Our Story
A PropDanceCulture Production
The modern evolution of what PropDanceCulture wanted to be
The Story
In 2017, PropDanceCulture was the first platform I ever created. It was a Social Network, E-Learning and Multi-Vendor website, but at the time, I had little to no programming experience, so it was very clunky and slow. I dreamed of a platform that would be the ultimate resource for movement artists, but I didn't know how to make it happen.
I spent 3 years learning how to program, and when I was finally confident enough, I created Flow Arts Meetup. Flow Arts Meetup was created in 2020 and is essentially what PropDanceCulture wanted to be, except using powerful and modern technologies. However, for a beginner programmer, the amount of work required was far too much to handle, especially in conjunction with the PhD in Neuroscience that I started in 2022, and so I stepped away from the project.
Three years later (2025), my power level has reached over 9000, and I'm ready to make Flow Arts Meetup a true reality. PropDanceCulture is still exists, but rather than being about the tech behind everything, PropDanceCulture will focus more on in-person activities, like retreats, workshops and festivals around Prop Dancing.
Our Mission
PropDanceCulture (PDC) is an organization dedicated to bringing all movement enthusiasts together into a melting pot, in which creativity can be stimulated, key ideas can be shared, and skill growth can be accelerated.
The term Prop Dance Culture encompasses Object Manipulators (Prop Artists), Dancers and everything in between (Movement Culture). Prop Dance Culture hopes to help raise awareness of the potential that dance/movement has in the Flow (Prop) arts world and of the potential that prop-use has in dance/movement world.
Imagine a rhythmic gymnast with a Dragon Staff, A Poi Spinning Ballerina, and a Hip-Hop Buugangster all sharing ideas. We support all forms of dance/movement blended with all forms of Prop/Tool use. We hope to inspire this type of creativity and are excited to see facilitate the evolution of all movement artists.
The Flow Arts Meetup mission is to provide the technological infrastructure to make PDC's mission a reality.
What is Flow Arts?
There's a misconception that "Flow Arts" = "Object Manipulation" or "Movement Arts", or "Prop Spinning", or "Insert Activity Here". However, Flow Arts is about those things no more than meditation is about breathing.
Rather, Flow Arts is the ART of achieving Flow, and while Object Manipulation and Movement are powerful ways to tap into Flow, it would be a disservice to mistake them for Flow itself.
What is Flow?
The term "Flow" was coined by psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, who studied what he called the psychological state of "optimal experience." According to most scientists, Flow is a physical brain state—a state where we perform our best and feel our best.
Flow got its name because many people who experienced this state described their experiences as "flowing."
This state is often referred to as "The Flow State".
What is it like to Flow?
In the Flow state, we tend to experience many different feelings, but among the most common are "STER"—that is, we tend to experience:
Selflessness
The experience of losing oneself in the activity. It feels as though there is no "you"—instead, it seems as if you are watching someone else do the task, or as if the task is being done by itself.
Timelessness
Time can be experienced as moving very quickly or incredibly slowly. Most commonly, time passes very quickly in Flow, but sometimes what happens in seconds seems to take minutes or even hours.
Effortlessness
Comes hand-in-hand with selflessness. If it isn't "you" engaged in the activity, then how can "you" put in any effort? Our brains move through stages smoothly and effortlessly in Flow.
Richness
Information seems to come in at a faster rate, or as if there is more information coming in than usual. This can contribute to the timelessness and effortlessness feelings.
The Benefits of Flow
Flow research has shown that Flow significantly increases creativity, productivity, problem-solving, decision-making, and learning speed. Studies have found:
- Up to 8x better creative problem-solving
- Up to 490% faster skill mastery
- Up to 200% boost in creativity
- Up to 500% more productive for top executives
So, What is Flow Arts?
Flow Arts is the ART of achieving Flow. It really is an art. Sometimes when people learn about Flow, they find the concept foreign or extraordinarily rare. This can be due to:
- Stress—Part of getting into Flow has to do with the ability to relax
- Too high expectations—Even small signs of STER can mark Flow (we call this "MicroFlow")
- Lack of knowledge—Flow is an art that requires practice and discipline
"Flowing" is not simply object manipulation, nor is it simply juggling, or dancing, or any other physical activity in particular. One doesn't simply "go Flow". Rather, being in "Flow" is a result of the physical interactions that happen in our brains and is marked by our feelings of selflessness, timelessness, effortlessness and richness.
🎓 Want to learn more about how to get into the Flow State?
Check out our free course "Living The Flow Life"
📚 Course Outline
Join the Movement
Flow Arts Meetup is here to help you achieve Flow, connect with movement artists worldwide, and accelerate your growth. Whether you're a dancer, prop spinner, or movement enthusiast, this platform is for you.