photo shoot

A beautiful August day in Prince Edward Island visiting The Dunes Cafe and Gallery - my favorite gardens and my first time hooping in this magical location. Photographs taken by the talented Mark Knudson.

 Rooftop garden and patio.

I was seeing hoops everywhere.

 Inside the gallery

And finally, my favorite shot of the day.

thread the needle!

I've always loved this twin move and wondered if at all i could do it....I could just barely contain myself after getting this move down yesterday for the first time.
And for my next trick....I really would love to know how to do 'the waterfall'. There are so many great tutorials out there. My go-to site for tutorials is www.hoop-trix.com where it's all organized so beautifully.
Happy Hooping!

one year hooping

One year of hooping and I'm so blissfully proud of all that I have accomplished in these 12 months. With so many personal losses the hoop has allowed me to feel like I have some control. Achieving new skills, creating a community, stretching my comfort zone and letting my soul move....facing challenges and conquering what used to seem impossible. The 3 beat weave has mesmerized me and now I have done it...I kept cracking up because I couldn't believe I was doing it! Big big big thank you to Emma from www.hoopingmad.co.uk and her thorough tutorial.

My Hoop Mama

A Hoop Mama / Papa is the person who turned you on to Hooping...maybe taught you your first move, ignited this new passion you have for hoop dance or lent you their hoop for your first try.
This is the person who started it all for you.
I didn't have an in person hoop mama...I kind of just found my first hoop in the grocery store and felt the need to buy a toy for myself - a kind of way to escape and set some personal challenges to strive for.

As I got used to waist hooping on my own I thought there must be something on youtube about hula hooping and holy moly...I really didn't anticipate that there would be a whole community out there!
Here are some links to the first tutorials that helped me:

Lift up
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tKoUKjahPHE

Drop Down
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pNwAD9Fp3u0

Vortex
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pDJGDhLUNIk 

Happy Hooping!

January Hooping: Dungeon vs Studio

Here's me hooping up a storm in my basement:

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/66709916/VID_00000122.mp4

I counted 3 fumbles...

And this evening I got a chance to take in some studio time at Dance Stars Academy. So wonderful to not have pipes and joists just a few feet over my head...very restrictive in hoop dance!

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/66709916/VID_00000127.mp4
fewer fumbles but not as tricky as the dungeon hooping...getting close to my goal of no drops in one song!

Technology is being mean to me today so I'm sorry I couldn't post the videos directly...Click the links and enjoy! Lots of goofy moments in there for you!

New Goal: More choreography and flow! Still not too shabby for 5 months hooping. I can't really pin point when I first started to hoop but I know it was after my daughter's birthday but before my husbands...so some time around Aug 1/12.

Who's Who in Hoop Dance

Through all the online videos, tutorials, performances, online shops and blogs there seems to be a number of hoop celebrities. Not celebrities who are doing hula hooping. I'm talking about the hoopers who are leading, mentoring, and encouraging other hoopers in their hoop journey.

Some are innovators. Some are philosophical. Some are teachers. Some are performers. Some are all of these and more.

Here are some of the hoop celebrities I've been able to gleen from my online research:

Anah Reichenbach aka Hoopalicious - performances, workshops, philosophy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sOTDNBISf7c&list=UUPlQoMdfPqoASNfuEMpc_cQ
since she's the mother of hoop dance she can have 2 links here:)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SCk_UOdgLHs&list=UUPlQoMdfPqoASNfuEMpc_cQ

Who will I be in 30 days?

I'm feeling like I should focus my motivation a bit...give myself a structure. So I've committed to doing 30 minutes of hoop dance each day for 30 days. I am recording myself and my goal is twofold. To make it through a song without a fumble and 2nd to see what kind of hooper I become after one month of focused dance. The video documentation will be revealing...I hope!

So far I've followed through on my commitment to myself for 6 days. I was actually getting bored with my dance style. So I busted out the Hoopnotica dvds and found some old moves I forgot I knew and it gave me a burst of energy!

Going over my videos from the last few nights I can see how DARK the dungeon is!
I'll get a nice bright video up here soon.

Happy Hooping