About Me:

It is a hot June night in the woods of North Carolina.  I’m standing on a grassy lawn, surrounded by a dark fold of trees and hoopers everywhere darting around like fireflies, showboating their LED hoops, cooing at the resident pygmy pony and goat.

It’s almost 1AM.  I’m one of the last fire hooping virgins to go.  If I don’t go now, the evening wraps up, they put the hoops away and I may never get my chance to fire hoop.  I cannot chicken out.  I flew across several states to attend this hoop retreat, to try fire hooping for the first time, surrounded by the country’s most inspiring hoopers.  But it is fire.  I did the safety class.  But it is fire.  They have safety blankets.  But it is fire.  Flaming from an oil doused hoop.  All the other fire hooping virgins did it.  Flaming.  Oil-doused hoop.  Rolling around my body.  While my mind chatters on, my body slips past it, takes up the hoop and I begin to spin fire:

If you are thinking of taking up hooping for the first time:  Be OK with hooping “ugly” for a while until you find your groove.  Be OK with feeling like you have no idea what you’re doing or what comes next.  Be prepared to move and keep moving.  Keep moving.  Keep moving.  Keep moving.  If you keep moving the fire won’t catch you.  Neither will your self-doubts.  (I don’t teach fire hooping so even if you mess up you won’t actually go up in flames.)

About TWIRL Hoop Dance:

Whether your hooping becomes expressive dance, quiet meditation or just a great workout with rocking music, we’re here to help. We specialize in engaging, effective classes for strong, beautiful bodies.

We are dancers and movement specialists with backgrounds in classical ballet, modern dance and that other great core conditioner – pilates. We love hooping and are delighted to share our love of hoop dance with you.

Hooping with friends on the Dr. Oz show (thanks Philo Hagen of hooping.org):