Hey gang!
Drex here from DrexFactor.com with a combo
for the month of December...sort of.
See, this whole year I had an evil plan.
All those combo tutorials starting in March?
They all fit together like puzzle pieces.
They’re all choreographed to the same song
and they come together to produce one full
poi routine to one of my favorite songs.
In this video, you’re going to learn how
all these pieces fit together and be able
to perform the full routine yourself.
Before we dive in, I just want to take a moment
to give a shout out to the friends of the
channel!
Big thanks to Dark Monk, Emazing Lights, Flowtoys,
Spinballs, and Ultra Poi for helping to make
the videos on this channel possible.
You can visit them all on the web by following
the links down in the description of this
video.
So, let’s start off with two pieces: the
song we’re spinning to and the order in
which all the pieces fit together.
All of the combos I’ve done this year are
actually set to the same song: “Leave an
Open Door” by Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers.
I’ve blocked out this song into 12 different
sections based upon where I hear the dynamics
of the song changing.
What exactly is blocking?
I just did a video on this Tuesday.
Click on the link in the description or cards
if you’re watching on YouTube to learn what
this is and how to do it.
So the blocking and choreographic pieces break
down as such: From the start of the song till
17 seconds in is the intro.
This is covered in my March combo.
The first verse lasts from 18 seconds to 33
seconds and is the Intermediate combo from
April.
The long combo from May takes up both the
first chorus as well as the second verse from
34 seconds to 59 seconds.
The first combo from November is performed
during the second chorus between one minute
and a minute and 15 seconds.
The second November combo is between a minute
16 and a minute 32, which I’m referring
to as the song’s first bridge.
We actually return to the March combo for
the third chorus between a minute 33 and a
minute 49.
There’s a build up to the second bridge
between a minute 50 and two minutes and six
seconds--this is the beginner combo from July.
Next we have the second bridge from two minutes
and 7 seconds to two minutes and 22 seconds
that features the Intermediate Combo from
August.
Our third bridge happens at two minutes and
23 seconds and lasts until two minutes and
40 seconds and it uses the Advanced combo
from October.
Our last two sections are the solo between
two minutes and 41 seconds up till two minutes
and 58 seconds which features our beginner
combo from September.
We finish it off with a part that’s both
the fourth chorus as well as the outro starting
at two minutes and 59 seconds.
This is a variation on the March combo that
we’re going to add a little bit to in this
video.
So...that’s a lot.
I’ve got a chart made up that you can download
at the link in the description or you can
just follow along as I describe it.
I’ve also included a link to a playlist
of all the combos used for this full routine
in the description as well as cards on YouTube.
Let’s talk about the cues to be listening
for to be able to put all these pieces together.
The March combo is already set to this music
so I’m not going to go over the cues again.
Here it is for review.
For the April combo, do the first stall on
“I” and the second stall on “light”
in that first line.
The second pair of stalls are on “all around,”
which is why they’re double time.
Stall up with the right hand on “silouette.”
Pirouette through the lyric “open door.”
There’s no cue for the snake or isolation,
but do the first stall out is on “ain’t”
and the second one happens immediately after
“caught it yet.”
Do the Yuta stall on “behind you” before
doing the pendulum stalls.
Here’s what that whole combo should look
like.
[Music] I can see the light all around your
silhouette
Leave an open door behind you
My heart went running after you
But I ain't caught it yet
Leave an open door behind you
Moving onto the May combo, the pendulum behind
the head happens on the one beat under the
first lead guitar lick and the little together
same spin happens on the four.
Do the Yuta stall on the lyric “open door.”
There’s no cue for the pendulum stall, but
make sure to stall out your right hand on
4 beat of that measure.
Wrap the poi around your hands and float them
up to start the stack at the beginning of
the line “sing about the dawn.”
Make the first stall happen on “dawn.”
You’ll get to the two poi stalling together
on “night.”
The windmill comes on “open” and the pirouette
on “behind you.”
The timing is a little tricky on the together
same antispin flower, but more or less you’re
looking to start it on “dark” and try
to hit a flower petal on each syllable.
Right hand stalls out on “see” and left
hand stalls out on “light.”
The stalls out to the side happen on the word
“open.”
The two hands stall out on “behind” and
the right hand poi stalls over to the left
on the next beat.
Here’s all that set to the music.
[Music] Leave an open door
Sing about the dawn
In the middle of the night
Leave an open door behind you
Stumble through the dark
So that we might see the light
Leave an open door behind you
Now we move on to the first November combo.
Do the tuck turn on the guitar lick and stall
the poi on each of the next two beats as your
level drops.
The stall up happens on the next guitar lick.
There’s no cue for the jump but the corkscrew
happens on “open.”
Do the pas de bourree on “leave an open
door” and each of the next four stalls on
the next four beats.
Do the shrink and expand back out with enough
time to be spread out when the next lyric
hits, starting the second combo from November.
Here’s all that to the music.
[Music] Leave an open door
Leave an open door
Leave an open door behind you
Leave an open door behind you
You’re trying to hit each and every petal
of the flowers and Zan’s Diamond using a
double time feel with the song.
Think one-and-two-and-three-and-four-and as
you’re doing it.
This is going to be very tricky and will probably
require a lot of practice.
There’s no cue for the jump or corkscrew,
but as you’re straightening up, your stalls
out should land on the long, drawn out “on”
lyric.
Take the last two steps and then shuffle back
to center stage as fast as you can.
Here’s that set to the music.
[Music] Carry on...
Carry on...
Carry on...
Carry on...
Here we repeat the phrase from March with
the exact same musical cues: the windmills
happen on the high lead guitar lick and the
crosser happens on the low lead guitar lick.
It should look like this.
[Music] Leave an open door
Leave an open door
Leave an open door behind you
This next quietly building part is the beginner
combo from July.
Think that you’re going to switch focus
on every one of the major lyric cues.
Weave right on “destitution” then left
on “persecution.”
Windmill on “absolution” and back to the
left on “retribution.”
Pulse weave right on “revolution” with
a pulse on every other syllable.
Think “REvoLUtion” for the emphasis.
Pulse weave left on “restitution” again
doing the pulses as “REStiTUtion” and
then pulse weave up on “ABsoLUtion” and
spiral wrapping on “evolution.”
Here’s that set to the music.
[Music] Destitution...
Persecution...
Execution…
Retribution...
Revolution!
Restitution!
Absolution!
Evolution!
Getting into the August Combo, stall out on
“mother” and do turns on “father,”
“sister,” and “brother.”
Stall out on “hope.”
Do the stall chaser to the right on the first
syllable of “another.”
There’s no real cue for the stall chaser
back to the left, but the bottom petal of
the opposites antispin flower comes on “lower.”
The top of the corkscrew comes on “we hold”
and the pirouette on “inside of their cage.”
You’re going to have to zip into stalling
the corkscrew out to the sides and starting
the opposites antispin flower at the top of
the October combo right at the beginning of
“carry on.”
Here’s that previous section to the music.
[Music] Mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers,
We never run out of hope when we love one
another!
When they raise the price of bread
When they lower the wage
Together we hold our key inside of their cage!
As we enter the October combo, we switch again
to a double-time feel: one-and-two-and-three-and-four-and.
That’s really all there is to it in this
section.
Just get all the pieces in as fast as you
can and hold onto the isolation when you get
there.
Here’s this full section with music.
[Music] Carry on...
Carry on...
Carry on...
Carry on...
That first bent guitar note of the solo is
the cue to do the inspin throw that starts
off the September combo.
Again there’s not much in the way of cues
here as you do the archer weave, waistwraps,
and spiral wraps.
But you do want to do the final stall out
on the last beat of the solo before all the
instruments drop out.
Here’s what that will look like.
For the outro, we’re going to start off
with the phrase from March and all the cues
are exactly the same.
The outro is twice as long, though, so we’re
going to add a little to this phrase.
On the first beat after the phrase ends, stall
the left hand poi back over next to the right
hand and stall the right hand out, opening
to the audience on the second beat.
Do an opposites antispin flower with each
petal on a beat--down, across, up, stalling
out and going into a 4-beat corkscrew.
Do a full turn on the word “behind” and
come to rest facing stage right.
Your right hand wrapped in front of you and
your left hand behind.
Slowly look up toward the audience.
And that’s the full routine!
Here’s that last bit with the music.
[Music] Leave an open door
Leave an open door
Leave an open door behind you
Leave an open door behind you
Leave an open door behind you
Leave an open door behind you
Cool!
We’ve got all the individual pieces now,
so here’s the full routine with the music.
[Music] I can see the light all around your
silhouette
Leave an open door behind you
My heart went running after you
But I ain't caught it yet
Leave an open door behind you
Leave an open door
Sing about the dawn
In the middle of the night
Leave an open door behind you
Stumble through the dark
So that we might see the light
Leave an open door behind you
Leave an open door
Leave an open door
Leave an open door behind you
Leave an open door behind you
Carry on...
Carry on...
Carry on...
Carry on...
Leave an open door
Leave an open door
Leave an open door behind you
Destitution...
Persecution...
Execution…
Retribution...
Revolution!
Restitution!
Absolution!
Evolution!
Mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers,
We never run out of hope when we love one
another!
When they raise the price of bread
When they lower the wage
Together we hold our key inside of their cage!
Carry on...
Carry on...
Carry on...
Carry on...
Leave an open door
Leave an open door
Leave an open door behind you
Leave an open door behind you
Leave an open door behind you
Leave an open door behind you
Great work!
This full piece is a lot to learn but I’ll
wager you’ll pick up a lot of interesting
ideas for transitions along the way.
Hopefully this is something you feel proud
to have learned and are excited to perform
at some point.
It took a very long time to write and I’m
sure it’ll take a little bit of time to
learn as well.
Thank you for sticking with it and learning
all these pieces!
You can show me your version of this pattern
by shooting video and posting it to Instagram
with the hashtag #drexfactorpoi.
Thanks so much for watching.
If you got anything out of this video, please
hit that like and subscribe button to help
my channel grow!
Special thanks to all my awesome supporters
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do, please go to patreon.com/drexfactorpoi.
Thanks again and peace!
