Caroleeena's Circles Of Joy

Fire Performance at the new Museum of Natural Sciences

By Caroleeena April 20, 2012hoopdance, Hooping, Poi, Uncategorized

I am very excited to be fire dancing with Mesmerizing Arts at the 24-hour grand opening of the Museum of Natural Sciences in Raleigh on Earth Day, April 20th, from 9 pm to midnight. There will be bands and many other activities, including LED performances from midnight to 1 am. They…

The Difference Between “Don’t Give Up!” and “Hang in There!”

By Caroleeena April 17, 2012Uncategorized1 Comment

Encouragement literally means to give courage. When we are trying to encourage someone, we are much more effective if we use powerful, power-filled, encouraging language, if we speak about what we want to happen rather than what we don't want to happen. Focusing on what we don't want, or worse, fear.…

Tandem Hooping

By Caroleeena April 17, 2012Uncategorized

Tandem Hooping is when two people hoop within one hoop. It's beautiful but tricky to learn. I hope to make a video the next time I hang out with AliCat but, til then, I thought I'd share my thoughts on how to do this in writing. First, use as…

Utilizing the Free Hand in Hoopdance

By Caroleeena April 17, 2012hoopdance, Uncategorized1 Comment

Often when we hoopdance, one hand is busy but the other hand is free. This is never more prominent than with lifts. One hand is doing the lifting and the other hand is just hanging there. We've talked about using the hands to do pretty hand and armwork. This idea holds…

Sculpting a Performance

By Caroleeena April 11, 2012hoopdance, Hooping, Poi

Performance is more than object manipulation. When paired with music it becomes dance, it becomes story telling with the body. Once we know this, we can create a more powerful performance by pairing it with story telling devices. In this class we discussed sculpting a performance, prepping for that performance, stage…

Avoiding Camel Toe (Yup. I said it.)

By Caroleeena March 14, 2012Uncategorizedcamel toe, crack attack, leotard, panty liner, tights1 Comment

If you are a female performer or dancer who has to wear leotards or tights and you are concerned that your lady-bits may be more highlighted than you are comfortable with, may I recommend wearing a pantyliner? It prevents crack attacks, doesn't show through your clothes and will ease your mind…

Size Matters

By Caroleeena January 19, 2012Hooping, Uncategorized

I am a total size queen There I said it I like 'em big Big as I can get 'em Big as I can manage High as my nipples So fat I can just close my fingers barely Hold 'em comfortably Big as I can get 'em and still pull off…

The Beauty of Stillness in Hoopdance

By Caroleeena December 21, 2011hoopdance, Uncategorizeddance, hoop dance, hoopdance, hula hoop, stillness1 Comment

Sustained spinning is beautiful. It is a hoop-related art all its own. And art, heck, Life, is filled with duality. There is black and there is white, there is earth and there is sky, there is up and there is down. So what is the opposite of constant movement? Stillness. I…

Music for Learning the Three-Beat Weave

By Caroleeena December 18, 2011Hooping, Poi, Uncategorized

When you're learning the three-beat weave, whether it be with hoops or poi, it can be helpful to learn it to three beat music. Some slow waltz music is good but I have some personal favorites I thought I'd share. Here they are: · "Kiss Of The Rose" Seal · "Rainbow…

Spins and Turns: How to Prevent Dizziness and Maintain Balance

By Caroleeena December 15, 2011hoopdance, Hooping, Poi, Uncategorizeddizziness, dizzy, prevent, spin, spinning. turn, turning, turns3 Comments

Turns and spins are a beautiful part of hooping. However, there a challenges related to turns and spins -- specifically, keeping our balance, staying in one location, and dizziness. Let's talk a bit about each one. Sometimes in hooping it can be challenging to keep our balance. It can be even…