At the Charleston International Film Festival the usual short films, documentaries, and narrative films were present, but it was the evening’s fourth block that stood out to critic Kevin Young – thanks to the outdoor screening of Amy Goldstein’s documentary The Hooping Life. “Following the lives of several different hula-hoopers, the film serves as a video introduction to artistic dance moves and their affect on the hula hoop’s resurgence into pop culture. While the appearance of Shaquille O’Neal and “Kids Say The Darndest Things” host Art Linkletter were interesting, it was the dancers (also known as hoopers) themselves who had stories to tell. One found hooping helped her to overcome the pain of sexual abuse, another used hooping as a way to reconnect with her mother, and yet another has been able to create a lucrative business from her passion. Personally, the film’s standout profile was that of Baxter, a Carborro, North Carolina, native who spent his early years practicing hooping alone and blindfolded in his backyard.” After the film ended hoopers danced at the front of the screen and Baxter fielded questions from the attendees. Among the performers at the event were Jenn Scales & Sara Jantzen of Homespun Hoops. They live here in Charleston, South Carolina, USA. Watch their performance below:
I am an Anah fan and always will be. Seeing her tell her story was inspiring. Her sense of flow has always been an inspiration to me. This was such a fun night. The owners of Catalyst, Heather’s Hoops, Low Country Hoops and a group of Senior hoopers from the Low Country Senior Center were in the audience hooping away. So wish we would have seen more locals performing live. There were hooping inspired give-aways from local vendors, like JaneticsInk and Polyester Stella (who are also a part of the hooping community in Charleston.) A really great night. And Baxter’s kindness and generosity in sharing his hooping energy with us was amazing! Thank you, “The Hooping Life” for being a part of the Charleston Film Festival. I encourage any of you to go to The Hooping Life site to see if you can bring the film to your city.
There were 10 performances, of which only 3 were from out of Charleston.
The movie was fantastic, and watching all of the performers was fun! Big thanks to Kacey, founder of HomeSpun Hoops for her hard work in organizing the entire event and for pairing up with the Charleston International Film Festival to bring The Hooping Life to Charleston!!! What an awesome documentary- so glad I got to see it!
-and thank you Philo for the great article!