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¡Hula Hoops! By Olivia DiMambro
¡Hula Hoops!
By Olivia DiMambro
The concept of Flow Arts is simple: learn to move in harmony with an inanimate object so that it becomes an animated extension of your body, then flow with it in ways that look and feel totally awesome. With enough
practice, you can learn to flow with almost anything. The basic techniques are easy to pick up, but the adaptations are infinite, allowing for wide variation in personal style and expression.
The Flow Arts
Hula Hoops Beginning● The modern hula hoop was invented and made popular in 1958 by Arthur
Melin and Richard Knerr, but children and adults around the world have played with hoops, twirling, rolling and throwing them throughout history.
● Before it was known and recognized as the common colorful plastic circle, the traditional hula hoop used to be made of dried up willow, rattan, grapevines, or stiff grasses.
● The hula hoop craze swept the world, dying out again in the 1980s, but not in China and Russia, where hula hooping and hoop manipulation were adopted by traditional circuses and rhythmic gymnasts.
● At the peak of their popularity in the early 1960’s, approximately 20,000 hula-hoops were being produced per day.
Early Influence● Hula hooping began as an outdoor family-oriented recreational activity.
● It was a big hit especially within American media. There are some
authors who believe that Elvis Presley’s “Hip Hop Dance” and its sexual
appeal partly attracted the media’s attention towards the hoop dance,
since hooping could be considered inappropriate due to the hip
movements.
● As history shows, hula hooping became the biggest hit in the USA and
several other countries regarding the games and toys industry in late
50s and early 60s
● There seems to be a good coincidence that around the same time which hip hop music was getting popular, the hoop dance with the similar background rhythm gained popularity as well.
● The fast-beat rhythm of hoop dance even inspired some famous musicians to produce some songs around its musical rhythm. For instance, Georgia Gibbs wrote “The Hula Hoop Song” and performed it on the famous Ed Sullivan TV show, which actually became her last US 32nd hit on the 1958 Chart Position of the best 100 songs. Another example is Teresa Brewer who wrote song called, “The Hula Hoop Song” which became the 38th hit on the 1958 Chart Position of the 100 best songs.
● Regardless of all the fuss, it didn’t take long for this phenomenon to
take an upside-down shift. The hula hoop craze died out in the 1980s,
but not in China and Russia, where hula hooping and hoop manipulation
were adopted by traditional circuses and rhythmic gymnasts.
Modern Day Hooping● Recently, there has been a re-emergence of hula hooping. The jam band The String
Cheese Incident is widely credited with fostering a renewed interest in hooping.
Band members started throwing larger adult-sized hoops into their audiences in the mid-1990s at Red Rocks Amphitheater, encouraging their fans to hoop and dance, spreading the word and the fun. It wasn't until 2003 with the launch of Hooping.org that these small bands of hoopers began to find each other online
and a real community and movement began to grow.
The scene where you are most likely to see a lot of hula hooping is at festivals and fairs including Burning Man, Bonnaroo, Camp Bisco and The Gathering of the
Vibes.
● It's more than just hula hooping around your waist which is what most people think it is. There's a lot of dance incorporated into it.
● Modern hooping has created a wide range of tricks. Hooping now includes many 'on body' moves and many 'off body' moves. A few examples include breaks, isolations, leg hooping, and double hooping.
● Hooping has now become popular fitness activity, with classes taking place in many towns and cities across the world.
Hoop Types● The size and the weight of the hoop affect the style of the
hooper. Heavier, larger hoops are more often used for slow hooping and body tricks, while lighter, thinner tubing is used for quick hand tricks. These hoops may be covered in a fabric or plastic tape to ease the amount of work in keeping a hoop twirling around the dancer, and can be very colorful.
● Some use glow-in-the dark, patterned, or sparkling tape, and others are produced with clear tubing and filled with plastic balls, glitter, or even water to produce visual or audio effects when used.
● LED technology has also been introduced in the past few years, allowing hoops to light up at the flick of a switch. Programmable 'Smart Hoops' are available which provide a range of special effects.
● A recent development in hooping has been fire hooping, in which spokes are set into the outside of the hoop and tipped with kevlarwicks, which are soaked in fuel and lit on fire.
How Hooping benefits you● Hooping is a form of meditation. When you are hooping and you are not
working on a new move or consciously exercising, you are able to reach a state of true meditation. You lose yourself when you become one with the hoop and reach a state of flow.
● Hooping connects you to a community. There is a recognition shared when you meet others who hoop as well.
● There is something magical about spinning in the hoop. It is healing. It taps into energy from within. It brings you to a state of bliss with no bad side effects except the occasional bruise.
● It creates goals to strive for. Hooping has endless possibilities in terms of movement, so it never gets old. There is always something new to be worked at, and mastering a new trick is extremely rewarding.
● Hooping lets you play. After all, they are toys! ● Improves balance and motor skills● Delivers a cardio-aerobic workout● Unwinds and realigns the spine● Accelerates fat burning and weight loss● Strengthens back muscles
● Improves flexibility, posture and alignment
● Promotes laughter● Boosts self-esteem and confidence● Helps overcome shyness● Relieves stress
● Since late 1990s hula hoop has been used by some mental health professionals for research purposes in the fields of sports psychology, psychotherapy, and neuropsychology. In these studies hula hoops have been used as a tool for individual and group physical activities. The researchers showed that hula hooping facilitated improvements in the participants’ brain’s bilateral Alpha Asymmetry and depressive symptoms, bilateral-body coordination, whole-body coordination, relational and social skills, self-acceptance, group acceptance, and group cohesion.
hooping can affect your life in ways you would never expect.
