May

It is May and 4 months of 2015 have already flew by.  The snow has finally melted, and the weather is beautiful.  Now if only I had a proper yard to hoop in!  Soon it will be time to get back out to Sunset Point for some evening hoop jams.  I can't wait.

I have not hooped every day, but I do hoop most days.  Hooping is never far from my mind.

Two and a half weeks ago was Hoop Path.  Initially I didn't think I would be able to go to any of the days over the two weekends that Baxter was teaching in Toronto, which was a little disappointed.  But last minute my schedule rearranged and I was able to attend 2 out of 3 days from the Masters weekend.  It was so great to take a break from my Dream Chest Circus practice and go be with the Toronto Hoop Community, even if it was only for a little bit.  I don't get to spend a lot of time with them, so I still feel a little shy when I'm around them and tend to stick to myself, but I am happy enough to just share their space and their energy.  As always they are friendly and welcoming.  And as always Baxter was a joy to listen to and learn from.  I love how much attention he pays to simple movement, and exploring dance and music as opposed to drilling tech all the time.  It inspired me to let go and just dance.  I'm so thankful to have been able to attend even just a little bit of his Toronto workshops.

Most of my time this year was spent coming up with and practicing my choreography for Aerial Silks Collingwood's Dream Chest Circus production.  The theme of the show was very dream-like, with the main character experiencing all these wonderful circus acts in her dreams.  My hoop act was upbeat and playful, and I spent a lot of time trying to come up with something that would wow the audience but that I would still be able to pull off effortlessly.  I would have loved to have thrown in some crazy tricks but I didn't want to do anything that I would be too worried about messing up.  I think I came up with a good combination of dancing using both one and two hoops at different points in the routine.  It flowed nicely and was fun to dance, and hopefully was fun to watch as well.  I was nervous but not as nervous as I thought I would be.  My biggest fear was tossing one of my hoops at someone in the audience.  The whole experience of being in the show was amazing, and my routine went off without a hitch.  I was so thrilled with how it went.  I also performed a bellydance routine as well that I choreographed with the help of my bellydance partner, Lisa.  That went well too and the whole show was a huge success.

I had spent so much time focusing on my routine that I started to find myself in a bit of a hooping rut.  My hooping only seemed to revolve around practicing the routine, and it was getting a bit stale otherwise.  Now that the first show is out of the way I've been able to relax and let go a bit, and my hooping has opened up and blossomed.  That is usually the way, periods of rapid growth following periods of plateaus.  I am loving my hoopdance and flow more than ever.

We have another Dream Chest Circus performance coming up on May 22 in Barrie, check out the Aerial Silks Collingwood website for ticket information and don't miss it!

So that is what I have been up to in 2015 so far.  Classes have continued to run and will end at the end of May, and then outdoor hoop group will start.  Stay tuned!