June 2015 - Caroleeena's Circles Of Joy

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…

How to Rock Flowers in your Hair

By Caroleeena June 10, 2015Costuming, Hoopdance, Uncategorizedcaroleeena, costume, flowers, hair, how to rock flowers in your hair2 Comments

Yesterday I saw two young girls walking down the street in my neighborhood. One had on a red dress with a red flower behind her ear. It was like a breath of fresh air. So pretty and sweet. I love wearing flowers. Flowers are fun! Real flowers, fake flowers, all 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…

The Value of Sharing: Growing Flow Arts Together

By Caroleeena June 3, 2015Uncategorized

The influence of social media on the development of flow arts can be hard to quantify but I know for a fact that the more we share freely, the more we grow hooping itself. This story is an example of that. Hoopers and hoopdancers are budding rhythmic gymnasts without coaches. Rhythmic…

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…