Beatrice Fantoni is a hooper and reporter for The Windsor Star so when it came to getting the story on the latest spin in Windsor, Ontario, Canada, she was right in the middle of it. She writes, “You may have spotted grown ups hula hooping in parks about town as the weather gets nicer. Apart from the fact that, yes, grown ups can hula hoop for both fitness and creative expression, some of those hoops are handmade right here in Windsor. Kathy Bellamy, a local hoop teacher, is among the artistes making those candy-coloured hoops. Bellamy stumbled on hooping via belly dancing, buying her first hoop about three years ago.” Bellamy shares her hoop making expertise, noting that a 40-inch diameter hoop (about big enough for an average sized adult) takes about 12 feet of black irrigation tubing. Making a hoop takes her about two hours because the taping is the hardest part. As for hooping in Windsor, Beatrice writes, “Windsor’s hooping community is not very big (yet), but if you’re even remotely curious about this art form/fitness activity, you can check out classes at the university as well as Feminessence Fitness, Bellamy’s belly dance and hooping school.” Feminessence is about women celebrating their curves and anyone can do it. As Bellamy says, “You just gotta give people the confidence.”
Thanks Philo! Stay tuned as there may be an actual print piece (this was her blog) in our paper complete with more photos and video. The photographer even brought a GoPro! I was stoked about that cuz I’ve really been wanting to try one of those things.