We're very excited to help sponsor South Carolina instructor, Rebecca Phipps for an exciting weekend workshop! Like most of us, Rebecca fell smack dab in love with hooping. In her own words:
"I have been hooping since april of 2010. My fairy hoop mother is Sara Janssen. I started hooping when I realized, after my husband brought home a couple of kids hoops for my youngin's, that I never learned to hoop as a child. So I took it as a personal challenge to figure it out! I felt utterly defeated when I couldn't get that little water hoop to stay up. After many failed attempts I decided to hoop to the other direction. WHAM! It stayed up! I was so excited I blogged about it that night! After Sara saw my blog post she sent me a link to Safire and another link to Baxter/Brecken/and Ann hooping. I was mesmerized!
A couple of days passed and I received a shiny new rainbow hoop from, once again, my fairly hoop mother. I was hooked! I spent countless hours in my backyard trying to figure out the little nuances of my new hoop! I was in LOVE!
I wanted to hoop with people and share the excitement with my community, so I started a rogue band of hoopers called the Flowtown Hoopers. We were meeting once a week in the woods by fire light. It was beautiful! We eventually outgrew our space and moved into a gym where the hoop grew expanded to over 40 hoopers! It was so much fun!
In the spring of 2011 I entered into Hooping.org's Hoop Idol competition where after several VERY hard months of intense hooping, costume design, and film editing, placed 3rd under Sam Resnicow and Nick Broyd (The winner)! I had so much fun during that time being stretched and expanded. Finding my own rhythm, and flow. I had the honor of meeting some of the most amazing hoopers all over the globe, and I will always be eternally grateful for the chance!
I started teaching classes during that time after I received my Hoop Teachers Certification from Caroleena of Circles of Joy. I love teaching and pull off of the many amazing teachers I have had the privilege of studying under."
So what can you expect to learn during the weekend?
"On Saturday, we will begin with a very short introduction to basic core hooping where we will go over the basics of maintaining your hoop on your body. We will then work on balancing skills and pressure point technique. With this practice we will learn to better control our hoops for on body movement of the hoop. We will take this further to lifting and dropping the hoop on the body with the use of and without the use of your hands. Focusing on 8 core body placements we will run through drills to help strengthen your core, and set a good foundation for core movement. We will then move into traveling steps, and moving with your hoop. We will begin to focus on dance and musicality in the segment of the workshop ( I highly recommend that students bring a blindfold to class for this segment and on).
In Sunday's class we will work into transitioning from on body movements to off body movements smoothly. Once off body we will go over an array of rolls, spins, twists and folding techniques to spice up your hoop dance. We will also experiment with unusual places to spin your hoop such as catches with the feet, knees, elbows, etc. This class will delve into very advanced hoop movements but will be broken down into easy steps so all levels can feel free to participate! If time permits we will also go over the basics of sustained spinning, one of my favorite hoop techniques! We will explore it as a way to deepen our understanding of our space and the deeper connections we have with our hoops.
There will be a good amount of personal expression time on both days during each exercise.
The energy you are willing to bring to the class greatly effects how much you will take out of it! I encourage everyone to come ready to dance dance dance, sweat, and dance some more! I am very excited about the classes, and ecstatic to be able to come to Maine and meet new friends and see new places! I look forward to meeting you all!"
So mark your calenders! October 15th and 16th from 1-3 p.m. at The Thompson Community Center, 51 S. Union Road, Union, Maine 04862.
On Saturday evening after the workshop we hope you'll join us for a little hoop chatter and local fare. On Sunday after the workshop we invite you to stay and test your new skills with a little hoop jam (please bring a snack if you'd like!)
You'll want to be sure to bring water to stay hydrated and a blindfold for workshops.
If you interested in staying locally, please contact us at hoopfestne@gmail.com
Payment for classes can be made by Paypal, below, or by sending a check or MO. If one of the later is preferred, please contact us at hoopfestne@gmail.com.
Space is limited so please register soon to join us in welcoming Rebecca to Maine!
