Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Hoopnotica!


Well I'm back in my cozy bed again after an amazing hoop filled weekend! On Saturday afternoon I went to the Nia space where Rayna from Hoopnotica in LA was teaching an intermediate hoop class. It was fun to meet her, she is 6 months pregnant and looks absolutely gorgeous in her fly hooper pants and halfie shirt! Many of the usual suspects were there, Candice, Laycee, Megz, Doodlbug. A few new faces as well. The class was great, Rayna is a really good teacher. I was a little frustrated, there was nothing entirely new for me, but instead of being able to practice it in my reverse current, like I had planned, I felt like I was struggling with the hoops provided. At the Nia space there is no gaffers tape allowed, so they provide the hoops for you. There is an amazing assortment of shapes and sizes to choose from, but I guess I rely on gaffers more than I thought because I couldn't get the dang thing to stay up! I was struggling with moves that are usually second nature to me and that was frustrating. All in all it was a great time and fun to connect with my hooping family. Renee was there too, she lives in Portland and works for Hoopnotica, I met her briefly at the NW Hoop Gathering (picture) but it was nice to spend a little more time.
I got home from the class, chowed down, and immediately began preparing for the next item on the agenda! March Fourth had a show at the convention center, it was an art auction that was an AIDS benefit. We did the same benefit last year and had a great time. So I got all March Fourthified (pink that night) and headed out to the Egg, where the M4 bus was waiting diligently. We loaded the gear, hopped on, and headed off to our gig that was less than a mile away! Apparently there was some sort of Blazer's hullabaloo going on at the Rose Quarter so we were a little worried about parking, but we got a great spot in back by the loading docks. The show was fun, we marched around the event a bit and then went up on stage and played for about 25 minutes or so. Not quite long enough but fun none the less. I was all warmed up and ready to go from my day of hooping so I was on fire! Last weekend at the NW hoop gathering I decided I wanted to start practicing with a smaller hoop because that seems to be the direction people are going, so I thought I would try it out. I also bought a pair of minis from Mollie Hoopdazzle and have been practicing with those. When I did the M4 show, I decided to go back to my trusty bigger hoop since I am not quite as confident with the little hoop.... it was pretty funny! I felt like I was in Alice in Wonderland and I had just eaten a slice of the mushroom and become very small. My hoop seemed soooooo big and slow! But it was quite nice. I'm not totally sold on the smaller hoop yet, it just seems less graceful. I suppose that will come with time. After the show March Fourth did the usual end of event food clean up... we are like a giant amophous vacuum cleaner that will scoop up any leftover food. The more bacon involved, the less crumbs are left over.... this time it was gorgonzola stuffed dates wrapped in pancetta...yum! I'm not a big pork eater but....yum!
Sunday was the big day! The Hoopnotica Level 1 Teacher Training! Doodlbug and Megz picked me up, we picked up one more, Christine, and we were off to lovely Tualitin to the Super Lance Armstrong 24 Hour Fitness for our day of learning. We were there from 10am to 8pm! It was supposed to end at 6 but for some reason we went over. I guess we were really good students! The day seemed to fly by, I had a really great time. Rayna started by giving us a beginner class, where we were the students and she was the teacher. I did everything in my reverse current since I SUCK at it! By the end of the day I was definitely much better (return of the BRUISED HIPS!!! remember that?? Ouch!) Then we had a yummy lunch from Whole Foods and then she went through each section of the curriculum meticulously and explained everything. By then it was almost the end of the day! At that point we had 3 tests. First she gave us a written test, then she pretended that she was the student and we had to troubleshoot, and write down exactly what she was doing wrong. Then the third and final test we did in pairs, she had everyone else leave the room and she would have two people stand in front of her and teach her how do do a specific move, of her choice. We went one at a time. If you pass that, you are a certified Hoopnotica Hoopdance teacher! I think I did pretty good. We'll see! We find out this week. Wish me luck! I feel pretty ready to get started teaching right away. I have taught a million people how to hula hoop so I am excited to get started with classes! I have done poi classes galore so this should feel familiar. It feels really good to have some solid curriculum to teach!!

1 comment:

  1. Hey Amy! You're an awesome hooper and have been for YEARS! It's great that you are moving toward teaching and sharing this with more people (though I know you've been sharing and inspiring people in the circle for a long time). You are innately qualified with or without someone else certifying you as a teacher - just saying! Also, while I love the beautiful space of the Nia studio, I also get really frustrated going to hoop events there because of not being able to use my own hoops. I use a little gaffers tape on all my hoops and it really helps with my style of hooping, especially with doing leg tricks or grippy multiple hoop tricks. But I also understand the effects of tape on floors - it's just too bad that are not welcome at the studio. Love to you in all your spiraling achievements and look forward to hooping with you again! - KaraMaia

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