BRINGING FIRE TO THE BOLD CITY

BRINGING FIRE

TO THE BOLD CITY

Words & photos by Kara Carter

Fire breathing, dancing and fire manipulation all come into play when Tokyo is in her element. If you have ever dined at Norikase on a Friday night, you have probably been enamored with her performance. She encompasses the flames with ease and grace like no other.

Tokyo Moreno is a fire dancer based in Jacksonville, Florida. Each movement Moreno makes by wielding a flame puts the onlooking crowd in awe. Her glowing smile and precision with each fiery movement is what keeps the audience captivated in her performance. Each motion exemplifies her strength, fluidity and charm.

Graduating from the University of Florida summa cum laude with a degree in marketing, Moreno found herself a little lost with her purpose in life. She wanted to find something that “didn’t put me in a box.”

She started aerial dancing that suspends her on the silks high into the air. She can twist, turn and flip all while being suspended. She also turned to pole dance for the purpose of building strength, flexibility and confidence.

During the 2020 pandemic, Moreno reflected and realized she wanted more out of life. “If I die tomorrow, will I be happy with everything I have done?” Moreno asked herself. Thus began the journey through fire dancing.

Moreno flew to Las Vegas in hopes of being taught by one of the best fire breathers in the world that goes by the name Joker. She messaged him on Instagram in hopes that he offered private classes, and he did. She said she was going to turn her car around when she was driving to his house for the private lesson, doubting her own safety.

She pulled up to a non conspicuous looking house, and the Joker met her in his garage. Her heart was pounding from anxiety, excitement and fear.

“The class was two hundred dollars, if I die, it was only for two hundred dollars” Moreno laughed.

She said she was filled with anxiety, her heart pounding before eating the fire in fear of burning her face and eyelashes. Joker did not give her a countdown to do it, he just told her to do it. She put the fiery torch in her mouth without hesitation and then exclaimed, “Whoa! That was easy! Let’s do it again!” She says that 80%of fire breathing is a mental block for the performer.

The artist has to unlearn everything, set instinctual behaviors aside and just go for it.

Since that first lesson with Joker, Moreno has been enamored with the fire dancing world. She says the community is tight knit, and trust within each other while performing together is key. She emphasizes that safety is always the number one priority. Each performance she has a set of safety precautions that includes another person there to assist, a safety blanket (in case something does catch on fire) and water. Understanding the potential risks is what comes with the territory of fire dancing.

“The more you burn, the more you can get burned” Tokyo said.

Though there have been some hiccups in the past, Tokyo is still passionate about what she does. She says that she feeds off of the crowd’s energy when she is performing. When people are cheering or making noise, it gives her the confidence boost and validation needed for the electrifying performance.

One of the most rewarding things about the art is the connections she gets to make with different people. Seeing their expressions, hearing their stories and meeting them all makes it worthwhile. She even had a little girl tell her that she was going to take her job one day.

“My heart was on the floor,” Moreno said.

Smiling from ear to ear, she said she is happy that she is able to inspire people to follow their dreams. She encourages people to come up to her after her performances if they would like to meet, as she appreciates the art of human connection.

You can find Tokyo performing at Norikase on Friday evenings and Cataluna on Saturday evenings. She also does event bookings at floridafireflow.com. You can also find her on Instagram @TokyoMoreno if you want to see more of her artistry.