called "The Funny Farm". Right away I knew it was something I had to do. A few months later, when I was in Australia, I bought my first poi set and the obsession began.

What is your favourite music and is there one DJ in particular that you love spinning to?
Hard Trance and Hard Dance. One of my absolute favourite DJ teams is Edison Factor. Their music speaks to my poi. They play hard fast driving tunes that set the perfect pace for me to go crazy on the poi and spin them like a man possessed.

I had the privilege of spinning poi on stage with Edison Factor doing a Live set and when they played their remix of Exit EEE - Epidemic I went utterly mental with my poi and loved it.

You've been on stage in front of hundreds of clubbers many a time but what has been the biggest venue and largest audience you've spun in front of?
When I've been on stage, the biggest crowd I've had in front of me was on the main stage at Tidy Weekender 9, which I believe had a crowd of over 8000 ravers.

What do you usually spin with and what are the differences between the different things you can use?
3 main types of poi I use are fire, LED, and glow.
1) Fire is the best for brightness and visual effects. But it also has the most potential for harm, so it must be done properly. We are always very safety conscious when using fire. It does limit some of the moves we can use, but there's nothing like hearing the roaring fire whizz past you and seeing the massive flames rip through the air.
2) LED poi is great for colour changing visual effects and you can turn them off and on. In a dark club, they can produce some wicked light trails. I've had some ravers ask me if my poi were changing colour, cause they feared they were losing their minds. You do have to keep in mind that they are electronics and best not to smash them against things.
3) Glow poi are great for going mental. As they are one use only and don't have any electrical bits, they can take a beating and still be glowing strong. My preferred choice are ultra high intensity glow sticks, a.k.a. "Ultras". They don't last long, but are as bright as fire (imagine an 8 hour glow stick used up in 5 minutes). Glow poi are my favourite as I can do all my moves and the glow sticks are light enough that I can just keep up with banging 160+ bps tunes.

Have you had any embarrassing incidents?
One particular incident stands out for me. I was spinning some heavy LED poi on stage at the Fridge, bouncing the poi off my arms, and one of the poi smacked my elbow right on the funny bone. I lost all feeling in my right arm. I had to drop my poi and run off stage. Fortunately my mate Ian filled in for me, as I spent the next 2 hours back stage trying to regain feeling in my arm. I actually wore elbow pads for my next show just in case.

You've travelled the world doing poi is there one place in particular that stands out?
Sydney, Australia. It's where I first really got into fire poi and spinning in clubs. There was a great group of performers out there, I learnt from some awesome people. I've always wanted to go back there and do some fire spinning on the beach just before sunrise.

There are a lot of people as involved as you in the club scene that turn their hand to something else, promoters to DJs etc – is there anything you would love to have a go at?
I suppose I'd like to have a go as a DJ. It'd be great to decide what tracks and put my own little touches on it. I do realise that becoming a DJ would take a lot of practice. Maybe I could incorporate some poi with it. Spin vinyl, spin poi, spin vinyl, spin poi.

Finally, do you have any tips for anyone wanting to get some practice in before Night Shift?
Best way to learn poi is to have someone show you. If you're in London, there's a regular Tuesday night poi meet-up at Spitalfield markets. A great bunch of all levels who are always happy to teach and share.

If you cant get someone to show you, next best is to watch a video. I'd recommend "Art of Poi" for beginners and "Encyclopoidia" for intermediates/experts.

Also there's lots of info online. Try homeofpoi.com, domorepoi.com, glowsticking.com, or YouTube.

Be aware of the space and people around you. Nothing worse than hitting some random raver in the head with your poi.

Finally poi is not just about learning tricks, its about using all your moves together, as a dance, flowing with the beat of the music.

And as my mate Ada$ use to remind me: "smile while you poi, so people know you're having fun".