Caroleeena's Circles of Joyhoopdance
Hairography for Hoopers!
Hairography is more than just a wonderful episode of Glee: It is a series of ways of moving the head that transfers energy to the hair so it becomes its own dance prop. To be clear, you don’t have to have hair to do hairography. These moves are also interesting simply as moves of the […]
Adding Jumps and Leaps to Hoopdance
Jumps and leaps are dazzling feats of strength and agility that bring energy, surprise, and even a sense of danger to our hoopdances. They are flashy level changes that can be combined with changes in speed, direction, hoop moves, and/or other dance elements to add dynamic and high contrast elements to our dances. All jumps […]
Bringing Energy to Your Hoopdance
Energy has many different definitions and all of them can be applied to hoopdance. – Chi is the active life force that animates every living thing. In Chinese medicine, this energy has two main expressions — the inward flow of Yin and the outward flow of Yang. Yin is the softer, more inviting, inward expression […]
Exploring Levels In Hoopdance
Levels refer to a dancer’s movement up and down the vertical axis as they move in and through space. As hoopdancer, our prop, the hoop, becomes an extension of the hoopdancer that can also explore movement up and down the vertical axis. Low level: Body Movements on the low level include crawling, rolling, sitting, kneeling, […]
Contraction and Expansion in Hoopdance
Contraction is the act of becoming smaller. Expansion is the act of becoming larger. We experience expansion and contraction with every breath. As we breathe in, the lungs fill, the chest expands. As we breathe out, the lungs empty, the chest contracts. From any joint in the body we can expand and contract, become bigger […]
Integrating Armwork into Hoopdance
Hoopdance is made up of more than just a hoop moving around the waist. It also includes armwork, footwork, directed gaze, gestures, traveling steps, turns and spins, characterization, beat punctuation, musicality, and, of course, hoop moves. For many hoopers, though, the first question is usually, “What do I do with my arms!?!” In armwork, there […]
Building Strength for Pirouettes … Safely
Demi Pointe is a ballet term that means to support the body’s weight by balancing on the balls of one or both feet with heels off the floor. Being able to lift the heel or heels is essential for pirouettes because you literally spin on the ball of the foot. Having a lot of strength […]
Baby Doll Hands – the Fingerwork of T-Rex Arms
Baby Doll Hands are the fingerwork of T-Rex Arms and Chicken Wings. They are common among both new and experienced hoopers. This is the hand pose of baby dolls that are made to hold bottles. Baby Doll Hands are slightly rounded with the thumb almost touching, or touching, the thumb. They are the contracted […]
Creating A Character In Dance
Characterization is a writing concept that can also be applied to creating a character in dance. It refers to the little details an author uses to convey information about a character’s personality, mood, and/or story. In writing, these details can be described. (“Sarah was grumpy.”) but in dance, they must be shown. “Show, Don’t Tell” […]
How to Break Down, Describe, and Name Hoop Moves
One challenge of keeping a hoop journal is figuring out what to call a move and/or how to describe it. It’s also a challenge for hoop teachers. Hopefully these tips will help. I try to start with a short metaphor or analogy for the name (lasso, stir the pot, infinity, beam me up, pizza toss, […]