There are some who say that the Bay Area is the birthplace of modern fire arts. Regardless of the pedigree involved, we look damn good getting our sparks off.

Since we gave you a sneak peek of the fire safety measures behind this weekend's HEAT: A Fire Cabaret at West Oakland's Crucible, it only seemed right to share some of the night's most sparkling backbends, hip thrusts, Tatu-like riffs on circus, and of course, skillful application of flameburst. Do enjoy. All photos by Erik Anderson