Spinning and Flower Stick Kit

Two juggling disciplines that are among the easiest to pick up! This Flow Arts kit brings together a 1.30 m spinning staff and a NEO flower stick with its two handsticks. Playful props for children and adults alike: you quickly get your first rotations, you enjoy moving, and you discover that with a little practice you can pull off impressive figures!

Flow Arts kit: the joy of juggling from the very first tries

Looking for a juggling activity that is accessible, fun and motivating? The spinning staff and the flower stick are two excellent gateways into the world of circus arts.

Unlike three-ball juggling, which often requires several hours of practice before you can pull off a cascade, these two disciplines deliver visual results almost immediately.

With a staff, you simply start spinning the stick and discover interesting movements. Even if the first rotations are still a little rough, you already get something that looks like juggling!

The flower stick also offers quick early wins thanks to its ends, which slow the rotations, and its silicone coating, which makes control easier.

That feeling of succeeding at something from the very first tries makes you want to go again, try another figure and keep improving.

This kit is particularly suited to children, teenagers and beginner adults who want to discover object manipulation in motion.

What does the kit contain?

• 1 x 1.30 m spinning practice staff: a stick designed for learning rotations, direction changes and sequences around the body.
• 1 x NEO flower stick: a stick covered in silicone, fitted with flowers at the ends to slow its rotations.
• 2 x NEO control handsticks: they let you manipulate the flower stick without holding it directly in your hands.

Two different props, two complementary techniques and plenty of movement possibilities to explore.

The spinning staff: a hit with children!

The staff is a prop that children absolutely love. Its principle is easy to understand: you hold a stick and spin it around yourself.

The first rotations come very quickly. You can then learn to switch hands, change the direction of the movement, move the staff around your body and combine several gestures.

The 1.30 m model selected for this kit is a practice staff designed for spinning.

It lets you discover, among other things:

• Simple rotations in front of the body.
• Changes of direction and hand.
• Movements on the sides and behind the body.
• The different planes of rotation.
• Fluid sequences between several figures.
• Movements combined with dance steps or music.

A plane of rotation is the orientation in which the staff spins. Understanding these planes gradually allows you to organise your movements better and to move from one figure to another.

You don't need to know all these concepts to get started: you can first handle the staff freely, then learn to make your movements more precise.

Spinning vs contact staff: what's the difference?

Spinning mainly consists of making the staff rotate while controlling it with your hands, in different positions around the body.

Contact staff relies more on rolling the stick on the arms, shoulders, back and other parts of the body, sometimes without holding it directly.

These contact techniques generally require more precision and perseverance at the start.

The spinning staff in this kit is therefore particularly interesting for beginners: it lets you quickly create visual sequences with relatively simple movements.

And if you enjoy dancing, there's nothing stopping you from adding steps and building a little choreography!

The NEO flower stick: another way to discover rotations

The flower stick also belongs to the family of manipulation disciplines found in the Flow Arts.

Unlike the staff, it is traditionally manipulated using two small handsticks.

The central stick passes from one handstick to the other, spins, balances and can even be thrown and caught as you progress.

The NEO model has several features that are particularly useful for learning:

• A silicone coating: it improves the grip between the stick and the handsticks and provides a pleasant feel.
• Flowers at the ends: they slow the rotations and make movements easier to control.
• Handsticks also covered in silicone: they let you guide the stick with greater precision.
• Robust construction: suitable for regular practice and introductory exercises.

The flower stick is very popular in circus workshops because it delivers encouraging results fairly quickly while offering plenty of room for progression.

A flower stick that can also become a mini staff!

What we particularly like about the NEO flower stick is that you don't necessarily have to limit it to use with the handsticks.

You can also put the handsticks down and manipulate the central stick directly in your hands, like a small staff.

It then becomes possible to explore rotations, hand changes and movements that sit halfway between the flower stick and spinning.

For some children, these manipulations also bring to mind majorette movements, with a silicone-covered stick that feels pleasant to hold.

The two props in this kit therefore let you experiment freely and discover uses different from those they were originally designed for.

You can learn the classic techniques, then invent your own variations.

Quick success: a tremendous driver for progress

When you discover a new discipline, the first results play an important role in motivation.

With the staff and the flower stick, beginners can quickly pull off a rotation or a short sequence. That success brings satisfaction and encourages you to go again.

You try a movement, do it a little better, then discover a new possibility.

This progression can be particularly motivating for children, who see the concrete effects of their practice.

And that may be one of the finest lessons of juggling: a skill that seems impressive isn't necessarily a talent reserved for a chosen few. It can be built through practice.

Through repetition, gestures that were once clumsy become natural. You develop genuine technical mastery and discover that you are capable of learning things you thought were difficult.

The staff and the flower stick are particularly good at conveying this idea, because they let you start easily while offering considerable potential for progression.

They can even inspire you to go on and discover other circus disciplines, such as balls, clubs, diabolo or contact juggling.

The NetJuggler verdict:

If you're looking for two juggling disciplines that are easy to pick up, we find this combination particularly interesting.

The spinning staff is a huge hit with children. You just pick it up and start spinning it to get a first result. Even when the movements aren't very precise yet, you're already having fun!

The NEO flower stick offers a different approach, with its two handsticks and its silicone coating that makes manipulation easier.

What we like about these two disciplines is that they are accessible from the very first tries, yet far from being limited to beginners.

You can practise for years, learn increasingly technical movements and create real choreographies.

For children, it's also a great way to discover that with a little practice, you can improve enormously.

And if those first successes make you want to discover other juggling props next, so much the better!

A kit for children, teenagers and adults

These two disciplines can be practised at different ages and levels.

• Children: to discover playful manipulation and get quick first results, with a suitable space and supervision.
• Teenagers: to learn sequences, work on coordination and explore movements with music.
• Beginner adults: to discover the Flow Arts without having to master toss juggling first.
• Circus schools and activity leaders: to offer accessible workshops with plenty of room for progression.
• More experienced practitioners: to vary techniques, work on fluidity and invent new combinations.

The 1.30 m staff is a versatile size, but it can be bulky for the youngest children. The available space and the practitioner's build should be taken into account.

Our tips for getting started

With the staff: start with a few simple rotations in front of you, holding the stick with one hand and then the other. Then try changing direction and linking movements without stopping.

With the flower stick: first learn to pass the central stick from one handstick to the other, then to control a steady rotation. Once you feel comfortable, try a few balances and variations.

To go further: practise to music you like, add some movement and try to build your own little sequences.

You don't need to nail a spectacular trick to enjoy practising. What matters is discovering the movements and progressing at your own pace.