[Hooping.org's Editor Philo Hagen puts it in reverse.]
by Philo Hagen
Over the years as I’ve watched the hooping movement rise from the music festivals and underground dance community events and spin it’s way into a more mainstream world, I’ve always been aware of the fact that there was an “us” and a “them”. For those who started hooping more recently the thought may not have even occurred to you. What am I talking about? The answer can be found in our very use of the word “hooping” in and of itself. A decade ago we created our own language and dropped the hula to instantaneously let people know this was something different. This wasn’t your Grandma’s hula hoop. The hoops of today were customized, adult-sized and so ready to roll that anyone, anywhere, could spin one up. And we discovered, quite by accident, that hooping was actually great exercise too. When the news about that started getting out more people joined us inside the circle in pursuit of fun and fitness.
In the last few years, however, the differentiating line began to blur. Old school circus hula hoopers like Mat Plendl, Miss Saturn and Marawa The Amazing became our friends. With the rising popularity of hooping too, new school circus performers caught the bug and even started putting their acrobatic spin on it. Poi spinners and other object manipulators, originally reluctant to hoop, discovered they liked it too and began shrinking our hoops into smaller, light-weight circles for weaving and what not, making it easier on their hands. Then someone decided hanging upside down from an aerial hoop was hooping too and soon the Cyr Wheel and mini-hoops came rolling our way. They’re both hoop shaped so they count too, right? And as things expanded further and further the luminaries from the fringes cheered it on saying, “We need to keep pushing it forward!” And today I whole heartedly disagree. While Hooping.org has followed the hoops for years, in whatever direction they were traveling, the time has come to say enough and roll it on back. Here’s why.
1) One Size Does Not Fit All: Back in the early days of hooping we were very clear in telling people that toy store hoops were for kids, not adults. The community was collectively in support of a quest for every hooper everywhere to find the hoop that was right for them. Recently, and with increasing frequency, I’ve had conversations, mostly with women, who’ve purchased hoops online, from a variety of places, places I would’ve assumed would know better, who were told things like, “I guarantee this 34 inch hoop will be perfect for you”. The hooper was never asked about their body type. They were never asked their height or weight. They weren’t asked anything really and none of them were able to hoop with the hoops they purchased – and these are just the stories from those who’ve bothered to contact us afterwards for advice. How many countless others out there have simply thrown in the towel believing hooping really isn’t for them, that their negative “I can’t” self talk was right all along?
2) Negativity Is So Negative: In the early years our community was as inclusive as it was loving, probably because a) we were mostly hippies and ravers who were really all about the love anyway, and b) those who joined in the fun were happy, silly, playful people who were attracted to the fun we were having. There was a lot of mutual support and encouragement everywhere. So when hoopers leave comments on a video like, “She just did the same thing over and over again. I’d like the last 4 minutes of my life back!” – it’s clear times have changed. When popular hoopers post videos on Facebook making fun of others and people chime in tearing someone apart my skin crawls. If this is what we get with the continuing expansion of hooping, it’s no wonder some are getting turned off. In fact a dear hooping friend I love left the hoop world recently. Why? In their words, “What I used to love about it has changed. The hoop community, I feel, is going in a different direction. What was once pretty and sexy and fun has become mechanical and somewhat harsh. I loved, I mean loved to hoop, but all the other stuff has me getting too down on myself as a result.” Most of us, to varying degrees, have our own internal critic to contend with, a voice that can be more than enough of a challenge without any additional junior high school nonsense.
3) It’s Hard To See From The Inside: I love Revolva. She’s in all honesty and sincerity one of the most underrated hula hoopers out there, probably because she’s often silly and having fun while showcasing her incredible skills. While I admire her personal interest in always challenging herself in new directions, mine remains right smack in the center of the circle. I love hooping. Hoop dance spun it’s way into my life and it isn’t going anywhere. That’s why I have to disagree with something she said recently. At the end of The Revolvies, her personal hoop awards, in predicting an Acro Hoop Explosion (which involves doing yoga poses while being balanced by a partner and hooping) she said, “’I just dance with [a hoop] is so 2004″ while doing a cartwheel in your 40′s is so 2012. Excuse me? I know she was just being clever, but no one in my independent casual random survey of hoopers in their 40′s has expressed any interest in learning cartwheels. A few did, however, utilize the opportunity in my info exchange to ask for hoop dance advice. It reminds me that the problem with being inside the hooping community is that it’s very hard to really see it for what it is. What may seem very 2004 to someone who was hooping back then is still very 2012 to the one who hasn’t seen it before – which is still most people everywhere. Case in point: which video this weekend by a non-celebrity raked up a startling 12,000 views in a mere 24 hours? If this isn’t indicative that it’s time to roll the hoop back, I don’t know what is (furry footies optional).
4) Conformity is Boring: Every snowflake is individually designed to be unique. The same goes for people right down to our fingerprints. At Hoopcamp last year I taught a class called “Deconstructing Your Hoop Experience” where many expressed that they’d gotten caught up in trying to emulate and be someone other than themselves. They were so inspired by their instructor or a well-known hooper that they were trying to BE them, rather than taking what they could learn back into an even greater vision of themselves. The result of following too closely is almost always a loss of authenticity – the single most important ingredient our community cherishes. Think of the hoopers who have dazzled our world the most and they are all so uniquely themselves. If we’re all following along in a quest to move like so-and-so, or hoop in a hoop so small we’ve lost the freedom to dance and move, sacrificing the additional space we originally loved in a down-sizing quest to appease who the hell knows, then we’re losing the opportunity to be the bright, shiny hoop stars of our own creation, the one the Universe wants us to be.
Hoop dance rules uniquely. The night I discovered hooping I knew that I had found something incredible. Five minutes into it when all the chatter in my head began to silence and I found myself centered within my body, I came home. I exhaled. As a result I’ve rediscovered flow and joy and movement in my life. In every interview I’ve done with hoop dancers over the years, whenever I’ve asked the question, “How has hooping changed your life” the answers have been endless. There’s something incredibly powerful about a hoop spinning around the very core of our being. This very spin has the power to heal and transform lives as we have heard testament to time and time again. There’s always more for us to learn from the hoop itself. While I’m glad that the “us” and “them” lines were erased to allow our community to be even more inclusive of hoopers of all persuasions everywhere, at the fundamental core it’s very important for Hooping.org’s message to remain as simple and clear as it was when this site began, so that the marvel that is hooping can be enjoyed by all who hear the call.
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Philo Hagen is the Co-founder and Managing Editor of Hooping.org. He’s been spinning things up online and off since April 2003.
Thank you, Philo. Again. So glad you are able and willing to share your perspective. I am a new(er) hooper and love hooping for the sake of hooping. I am just happy any time anyone else will join me for even a few minutes. Sometimes I feel isolated and crave more community, but even I have seen the changes you describe within the larger hoop community in the year I have been involved. Here’s to hooping just for the joy of it!
I’ve only been hooping a little over a year, so I’m sure my perspective will change with time, but I hear what you’re saying, Philo, (and really appreciate your willingness to say it!)
When I first discovered hooping, I felt negative pressure from NON-hoopers primarily. They didn’t (and some still don’t) understand what hooping is or why anyone would want to play with a “toy” for hours. It was a relief to spend time with other hoopers who understood the sheer joy of spending time in the hoop.
Fortunately, every hoop jam I’ve attended I’ve felt welcomed and included, regardless of what moves I could or couldn’t execute. It hasn’t mattered. (And I’ve enjoyed meeting you
Where I HAVE see competition and commerce getting in the way is primarily on-line interactions. I don’t post videos of myself hooping because I’ve see too many catty comments left to or about others videos,or in forum discussions, and I’m a little wary.
I find the vendor-sniping dismaying, and I’m sometimes confused about what kind of “identity” I’m supposed to adopt as a hooper. Should I be following a specific hoop-guru? (I admire so many of them!) Do I really need to be a hoop-disciple anyway? Am I “behind” in what tricks I’ve learned? Are my hoops the wrong size? Made of the wrong material?
It’s exhausting.
So, I’m with you, Philo. I love hooping. I love learning new tricks (or not!), spending time with other hoopers, and just getting to be more comfortable in my own skin. I want the hoop community to include all kinds of hoop-disciplines and exploration, but only by making the circle wider, not by establishing some kind of hierarchy.
Vic, I’ve made the same observation as you: when I meet hoopers face to face they’re friendly, welcoming, and non-judgmental. After reading your post I searched my mind for negative experiences with local hoopers or hoopers I’ve met at workshops/jams/festivals. I can’t think of any problems. But like you said, negativity and judgement emerge a LOT online. It’s easy to judge when you don’t know the person behind the dance you’re watching. That’s why I stopped watching videos for a long time. The real jury, the real pressure to conform is in our minds and the internet makes it too easy to fuel negative judgement.
I was just thinking about making myself some new, slightly larger hoops…and I saw this piece. Bravo! Thanks for your well timed insight that everyone can benefit from.
Great article Philo, very well written and relatable. Many of us do have that little voice inside who is often a harsh, unfair critic. We shouldn’t need to contend with any other negativity or judgments, especially from within our own circle-family. Life is hard. Hooping is fun. Let’s keep it that way!
I wonder if Katie (the girl in the video within the article) knows someone stole her video and uploaded it as their own. The original was uploaded more than a year ago and has more than 75,000 views.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFTJW4Merbs
Thanks Tilly. I knew the video was about a year old and hijacked, but I couldn’t remember who she was.
Not a problem. Love her style and remembered seeing the video before!
Copyright infringement drives me nuts. I sent a message to Katie letting her know that someone has hijacked her video and is making money off of it. Nuts. Drives me nuts.
I left a message on her original video too letting her know. I feel the same. I mean, WTF?! Who does that?
thank you philo, as one of the first wave of hoopsters out of l.a. circa 2000, i so feel what you’re talking about.
i actually have to confess that i pretty much stepped away from the circle for a good few years (and i’m not talking about the fact that i now live on the other side of the world). the changes were exciting to witness and thrilling to attempt, but they weren’t spinning quite right for me.
it’s only recently that i’ve started rolling back. i’ve started teaching a class here in johannesburg and you’re right. for my students who are very late adopters, 2012 is very 2004 and they’re loving it! for them to be able to waist hoop with a 42″ hoop is magical!
remember the days when we knew every person we’d see walking around with a hoop? i’m glad that hooping has exploded, but i’ve always loved it for being inclusive and non-competive and non-judgemental.if “the good vibe hoop tribe” were to be formed today, i would never be included with the skills i had back in 2003, or the jaundiced eye that now exists!
even as for the name – i still prefer to call it hoop-DANCING because that’s what it’s always been about for me. maybe that’s why i’m back – because i’ve realized that i don’t need to know the most tricks or be the most techie hooper out there. as long as i can get lost in the music for hours with the hoop as my dance-partner, that’s what the circle is about for me.
thanks for stepping up and rolling it back philo. love you!
I have missed you Sass. It makes me happy to be in your orbit again.
I love your hooping, Sass! You look like you’re just enjoying the moment and grooving.
As a newer hooper (one year) I’ve felt a lot of pressure to learn the newer techniques but they don’t stick with me. Mostly because… I don’t like them. I don’t enjoy them as much as I love just twirling and spinning in my hoop and grooving to the beat of the music inside my hoop. I think it’s awesome that others have those amazing skills, but it’s not for me.
Sass…I just respect you so, so much! xoxo
I absolutely respect all forms of hooping, and that includes those artists who are pushing what we do into new realms. It is not always what I would choose for myself, but I am glad there are so many flavors out there.
For me, dance is the be all and end all of hooping. I’m a slave to the music, and the hoop listens to my body as it interprets the music. Without music, my hoop and I are just that: object and manipulator. But, when the beat drops and my heart sinks into the sound, then…then… then I believe once more in magic!
Thanks for your thoughts! Maybe one day we can discuss in person! Would love to geek out with you over this. Am still baffled by the fact that it has been eight years since I first asked my girlfriend, “Why did you bring that hoop out tonight?”
The question that changed my life.
I agree whole-heartedly!
Hoopers are such a varied lot and we all bring our uniqueness to hooping. I look at some hoopers and am inspired to try out some of the things they do and see if I can incorporate it into my hoop practice. Other stuff I applaud but know that my 52 year old bod, while still pretty damn good just can’t do the things a 20 year old circus trained gymnast can do!!! So I DON’T try to to do a headstand while hooping on every limb!
Being with other hoopers really helps, though, as I can see new ways of moving and understand that my way is not necessarily the best way- we all need to learn. But hoop snobs saying that their way that is the ONLY way or that if I can’t hoop 5 hoops around my body I am a failure is only going to make people frisbee their hoop into the nearest dumpster.
We are in danger of bringing crass commercialism into our hooping community. You know, just like TV shows and ads- Everything has to be “new and improved” with bigger spills and thrills.
I believe it is only a small minority heading down this path but the rest of us need to say “whoah-slow down and smell the roses- stop trying to tart up our hooping world!” Accept the waist-only hoopers who love-love-love just doing that – along with loving our stellar stars who amaze us with their grace and skill- and park the judgments at the door, thankyou.
Thank you for this great article Philo. Very thought provoking. I appreciate your candor and ability to really bring forth some issues facing our community. I also really appreciated Sass’s comment as well. Things have changed from our days on tribe for sure, but I agree my hoop is still my partner in my dance. In Gratitude.
The hoop sizes thing has bothered me for years. Starting people with a small hoop sets them up to fail. In the rush for smaller and smaller, we are literally squeezing people out of our circle. Admittedly I’m a size queen. I like ‘em big. But I also want people to succeed AND I like the way people look when they’re moving inside of a big hoop. I really enjoy body rocking. Plus, all those off body moves just look more impressive and bad ass with a really big hoop.
I can’t believe a hooper would post a video making fun of another hooper!?! I haven’t seen that and I don’t want to. That makes me very sad. And kinda mad.
People learn by emulating and I understand that but I suggest just relegating it to skill-building. To learning, keeping in mind that you have a dance that yours to dance and if you don’t dance it the world won’t have it. When I teach, I deliberately don’t teach a choreography. Instead, I teach individual moves and then we explore variations. I try to give tools in the toolbox of the improvisational dancer. It’s not that I don’t want you to dance like me. It’s that I want you to dance like YOU!
I believe many of the changes affecting our community have their roots in moving the hoop from on-the-body to off-the-body. We literally left the circle. It’s out there somewhere now — on our hands or in the air. I am really hoping to see a return to body rocking. And a return to our roots.
Totally agree Caroleena!! I love to body rock!!
Yay, Body Rocking!! I have LOADS to say on this subject.. I am going to post a longer comment below..
So glad you did!
”It’s not that I don’t want you to dance like me. It’s that I want you to dance like YOU!” – <3 I totally agree with you! And that is not the easiest way to teach, people are so uncertain at the beginning, but the final result is amazing!
Nice…and I agree… always enjoy you!
I have anger issues. I have regretted flipping out on other hula hoopers because of my freedom fighting nature. But I don’t understand how a professional hula hooper can post on facebook hurtful things about another’s youtube video. That only makes them appear to have no self confidence in their own skills.
But I’m part of the evil of this growing fitness fad.
I totally get where you’re coming from Philo…and I also understand where many people who have chimed in on this thread are coming from (at least I think I do). Yet, as a hooper who primarily is drawn to off-body hooping and as a hooper who is fascinated with bringing in influences from other flow arts disciplines, I can’t help but get a “you are no longer welcome here” message by this post. Or rather, “you can keep playing with us as long as you play the way we want you to play.” In essence, the vibe/tone of this post to me is actually being an example of what you’re decrying…the “you’ve gotta hoop this way” mentality.
There are so many layers to this!!
In all the workshops I’ve taken and conversations I’ve had with hoop-makers and hoopers about hoop size/material, etc. I have never never never encountered anyone saying or promoting the idea that one must go smaller/thinner/lighter with their hoop to be cool/fit-in/do it right or whatever. Never. I have never seen written nor have I heard said by anybody ever that “small hoop = advanced” or that this is what you’re “supposed” to do. Never. The example cited seems to be more about the maker wanting to make the sale as opposed to actively promoting an idea that one is not really a hooper if one doesn’t use a tiny hoop. Irresponsible, yes, but not for the reason stated.
I have never experienced a teacher telling anyone “do it like me”. In fact, it’s been the opposite. The teaching overwhelmingly comes across as “this is what I do and how I do it — you take this and find your own way to play with it”. I feel like a lot of people glom onto the first part “this is what I do” and ignore the second: “find your own way”. Emulating how someone else hoops (or does anything really) is easy — taking what they have to say and making your own way out of it — that’s the part that demands work and that’s where the shortfall is.
I feel like a fad/mob mentality takes hold around certain ideas — the “smaller = better/more advanced” being a prime example (and those furry leg-warmer things being another prominent example). The first hoopers who went small did so because a smaller lighter hoop fit how they — how , they hooped. Nobody said “everyone must go smaller or they’re not in the cool kids club.” Ditto for going polypro…ditto for going off-body.
“Comformity is so boring”. This is so true, yet as a hooper who naturally, by my own volition/interest/curiosity/drive/imagination/passion have explored off-body work with light, small hoops, I feel I am now being asked to conform to somebody else’s vision of hooping…which is pretty much the exact opposite of what this post is purportedly about!
The issue isn’t so much people taking hooping in these different directions imposing anything on anyone — all these people were just doing their own thing. What’s caused the shift isn’t so much anybody pushing their agenda onto others, but some kind of groupthink taking hold and the community itself going “oh what that person’s doing is cool let’s ALL DO THAT RIGHT NOW.” The hoopers who first introduced isolations or poi-style to Hooping didn’t say “you must do this to be cool” so much as “here’s something else it’s possible to do.”
So much of the responsibility of the phenomenon being described here is assigned to the hoopers who started integrating other modes of object manipulation into the hoop and the ones who started going small. Why is there no call for personal agency here? Why is the call to “roll it back” and reject/dial-back these other ideas as opposed to “take what ideas work for you and ignore the others”.
If you like polypro go polypro, if you don’t then don’t. If you like waist hooping with a big hoop only, then do that. No-one outside of your own head is stopping you. No-one. And to claim otherwise is conveniently absolving yourself of responsibility for your own experience.
I can’t speak to the people posting negative/mocking comments/videos about other hoopers. That’s galling, I agree. But, when it comes to technique or hoop size, the hoopers who first went in those directions were only following their own bliss, curiosity and imaginations. If any message “should” have come through, it’s that. Follow your own bliss, curiosity and imaginations.
There is no hierarchy except for the one you imagine and buy into (and thereby enforce).
The circle is what attracted me to hooping — the literal, physical shape. My approach to hooping is my own and I will continue to follow it because that’s where my interest and imagination takes me. If there is anything about hooping or life I’d want to convey to anyone who pays attention to anything I say at all, it’s that.
The circle is infinite, and by definition, contains all possibilities. Why limit those possibilities because of our own yearnings or regrets? Why limit those possibilities with our own ideas of “this is how it should be?”
And for the record, I feel that Lyra and Cyr Wheel are completely different disciplines than hooping/hoop dance/hula hooping that just happen to also use props that are circular. We really can’t claim ownership of the circle, now can we?
I’m all for people following their own bliss, curiosity and imaginations Khan. I want everyone to have the opportunity to become the bright, shiny hoop stars of their own creation – and I celebrate the authenticity of those who’ve hooped their way into becoming so uniquely and authentically themselves. I wish that for all of us and said as much.
As for the circle being limitless, which it is, or trying to claim ownership of it, which we’re not, this is Hooping.org. People come here for hooping and as you state yourself, the Lyra and Cyr Wheel are completely different disciplines. Hooping.org’s mission since 2003 has been to spread the joy of hooping to everyone, everywhere. I’m simply affirming our need to once again focus on our namesake and do just that.
Rolling It Back is about affirming that one size does not fit all, the need for us to be loving and supportive of one another at all levels, that hoop dance is still super fresh for millions in 2012, and that we all need to find our own groove rather than trying to BE someone else’s. What’s interesting about your response, oddly enough, is exactly why this was written, only in reverse. I never said “you’ve got to hoop this way” or implied other things that you mentioned, but you came to certain conclusions anyway. Many hoopers arrive at similar beliefs all the time fearing that the circle is somehow being drawn in such a way not to include them, regardless of whether they’re literally hearing people say or promote certain ideas or not. In reality, people say such things a lot, though being an awesome guru of off-body and poi-style hooping and more Mister, you might be too inside to really see and hear it. You’re the awesomest. Who would ever tell you your hoop is too big?
In closing I do need to fully own my part in potentially creating a degree of confusion here though by not defining more clearly where the line might be or where exactly we’re rolling it back to. If I upset you or anyone into thinking off-body hoopers – or any kind of hoopers – were for some reason being left out, I sincerely apologize. That could not be further from the truth. I purposefully wasn’t more definitive in that the lines are often quite blurry, as you well know, and Hooping.org is, and always will be, about being as inclusive as possible.
Philo: This reply seems to be written in quite a different voice to what you originally wrote. I can’t quite mesh the two together and I’m still not quite sure how “Rolling it back” in general can be a good thing. Perhaps further clarification is still needed.
One last note on “Push it forward.”
When you’re inside the circle, “forward” is whatever direction you happen to be facing.
Love that Khan! Beautifully said.
<3
This is profound. Thank you, Khan.
Forward YES! Forward forward….push it forward…push those limits… ahhh push it! You just gave me a moment, thank you Khan!
Push It (Push It Real Good)
I don’t fully understand what you’re saying here, Philo. To my mind being inclusive involves including everyone. What I like about the hoop is that it’s so versatile and primal that anyone given time can relate to it in some way. I’ve been an object manipulator for around twelve years. In the last two years the hoop has become for me the most exciting and enjoyable object to manipulate and pretty much the only thing I play with. I feel privileged to be part of the hoop dance community in all it’s forms.
But I don’t do much waist hooping. That’s just my path. I don’t know where it will take me but I’m sure enjoying the ride.
I feel the things you perceive as negative are to do with the community getting larger. As a community grows it’s negative aspects grow, sure. But on the flip-side its positive aspects also grow. Unfortunately you can’t really have one without the other. The more we grow and incorporate different ideas the more inclusive the community becomes, because more people can relate to the hoop. Let’s accentuate the positive not dwell on the negatives.
On a side note, Revolva was to my mind clearly making a joke. She does not expect everyone to be doing cartwheels with their hoops instead of dancing with them. Some people take things seriously. Some people make jokes about things important to them. I reckon we need both these types of people in the world.
Anah Reichenbach came to the UK last year for SWhoop and demonstrated her insane hoop dance skills. There is a video of her performance which I would say was definitely worth a watch. I imagine she fits in with most people’s definition of hoop dance. I also imagine that what she is doing now is not what she was doing when she first started hooping. I bet she has spent a long period of time changing and developing what she does to get it to this mind-blowing level. Her on-body hoop dance has evolved.
I think the way hoop dance is evolving in every direction is a beautiful thing that should be celebrated. The fact that today our so called advanced/performer hoops are identical to the kids’ hoops of yesterday is very Zen. Things go in circles. I like circles.
The simplest definition of hoop dance is probably “dancing with a hoop”. If I’m standing still hooping but my heart is dancing does that still count? I think it does.
I know Revolva was joking. In fact I said she was being clever. But when one of the cool kids says something in the hoop world is out of fashion and a woman in her 40′s writes me wanting to know if she really has to learn acro hooping, I think we can sometimes undervalue the weight our words may carry to someone who is new and just wanting to get it and fit in.
As for Anah, and only because you’re using her as an example, you weren’t part of the hooping community when she quit for over a year, struggling with whether or not what she was doing was still important. Thankfully she came to the correct conclusion – oh most definitely! This is her five years ago before the break: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KdlLfAEhgx8
You said, “The fact that today our so called advanced/performer hoops are identical to the kids’ hoops of yesterday is very Zen. Things go in circles.” Yes, they do go in circles don’t they – only kid-sized hoops are a fad that traditionally dies. They’ve come and gone to varying degrees every decade since the 50′s and most adults will never be able to successfully use one. We need to be inclusive and aware that one size does not fit all, that there really is no such thing as a “beginner hoop” or an “advanced hoop”, only the hoop that is perfect for you that you can love.
There is a video on Anah’s channel from back in 2004 as well. There are many similarities in what she is doing now to what she was doing back then, but I still think she has refined her technique massively and thus pushed the art-form.
My point was also that hooping had to change and broaden in scope to reach the point it was in 2004. You can’t fear change.
Describing the new and old lightweight hoops as a fad is inaccurate on both counts. The kids lightweight hoops are still sold it toy shops all over the world – not bad going really. I’m confident in predicting the new trend in lightweight hoops ain’t going anywhere neither. I can teach an adult to successfully hoop with one in seconds – on their hand! Both sizes of hoops can exist side by side and will continue to do so whatever you or I write on the subject.
Let’s agree on the fact that we need to be inclusive and disagree on whether or not your article sounds like you want to be.
This might post twice. I just posted it and it didn’t show up. Also one of my earlier replies seems to have disappeared which is very odd.
There’s a video of Anah from back in 2004. While her style is the same I think the depth of her movement has evolved greatly. I also think hooping had to evolve to reach the point it was in 2004. Change is not something to be feared.
I can teach an adult to successfully spin a lightweight hoop in seconds – on their hand! Lightweight hoops have been around for longer than we have and they’re not going anywhere any time soon. Both hoops can exist side by side quite happily.
Let’s agree on the fact that we need to be more inclusive and disagree on whether or not that’s what your article sounds like you want to be.
Sorry it’s taken me awhile to respond in greater depth here, but I’ve had the rest of the site to attend to as well.
I think it’s awesome that you can teach someone to successfully spin a lightweight hoop in seconds on their hand. But when people think of hula hoops, most still see in their mind a waist hooping photo from the 1950′s or a Wham-o child’s toy. Just tonight I was telling a new date what I do for a living. They said, “So how many hoops can you spin at once?” We used to just say “It’s not like that”, cause it wasn’t, we only used one hoop – but with Hooping.org’s inclusion of all hoopers in our later years and with increasing cross pollination between circus and hoop dance and the rise of polypropylene and smaller on and off body hoop sizes, the answer has become increasingly complicated.
That’s not in and of itself a bad thing. Not at all. But in our efforts to include all hoopers everywhere (which hasn’t changed), today’s newer hoopers only know what they see now. Some may think dubstep is all we’ve ever hooped to. They think 36″ is a big hoop and it’s not, not even close. They are increasingly less likely to know that polyethylene and polyproylene have their own distinctly different advantages. And given some recent discussions that ultimately spawned this column, it seems some don’t know or believe that hooping is something open and available to all or how to make that happen.
If Hooping.org’s original message has gotten lost in the expansion, whoa, that’s our fault. Our bad! Time for a roll back to make sure our mission statement to spread the joy of hooping to all people, everywhere is still being heard, that we’re all clear that one size doesn’t fit all, that we need to be nice to one another and that hoop dance is alive and well and still as valid as it ever was.
well said Mr. Bags . cheers
I know from talking to Bags privately that his further comments on this area of the thread … have been deleted. I read what he said, and his words are not racist, sexist or otherwise offensive at all. They simply disagree with the column. On the topic of inclusiveness, I’d like to state a strong offense at using a community resource to push one particular opinion and censoring dissenting voices. I would personally appreciate if Bags could be allowed to respond further, without having his comments removed.
The last time I checked the spam folder was about 5am when I went to bed and yes – there were comments from him and others in there which are now online. If you post during a server glitch they tend to up in the spam folder or if you post the same thing a second time while the first is still in limbo – then it registers as spam. He posted the same comment twice consecutively.
I really appreciate your compliments, Philo, but I also felt a bit zapped by the second half of that paragraph mentioning me – and by the post in general. To clarify, I think it’s a *positive* thing if people who may be conditioned to think they are too “old” or too wrong-shaped to try something, wind up feeling confident enough (through hooping) to try it anyway. One group of 40-year-olds may have expressed no interest in trying a cartwheel. However, I took the Ninja Hoops class, and there WERE people over 40 in the class, who WERE interested in trying it.
If that’s where they were at — and in 2011, our community had innovated to the point of supporting the interest — why not? That’s awesome! I was so inspired to see people feeling that free. While there is no need to do anything other than what we feel like doing, there is also no need to conform to a limited base if we feel like exploring. In other words, it’s not wrong to play with the absolute freedom we all had as children.
Hooping can be anything.
It feels amazing to dance with one hoop, and it also feels amazing to bust up our own self-imposed doubts, to challenge ourselves, and to try new things. I’m turning 36 soon, and I didn’t start hooping until I was 26. I NEVER thought I could do half the stuff I now do – with a hoop, or with my life, but my path was my path. If I told myself not to move in pace with my own interests, I wouldn’t have lived the last decade at all in the same way.
An interpretation of the acro hoop paragraph of the Revolvies as saying that it’s wrong to dance with a hoop — is a mis-read. Let’s reframe it and say that the only thing we COULD say in 2004 is “I just dance with it.” That’s where we all were, with the resources we had. But time has passed, and it’s okay to honor how rad it is that in addition to people who like to dance with the hoop, *an entire community* who began on the core has now become a very, very widespread community full of all kinds of innovation.
In 2004, there wasn’t an acro hooping class available. There weren’t hoop conferences or youtube channels to help hoopers co-create and explore. There are so many possibilities now, and — that’s pretty exciting. Yes, new people come to hooping every day. As Khan pointed out, it’s their right to decide what they want to get out of it or what feels good to THEM. No one is making anyone conform to a particular style.
Even the video posted in the “hard to see from the inside” section highlights poi moves, twin hooping and a move around the 2-minute mark that comes from circus hooping. So while she is dancing a lot, even this video uses clear examples from how hooping has been pushed … forward.
If hoopers feel pressure to do something more than dance hoop, and react by exerting pressure on others to *stop* doing anything more than dance hoop, that’s a conundrum. It sure doesn’t feel good to have an “us” vs. “them” mentality. But the exclusivity works both ways.
Anyway, I appreciate the strong feelings we all have about wanting to be respected. I do honor and respect hoopers who feel that the only thing they ever want to do is dance with one hoop. I still enjoy core dance hooping myself. However, I also agree with Khan. It’s okay to push hooping forward. As far is anyone feels like pushing. Wherever we stand on that spectrum is *our own* individual right place.
she said ‘rad’ …SCORE!
Oh Philo, you have a way with words. Thank you for saying what so many of us have felt so beautifully.
Philo,
I adore you ! Thank you for this and I think you know all that you have done to make me feel welcome.
You have warmed my heart today and I want you to know I am here to stay.
The hoop has too strong of a connection with me to stop.
So Thank you again and You have made my day.
I feel so good right now , I can’t even explain it……….
Thanks for the great article and reminding us of some important lessons. I came from the belly dance community, and believe me, it’s all this and more…both good and bad. It happens with everything, we divide ourselves by our attempts to compartmentalize. Sure, it’s okay to define a certain style, or understand the physical differences of hoop size, and things like that… it’s even okay to specialize if you love a particular style. But then the love leaves what you are doing and it turns into an unhealthy competition, a prejudice, a judgemental attitude. My solution is to relax, enjoy life and what I’m doing, and encourage others to do the same. It doesn’t matter what or how we are doing it, just enjoy it.
I am so grateful for thought provoking articles like this one and for the responses it produces. I found myself, both while reading the article and while reading each response, nodding and finding common ground. It reminds of our days back on tribe.net when we had the space and then used it, to openly discuss what was happening in our hoops, with our hoops, and in the community.
I recognize that validity of all the comments here, and that we all have our own experiences. Mine lies here… I have been hooping for almost a decade, teaching for a little over 3 years and am a 40 year old, single mother of 2. My path has changed, I don’t have the 1-2 hours a day to practice that I once did, or to watch tutorials or videos to keep up with the latest techniques. While I want to “push it forward” in my own practice, for me this means just pushing myself to find space and time to maintain a practice. I’m ok with that. I need to practice to teach.
As a teacher, I notice my students wanting to go to smaller hoops much too soon, and it effects their overall hooping. Sure their off body hooping is easier, but their shoulder and core hooping is a struggle if they don’t have a hoop sized properly. they can still do off body hooping with a large hoop… it just build more muscle and aids for quicker movement as they transition to smaller hoops later when they are ready.
I don’t have a great summary here with out writing a book
. I would just encourage deep reflection on all sides of this issue. Of course we want to push forward, but not at the cost of losing community. Yes people with always leave, but the idealist in me believes (because of the feeling the hoop provides) we can maintain the hoop community vibe.
At first I thought I would be upset with the article when briefing through the beginning, but reading further I realized I agree with so much of what you said. I’ve been hooping for a year and a half now, and have been fortunate enough to have a good group of supportive/positive friends. It took me a long time to want to post my own videos because I tend to incorporate so much of personal dancing and movement I feared being ridiculed after seeing harsh comments from other people on other videos. I’ve grown strong enough to feel really good about what I do, and focus on getting lost in my own happy place rather than worrying about what anyone else thinks.
It really makes me sad that people have made it such a competition. Hooping along with any kind of flow activity is a hobby and passion that is ever growing. There is always more to learn and play with and experiment with, and everyone should encourage those around them instead of gloating or judging.
It feels so good to be free with my hoop and I will never tell anyone else they can’t feel the same way.
So, if groupthink is the issue. Then why hasn’t the community that inspires the imitation done anything about it?
I mean the video Philo posted, it just looked like a hoopgirl imitation. So the question is, are the teachers doing anything to inspire ppl to be their own person and not just imitate them.
cuz you are right khan, groupthink has always been part of this group, so much. In how ppl dress, in the moves they pull and so on, and apparently now it’s about off-body.
as a community do you just let this happen and say hey everyone you are responsible for being your individual or do you as a teacher, who has some influence on others remind yourself, that ppl are far to easily convinced to be just like everyone else because too few teachers aren’t saying, teaching, hoopers how to be their own individual selves in the hoop.
social rejection is not an option for humans, we don’t like it. this why you have cliques. very often humans in general are inspired to do the same things as others to be accepted and that’s why you have groupthink and so on.
i imagine a lot of ppl who do hooping may not have a strong group, maybe even self, to identify with in the first place and so now they do, and it feels great to do the same things and look the same so on as everyone in the group. however this type of being can leave the hoop world stagnant and boring.
It’s not furry boots and colorful hoop pants anymore, it’s fedoras, black hoop pants and utility belts, face painting? (imo the fact that i can name the major style and i haven’t participated in the community is what annoys me)
perhaps teachers need to not only teach tricks but teach individuals that they will get the most out of this community when they practice how unique they can pull off a move or dance. and who does that? I think bax does, and who?
.apologies for brevity, still in bed.
Did anyone read this , and am i the only one who thinks we have a sour hooper here ! Growth and change is amazing , evolution is bliss ! i like when Bags said “his heart is dancing , does that count” i feel thats really all that matters , if your heart is dancing – you may be doing something right ! Hooping makes my heart dance and smile and for this i share the joy of my journey ! i cant wait to see more growth and i find growing with my hoop one of the most exciting things iv ever done ! this plastic ring we play with is simple , and so is the joy received from those who play and dance with it ! Im sorry for using the term “sour” but i got a grumpy vibe from this article ! bless the hoop and all who use it , this hoop stuff is like a virus and soon we will all be infected ! i cant wait for that , happy and magical day !
While I think the overall sentiment in this column was meant to make people who dance with one larger hoop feel included — doing it by negating other styles of hooping doesn’t result in a feeling of inclusiveness.
I just want to point out, since I have now also been referred to as a “cool kid” who influences opinions in the comments — how UN-cool I am. I am basically the least cool hooper. Ever. My style of hooping has been ridiculed countless times, over years and years. Part of being a public figure is weathering flack. I have gotten (as they say in Oakland) HELLA hated on by some core hoopers. I’ve received exact comments such as “Revolva sucks; she just does a bunch of tricks.” Just last month, a hooper was slamming my style on Facebook for “ruining serious dance hooping” for audiences. There was a heated discussion which she ultimately deleted.
I understand that sometimes, in order to make ourselves feel good — we wind up making other people feel bad. But my point is that I live a life where the kind of “I’m not doing it right” feeling that people who use one large hoop may feel pinned under — has been directed at me, in reverse.
I don’t do things the way other people do them. I do them the way they feel fun and right to me. And in order to be myself, I have to constantly tell myself, “It’s okay, Kari” — because no one else CAN tell me that, but me.
All that said, I’m just not sure how “rolling it back” to the core makes things *more* inclusive. Couldn’t the column simply have said, “Hey, if you see a lot of videos with smaller hoops, here are some amazing videos using larger hoops — so core dance hoopers can also remember that they are awesome!” … without the added idea that it was wrong for people who DO love off-body hooping or small hoops to navigate a shift into new props and styles, brought on by the simple passing of time?
I don’t think this article can possibly foster greater inclusiveness by pointing fingers — at me for making a comment about acro hooping — or at anyone who uses any size hoops. Let’s all dance with big hoops and play with small hoops — and for people who have back problems that prevent core hooping, let’s hoop on our hands and feet.
While I appreciate the good feeling of validation this piece probably created in those who dance with one large hoop, it created the exact opposite feeling in me — and, it appears, in some other people. Again, there is not a right way. There are only increasing possibilities, and having our greatest fear be that people will give up when they order a hoop that doesn’t feel right can’t come at the cost of acknowledging that our community has grown bazillions of times over BECAUSE we have welcomed hoopers of all different disciplines. Also, because we have begun to explore many new sizes and styles of hoops.
We can make a greater point to applaud core hooping and larger hoops. But I don’t want to “roll back” to anywhere but where we currently exist. I think our community’s present level of expansiveness and creative possibility is a beautiful thing.
It’s unacceptable to me that you or anyone would receive such comments. Nobody should be slamming on anyone’s hoop style. I personally celebrate you and many others do as well. Regardless of how un-cool you might view yourself, you were a two-time Hoopie Award nominee this year and a Hoopie Award winner.
First off, let me apologize for singling you out by name. Someone emailed me about that comment and it was topic timely. Secondly, you noted: “While I think the overall sentiment in this column was meant to make people who dance with one larger hoop feel included — doing it by negating other styles of hooping doesn’t result in a feeling of inclusiveness.” The overall sentiment wasn’t just intended to make people who dance with one larger hoop feel included, it was about stretching that inclusivity back to a place where people just joining us today still have the opportunity to do so. I know a plus-sized newbie this past year who purchased four different hoops – from four different companies – with a variety of guarantees attached to each – before she finally got one that was large enough for her to join the circle. As for stating that other hooping styles are wrong, I didn’t say that.
The most exciting thing happening here is the dialogue. These are sensitive issues that are experiencing some much needed exposure to sunlight. Your discussions give voice to the subtle/vague feelings one gets when navigating the hooping world landscape. As a newcomer, it is reassuring that this discussion is as complicated and thought provoking to seasoned hoopers as it is to those of us newly arrived.
WOW. Us and them?? Really Philo? I found this article really upsetting I have always found the community to be open,accepting and excited and encouraging of new ideas. I’m a huge hoop geek I love figuring out new ways to move and new “tricks” It opens up new ways to move/dance with the hoop and keeps me inspired. I have been MASSIVELY influenced by the wider flow arts community and by circus and have actual taken this year out of travelling to hoop events to go to circus school, to cross train to push my hooping and my body further because I want to examine what other possibilities lie within the hoop. I’m also taking 3 dance classes a week because I LOVE to dance with my hoop. The two aren’t mutually exclusive. The integration of circus and cross pollination from other props for me does not dilute hoopdance it enriches it.
I’ve taught hooping for the last 3 and a half years I always teach core and off body hooping in my classes because some people struggle with core hooping even with a huge hoop and love the off body and some people can’t get their heads round hooping on their hands and just want to hoop on their core. Neither is better or wrong.
I have read and reread this article and the responses to it for the last 2 hours and I still don’t get what you are saying. It reads like you are saying by blurring the lines of “Us and Them” and accepting circus hoopers,old school hula hoopers and people who spin other props as part of hoopdance they have diluted and damaged the community in some way and now you want it to just be the way it was when hoopdance first started with people dancing with big hoops. I don’t understand how this is not divisive and inflammatory. Hooping.org is often the first point of reference for new hoopers searching for a community online and has always represented and I thought celebrated the diversity of the hoop community. I’d hate that to change.
“WOW. Us and them?? Really Philo?” Yeah, really Gail. In the early years of the hooping movement there was a definite divide between the new school hoopers and the old. Thankfully over time that wall lessened and was eventually taken down. If you read that as current, you’re mistaken.
I never said I “want it to just be the way it was when hoopdance first started with people dancing with big hoops”. I also never said certain kinds of hooping are wrong. Please don’t put words in my mouth. What is wrong is wasting your hard earned money on a hoop you would never be able to hoop with – and then being told the problem is you. There’s something wrong when a hooper leaves our community believing, rightly or wrongly, that there is no longer a place for them. Hooping.org’s mission has always been that absolutely anyone can hoop – if you have the right hoop to do it. If that message and the love and support that went with has gotten lost somewhere in our progress, then yeah, clearly we need some kind of rewind.
I think the ‘message and the love and the support for that’ unfortunately got lost in the tone of the original article, which is why we are experiencing such a backlash right here.
Rich discussion. I like that you are exploring ways to reconnect with what originally sparked your love of hooping. I would love to see all of us continue to challenge ourselves to be a more inclusive, supportive, joy/love-based community. A valuable question to keep pondering is how can we support that?
While the internet has helped us connect (especially those of us in more remote areas), it can create disconnect too, making it much easier for people to write comments that they would never say to a fellow hooper at a jam. I personally haven’t seen this type of negativity in face-to-face interactions. I’m not sure how to address this aspect of the problem other than calling out those we know who make comments and supporting those who are unfortunate enough to be on the receiving end of them.
And, while I personally love hooping as a form of self expression, I wonder if there are any benefits to imitating others? Maybe one might be drawn to Bax’s zen, Brecken’s rhythm, Revolva’s zest and trying that on may be a step in the process (as others have suggested) but, might also be the process in and of itself. Personally, attempting to hoop just like someone else seems mind-numbing/soul-sucking to me, but it might feel incredible to someone else. I also wonder if there is some belonging piece to all of this too – we live in a society that values autonomy, but what would a culture who values interdependency think about furry legwarmers?
Thank you for putting this out there. It feels valuable to explore how we can support those who are trying out hooping for the first time, shift from competition to co-experiencing, and continue to spread the love that has fed so many of us.