Shin Tip: Episode #1 Communication 101 & Our First Shin Forum

Shin Tip: Episode #1 Communication 101 & Our First Shin Forum

Welcome.

Congratulations on submitting your Fire Group’s intention to perform for the 2023 Fire Conclave!

During the first month or so, the passing of information between the Fire Conclave Council and you, then from you to your group (especially larger groups) can seem overwhelming. To help you out this communication offers tips on  how to best communicate with us, find us on Social Media, as well as other ways to stay informed.

Communicating with The Fire Conclave Council

Email Us

The primary and most direct way to contact us is through email. You may contact us anytime at: fireconclave@burningman.org. This email goes to the whole council (Crimson, Tabasco, Wrangler, Scorch and Natalie)

Please make sure to change the subject line of the email to reflect your group name and what it is you are asking, especially when responding to a group email This is important so that we can track correspondence for each group. 

For example: If the Group is called “Fire Lumps”

Subject line of email:

  •   Fire Lumps – March Report  
  •   Fire Lumps – Question about tickets
  •   Something the council sent – Fire Lumps 

In the “Body” of the email please include the Group Name and the Shin’s Name. For example:

Body of email:

  • “ Hey council this is Mike of Fire Lumps”

You do not need to wait to ask questions. You may ask them as they come up or when you feel you have enough questions that need answering.  Often we find one person asks, but 10 people want to know and 10 more didn’t know they should know. So don’t be afraid to ask. If enough of you ask the same thing, we will clarify in a bigger communication.

Monthly Reports

We require a “Monthly Report” from each group’s Shin which is due via email by the 25th of each month. 

  • Please don’t wait until the last day to send them, as receiving them all on the same day is a lot for us to shift through. 
  • You may send them two weeks prior to the deadline. 
  • These progress reports are tracked, and we acknowledge their receipt. Failure to provide us with monthly reports can jeopardize your group’s good standing within the Fire Conclave. 
  • The Monthly Shin Report Template  can be found on the Fire Conclave Council Resource Page (we suggest bookmarking this page on your computer’s bookmark bar for easy access).

Shin Summits

We conduct two mandatory Shin Summits per year. Once early in the season, and another one later in the season (typically mid-July). The purpose of these summits is to cover as much important information relating to the Fire Conclave as we can. It also gives you, the Shins and Assistant Shins, the opportunity to ask questions and seek clarifications.


Summits will be hosted on Zoom and there will be two meeting date options for each Summit, you only need to attend ONE. 

Choose to attend the first Summit on either March 12 or March 13.  Here are the details: 

  • When:  Sunday, March 12th from 12:00 PM 2:00 PM (PST – meeting opens at 11:45am)
  • Meeting Link:  Check the email sent to Fire Conclave Shin List

OR

  • When: Monday, March 13th from 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM (PST – meeting opens at 5:45 PM)
  • Meeting Link:  Check the email sent to Fire Conclave Shin List

If for some reason you can not attend either Summit, a recorded version will be shared after the event. 

Workshops/Forums/Salons

The first educational forum of the year is called “Choreography 101” and will cover the different aspects of choreography related specifically to Fire Conclave. We will cover topics such as the “duet”, “transitions”, “storylines” and “when/how to use large fire props”. We highly encourage Shins, Assistant Shins, any member of the group that is leading a group, and Choreographers to attend.   

  • When:  Sunday, March 12th from 6:00-8:00 PM (PST – meeting opens at 5:55 pm)
  • Meeting Link:  Check the email sent to Fire Conclave Shin List

Follow Us On Social Media

Fire Conclave Public Facebook Page: The Fire Conclave has a main page open to the public where you can be the first to see important information such as deadlines, ticketing information, photos and more. https://www.facebook.com/Thefireconclave

Fire Conclave Instagram: Follow us on Instagram @fireconclave for a dose of inspiration. We share fiery goodness from the Great Circle Documentarian Team (Grant Palmer, Espresso Buzz and Kevin LeVezu, Vimala Faith) as well as guest photographers. https://www.instagram.com/fireconclave/

Other Communications from The Fire Conclave Council

Fire Conclave Announce List

Stay up to date with all the activities related to the Fire Conclave at Burning Man directly from the Fire Conclave Council. In addition to Shins and Shin Assists, anyone in the fire performance community (or interested in fire dancing in general) is encouraged to subscribe. 

Email us at:  fireconclave@burningman.org, and tell us something about yourself, your relationship with fire performance, if you have attended Burning Man, and anything else you want to express about yourself. That’s it. We’ll subscribe you to the list.

Shin Tips from the Fire Conclave Council

Shin Tips are short communications that we feel will help you better manage your groups. Topics range from managing suggestions to important reminders. We send them out as needed (once or twice a month usually), so keep an eye out for them. They will appear in your email inbox, and on Discord.

Communicating with Other Shins

The Shin List

It’s a place where the FC Council can send important information down the pipeline for you to pass on to your groups. It’s also a place where you can get advice, suggestions, and share information with other Shins. 

We (the Fire Conclave Council) monitor the Shin List so we can step in if a question or topic is asked that needs further clarification. Shins and shin assists are automatically added to this list. Please make sure you are receiving these emails. If you are not, check your spam folder and change your personal settings so that these hit your inbox.

If you would like other members of your leadership added to this list please just let us know.  

We Consider this the MAIN way to announce info to the whole of the conclave. Deadlines and other info will always be shared here first.

Email to the list – fireconclave-shin-list@burningman.org

Discord

You have already been informed of the Discord server and hopefully have joined and are up for sharing, discussing, and participating. Please share with the people you want monitoring the info with you (leadership) and make sure we know who they are so we can give the access to the extra information just for leadership. 

Your participation on Discord is very welcome but not required. Important Dates and Announcements will be published on the Shin List as well.f

Communicating/Relaying Information to your Group

We have found the best ways to communicate information to your group people are:

Utilizing Social Media Groups (such as Facebook): Utilizing groups on social media sites such as Facebook is a great way to keep communication flowing between you and your fire group. You can set up one main Facebook Group where all important announcements (such as ticket and filming information) can be passed onto all of your members.

Discord, Slack or Other Communication Platforms: These tools give  everyone a place to talk about their projects while also allowing the leadership to check in and oversee all the work being done. 

Utilizing Email Groups: If email is your thing, create an email group using your favorite email application and then instead of sending emails to 30 individuals, you can simply send the emails to a group address.

Keep in mind that you may have to use a variety of methods to reach all of your group members. Bull Horns, Text messages, Morse Code, Calling, Whats app, Whatever works.

Let’s get this fire started!

The Fire Conclave Council
Crimson, Tabasco, Wrangler, Scorch and Natalie


Photo Credit: Kevin LeVezu