Hooping

On stage in the light of flashbulbs

Saturday night's performance was a blast. Was it rehearsal perfect? Not at all. Did that matter? Not at all.

I jumped around backstage while D and Mix did their gorgeous mini hoop routine (video here). Then I bounced onto the stage, did my thing and it was over before I had time to be scared. I spent the rest of the night dancing, smiling, laughing, and applauding the other amazing performers.

Watching the video of my part (the first 90 seconds of this video) is weird. I ended up changing the choreography on the fly and my brain was in overdrive trying to compensate. Oddly though, my body was in charge and just made it work. So watching the video is like observing both sides of a split personality, There I did this with the hoop, but I was imagining the next move and trying to keep my arms activated. And there I was wondering if I would hit the ceiling - just before I did hit the ceiling.

The original dance involved a lot more clowning around with a naughty hoop. But with the lighting lower than expected, you couldn't see me looking mad or confused or scared by the hoop's antics. So I skipped the rehearsed clowning and just sort of hooped with big gestures and lots of smiles. It ended up too repetitive, but the crowd hooted and the energy stayed high for Deanne's next number. It was a success.

It is especially interesting that this performance happened when it did. This week I started doing The Artist's Way (again after a 12 year break) with a group of people. In week one, you are supposed to list some "imaginary lives" that you would like to have lived. The day before Deanne asked me to perform, I listed my imaginary lives: architect, circus performer, costume designer, astronaut, explorer. How satisfying to get to experience circus performer and costume designer!

Tomorrow night, I am performing onstage with my hoop in a talent show at Exit Bar in Shinjuku Nichome in front of a paying audience of (I assume) drag queens and gay men who are voting for the best act. I am only a brief 90 second entre'act in a larger Hooplovers performance, but I am very excited. And more than a little nervous.

This is the first time I've performed a solo. It's the first time I've had to do my own choreography. Thank goodness it's only a 1'30" circus march. I guess I could just get up and wing it but I won't let myself do that. Instead, I am learning how to prepare a performance piece:

1. Edit music to length. This is pretty easy since I do it for videos often enough.
2. Listen to the music. Over and over.
3. Break it into sections. Write them down. Count.
4. Visualise some moves. Freak out that you can't think of enough moves or tricks to fill the sections. Scour YouTube for ideas.
5. Chocolate.
6. Play with the moves and the music. Find some that work. Write them down.
7. Video the result.
8. Freak out during the playback. Revise and refine.
9. Repeat 4-8 until you have something that works.

I've been at it since 9 am. I am still on step 9 and it seems to be getting farther and farther away from finished. I think step 10 is drill the dance until it is smooth and looks easy. Step 11 involves costuming. Or possibly chocolate.

OK, back to step 9. I wish I had a collaborator to work with; it is easier for me to bounce ideas around with someone until ideas gel. In any case, I aim to get to step 10 before bedtime.

Me hooping in costume for World Hoop Day. (photo by Greg)

In the late 70s my parents, in an unusual show of judgmental speech, mocked the neighbors and friends who would overdo it with athletics on the weekends. "The weekend warriors are at it again," they'd say as we passed by any league game. Former football players turned desk jockeys, these middle aged guys would go to the playing field and give it their all. Afterward they found themselves cramped, injured and exhausted from too much enthusiasm for the game combined with too little fitness.

I think I might be a weekend warrior. Even though I hoop frequently even during the week, my body is complaining after two days of intense activity. My finger joints ache, my back is creaky and I am plum tuckered out. But I am so happy that our weekend was successful. Maybe that's how the Weekend Warriors of my childhood felt, too.

And a funny thing happened on my way to World Hoop Day yesterday. I was standing on the train with 11 hoops and a cart full of toys, popcorn and prizes when something dropped at my feet and hit my shoe. Did something fall off my costume? I looked down. It was a button - the sort of gold-toned shank button that goes on a coat - embossed with an anchor design. Nobody on the train was wearing or carrying anything that looked like it might have lost such a button so I decided it was a magical gift from my father, who would have been 72 yesterday. I think Dad would have enjoyed World Hoop Day, if not for the hooping, then for the enthusiastic smiles and huge fun that we all had. Plus, costumes, theatre and wholesome silliness. That was Dad's kind of thing. Apparently it's my kind of thing, too.

Of course, he would have mocked me for overdoing it weekend warrior style. I'll have to hoop more (lots of more) to get myself in top form to enjoy Spin Matsuri next month without any aches or pains.

Where have I been lately? Helping to organise & promote hoop events! Here are a few happening this week. If you have time and are in Tokyo, come along. No hooping experience required!

Alishan Market Day - Saturday, September 5. 2:00 - 4:00pm @ Alishan Organic Center Tracey, Tod & I are taking hoops out to Saitama to give free hoop lessons. Plus, we'll have a delicious lunch at the cafe before we start and check out the fun stuff on sale at the market. I know I'll be coming home with some tasty treats. http://www.alishan.jp/en/?p=336

World Hoop Day preview in Harajuku! Me, D, Stina and Kana. Photo by Stina

World Hoop Day: Circus Extravaganza! - Sunday, September 6. 1:00 - 4:00pm @ Yoyogi Park I've been preparing for this event for weeks! It's a free afternoon of hooping fun - lessons, games, prizes, face painting. We're collecting donations for World Hoop Day and will send hoops on the Peace Boat to be given to kids around the world. 1000 yen donates a hoop. More info at Hooplovers

Spinning glowing poi at Yoyogi. Photo by John Politowski

World Hoop Day: Glow - Wednesday, September 9. 6:00 - late @ Yoyogi Park 9/9/9 is the global World Hoop Day and we are celebrating by getting into the spin with a glowing hoop jam. LED hoops, glow poi, anything that glows and spins. Come along and enjoy the night. Again, donations for hoops are warmly welcomed.

And of course, we are still getting ready for Spin Matsuri October 9-11. There are a few tickets left, so if you were considering a weekend of hoop, poi and dance fun, don't wait to book. We have day passes for Saturday only, too, if you are busy or on a budget.

It's been exactly a year since I took my first Hooplovers hoop class. That week, I bought two hoops from Deanne and spent the next few months obsessed with learning to spin, dance and whirl - hooping mania. A year later, I'm enjoying hooping just as much as Day One but with more depth to my experience.

When I first started hooping, I asked Deanne why she loved to hoop. She gave me long list of her reasons and I promised I'd have my own set soon enough. Here are some of them in no particular order:

Wellness: Hooping has increased my energy. Maybe it's because of a fitness boost, maybe it's a more positive outlook, maybe there's something magic about spirals. Anyway, I am genkier.

Extroversion: I'm introverted and need my alone time, but I don't mind being on stage or in the public eye. It's been a while since I've been there, though. Hooping has really brought out the show-off in me.

People: My group of friends & acquaintances has become wider and more diverse. I've met some really great women who I am happy to call friends. The Tokyo hooping community is growing and I know that I am part of it and have helped the growth a little bit. This is satisfying.

Notoriety: In my neighborhood and on the trains, its hard to miss the foreigner with the hula hoops. The guards at the university sometimes say hello. All the old guys in the park know me and stop to chat.

Dance: I can! I'm not brilliant, but I can move. I'm no longer afraid to. "Everything is OK" is one of Deanne's mantras that resounded with me.

Sharing: What is more uplifting than sharing your fun and getting someone to smile? I enjoy hooping with strangers in the park, beach, street.

Craft: I love making things, including hoops. If pipe were more readily available in Japan, I'd spend all my money on making hoops to give away.

Performing: Though I don't like impromptu performance, I have learned to accept people watching me when I practice at the park. It spurs me to spin well. I definitely enjoyed rehearsing and being on stage with the Spinbirds. And I'll get to do it again for Spin Matsuri in October. Rehearsals start soon.

Costumes: Hooping is a great excuse to play with shiny fabric and try out unusual shapes and designs. I have a long wish list of costumes to make for myself and hooping friends.

Poi: Not hooping but a related flowtoy, spinning poi is relaxing and meditative. I really like poi a lot.

Color: From head to toe, I am a more colorful person now. No more black and grey clothes. Funkier hair colors. Thanks in great part to Style Smart Sensei Jeanette, but I wouldn't have consulted with her except for hooping.

Boundaries: Every new trick is a challenge to push my physical boundaries and there have been revelations in my thinking, too. Fewer limits. More acceptance. More happiness.

Events: I like planning and participating in events and I've had a year full of getting ready for two big ones. World Hoop Day on 9/9/9 will be celebrated on Sunday the 6th in Tokyo with a Hoop Circus in Yoyogi Park with hooping, games, prizes, face painting and more. And my big project, Spin Matsuri is coming up on Otober 9-11. I've been busy planning and promoting this weekend hoop retreat. It is going to be an amazing group of people; I'm excited about it.

Deanne at Hooplovers is running an online hoop boot camp in the month of August. I don't think it is going to be a drill sergeant style boot camp, exactly. It's a chance to set some specific and measurable goals in public, then spend 30 days making them happen and reporting in with the other participants. Every day, Deanne will send us e-mail with encouragement and inspirations (and some training exercises, too, I hear!)

Here are my goals:

• get my weight back to 60 kg (summer makes me fat)
• hoop daily for at least 30 minutes, even when it is too hot
• improve my dancing balance with 20 minutes of balance movements daily
• swim twice a week & do light weight training at least once a week
• achieve a 90% success rate on foot-to-knee pop-ups
• add three new (or remastered) step-in/step-out moves to my usual mix
• develop a 3-4 minute routine and perform it without toppling over
• in general, focus of footwork, strength and posture - videoing myself at the start and end of the boot camp to compare.

They seem reasonable goals, though deceptively difficult to acheive. Overall my control and precision could use refinement and better balance will be a big step in that direction. By the time Spin Matsuri comes, I will be a stronger hooper than I am now. Practice, practice, practice!

It's not too late to sign up. Go over to the Hooplovers Hangout and join the Hoop Boot Camp group. List your goals and get ready for a month of self-transformation.

Today we announced the Spin Matsuri instructors and sessions. I'm really excited about our lineup - we have hooping, poi, and dance on the schedule, with instructors from Japan, the US, and Australia coming to teach. It is going to be a great weekend with lots of surprises and fun for everyone.

Now I'm off to Circle, a weekly hoop gathering in Yoyogi park. The sky is cloudy but I have fingers crossed that it won't rain. I have a packed neon pink tulle skirt and umbrella, so I am prepared for anything.

Last autumn, just after I'd learned to hoop, Deanne went off to Hoop Camp, a weekend hooping retreat in the US filled with hooping classes and all the most inspirational hoopers. I wished I could go, too. "Maybe next time," I sighed. But Tracey is never one for wishing. She suggested we do one here. Great idea! Slowly and in halting steps, our wishes and plans gelled into reality.

So it my great happiness to announce Spin Matsuri, a weekend hooping and movement event scheduled for October 9-11. Deanne and I are hosting what we hope will be a fun and active three days at Seimei no Mori Resort in Chiba, about an hour by train from Tokyo. There will be a series of hoop, spin, dance, and yoga workshops taught by amazing Japanese and international instructors, plus glowing parties, costumes, food, fun, and frolics with interesting people.

Tickets go on sale starting June 22nd and there won't be many available. If you'd like to get notifications and reminders about the event, please sign up for the Spin Matsuri announcements.

Hooper trading cards! Thanks to a funny comment by my husband, hooper trading cards are unleashed on the Internet. Collect them all! Trade online - use them a profile photos - print them out - add stats on the back as you like. There's a group at Flickr to share them, too.

These are the first four in the series - me and some of my hooping friends. Let's make hooper trading cards for all our hooping buddies and superstars.

Make Your Own
Download this Photoshop CS3 template. Place your photo, type in your name and location, then adjust the visibility of the colored bits. Save as a jpg and Voila! Your own trading card. Use the template back to organise your hooping stats.

Hooper Trading Card template (PSD, 572KB)	Hooper Trading Card template back (PSD 488KB)

Request a Card
If you don't have Photoshop, I can make your card for you. E-mail me (kristen@mediatinker.com)
1. your full-body hooping action shot (640x480 or larger),
2. your hoop name,
3. city, state/country,
4. preferred border color from these options:

Please note that card production may be delayed until the end of April.

The Spinbirds: Amanda, Christina & me

I designed us a logo.

Our debut performance (The video is dark and from the wings, but you'll get the idea...)

A sunny rehearsal (Have fun watching our mistakes!)

Me hooping. Photos by the gentlemanly goth-loli photographer at Yoyogi.

I am developing a love/hate relationship with the photographers and videographers in the park on Sunday while I am hooping.

Someone who asks permission or chats with me first is welcome to photograph or film. I might even take pains to turn in their direction or do a showy trick. I am extremely grateful when they e-mail me the pictures or give me prints, like the ones above. Last weekend, I was asked to hoop in a music video for the Intercontinental Music Lab. That was a fun experience - and as it turns out, one of the musicians is a friend of a friend that I'd met once before.

The passersby who pause and a snap a quick shot or two don't bug me at all, even when I notice them. I figure that I probably only see a quarter of them, anyway. I am busy hooping, after all, and there are a lot of people strolling through the park.

But I really don't like folks who stand and shoot for minutes on end without making contact with me. I notice them because they stick out as stationary in my whirling world. That disturbs my flow. And breaking my concentration pisses me off. So sometimes when it happens, I stop hooping and stare at them. Or wave. Or give them the finger. Or suggest they come try the hoops.

I need to learn to ignore them.

During the grey, cold phase of winter, I suffered long weeks of uninspired hooping and general lassitude. But February always brings blue skies and pink plum flowers to Tokyo and the days grow noticeably longer. Sunny afternoons, even chilly ones, fire my enthusiasm for living life fully.

But "living life fully" focusses on almost entirely hooping at the moment, as I am slated to do a performance and workshop with Mandi and Stina in early March. I rehearse our routine and refine my solo in the hope of avoiding embarrassment. I don't want to be the worst dancer in our trio, which could easily be the case!

So I've had my hoops out and about almost every day for the last two weeks. From the hours of exercise I get, I can feel my muscles unlock, my strength return and my energy increase. As a result of daily practice, I've entered trick acquisition mode. Have a look at all the new tricks I've gotten in the last couple of days:

That last one - the twin arm/elbow thing - has been eluding me for months. It just clicked today and I was so excited that I jumped around and squealed, frightening the other children in the park.

In addition to what's in the video, I am on the verge of vertical chest hooping - sometimes I can get it, but usually not. Maybe tomorrow it will fall into place. I wouldn't be surprised. I will keep my video camera handy, just in case.

I've been hoop dancing for five and a half months. I work hard at it, but I am still such a beginner. However, yesterday I took the leap into teaching a class as a substitute for Deanne while she is in Oz for a couple months. I've given casual help to people at the park and such, but I've not taught a structured class before.

It was not the best of classes, I have to say. I was anxious. I forgot my hooping clothes. I forgot my cheatsheet of class routines. My period started during class. I was flummoxed by my two students who spoke different languages and had somewhat different hooping abilities. Fortunately it wasn't a total disaster. I did not forget my music. The brand-new-to-hooping student left being able to waist hoop and do a variety of hand hooping tricks. Both students seemed to enjoy themselves. I hope they will return.

Today, needing to shake off the bad vibe from yesterday, I took my hoops to Ueno park. I hadn't done that before, because it isn't a park where people seem to practice stuff. There are lots of museum visitors, tourists, zoo attendees, licensed buskers, and homeless guys. Not so many people are "doing their own thing" at Ueno, but it was OK.

Every time I hoop in a park or public place, I connect with people; this afternoon an older lady, a PhD student, & a little boy all tried the hoops. Passersby smiled, took pictures, even applauded. But most memorably, I taught an entire band to hoop! My Morning Jacket, who are on tour from Nashville, stopped to say hi and give the hoops a spin. I'd never heard of them, but I'm going to their show tomorrow in Shibuya. You never know what blessing a hooping encounter is going to bring.

After three hours of hooping and meeting people, I am feeling much more relaxed and happy. For next Monday's class, I will smile more, use armloads of positive affirmations, and hang on tight to this good hoop vibe - I really want to share it with everyone.

Here is what park people saw today - a lot of trial and error:

Hooping in Washington Dulles airport

My two weeks in the States had hooping as a subtext. In between moving, Thanksgiving, wedding, set decoration, and banking I spread the hoop love as thickly as I could.

In Pittsburgh, Jean swept snow off the patio so we could hoop. She liked it and we found a hoop class not too far from her. Cousin Goldie, who I discovered is a certified NIA dance instructor, hooped it up in the living room with me. I didn't have hoops to leave behind there, but I hope I planted a seed of desire.

At Jenn's we decorated hoops that I'd had delivered from Betty Hoops. We had ten naked hoops and a box of fabric and tape. Our different personalities really came out. Mom's hoop was neatly and beautifully cross taped in sky blue and yellow. Helen patiently patchworked a hoop with all different fabrics and shiny tapes. I did two hoops with different designs. Jenn used purple fabric and pink tape on one of hers, and attempted a candy cane spiral on the other but ended up with a zebra striped hoop instead. I snagged a third hoop to decorate later and left the remaining three for them to decorate and enjoy.

Jenn & Helen learned to hoop in time to work off their Thanksgiving dinner.

Jenn's living room is just big enough for two to hoop carefully, or if three people line up just right, we can all do vertical hand hooping. The day before the wedding, Jenn & I bundled up and hooped in the backyard as the sun set. I clocked myself good on the side of my nose and had this funny red square on my face for the rest of the trip.

We took the hoops by car to Mom's house in Ephrata. Hoops are not so car-friendly, especially with luggage involved. They sort of fit in the back of Mom's station wagon, did not fit in the town car we rode in to the airport (Tod sat with them around his neck), did fit into the capacious trunk of a Volkswagen Jetta, and did not get anywhere near fitting into the trunk of a Tokyo taxi (I sat with them over my legs).

I'd hoped to meet up with some Harrisburg-area hoopers while I was in Ephrata, but I was conscripted/volunteered to help at the theatre and there was no time for hooping.

Kris & I show off our hoop matierials.

When I got to Chicago, I gave Kris one of the hoops I'd done at Jenn's and we played indoors and outdoors. When I suggested we could make more of them, we ran around town for hoop-making supplies. 3/4" 160 psi polyethylene tubing is available in Chicago, but not common.

I called in an order to Grainger, a B-to-B wholesaler who kindly accommodated my needs, and we were the only women in line at the warehouse will-call window. The guys at Home Depot were interested in our project, too. I wonder if they checked out the YouTube link I suggested?

Shiny, pretty hoops in progress

The FoxCam captures winter hooping action

I came home with four new hoops, 75 feet of tubing and a ratcheting pipe cutter, too. For the record, hoops travel well by air when tied into a bundle and wrapped with bubble wrap.

"Oh, no! I left the travel hoop in the car!" I remembered at O'Hare

Sorry, Tracey. I will be buying you a new travel hoop in the very near future.

Hooping in costume. Photo by StinaSparkle.

There are some things I really love about hooping: my new hooping friends, the challenges of improvement, the physics of moving with or against the hoop, and flow of hoop dance. And you can't beat the exercise benefits.

Another thing I like is the excuse to make and wear costumes frequently. Yesterday I attended a outdoor hoop party wearing flowery bloomers and matching flared pants, my favorite multicolor fur collar, a headpiece shaped like goggles, and an LED pendant that I programmed to read "SEE TINK HOOP." Deanne said I looked ready to attend Burning Man. I am pretty sure that was a compliment.

Deanne fire hooping. Photo by StinaSparkle.

The thing I don't like about hooping is when I injure myself. I did a good job of that at the party last night.

After the sun set, Deanne brought out her fire hoop. The fire hoop has kerosene tipped spokes protuding from it and looks beautiful moving in the darkness. I was keen to have a try though some of the other hoopers were afraid they would catch themselves on fire. They may have had something there.

It was amazing to hoop in the fire hoop - the scent of the fuel is heady and the sound of the fire whirling around is a like synthesized rush of wind. And then there is the brilliant golden light. I couldn't see anything beyond the flames. It is very focused and intense - just me, a moving circle of fire, and the occasional cheer from an onlooker.

I stood in the center of the flames and held the hoop at waist level before lifting it over my head and back down to my hips. I spun it on my waist, shimmied it up to my shoulders and then pulled it off it over my head and started a slow lasso turn. It was at that point that I slipped on the river gravel underfoot. I didn't see the large rock that I tripped on, but I sure did feel it when I landed on it. I ended up with scraped and bruised knees, feet and a swollen hand, but fortunately I managed not to singe myself at all.

I don't know if anyone captured my tumble on film or video, but if they did, I'd like to see it. Next time I fire hoop (and there certainly will be a next time) I will be more aware of my footing.

Yoyogi Park on the weekend is a gathering place for lots of people who practice and play everything from instruments to frisbees. Jugglers, dancers and now hoopers group together and enjoy the fine weather while doing their thing. The park also attracts photographers who capture all of this activity.

We hoopers get a fair amount of attention from the photographers. We have been the background of photoshoots, are often snapped with cell phones, and sometimes we become the subject of what seems like hours-long scrutiny by middle aged men with big lenses. More often than not, the photographers do not ask permission or talk to us. I'm sure much of the time we don't even notice them.

But yesterday a lovely woman with a camera asked if she could take my photo before she started shooting. Sure, of course! I just kept on hooping. When she was done, she introduced herself and asked for my e-mail address to send me the photos. What a treat! Look at what she sent:

There are more, including some fun action shots, in my Flickr hooping set. Thank you so much, Luliko Nakagawa, for sharing your photos with me.

October arrived and I freaked out. Nothing I'd planned to do had been finished. My projects hung like rotting fruit in an untended orchard. What happened to September?? Even half of August was a blank. I was baffled and upset.

"You were hooping," Rob reminded me when I whinged to him. In a separate conversation, Tod told me the same thing. Yes, I guess I was.

Here is where all that hooping has gotten me.

Zoupi needs a smaller hoop

Our hoop-up in the park on Saturday turned out to be great fun. Christina, Amanda, Lauren, Tracey, Steph and Paulette from class turned up, plus we had many impromptu joiners: a university English club of a dozen students, a fashion photo shoot, two hungry boys, a portly gentleman with a great attitude, random picnickers, and several unexpected friends from our Niijima camping trip. There were uncountable photographs taken of us and I'm looking forward to discovering them on Flickr or wherever they turn up.

BYOH Saturday Hoop Up was a great success and we'll repeat it next Saturday.

Hosei University English club tries hooping with encouragement from Amanda

Photo shoot with hoops & hoopers in the background: Christina, Amanda, and Lauren.

On Sunday, Amanda and I met again for more hooping (after an Indian lunch and some shopping at the Namaste India festival) and Yuka joined us. We hooped more lazily than on Saturday, but I racked up almost ten hours of hooping for the weekend. Tod, Rob, & Amanda's friend, Melanie, turned up to watch and we all went for dinner. On the way home, Yuka and I hooped in the corridors of Higashi-Shinjuku station. It's so hard to stop!

Come along for some casual hooping pleasure in the park this weekend. Everyone's welcome.

BYOH Saturday Hoop Up
Yoyogi Park (here)
Saturday, September 27
1:00 pm until everyone falls down

Bring your hoop, plus water, snack, bug spray, and accessories as you like. We have a couple of spare hoops, but not as many as Deanne carries, so if you have extras, please bring them to share the hoop fun.

If it rains (and it might) we'll postpone til Sunday.

After a four hour class with Deanne from Hooplovers, Tracey, Amanda and I had built up enough energy to hoop some more. We headed to the square in Kabukicho, where the homeless men hang out, and hooped there for an hour before finally heading off to dinner.

I don't think people hoop there too often, so we attracted a lot of attention. It was fun to have an audience and many photos were taken. Even better was an audience who interacted with us. One professorial but slightly crazy guy spoke at me about America for at least ten minutes; it was good listening practice. Two cute Chinese girls came over to play and take pictures. One of the homeless guys wanted to try the hoop, but was more interested in getting us to perform for him. An entire family joined in and played wit the hoops. It was a good time for everyone.

We shot the video intending to study our form as we practiced, but it was just too good not to edit a bit and share.

There are a stunning number of hoop tricks and many wonderful video demonstrations and tutorials on how to do them. The same trick can have many names and lots of minor variations, so it gets confusing. As Deanne explained to me, "The hoop trick names appear to be like some kind of slang depending on where you hoop, where you learned, what style you prefer, who invented them." The names of tricks are a crazy-mixed up world!

Seems impossible to get everything organised into a cohesive directory, but I've made a start by categorising the moves by where they are done on the body, their orientation (most tricks are either horizontal or vertical), and what sort of video it is - detailed tutorial, demo of a specific move, or inspiring full performance.

This page will always display the most recent additions. Click the name of the trick to see the video.

To see all the tricks in the list and to search them go here: Hooping Tricks

Have a favorite trick tutorial that you want to share? Feel free to add it to the list. Just fill in the form below and it will show up in the list above (and in the main list, too)

Happy hooping!

(Thanks to lazybase for their free service. It's barebones database perfection.)

Practicing hoop dancing is impossible in the house unless I am standing on the dinner table or the bed, neither of which is a very good practice platform, so I do my practices outside.

On dry days, I can dance in the little patch of grass behind our building. The grass feels nice on my bare feet and I can look up at the sky as I move. But I cannot do do any "off-body" tricks that might end with my hoop flung over the fence onto the Marunouchi line tracks - I like my hoops too much to lose them.

On wet days, I practice in the garage/carport. Concrete is not as good on the feet and the ceiling restricts the high-reaching tricks, but it works out fine enough. There's lots of room to practice walking and to really dance. Sometimes I run from one end to the other with the hoop in motion. That's kinda fun. And my presence entertains the building staff and neighbors, which is another kind of fun.

I've only been down to the park once. It was good but a little too far away for a daily play. Walking along in workout clothes with my hoop over my shoulder got a few interesting looks, and even more when I gave in to an irresistible urge and hand hooped down Kasuga Dori.

Everywhere I go now, I see good places to hoop in public. As I improve my skills, or maybe just as the weather cools down a little, I can imagine myself hooping in the courtyard of the science museum, at the war memorial, and on the train platform (actually, I did the last night after class).

I am amusing the heck out of myself.

I am obsessed by hula hoop dancing. Last Wednesday, I took a hoop dancing class with the most awesome Deanne at Hooplovers. It was so much fun that on Friday I bought myself some hoops. I have practiced 2 hours every day since (yay for the carport on rainy days!) and yesterday logged three hours when I took a second class. I am learning tricks of all sorts but I am clumsy and have bruises to prove it. I will need a lot of hard work before I can run away to the circus.

Today I took my hoops down to the park by the station. Lots of people go there to practice things and play games, so I figured I wouldn't be too out of place. And I thought I'd see how I did under public scrutiny and possible humiliation. I found that I really didn't care. I just danced and practiced my tricks, smiling at people if our eyes met.

This is what it looked like to me:

Wheeeeeeeee!

And here is what I looked like to anyone who was watching (be warned, I am really dorky):