Imagine being entertained and mesmerized by someone twirling a flaming baton or swallowing a ball of fire. Imagine being in front of an audience, dancing and thrilling everyone as a fire performer.
It’s not something Aubrey Henriksen and her best friend Kaitlyn Cange thought they would be doing when they moved to Chattanooga in 2008 to attend UTC.
But when they started searching for something that would fill their down time, Henriksen said they literally started playing with fire.
“We were young and dumb,” she said. “If I could go back to the beginning, I may have done it differently but now here we are, and now we are the professionals.”
In the beginning, Henriksen turned to the internet. “I learned so many things from You Tube,” she said with a laugh. She admitted that, for the most part, they were self-taught.
Today Henriksen and other fire artists are part of the Chattanooga Fire Cabaret, a group of 8-10 artists, formed by Henriksen and others back in 2010. That same year, the group got its first gig and began to highlight their talents.
“Our mission is connecting local performance artists with paid opportunities to share their art,” she said.
Henriksen said, little by little, they learned what they needed, to do things right. “We researched what kind of safety equipment we needed,” she said. “We found out what kind of fuel was safe to use.”
She said they typically use Coleman’s Camp fuel, which burns brightly but is not explosive. “It doesn’t burn at a super high temperature,” she explained. “We use lamp oil sometimes. That will make a flame last longer. Sometimes you can mix them together if you want a bright flame that will last a little bit longer.”
Henriksen said they often practiced at the amphitheater under the Walnut Street walking bridge. There were times when the flames got a bit too close for comfort, she said. “Like with anything else, if you are going to be a skateboarder, you are going to skin your knees sometimes,” she said. “If you’re a fire performer you’re going to get burned sometimes. When we started, we were mostly doing it for fun and mostly doing it to get into concerts and stuff for free.”
Henriksen said they always have safety measures in place, and, so far, no one has experienced any serious fire injuries. When she started to dabble in fire eating, Henriksen said she did learn the proper techniques from someone with experience.
She said fire eating can be tricky. Practitioners are careful not to breath in the flame. “It is really about having good breath control and manipulating the vapors that come off the flame from the fuel,” she said.
These days Chattanooga Fire Cabaret performers showcase their talents at many community and private events. They captivate their audiences with brilliant displays of fire-eating, flaming hula hoops, and twirling baton with flames swirling above their heads and across their bodies.
The group will once again perform at this year’s Fire Up the Fields at Sculptures Fields, set for Oct. 19. The annual event started in 2010 by local artist Andrew Nigh.
Fall is their busy season, Henriksen said. “It’s spooky season,” she said. “I think we have a witchy, supernatural kind of vibe. We perform at a lot of Halloween parties, community festivals and events, and a lot of circus themed events.”
In addition to Henriksen, founding members still performing with the group include Julia Bies, Tanqueray Harper, and Suzanne Rambo.
Over the years Henriksen has collected the names and contacts for various other performing artists. “I’ve created a business called Chattanooga Event Entertainment LLC,” she said. “We book belly dancers, dancing roller skaters, stilt walkers, balloon twisters even comedians.”
Give her a call and book a party your guests will never forget!
To learn more about Chattanooga Fire Cabaret or to book their services for an event visit: chattanoogaevententertainment.com
Upcoming Chattanooga Fire Cabaret Performances:
- 10/5 - Magic of Literacy at Chattanooga Choo Choo Gardens
- 10/12 - Bewitched Bazaar at Chattanooga Choo Choo Gardens
- 10/19 - Fire Up the Fields at Sculptures Fields
- 10/25 - Drink & Discover | CARNevil at Creative Discovery Museum
- 10/25 - Halloween Masquerade at Hotel Chalet
- 12/07 - Mainx24