This girl was one of my very first hoop inspirations when I started a few years back. Awhile ago she mentioned that she was finished making tutorials - but - I am thrilled to see that she is back with a trick I have been hoping to master for some time now: the knee reversal.
She breaks it down wonderfully and has just inspired me to get my hoop and give this a try!
Do I wish I had a context for all of this? Well... yes. The costume and punctuated poses were a bit silly to me (though, I am sure my humble opinion means nothing to a San Francisco professional ballet dancer) but the grace and the transitions were phenomenal. I LOVE foot hooping but it is the most difficult move to transition into - usually I am hooping and then clunk around and TA-DA it's on my foot.
He pulls it off much more skillfully. I always enjoy seeing hoop dance in a professional realm and this is lovely and inspiring.
Every move is an optical illusion. I met both of these fine and talented folks at Hoop Fest New England and it's a pleasure to further enjoy their considerable skill.
The leg hooping/shoulder hooping duck out at 1:05 is definitely impressive. I have been using my long hair and teeny hoop as an excuse for no longer being able to do duck outs successfully most of the time... but, uh... I think I may have to change my tune now. Dern it. Stunning work.
I love her flow and experimentation with the speed and level of the hoop. There are also great tosses and passes in here! I love, love, love speedy hoopers - dizzying to look at, but so much fun to watch.
A fave hooper of mine since '07, I have always wanted to be able to do her beautiful double chest roll (you see it at the end of this video.) In a more popular video of her spinning, she completes the move with such lovely confidence and precision. I have never seen this 'practice' vid of her before, and it just goes to show that no matter what - as long as you keep practicing the moves with come. Lovely, messy, early stage hoop moves. They all start there.
I have a video of my sloppy pretzel twist move that I am hoping to one day look back upon and think, hey remember when that was hard?
Awhile back I was trying to think of good transitions from prone position leg hooping because it is so much fun to do - but definitely something that takes effort to smoothly incorporate into a routine. I love all the ideas in this vid! Also digging the slower pace than much of what I have recently seen.
Plus... leg warmers.
I mean, I have to give bonus points for legwarmers. It's science.
I remember I tried to use a prop once and picked up a hat to try out - only to quickly put it down when I realized that taking off and putting on a hat while waist hooping looked pretty ... lame.
This viral gem is everywhere - but I had to post it, if only for my own reference when wanting to rewatch and rewatch and rewatch...
She starts off as an extremely good, but 'normal' hooper - if that makes sense. As in, I recognize the moves and can do some of them/could learn others. Then. Oh Then! Welp, she just takes off and shows herself as the Cirque du Soliel trained performer that she is. And it is mighty impressive.
I first saw this tutorial back when it was posted in May and definitely thought it was interesting - but wasn't all too amped to get up and learn it. Moves that are more technical than flow-based usually have that effect on me, like, 'OH HEY WOW COOL....uh, I'll, uh... learn it.... later." But! Today I woke up ready to challenge myself and add something truly new to my hoop repertoire.
It is also getting down to the last few classes I will be teaching at the very first location I ever taught hooping. Some of those ladies have been with me for years and I want to learn some 'wow factor' moves to leave them with for their self practice. Not that they couldn't scour youtube for inspiration - but it's always more fun to learn in class - at least you can ask the teacher to slow down and show ya some new angles!
Shayla Patton (Lady Moonseed) enjoys a chill hoop session as the cars pass.
I am digging her really beautiful and fluid movements - as if she is completely at ease. I suppose the best description I have for this is unhurried; which, is a pretty impressive thing when everyone seems to be in a constant scurry. Why do we rush to make it appear that we are important - or even just normal. Did you ever notice how people who seem extremely relaxed can be off putting? Like, what's up with you that you aren't as worried as the rest of us? DONT YOU HAVE A PLAN!?
Welp. I may be projecting a bit...
Quarter life crisis? Maybe. But I just wouldn't be me if I didn't watch a hoop video and pontificate wildly. This may the oldest I have ever been (obviously) but I am still young enough to think I am right too much of the time.
AND... young enough to hang in a fort with jelly bracelets and rainbow cake. The fort is constructed (and wonderful) and we are giving the cake a whirl today. Wish us luck... oh will we need it.
I really have to agree with one of the commenters - this is fabulous hoop porn. I wish there were names listed with the performers; I recognize Anah and Spiral but a few of the other master hoopers are hard to identify...
Still, ALL gorgeous and different! This is like the inspiration cheat sheet.
Khan is definitely in my top 5 hoopers list after working with him atHoop Path. This video of him and Rich being generally radtastic is a go-to for flow inspiration. The transition after the behind the back weave @ 2:25 is something I definitely have to steal - I love that I can do the behind the back weave, but I usually don't know what the next step is. Solved.
What a total badass! 60lbs lost since December thanks to hard work, healthy habits and - of course - the HOOP! Making significant life changes is a very hard thing to do - and sticking with them is another thing all together. I am SO impressed by this gal.
Luna Breeze danced at Electric Forest with a dream weaver hoop that is nothing less than whimsical. Once she goes into the isolations and on-body work towards the end of this short video, you can really see how lovely this big snowflake of a hoop looks.
As an enthusiast for tiny, tiny hoops I don't know that I could ever love something this large and bulky - not to mention the potentially horrific transportation issues (oh. god. no.) - but, it is still wonderful to see all the new and creative incarnations of hoops that continue to pop up.
Of course, I love the do-it-yourself approach to hooping videos - it's what most of us have to do, and it always seems to give the best viewpoint for seeing what happens. Set up a camera, hit record, hoop in front of camera. It's pretty hard to miss something with that set-up, and watching drops and 'mistakes' help show the process of learning to hoop.
But it is always beautiful to watch a video with a bit of production value as well. This video was beautifully shot and edited - and of course, performed! I missed this when it was posted last year. Really a pleasure to watch.
