Ava Maria - The 1st Hoop Flow Challenge!

Well, I suppose "Burning Man" is about over and every one will be limping back home with "the one that got away" stories to make us all rend our clothes and pull our hair that we did not make just a little harder effort to have gotten there this year, THIS YEAR.....because it will be clear from the stories that THIS year's was the best ever and never to be repeated again....

In the mean time, I have a challenge for those of us left behind or otherwise captured by responsibility:

Hoop to this; Make a video; Post it.
We could vote on a winner if enough people make entries. Something nice might happen :)

Tags: challenge, flow, hooping

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Tangled Macrame on September 7, 2009 at 7:46pm: mwhahaha! I dig opera, but it will take a rockin' hooper to keep folks interested for a whole six minutes.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by circularlogic on September 7, 2009 at 8:13pm: I'm afraid I'm not up to the challenge, but that's an exquisite rendition of Schubert's Ave Maria-- Who's the singer?; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Z on September 7, 2009 at 9:44pm: Barbara Bonney. CDs on Amazon. Glowing reviews if you like lieder.

Of course you're up to the challenge...; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Laura "Baila" on September 7, 2009 at 8:53pm: haha I wanna try.. I think it would blow but I totally wanna try; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by circularlogic on September 7, 2009 at 8:56pm: You'd be great for this!!; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Z on September 7, 2009 at 10:00pm: go for it...Don't let it blow....:D; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Z on September 7, 2009 at 9:58pm: I suppose, first of all you have to have some meaningful response to the music. I personally get chills when I listen to the piece. And what got me thinking about this is that most of the music that I hear people working with on here, I just do'nt care about. I'm not saying it's not good or worthy or whatever. I don't know about that. What I do know is that it doesn't move me.

One of the problems that I've had is that the music I like for dancing is typically very fast....think up-tempo Rockabilly....or very slow such as this piece. I don't have the technique to move to the fast stuff and I doubt that I have the lyricism to dance to this. I'm not a trained dancer, but I"ve taken enough classes in Jazz and Modern and African to KNOW that I don't have that vocabulary of body movement and at this age am unlikely to develop it.

But for those of you who do, I think working to something of this tempo could be an interesting exercise....because this piece would not work,I don't think, with a stringing together of tricks but would require what everyone here says they want....flow, grace, intensity.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by circularlogic on September 8, 2009 at 9:01am: "at this age am unlikely to develop it."

Hey, now it's my turn to say don't sell yourself short. You've just begun! Who knows where you'll be after a few more months of hooping (& the magic of Caroleeena)?

I'm 8 months in now & still amazed every day at what hooping has done for me-- I truly feel like an entirely different person & can't believe I lived without the hoop for 52 years.

But I know I wouldn't do justice to this music at the moment. I'm best with a speedy tempo. It is absolutely gorgeous though & I think I might buy that cd!; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Michelle Hazzard on September 8, 2009 at 12:05am: It's absolutely beautiful!

My first thought is that it would be a perfect song for a sustained spinning song, linking long expressive moves to the phrases. But after listening again and thinking about it, I'm not sure if it would work to keep a constant circling speed due to the expressive changes in tempo. Of course, I'm not up to a six minute sustained spinning song! I could probably handle one minute before ungracefully falling over. :)

But it's a beautiful song. Thank you so much for posting it...I do hope that someone takes you up on your challenge.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Hendryx on September 8, 2009 at 1:10am: I am sooooo not ready for that! lol, been hooping 2 weeks,it would be six minutes of watching me run after my hoop!...maybe if we have another contest in a few months I'll give it a whirl...
xoxox...; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Z on September 8, 2009 at 4:27am: Make one video now and another in a few months...not to publish necessarily, but to see your improvement.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Z on September 8, 2009 at 4:00am: I hope you'll reconsider and make a video....You love the music and your first two sentences in your reply show that you clearly understand the issues...Forget about the six minutes...everyone seems to be getting hung up on that...What I was hoping to see is how people connect with this sort of music and express themselves to it.

I think periods of sustained spinning are a perfect solution to the needs of this piece...the dynamic within the quiet....But how about this: you need not do sustained spinning for the entire piece. Rather than a "type" of performance which you have to maintain once you start, treat it a another interpretive element that you use when appropriate....then you could also avoid falling over :p

OR....maybe your falling over is a part of your piece? This piece of music is in the end a prayer....What more perfect interpretation that struggle and falling and rising again? You could do it as a controlled element or the TRULY DARING might commit themselves to the six minutes....NO MATTER WHAT...and allow the viewer to see their struggle with life, with aspiration and with failures.

I hope you'll reconsider.; ▶ Reply to This