Introduction:
Song: Carbon Based Lifeforms - Betula Pendula
In this workshop we’ll enjoy a variety of activities that will encourage freedom of movement in our hooping. I’ll provide a bit of a background story to explain how I came to the concept, then provide theory about the importance of the idea and then we’ll do an activity to apply and internalize the theory. Many of these activities encourage adding a third element or second partner to our hoop dance. Ourselves being the first element and our hoop being the second, these third elements can add a new surprise and new challenge two our hooping. Please feel free to use any of these concepts in your own practice, your own classes and even in your life outside of hooping.

Expansion, Contraction, Steady and Speedy:
Warm-Up: Lion, Lemon, Turtle and Hare Lion: Stretch out as big as you can Lemon: Squeeze up as small as you can Turtle: Saunter back and forth
Hare: Spin as FAST as you can

Workshop Activity:
Song: Dr. Draw - Bone Tone
Third Element: Size and Speed
Listen to the crescendos of the music and look for variety in speed, volumes and rhythm.

Playing away from our Patterns
Songs: Amelie Soundtrack, Amylie - Mes oreilles

Story: At the International Children’s festival I realized that kids don’t care if your graceful. They think it more fun when you’re silly, casual and clumsy while hooping. Demo the one leg move, pretend to tie your shoe and wave your arms around. This taught me an important lesson. I was pigeon holding myself by always trying to be a “pretty” hoop dancer.

Workshop Activities
Running while hooping (Running in a stand still too with excited jumping!!)
Third Element: Running

Multi-Tasking
Theory: By practicing the art of multi-tasking we learn to internalize the movement of hooping and in a way automate the process. This will allow us to focus more on dancing and allow us to place our attention on things other than the hoop. These activities involve a 3rd element in hooping allowing your to experiment with yourself, the hoop and a 2nd partner.

Examples:

• Reading while hooping
• Talking while hooping
• Drinking and Eating while hooping

Workshop Activities:
Patty Cake with a partner
Song: Kate Nash - Play
Third Element: Mental Distraction

Playing Hopscotch
Song: Amelie Soundtrack - A Quai
Third Element: Jumping

Learning through Limitations - Give yourself a challenge
Song: Bassnectar - Until Next Time
Third Element: Repetition

Workshop Activities: Three minutes of nothing but above the head hand hooping, push your limits of creativity, resist temptations to stray.

Discussion: What was the experience was like? Did you hit a wall or accidentally flow into your usual pattern? Did you get bored?

Combination Creation
Song: Bonobo - Change Down
Third Element: Spontaneity

Workshop Activity:
Freezing Game - Casual Hooping
Begin with casual hooping. When the music stops and you say “Freeze” everyone must stop the hoop and switch what they were doing. Perhaps transitioning into another move, playing with touch techniques or dramatically changing the planes.

Unconventional Body Structures
Song: Bonobo Change Down (continued)
Third Element: Body Structure

Story:
Every hooper has their own style. We could see the silhouette of Spiral dancing on a hill in the distance and be able to say, “yep that’s Spiral!” You can tell by the way they move. In this next activity I’ll challenge you to go beyond style and literally challenge the basic mechanics of hooping. What do I mean by basic mechanics. Well we all likely learn chest hooping and knee hooping in the same manner. Rotating the chest in the direction of our current and keeping our knees together.

Workshop Activity:

• Attempt to maintain open chest hooping, spreading arms out. Use feet and balancing to maintain this shape.
• Attempt to maintain closed chest hooping, arms crossed.
• Attempt to maintain open knee hooping, opening the knees wider and wider.

Dance to Every Beat - Use music to add variety to your flow
Song: Compilation Remix of popular songs
Third Element: Music

Theory: Using different songs and dancing styles while hooping can help to open up new pathways for movement and doing this can help you to develop your style.

Workshop Activity: The Evolution of Hoop Dance
This last activity will be a dancing challenge, it’s meant to be playful and fun so feel free to do any hoop moves you like. I’m going to put on a song that I mixed myself and you’ll quickly see that it will challenge you to switch up you dancing style. Have Fun!

The song was a mix of popular songs - Thriller, Cotten Eye Joe, YMCA, Macarana, etc.