hoopdance Archives - Caroleeena's Circles Of Joy

International Hoopdance Award Nominations

By Caroleeena December 31, 2015hoopdance, Hooping, International Hoopdance Awards, Top Hat1 Comment

2015 was an amazing year for hooping. It gave birth to new forms of dance, new blogs, new podcasts, new service projects. I want to hear from you about what inspired you in each of these areas. A tip of the Top Hat to all of them and all of you!…

Tips For Beginner Hoopers

By Caroleeena December 9, 2015hoopdance, Hooping, Tutorial, Uncategorizedbeginner, beginner hoop

Picking Your Hoop: Start with a Big Groove Hoop. One that stands up to your nipples when it is on its side is ideal. It is slow and wonderful for grooving in. The bigger around the hoop is, the slower it moves, meaning it hits your belly less frequently and you…

Creating Mood In Hoopdance

By Caroleeena December 2, 2015hoopdance, hoopdance, Hooping, Performance, UncategorizedCreating mood, Creating Mood in Hoopdance

A mood is a temporary emotional state. Our mood affects how we process information and experiences. Setting the scene to create a certain mood affects how receptive the listener or viewer will be to the story we have to tell. Ideally the mood we create in dance aligns with the music,…

Leaving for the German Hoop Convention – A Travelogue after the fact

By Caroleeena August 2, 2015German Hoop Convention, hoopdance, Hooping, travelogue, UncategorizedGerman Hoop Convention2 Comments

Europe was amazing. The German Hoop Convention was amazing. The whole experience was amazing. I have been trying to start this blog for a week. How to summarize something so life-changing in words, especially when I know I haven't even begun to process all of the experience? I definitely feel changed…

Making Shapes in Hoopdance – Circles

By Caroleeena June 15, 2015hoopdance, Hooping, Uncategorizedarm work, circles, footwork, shapes in hoopdance2 Comments

Circular shapes and movements are perfect for hoopdance. A bent arm is easier to take in and out of the hoop, moving a single hand in a circle from a still arm is a beautiful semi-resting piece of armwork that doesn't take much effort and is a wonderful use of the…

Suck In Your Belly for Balance, Elongation and Power in Hoopdance

By Caroleeena June 8, 2015Dance, hoopdance, Hoopingabs, posture, stomach vacuum, suck in your belly, suckng in your belly3 Comments

In a previous blog, I have talked about a ritual for building powerful posture for hoopdance. One of the instructions in that ritual is "Tighten your abs". The reason we do this is to pull our organs in and up, to center at our midpoint both horizontally and vertically -- the…

Repetition, Alternation, and Exploring Phrases in Hoopdance

By Caroleeena June 1, 2015Dance, hoopdancealternation, exploring phrases, phrases, repetition, understanding phrases1 Comment

Interesting dances are an alchemy of variation and repetition connected by transitions. I find many hoopdances have a lot of variation when it comes to moves, especially tricks, but they often lack repetition. Repetition and/or its sister Alternation allow us to really explore either a phrase in the music or an…

Embellishing Hoop Moves

By Caroleeena May 26, 2015Dance, hoopdance, Hooping, Uncategorizedembellish, embellishing hoop moves1 Comment

Any hoop move can be improved by adding a decorative detail. The detail can be as simple as adjusting the posture, holding the head a certain way, directing the gaze, a turn of the hand, articulating the fingers, positioning a foot or a leg, or it can be as complicated and…

Circles of Joy International Hoopdance Awards

By Caroleeena May 3, 2015Dance, hoopdance, UncategorizedCircles of Joy Hoopdance Award, Hoopdance Award, Top Hat Award, Top Hat Awards11 Comments

Celebrating Hoopdancers Telling Stories Through Movement! I love the Hoopie Awards. Every year I am exposed to new hoopers and hoop videos via Hooping.org’s annual awards: http://www.hooping.org/hoopie-awards/ Thank you Philo for making them! I know they are a ton of work. This past January I was sad to see that there…

Pointing the Toe and Dragging the Toe in Hoopdance

By Caroleeena April 27, 2015Dance, hoopdance, Hooping, Uncategorizedpointed toes, rond de jambe, tendu, toes1 Comment

Our focus this week is Toes! Pointing our toes, connecting with the ground at the point of the toe, dragging the toe while traveling in lines and circles and dragging the toe up the leg so it stays connected to the body at the ankle, knee or thigh. When the toe…