Kristen's Profile

Lealyn's Hooper Survey
How old are you? 25
When did you first start hooping? September 14, 2008
Would you call yourself a beginner, intermediate or advanced hooper? Intermediate on the edge of advanced?
How often do you hoop? Now I hoop during my lunch, so about 20-30 minutes a day with longer (hour to hour and a half) practices a couple times a week
Do you have an indoor hoop space? Sorta. I move my coffee table to hoop in the living room but its still very cramped. I'm trying to find a gym with a dance studio and high ceilings
Is there a hoop group where you live? Yes, in Nashville; not in Murfreesboro but it's only 30 minutes away.
Did you start it? Nope but I'm going to try to set one up in the Boro!
Would you say that you are obsessed with or addicted to hooping? (said with a Scarlett O'Hara accent) Why I do declare! Yes, I am. :-)
Have you posted hooping videos? How many?Yes, quite a few :-)
Do you have friends nearby to hoop with? Yeeesss and no. I have a couple of friends who hoop but I don't think they are as into it as I am.
Do you teach hooping? If so, how many people have you taught? No but I would love to!
What kind of songs do you listen to while hooping? Usually rock, alternative and some pop stuff. Here's a sampling: Tool, Queen, MGMT, STS9, NIN, Self, Paramore, Greenwheel.....oh, and DJ K-Tel's mixes.
What is your favorite song right now?Hmm, anything Nine Ince Nails right now. It was amazing to hoop to them live at Bonnaroo
Do you buy hoops or make your own? Make my own except for my first one and my PSI Hoop
Have you lost weight since starting to hoop? I honestly don't know *but* I did notice my abs and thigh muscles are harder.....Pilates couldn't do that for me last summer!
What size is your favorite hoop? 36" diameter. Actually, most of my hoops are in the 36" to 37" size range
Are you comfortable hooping by yourself in a public place? Yes, finally!
How did you learn the majority of the tricks you know today? SaFire's online classes. I'm in her Seeding, Budding, Blooming and Breaks & Reversals classes.
Who is your favorite hoop teacher? It's hard for me to pick a fav, but SaFire teaches the way I do, which I love. But Caroleena and GroovinMegZz are wonderful teachers for me too!
What advice would you give to to beginner hoopers? You will drop it, you will hit yourself, you will be tangled in it....it's okay! It happens to all of us, just keep hoopin'! :-)
Do you fire hoop? If not, do you want to? After seeing fire hooping up close at Bonnaroo, yes I want to fire hoop but I need to learn.
Do you own an LED hoop? Where did you get it? I have a PSI Hoop! Lance (my boyfriend) bought it for my 25th birthday; it's a 36" hoop with the new 3D dragonflies in the dark red/blue/UV combination and elfins on two circuits. It makes me so happy. You can see it in my profile pic!
How much time do you spend on safiredance.ning? Maybe an hour or so a day but it's split into short sessions before and after work
What was the first trick you learned (besides waist hooping)? Walking with the hoop and the lift from the waist....Vortex quickly followed!
What is the last trick you mastered? The forward jump through and jump back!
What trick so far was the hardest for you to learn? Lealyn's bunny ear pass and shoulder to shoulder hooping. Almost have both but it's still slow going
Which one are you finding is almost impossible to get? So far none. But that could change soon :-)
How many hoopers would you say live in your town/city? A few in the Boro but a good chunk of people in Nashville are hoopers!
Have you performed hooping in front of an audience? Yes but not really intentionally. Bonnaroo is like insta-audience!
Has anyone told you you were too old to be playing with a hula hoop? Nope. Probably because I'm short enough to pass for a 12-year-old that when random people see me hooping they don't think anything of it.
What’s the worst injury you’ve acquired from the hoop? A busted lip from a hoop opening up on me and a bruise across my nose from a failed pizza toss catch
Have you ever hooped naked? :-)
Have you been to a hoop camp/retreat? Which one? No but I would love to go to one!