The Joy of Hooping

Can hula hooping change your life?

Mon, 10 May 2021 03:44:36 -0700

Tori talks about how hooping has helped her...

How to choose the perfect hoop

Mon, 15 Mar 2021 09:46:15 -0700

What size hoop should I buy?

As a kid you might have happily spun a hoop round your waist for hours. Then when you've come to try it again as a grown up, maybe you've found that it just doesn't work. Frustrating - right?

What's gone on?

You have probably grown. Consider your size now in relation to that hoop compared to a child's size. Starting to get the picture? Most toy shop and pound shop hoops are *teeny*. Some are even too small for kids! Read on for a rough guide to choosing a grown up sized hoop for now you.

Sizing your hoop

Often beginners go for something that comes up to their belly button for on-body fitness or learning to hoop.

Some people size their hoops to fit their inside leg or inside arm measurement for ease of swizzy tricks like escalators and folds.

A big chunk of it's personal choice... that said these are some popular options:

BEGINNER - 5 foot 8 • wants a core workout - 40'' Body Rocking Hoop
BEGINNER - 5 foot 5 • fitness and hoopdance hoop - 38'' Dance Hoop
BEGINNER - 5 foot 9 • curvy, wants to explore movement after a long break - 42'' Body Rocking Hoop
BEGINNER - any size! • wants to learn off body fancy tricks - 34'' or 36'' PolyPro
IMPROVER - 5 foot 7 • want to learn more spins and rolls - shifts from 36'' Dance Hoop to 32'' polypro

I would love to give you a definitive answer here, but it's very much about finding the right 'fit' for your size, style and rhythm. If you're not sure and want to do anything on body start with that floor to belly-button measurement and we can work from there.

- one of Emilie's 'Rainbow Pulse' dance hoops.

Different types of hoop

Polypro - is thin, light and fast, also a great options for learning off-body tricks.

Dance hoops - are mid-weight and mid-speed (MDPE tubing)

Body Rocking Hoops...Read More

HOOPFITTING - KIDS SIZES

Mon, 23 Nov 2020 09:35:37 -0800

HOOPFIT
A guide to picking the best sizee hoop for you - at any stage, from beginner to total hoop winner.
Part one - you know, for kids...
KIDS HOOPS
Little ones - up to around age 5, choose the smallest hoops. Littlest learners won't be able to hoop to their waists normally, but can use the hoop for all kinds of imaginative play. Make sure that they can easily hold and move the hoop. Sometimes shop-bought hoops work OK for this age, the are not always very robust though.
- out of stock - unfortunately my favourite kids hoops are no longer made. I'm looking for a new supplier at the moment.
Age 6/7 up - This is when kids generally start to develop enough coordination and forward planning to be able to hoop on their bodies. Choose a the biggest hoop possible that they can still hold onto easily, depending on their height that might be 34-36 inch.
- out of stock - unfortunately my favourite kids hoops are no longer made. I'm looking for a new supplier at the moment. I do make polypro hoops which are more sturdy than poundshop hoops and can be taped in all the wonderful colours. Check out the options in the 'polypro' menu here.
Tens and Teens - Now we're talking about picking something that comes up to about waist height. Heavier tubing moves more slowly, I'd choose a polypro or a dance hoop from the shop; Check out the options here.

(pictured below - lilac polypro hoop)
Polypro - is light and fast, also a great options for learning off-body tricks.
Dance hoops - are mid-weight and mid-speed
Body Rocking Hoops - not really for kids, but perfect for adults, a slow heavier hoop for maximum groove.
Read More

Hoop Dance and Social Distancing

Thu, 12 Mar 2020 14:14:33 -0700

Covid 19 and hooping.
It's time to talk seriously about what we can do to slow the spread of coronavirus, and what that might mean for your hoop practice. It's a bummer for sure, but not all bad.
While it's not yet recommended for things to stop, it's sensible for us all to change some little things to make stuff safer for everyone.
I don't plan on stopping classes at the moment and am watching out for expert and government advice
We do need to adapt a bit.
Why hooping is *relatively* safe...
We're already at least a meter away from one another in class, and that's the kind of distance that's being used in Italy as a safe distance between tables in cafes.
minimal contact - we don't generally do a whole ton of touchy-feely stuff
moving is healthy!
being in community is good for you - loneliness and depression generally aren't
there's some evidence that music and dance are both good for boosting immunity
Why we need to make changes...
If you're under 65(ish) and healthy, the risks for you are relatively small. That's great, but can make it difficult to understand why we need to take action now. There's no vaccine, no immunity and this illness is not at all fun. 15-20% of people have bad symptoms. Our beloved NHS is already underfunded and stretched. Let's do what we can to keep our community safe.
In order to slow the very fast transmission, of this new and relatively unknown virus, we need to minimise close contact. People with compromised immune systems and the elderly are more likely to suffer if we don't take care of ourselves. And taking care of yourself and other folks is generally a good idea, right?
Changes and what's staying the same...
To me it feels ethical to make classes as safe as possible for all of...Read More

In the Press

Wed, 03 May 2017 13:52:35 -0700

This is Bath feature - "Hula hooping offers the ring of confidence"
Bath Chronicle feature 'Hooping is the New Yoga'
Above - shots by Yui Mok featured in Metro online gallery, 2011 (shared with permission)
Shot from my participation in Christoph Buchel's exhibition 'Picadilly Community Centre' at Hauser and Wirth, in The Guardian.
The exhibition was also covered in Time Out & London Evening Standard
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VIDEOS: Hooping inspiration

Sat, 01 Apr 2017 09:01:28 -0700

A selection of hoop dance videos that *begin* to explore the vast, creative range that the field of Hoop Dance encompasses.
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Video Gallery

Thu, 23 Apr 2015 03:58:34 -0700
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Hoop tuition online

Mon, 20 Apr 2015 13:15:59 -0700

Online lessons are a great way to get individual attention in your hoop dance learning.
You might be looking for classes, but are in a rural location where there aren't hoop teachers locally.
Maybe you've got a real nemesis of a move and can't seem to get your hoop or head around it.
Perhaps you are planning an event that you'd like to put on a show for and want to run though choreography ideas?
I find that people progress super-fast with private classes and am currently running online hoop tuition through HowNow. Click the image below to find out more and book a lesson.
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About Emilie

Mon, 20 Apr 2015 04:17:53 -0700

Emilie is a professional hoop dance artist with over 4 years experience as a performer and teacher, working with people of all ages and backgrounds. She has a degree in Fine Art in Context and is a member of Equity and the Foundation for Community Dance.
She has shared her Joy of Hooping with toddlers, pensioners, the MET police, scientists, artists
and hundreds of happy festival goers, bankers at Canary Wharf and employees of Nokia.As well as hula hooping at vintage fairs and private parties, Emilie has danced with fire for crowds of up to 10,000 at Secret Garden Party, created an LED multi-sensory stage show aimed at deaf and hard of hearing and hearing audiences at the O2. In the past year she has had the pleasure of (In)visible dancing with Protein Dance, parading at Wilderness Festival with Macnas and being in the top 10 of Hooping Idol 4.Check her out in action here.

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Hoop Dance for Children

Sun, 19 Apr 2015 16:00:00 -0700
Child's Play
Kids 'get' hoop dance naturally - book a class, workshop or party and
fuel their flair. Hooping is a wonderful feel good activity that combines creativity, getting physical, problem solving, spatial awareness, balance and coordination. Emilie's sessions include teamwork and safety, building a sense of community within classes. Workshops are tailored to the needs of the group and can be designed to fit in with the curriculum.

Hoop dance involves using different parts of the body, is suitable for all ages and can be a great way of getting children to enjoy moving. Learning tricks is a great way of instilling them with confidence in their own abilities and feeling good about themselves.
Emilie has experience of working with kids of all ages, from toddlers to teens and an enhanced DBS (formerly CRB) certificate.

It's a great all-round activity for all ages. I offer workshops, parties, enrichment activities in schools, community settings and more. Available across the South of England for workshops and in the Brighton and Hove area for regular classes or after school club activities.

"Thank you for a fab day - every class voted it their favourite activity of the week."

- Rachel Clark, Becket Primary School

"The session gave all children a chance to succeed regardless of previous experience. Thank you for a lovely morning."
- Rachel Emery (Year 2 teacher)

Get in touch
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