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Hello! Welcome to our website! Here is a little about us and what we do….
Full Circle Flow Arts
was born in Asheville, NC the summer of 2013 by River and Julia McDowell. We are a family-owned company, and we have made it our mission to share our love for creative and joyful movement with the world. We have had the amazing pleasure of sharing our gifts with many events in the southeast including Lake Eden Arts Festival, Floyd Yoga Jam (VA), Culturefest (WV), Living Arts Asheville Festival, 3 Days of Light, Kinnection Campout, and The Lovevolution Gathering.
What is Flow Arts?
The term “flow arts” constitutes a variety of movements or dance using objects or props such as hula hoops, poi, staffs, juggling sticks, etc. The word “flow” refers to the extraordinary balanced and focused state achieved as a result of expressing your art through movement with a physical object.
We define art as When we share with the physical world our reflection or interpretation of how we see, feel and think about life, love and what we hold most important. Thus producing a physical expression of beauty, emotion, values, and love.
Concepts That We Embody
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Creating a flow arts practice for better well-being
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Sharing the joy and benefits of movement through Flow Arts
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Recognizing that dance is intuitive and within all of us
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“Finding our flow” directly correlates with amazing personal growth
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Creating unity in the movement of Flow
Meet our Flow Artists
‘Irijah Rivers’ McDowell
I am a dedicated father, husband, and love activist with over 22 years experience in flow and movement arts. Furthermore, I am a circus/fire performer, flow arts teacher, and flow tool designer/creator. Proficient in hoop, staff, poi, rhythm sticks, acro-balance, & slackline, currently teaching classes and workshops on staff (A Movement-Art Form), Flow into Contact Staff, Hoop Dance, and Stage Presence (Becoming a Better Performer). I am a founding and active member of Full Circle Flow Arts, a movement and flow arts company that offers custom handcrafted flow tools, teaching, performance, fire zone’s, booking/production/stage management, and our interactive day time activity area (the FLOW ZONE). I have also taught classes on slack-lining, acro-balance, poi, circus theater arts, natural healing and I am producing a workshop on a holistic view of wealth.
I have performed at and taught workshops at many great festivals and gathering including: the Lake Eden Arts Festival-LEAF (NC), the Three Days of Light Festival (NC), LAAFF (NC), Kinnection Campout (NC), Gratifly (SC), Gnarnia (NC), Bele Chere (NC), Organic Fest (NC), Veg-Fest (NC), CultureFest (WV), Floyd Yoga Jam (VA), Zen Awakening (FL), Expand Fest (NC), Love Evolution (NC), Mindfulness Fest (NC), Equinox (NC), the Princeton New Years Countdown (WV) and many more. I have hosted many festival workshops, flow arts classes, playshops for kids, circus summer day camps throughout the years. I created and taught a hoop dance choreography that was featured in the 2014 A.C.D.T. Nutcracker performance at the Diana Wortham Theater (NC). I also worked and trained with many of Asheville NC’s great performing artists as well as performance troupes like Clan Destiny Circus and the Vegetable Circus.
“We are all infinitely creative beings here to share our personal reflection of Love through Art.”
Julia McDowell
I am first and foremost the mother of my amazing little boy. However, intermixed in my free moments I dedicate myself to dancing, creativity, and reconnecting myself with nature. In 2013 my husband, Irijah Rivers, and I founded Full Circle Flow Arts.
I have been moving with flow-props for about 8 years, first beginning with poi, then picking up the hoop and now most recently dragon staff. I approach my dance from a whole body perspective, exploring all types of props. How different parts of our bodies participate with interconnected movements is the path that I take in learning as well as teaching. My most recent workshop “Dancing IN your hoop” delves into the importance of using our core to manipulate the hoop. I have had the pleasure of teaching this workshop as well as providing stage and roving performances at many festivals including: Lake Eden Arts Festival *3 events annually* (NC), Floyd Yoga Jam (VA), Three Days of Light (NC), Zen Awakening Festival (FL), Culturefest (WV), Kinnection Campout (NC), LAAFF (NC), Expand Fest (NC), Love Evolution (NC), Mindfulness Fest (NC), Equinox (NC), and the Princeton New Years Countdown (WV).
In addition to performing and presenting inspirational workshops at these events and many others, I also help to run the FCA Flow Zone. This is a flow movement-focused activity area presented by Full Circle Flow Arts to provide on the spot instruction and mini workshops to festival goers. I also help to run our vending booth where we sell our handmade props.
My other involvements include cultivating our self-sustainable homestead and expanding my upcycled clothing design business, Perpetual Muse. No matter where I am or what I am doing, I am ever inspired to be my creative authentic self.
Kathryn Lathrop -aka- Sparkles the Clown!
I picked up my first hoop in 2013. Since that magical day I have pursued my passion for movement meditation through any flow props I could get my hands on (poi, levi-wand, fans, double staff) and I also pursued juggling practice. (hoops, balls, and contact juggling) ‘Flow arts’ is my prime choice when it comes to self expression, but I am also passionate about any and all art. I love to wire wrap jewelry, paint, draw, write poetry, sing, and play music on guitar and flute.
After 2 years of following my hoopy passions, I decided that I was destined to spread hoop love every where. I started making hoops, and teaching lessons to people of all ages in my area. I performed at my Junior and Senior talent shows and took home the 1st place trophy! In 2015 I taught my first festival workshop at The Werkout (OH). As my confidence grew, -thanks to radical self expression- I began street performing and discovered another passion for improvisation and engaging audiences.
I love to interact with people. I put on my first clown nose in 2014, and have been clowning around ever since! Spontaneous cosmic moments of connection are critical to the shaping of our character. I have been developing my clown act and my special sparkly self for 2 years. It has always been my dream to runaway with the circus, and I am making my dreams come true through movement medicine and the flow community!!
I have performed at birthday parties and private events as a clown/hoop dancer, and as a fire performer at Rebel Road Biker Gathering (MI), Grand Haven Coast Guard Festival, and Grand haven 4th of July fireworks celebration (MI), 3 Days of light Gathering (NC), and Actual Eyes (TN). Performing is my passion- the biggest piece of my heART. <3
MELISSA WESTON
I have been spinning hoops and other flow props for over 7 years now. Working member at Full Circle Flow Arts as a Flow Zone Artist, performer, prop maker, web developer, and shop sales for over 4 year. I have a passion for sharing my love of flow with both young and old alike. I primarily perform and teach hoop, staff, and poi, however I am always learning more and picking up new props. I have worked with FCFA at such great events as LEAF, 3DL, Floyd Yoga Jam, Mindfulness Fest and L.A.A.F.F..
“Continuously falling in love with music and nature. Love to learn, love to share what I learn. Love to dance, sing, hula hoop”