Flow&Grow hosts second Flow Jam on July 26
HUNTSVILLE – Huntsville Flow&Grow provides a community for locals who practice flow arts with weekly meetings and an upcoming Flow Jam.
“I was really craving a community and something consistent where I could practice and share skills with others,” said Huntsville, Flow&Grow founder Leanne (Lila Celeste) Ferryman.
The group has been meeting since August 2024 and is planning their second Flow Jam on July 26 at Big Spring Park.
Flow art is a broad term that includes a variety of prop use and expressive movement in an artistic manner.
“There’s actually a ton of different Flow Arts,” Ferryman said. “Flow is such a broad category, because not only is it the manipulation of a prop, but it can even include majorette, juggling, unicyclers, aerial artists, acroyoga people, ecstatic dancers and any type of expressive movement, it all just blends so well together.”
Ferryman said that she enjoys using a variety of props to practice flow arts, including fire props. She also performs as different roving characters, often as a clown or a mermaid.
“I perform with LED props, and a lot of the LED props that I have come in very intricate patterns and it’s a very cool visual experience,” she said. “We have fire props, and I will light those on fire, and each prop is different in its own unique way. My favorite is the Dragon Staff, it’s definitely the most euphoric feeling, it rolls over every inch of your body, and it’s just one big, continuous roll.”
Flow&Grow organizes weekly meetups for members of the flow art community where locals can practice their skills and learn new ones.
“Our weekly meetups are pretty much the heart of what we do, they’re free practice meetups at Big Spring Park on Monday from 5 p.m. to 9, where we invite all forms of movement artists to join in and practice together each week,” Ferryman said. “We also have a community prop blanket with a ton of learner props that we love to share so people can try stuff out. A lot of our flow artists who have been attending for a while love sharing skills with new people who are interested.”
The Flow Jam on July 26 will begin at 2 p.m. at no cost to community members of any age.
“It’s a whole lot of fun and extremely family friendly. This will be the first time that we’re actually going to have a workshop schedule, and we’re going to have music and different DJs playing each hour,” Ferryman said. “We also invite all kinds of artists. We had some live paintings last time, and that was so stinking cool.”
Ferryman said that the Flow&Grow community has connected her with other local flow artists and created a welcoming and inclusive space of self-expression for both her and other members.
We have a pretty solid community now, a lot of our people have been coming for at least eight months, if not more,” she said. “It’s really important to have a safe and welcoming space, to be able to come as your authentic self and explore different methods of movement. It’s really cool because this group is made for everyone. I’ve had a lot of comments that the acceptance from others in the group makes people feel like they’ve found a home, and there’s something for everybody at Flow&Grow.
For more information, visit Huntsville Flow&Grow on Facebook or visit the website www. huntsvilleflowandgrow.org.
