When the dot com industry collapsed in California a few years ago, there were probably more than a few technology professionals who wanted to set themselves on fire ? but American web designer Erin Glover actually did it.

Several years ago she and a friend started their own fire dancing group called the Fire Pixies. The San Francisco based group will be performing in Bermuda at Island Inferno, a classy beach party at the Fairmont Southampton Hotel on September 3 organised locally by Dana Lee Trott of Exquisite Designs & Productions.

?We are a group of performers that do a dance show that revolves around fire,? said Ms Glover. ?We do different kinds of fire dancing. It is based on traditional Polynesian fire knife dancing, but it is a lot more modern and diver.?

Ms Glover said that seven years ago, she and a friend, Darrell St. Blain, went to a party at an interactive museum in San Francisco to celebrate a solar eclipse.

?At the party we saw some fire dancers which I?d never seen. We watched them and we were blown away. I thought ?oh my gosh that is what I have to do with my life!?.?

There are now six performers in the Fire Pixies including Mr. St. Blain and Ms Glover. Three will be coming to Bermuda.

The Fire Pixies do five or six different types of fire dancing including fire poi which involves fire balls on the end of chains, fire staffs (burning sticks), fire fans, fire eating and fire contact.

Ms Glover and her colleagues know first hand the old adage, when you play with fire you?re going to get burned. Being burned is a part of the business.

?We are really tough is the first thing,? said Ms Glover. ?It is a lot of physics. It is about how to leave the fire on your skin just long enough so that it doesn?t burn. We don?t use any chemicals or barriers ? it is actually on our skin.?

Sometimes, however, things don?t go as planned. The group always has a trained fire marshal with them.

?We do have accidents,? said Ms Glover. ?It is real fire. It is dangerous. We have had a few burns. With the poi balls we tend to get a lot of little burns all over the place.

?With the fire staff you don?t get burned very often, but when you do it is bad. One of our dancers had a really bad burn on the inside of his arm.

?For the most part, if we burned ourselves too much we wouldn?t do. You have to learn to respect the fire and dance with. We practise a whole lot with the equipment before we actually light it.?

Ms Glover said the Fire Pixies are largely self-taught, although they got a lot of advice from fellow fire dancers in the San Francisco area.

?It wasn?t easy to learn, but you can play with those things for six months, before you are ready to try it with fire,? she said. ?We always have a fire safety person with us who is trained in putting out fires and and fire dancers.

?She will coming with us to Bermuda. The fire safety person is trained in getting our stuff ready for us.?

Although the Fire Pixies want the audience to be mesmerised, they need the fire marshal to stay on her toes.

Although the party at the Fairmont Southampton will be strictly for adults, back in California the Fire Pixies also perform at birthday parties. At each party they make the children solemnly swear not to ?try this at home?.

?We have been to Hawaii, we did a show in Utah and we did Harbour Nights in Bermuda, not long ago,? said Ms Glover. ?We are starting to take off. We have been all over the Bay Area.

She said the troupe?s professionalism comes from its costumes, top notch music and choreography. ?Darrell St. Blain is a sound engineer so we are professional from that aspect,? she said. ?We put on a show. Our show flows really well. We do acrobatics. It is pretty exciting.?

Dana Lee Trott of Exquisite Designs & Productions said Island Inferno the Fairmont Southampton is going to be a fun beach party with lots of homegrown and international talent.

?The VIP area at the Whaler Inn will be very classy with a midnight dessert and seafood buffet, and open wine and beer bar? said Ms Trott. ?The decor will be very elegant, but funky.?

Dennie O?Connor, Fairmont Southampton Conventions and Catering Manager added: ?This party is for 23 years old and over. It is a mature party. There will be rhythm & blues music, dance, hip hop.?

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