WE ARE UNIFIRE

Welcome to the hottest act in town!

Based in Asheville, NC, Unifire Theatre is a one-of-a-kind experience that blends theatre with fire arts from around the globe. Each stunning show tells a story that is woven with fire and enhanced by expert choreography and costuming. The troupe is committed to bringing you a spectacularly visual story while preserving the art of fire manipulation and dance. The result is an incredible experience that is both breathtaking and enlightening. You will be astounded at the skill of these artists as they spin, juggle, breathe, toss, and eat fire while remaining completely unscathed.

A member of Unifire in action
Formerly known as Djinntana, the troupe has been working together for years honing their art and now performs at festivals and events throughout the southeast. Unifire can perform for large events as well as weddings and birthdays. Some shows are fun and playful and suitable for all ages while others are an expression of the darker, sultry side of fire that has fascinated man through the ages. Don't miss this once-in-a-lifetime event!

A note on safety: Although we enjoy playing with fire, safety is a primary concern of everyone at Unifire. We employ 3-4 people at every show who are highly trained to ensure the safety of our performers and our audience. Each fire tool is inspected by our Safety Coordinater and the performer before each use. We work closely with the fire department and have never been denied a fire permit. Because we focus so much on safety, we have never had any serious injuries or accidents, and our performances exceed the safety recommendations of the National Organization for Fire Performers.

So without further ado, we now introduce...

Unifire!

Jesse

Jesse Spainhour Jesse hails from Winston Salem NC and joined Unifire Theatre two years ago and remains a vital member of the troupe. His precision and technical skills with poi, staff and double staff have earned him the nickname of Fire Ninja as well as a reputation of being one the most fluid fire spinners in the country. He continues to amaze audiences with new tricks and flawless execution of a style that is uniquely his own. Jesse also compiles and mixes the music for Unifire shows; writing and producing original material under the moniker 'intrinsic'. links: myspace tribe




Laura


Lulu has been a part of the Unifire family since the summerof 2005 finding her first connection to fire in keeping her friends safe. Still happy to serve as "water girl" she has branched out in her input to Unifire through her storytelling skills. Having shared stories at numerous festivals across the southeast she debuted as a voice for fire performance of a Unfire orginial creation tale at the Fall 2005 Lake Eden Arts Festival. Now she performs with fire staff and continues to elevate and grow in her relationship with the Flame and her fire family.

laura@unifiredance.com




Liam


Liam is the patriarch of Unifire and the troupe depends upon his wisdom and experience when it comes to safety and knowledge of fire performance. Liam is trained in the arts of stiltwalking, fire whip, fire swords and costuming. He is an accomplished percusionist that can be seen playing with the local belly dancing troupe Baraka Mundi. He refers to Daniel as his master and leader and refuses to turn in his bio on the grounds that it might incriminate him.

liam@unifiredance.com




Rae


Fire arts have always been a very personal endeavor for Rae. After having moved to Asheville, she gracefully fell into the laps of the very performers she admired some years before. She came across UniFire in the fall of 2004 beginning as a safety and backstage hand when needed. Since then, she has continued to love the world of Fire Theater by deepening her skills in poi, and has gained new skills in staff, fire costuming, fire hula hooping, and hopes to be stilt walking in the future. Rae feels that fire creates every color of emotion for her, and trusts deeply that she is in the most supportive environment working with UniFire. Her gratitude grows stronger with each show on both a personal and universal level.

rae@unifiredance.com




Melanie

Melanie has spent years nurturing the roots of firespinning in Asheville from the old school days of Tranceform Venus. She is tickled pink to be a playful and colorful part of this balanced fire troop. She specializes in double batons, poi, fire masks, costuming, intricate face paint designs, and recently has taken on a passion for hula hooping. She teaches Kundalini Yoga in Asheville and uses yoga interwoven throughout her creative endeavors. Melanie is deeply committed to building altars, performing sacred ritual and creating blacklight environments with the TOUCH Samadhi Psy-Trance collective (www.touchsamadhi.com). She is currently homeowning in the forest of Hendersonville, NC and working at Cooper Riis Healing Farm as a Life Skills Coach, Yoga Teacher, and Creative Arts Leader (www.cooperriis.org). SAT NAM melanie@unifiredance.com




Daniel Crabtree

Daniel began his performance career at age 15 as a bicycle freestyle rider doing shows with the Pedal Power Trick Team. Since that time he has performed in numerous plays, poetry slams, and film. He has played percussion in the bands Green Grass Jubilee, K3 and Bandliter. He got his start with fire while playing drums with Michael Saab (www.moderngypsies.com). A two-time Teacher of the Year, Daniel works with special needs middle school students which he describes as a lot like juggling flaming torches. Daniel's blend of creativity and originality have helped create a truly unique fire show that has featured him performing as a clown or with one of his original fire toys such as the "Buckets of Death" or the fire mop. Daniel juggles and fire breathes in addition to using staff, double staff, devilsticks and fire jump rope. In addition to performing with Unifire, he works with a local vaudeville, caberet, burlesque troupe dubbed "The Seduction Sideshow". daniel@unifiredance.com




Celeste


Celeste moved to Asheville at the end of 2003, having fallen deeply in love with the mountains, the city and its freaky inhabitants. By day she plays Architect in a local firm designing mountain dream homes. By night she often finds herself dancing with fire. Shortly after her arrival in the City of Ashes she volunteered to do water safety for this group of so-called "fire performers." They turned out to be same group that had deeply inspired her 5 years ago, when she saw her first fire show in Atlanta. Having a Dragon spirit and a passion for entertaining people, Celeste took quickly to the Flame and its power to amaze and delight. She specializes in fire bellydance, fire fans, and fire costuming, and is the troupe's official healer of minor cuts, burns and abrasions.

celeste@unifiredance.com




Arbor

Arbor is an accomplished artist who has been performing with Unifire for Three years. In addition to being a phenomenal poi, staff and dance artist, Arbor also choreographs and directs many of our shows. She has performed throughout the country inspiring all those she comes in contact with. casey@unifiredance.com





© 2005 Unifire Theatre