Expressing the Circle

Hoopdance is a creative and innovative way to explore the self in a sacred and fun way. The hoop is a universal concept representing unity and cycles, like a wheel or a flower. The journey of the sacred hoop is the journey of your life. It is yours to explore and to dance with.

Traditionally, the Hoopdance is a show dance practiced by many Native American tribes. It features a dancers manipulation of a dozen or more hoops over and around his or her torso, legs, and arms to form a variety of geometric shapes in which the dancer is also storytelling. By custom, Native American dances require community and often, several generations of participants. The dancers’ space is often conceived in terms of circles and is the dancers’ moving worldview. In a sense, one cannot be properly observed without seeing the story unfold in traditional dance (or any culture that has its ties to many generations of cultural influence). Indeed, the dance is not possible without the belief systems and the music, and the belief systems and the music can hardly exist without the dance, one is integral to the other. Because dance is often tied to belief systems, often the direction of the dance, the beat and/or words of the music, the dress and bodily adornment, and the interaction of performers as well as engaging the audience are symbolic in nature.

In contemporary Hoopdance, there is a similar experience occurring. While the resurgence of the toy hula hoop has gained much popularity, it has also been granted a new design (larger, heavier and more attractive!) in which many experience a sense of awareness and centeredness within the sacred circle.

All this aside, hooping develops a sense of wellness while it uplifts and tones the body, mind and spirit, in return, activating hidden vitality and re-defining beauty. My feeling is that todays hoopdance is on the same threshold of the ancestral dances, becoming a moving story, revealing and unfolding the many  facets of its complexes and simplicities, unique to each who experiences it.

Hooping can be incorporated into a variety of elements, from a cardio aerobic exercise, creative dance exploration, range of motion and confidence building. Reconnect with spirit and grace. Regardless of experience, once you pick one up, you immediately begin to feel its magic!