Hoop Inspiration - More Than Just a Pretty Dance

"Just go to Youtube and search for hoop dance." As the unofficial 'hoop girl' of my small Midwestern town, I make this suggestion at least once a week. Folks often respond with wonder, disbelief, or confusion upon learning that a grown woman spends hours each week dancing inside a plastic circle. For those folks who haven't seen hoopdance, those who don't have a reference point, it must seem ridiculous. Do they imagine I stand for hours just keeping the hoop up around my waist? Do they translate hoop dancer into stripper in the round. Sometimes it seems that way, so if I don't have a hoop on hand to demonstrate, I send them to Youtube. 

Later I wonder what videos they found. Is Shakti Sunfire's performance at O Dance studio in Boulder still the first search result? (I checked, it's farther down the list now.) Will they stumble across some gal rocking a bikini and fishnets and instantly doubt my promise that hooping is for everybody and every body? Will their digitized glimpse reveal the transformative magic, the healing, and the joy that hooping creates? Or will they see just another pretty dance? 

In the video collection below you'll find hoop dance videos that delve a little deeper. They explore the process, the practice, the philosophy, and the sublime magic of hoop dance. Though the skill and grace of these hoopers is mind-boggling in its own right, these videos also reveal a bit of the emotion behind the motion. 

Love the Process - Sandra Safire 

It's a Practice - Jaguar Mary 

Eye of the Storm - Brecken 

This is my Flow - Tiana at Hoop Path 7 

Sacred Hoop - Hoop Alchemy 

Defining Flow

(This article has been expanded from my original post on hooping.org)

"Flow" is  term we tend to throw around a lot in the hooping community. We describe hoop-stars like Mona and Spiral as having "flow." We strive to cultivate it in our hoop-practice. But what exactly are we striving for? You see, when we talk about flow, we're actually talking about two different ideas that have become linked through digital alchemy.

On one hand, drawing on the work on  Mihály Csíkszentmihályi, hoopers conceptualize flow as a mental state where daily worries, time, self-criticism, and doubt drop away. The hooper enters a mind-state where s/he is completely immersed in the moment, in the movement. Many hoopers describe this state as a kind of heightened awareness where they reach beyond their normal limitations and they become one with the hoop. Artists in all different forms describe similar experiences and Chomsky studied those experiences to create his theories about "flow."

On the other hand, we also tend to use "flow" to describe a hooper whose skill, enthusiasm, and style communicate a sense easy grace or general bad-ass-ness. When someone appears to be totally blissing or rocking out, we say they have flow. In this case, we're describing fluidity, ease of movement, and flawless transitions. We're describing what their movement communicates to us, rather than their mind-state, because as much as a video can communicate emotion, we really have no idea what the hooper's actually experiencing.

It's important to distinguish between the two different meanings of "flow" because hoopers belong to a very visual community. We live in a visual society where Facebook, advertising, and Youtube have trained us to associate certain appearances with certain mind-states. We all want to be bad-ass (flow in the 2nd sense). We seek to awe a real or imagined audience.  We are, after all human, and part of what draws many folks to hooping is that it creates a space for us to be skillful, marvelous, and awe inspiring. And that's good!

However, when our community convolutes the appearance of flow with the mental experience of flow, we risk making that experience less accessible. Personal experience suddenly becomes linked to physical characteristics (like fluidity, beauty, and gracefulness) that have minimal correlation with a hooper's state of mind. These characteristics in turn create a rigid pre-conception of what flow looks like rather than what it feels like. Suddenly authentic self expression is replaced by the pressure to buy $100 dance pants and mime poses glimpsed in YouTube videos. Less insidiously, the mental experience becomes linked to a particular skill set or level of expertise beyond the reach of vast numbers of hoop dance enthusiasts.

Language is an amazing tool. It both shapes and is shaped by our reality and culture. Mihály Csíkszentmihályi's conceptualization of flow has given us a marvelous word to describe the marvelous experience of being immersed in our art. Our language possesses an equal capacity to describe the physical characteristics that are often mislabeled as flow. We can describe those mind-boggling expressions of hoop-dance virtuosity in language that simultaneously honors bad-ass performance and leaves space for flow as an uninhibited mental-emotional experience.

At the deepest level, the level that sustains our spirit,  we want to experience the power and bliss of flow (in the 1st sense.) When we embrace flow as a state of mind, we reaffirm that anyone can experience a joyous psychological state at any point in their hoop journey.  We can experience it busting out super-tech tricks. We can experience it dancing. We can experience it getting lost in the counted circles of three-beat-weave drills. It need be neither beautiful nor refined because it transcends appearances.

I 1st tasted flow hooping to Bob Dylan when I only knew 3 hoop-moves. If I'd recorded that glorious, but undoubtedly clumsy, session, no one would have marveled and declared, "That girl has flow!"

But I did, because flow is in your head. Flow is in your heart.

Michelle Nayeli appears to embody a transcendental hoop experience, but
may, for all I know, be experiencing a dreadful foot cramp while she waits
for a friend to take this marvelous photo. 

. 

View from a Hooping Plateau Part 1

The view is breathtaking: valleys, rivers, and luminous sky. I stand in awe of the heights I’ve climbed, while gazing, inspired, at the mountains still waiting to be scaled. Below me a landscape of new friends, new skills, and blissful memories unfurl like a tapestry.

But I’d rather be somewhere else. Almost anywhere else.

I stand, grateful but impatient, on a hooping plateau.

You’ve probably reached one or will reach one some day. It’s the place in your hooping journey where everything seems a little stale. You’re comfortable with your skill-set and flow…too comfortable. Maybe it’s been a while since you’ve learned something new, and you worry you’ve reached the limits of your dance. Maybe you’ve poured your energy into the hooping community, and you feel burned out. Whatever path you’ve followed, you know you’re on a hooping plateau because all the birds are singing, “Same old. Nothing new. Same old hoola hoop.” It’s not a danceable tune.

The tricky thing about my hooping plateau is that nothing has really changed. I’m still part of a fantastic community. The crowd still crows when I bust out a pizza toss from my knees. I still adore the murmur of flames before I launch my fire hoop into motion. Nothing external exiles a hooper to a dreary plateau. It’s internal. It’s a state of mind.

Solanaceae surveys the hoop-scape.

Believe it or not. It’s a good sign.

Hooping plateaus are part of the natural ebb and flow of a dynamic hoop journey. They acknowledge accomplishment and skill. After all, I’ve worked long and hard to build the plateau’s foundation. They also promise change…if I persevere. They’re a resting space before plunging into the mountains of possibility. Like the proverbial calm before the storm, they signal a lull before a flood of new energy, inspiration, and flow.

So enjoy the view, hoop-friends. Set your hoop in the sand and meditate. Take inventory. Write a hymn in honor of the circle. Be patient, because the journey never ends.

Spin Gypsy

Spin Gypsy celebrates self-discovery through dance, movement, and music. We are a collective of hoop dancers, fire spinners, flow artists, and performers who connected through the Sedalia Farmer’s Market in the summer of 2010. We host performances and workshops throughout Mid-Missouri, including a weekly spin-jam in Liberty Park. 

We hope you join us in the circle!  

June 17th- Randomly at the Sedalia Lion’s Club Blues &   BBQ

June 18th - Spin Jam at Liberty Park, 4-7pm

June 24th - Friday Spin Jam at Sedalia Farmer’s Market, 4-7pm 

June 25th - Performance with the Hulagans @ Beach Party 101 in Columbia, MO, 9-midnight 

June 25th- Summer Solstice Bonfire Party in Leeton. Contact  Jeluna for details.

 

July 2nd - Spin Jam at Liberty Park, 4-7 pm

July 4th - Fire Spinning Performance at Dresden Community Center (free food & fireworks!!!)

July 8-11th - Zenfest at Camp Gaea, Kansas. 

July 16th - Spin Jam at Liberty Park, 4-7pm 

July 21st - 3rd Thursday Celebration in Warrensburg. Details TBA

July 22nd - Spin Jam at Liberty Park, 4-7pm

July 30th - Friday Spin Jam at Sedalia Farmer’s Market, 4-7pm

If you're a musician or pro-spinner interested in sharing your talents, please contact Heather Hughes @ tangledmacrame@yahoo.com

Polypro Hoops

Polypro hoop from synergyfirehoops.com

When the word polypro began to wander across the Hoop City  forums last year, I knew these hoops were going to be big. After all, they were promoted by Rich Porter whose name is synonymous with hoop-pioneer. Secondly, the name. If you clicked into an Etsy shop and saw listings for a HDPE hoop and a polypro hoop, which one would you look at first? I bet most folks would look at the polyPRO. Advertising repeatedly proves that names sell--especially names that suggest something desirable. Pro is positive. Pro is professional. Pro promises to transform every hooper into a bad-ass.

Polypro hoops are marketed as ‘professional hoops’ and hoops for advanced hooper. We’ve all seen jaw-dropping videos of Rich and Spiral rocking their tiny, ephemeral polypro hoops. We’ve all wondered how this potentially revolutionary tool can reshape our dance.

Well last weekend, I picked up a pair of 35” polypro twins. My regular hoop is a 36” PE (classic black) cut from ½” 125psi tubing. It is light and very springy. After an afternoon in the sun, I can feel my regular hoop squish during fast reversals.

My new polypro hoops are even lighter. They don’t give like the PE hoop during reversals. Their light weight, combined their rigidity explains why Rich Porter reports, “I’m up to 200+ shoulder reverses per/minute with my PPE hoop. This just wouldn’t have been possible with Polyethylene. At this speed you literally are pushing the physical limitations of the material.” 

I can’t pull off anywhere near that many reversals, but in one week I’ve noticed a host of differences between polypro and classic hoops. Here’s the break-down:

• Polypro hoops soar during tosses. They fly higher and descend slower. 

• Polypro hoops require precision. If your regular chest-rolls bounce a bit, expect your polypro hoop to catapult. Similarly, during chest rolls, you have to make sure the polypro hoop makes solid contact with your first forearm, or you’ll be tossing the hoop, rather than rolling it, across your chest.

• Polypro hoops are fantastic for isolations. Light and responsive is key in isolation-based hooping. Plus, the current tradition is to leave polypro hoops untapped, so they reinforce the “floating bubble” illusion behind many isolations. They are, however, more difficult to keep from wobbling forward and backward out of their planes. 

• Polypro hoops are perfect for poi-style, off-body doubles. They’re light and they’re fast, so their perfect for poi-inspired tricks. They also make moves more accessible with larger hoops. For example, with ½” PE tubing I could only link a three-beat-weave to an under-the-shoulder toss with my 30” doubles. Bigger hoops were just to cumbersome. Now I can nail the combination with my 35” polypro doubles.
• Polypro hoops are kind to sensitive wrists, ankles, and feet. I’ve gone back to working on the kick-start, because the polypro are far gentler on my ankles. 
• Polypro hoops love clean planes. They wobble when I’m sloppy.
• Core hooping is harder with polypro hoops. The hoops are so light I miss the very kinetic experience of the hoop whirling around my body. They lack momentum, so I have to push more with less sensory feedback from the hoop. I’m still working to reclaim my sky-angle hooping. 

I’m not sure if this is a recipe for bad-ass hooping….especially if you’re a body-rocker. However, I recommend polypro hoops for anyone who wants to explore poi-style and isolation-based hooping, for hoopers who need a lighter hoop to protect their wrists and feet, and for any dancer who wants to delve into a faster and more precise flow within their hoop.



Shakti Sunfire dances with a polypro fire hoop at Wanderlust 2010

Mandala Monday - Hooping Mandala

We dance round a ring and suppose,

but the Secret sits in the middle and knows.

-Robert Frost

In mandala mythology, the circle represents the universe. A single dot in the circle's center symbolizes the stillness at the heart of Creation. Hoopdance is a beautiful, moving mandala. When a hooper whirls a hoop around her body, she becomes the axis of the cosmos. The circle  of the hoop forms rings that mirror the levels of consciousness that pull the dancer toward or away from the sacred center. Hooping on the core, for example, draws the circle in. Off-body passes and moves like the helicopter expand the circle to embrace the outer-world. The dancer's hands and legs form smaller circles as he whirls, steps, and dances. These mandala-patterns become tangible in LED and fire-hoop photography. The steams of light map the journey of the hoop through space and the dancer through the act of creation.

Even when not in motion, hoops create sacred space. Their circles promise protection, unity, and evolution. I hang my hoops on my wall as living works of art. Each day they form different patterns in response to my dance. The curious thing is that their design reflects what I leave behind. While my pet-hoop rests, forgotten in the yard, the remainders are a reminder of my un-danced potential. They hold, ground, and nurture the whiling energy at the heart of the dance.

Twirling round with this familiar parable

spinning, weaving round each new experience.

Recognize this as a holy gift

and celebrate this chance to be alive and breathing.

-Tool

Lighted Lifestyles Review

In the winter of 2009, with my one year hooping anniversary on the horizon, I began my search for the perfect LED hoop. At the time I was spinning a friend’s Heady Hoop and was less than impressed with the quality. I’d already sent it off for repairs after the lights inexplicably died. It was also large and cumbersome with a distinctive rattle. It broke a second time around New Years. So while I’ve known folks who have happily used their kindly priced Heady Hoops for years, I needed something different. I wanted the craftsmanship promised by high-end hoop makers like PSI and Harmony, but couldn’t justify that much money. Then I remembered some spinners I met in Columbia, Missouri, that fall. “Hadn’t they told me they made LEDs?” So after asking around online, I rediscovered Lighted Lifestyles.

My Lighted Lifestyles hoop is 38” with 24 LEDs in blue, green, and UV purple. I chose solid lights, because the strobe LEDs make me really dizzy. While the purple is a little dimmer than the other lights, the hoop as a whole is very bright. It’s still heavier than a regular hoop (of course), but feels very compact. There’s no pull caused by unevenly spaced, loosely packed parts. Nor is there any distracting rattle. I love, love, love, my hoop! Kurt and Misty (who no longer works with the company) were both very helpful. They answered my questions in detail and even drove the hoop to me so I had it for the holidays. My only regret was choosing an internal switch. Over time, the frequent opening and closing wore the connector loose and it became a challenge to close the hoop completely. Once it opened at the wrong end of the connector and pulled the hoop’s “guts” out about an inch. A couple days later--9 months into the hoop’s lifespan--it died.

I was seriously disappointed. After spending over $100 on tool, I expected at LEAST a year without problems. However, Kurt immediately offered to repair the hoop and explained he’d since phased out the internal switch design because of problems like mine. In about a week my new hoop arrived in the mail. I’d scaled down to ½” tubing to reflect my growing fondness for smaller, lighter hoops. The external switch is more accessible than the original switch and is actually sunk down into the hoop so it’s flush with the outer surface. Thus no switching off or breaking mid-spin--my two original worries about external switches.

Once again I’m happily slinging multi-colored light. I’ll keep everyone updated as my remodeled hoop ages.


Spinning a friend's luminous white Lighted Lifestyles hoop at Zenfest.

The Journey

I imagine the hoop as a window or a door used to jump, roll, skip, and duck into new worlds of motion and grace. Like a cosmic juggler, I whirl reality across my body, tumbling in and out of the sacred circle. Inside the hoop mind, gesture, and possibility are swirled together until they’re impossible to separate. I launch my intentions into the air, and then catch them with a spin as the hoop zooms back down to earth. I watch my friends through the hoop’s window, making a neighborhood near the place I stand.

Through the hoop I’ve discovered new worlds, valleys of fabric behind my left knee…a piece of sky perfectly framed…kingdoms of ants building towers in the dust. This galaxy is full of sound and motion as words, like light, hop from lips to spinning surfaces. I have befriended a tribe of dancing astronauts, but like any form of intergalactic travel, hooping is risky. I am challenged to anticipate the hoop’s current or frustrated by my inability to flow. Some days, prepared to step into bliss, I trip over my own feet. Like a window looking out into night, my hoop goes dark. The door becomes a mirror and my reflection blots out the sky. Some days my hoop clatters into walls, shattering my aspirations of greatness and grace. Those humbling moments put the whirling universe into perspective. I realize my own smallness in comparison to the vastness of the circle. Instead of being discouraged by the realization, I find myself oddly comforted. I am a dust mote spiraling outward. I am only beginning. Gazing out into the vastness beyond me, I glimpse a reflection of the dancer, mother, and teacher I become on my very best of days. I pick up my hoop and the journey begins again.

You Know Your A Hooper When...

What defines a hooper? Skill, enthusiasm, or hours spent geeking out to hoop videos on-line? Watch for these warning signs that the hoop has spiraled into your soul.

Morning routine, "What's on hooping.org?"

Your cat sleeps in the hoop stack.

You understand why "left is the new right"

There's no furniture or light fixtures in your dining/livingroom.

You spend five minutes packing clothes and personal items for a weekend trip and 45 minutes deciding which hoops to take.

You own more than five hoops.

The back seat of your car is filled with hoops instead of people.

Half of your ipod is filled with hooping tutorials instead of music.

Whenever you see a large open area you think "Wow, great hooping space"

You choose your new car based on whether your hoops will fit or not.

You're proud of your bruises.

Invisible hoop dancing is unconsciously performed when no hoop is available.

You send a lot of time on hooping sites and communities!

You choose your outfits based on hoopability.

You have so much hoop tape that your room looks like a rainbow threw up in it.

Created by T.O.O.C with help from Amanda, Fresh Baked Cupcake, Kristen, L to the inz, Tangled Macrame, and Alicia. You can check out the original discussion and the resulting silliness at http://www.hoopcity.ca/forum/topics/you-know-you-are-a-hooper-when .

June Afternoon Hooping & Contemplation

June Hoop Dance Practice from Heather Hughes on Vimeo.

I posted my June hoop dance video today and watching it, in comparison to my video from May I realized a couple of things. First, I prefer the June dance because it’s all one shot. It feels more honest and was a lot less stressful to create. Furthermore I noticed I didn’t do nearly as many tricks in the June video. Mostly I just spun the hoop around my body and over my head. The toss I tried, I dropped, the duck in/roll I tried, I dropped. So why do I like this second video so much more?

I think I see a lot more of me in the second video. The camera is a lot closer to my hooping space, so I see more of my smiles and goofy faces. My poses are kind of silly, but they’re mine, the beginning of my unique hooping style. Knowing that my hoop practice has deepened and developed a personality is like a cool, soothing breeze after many long, hot hours of practicing new tricks and techniques.

I think I’ll reward myself with a cold soda... glass of water... piece of chocolate!