Blog

Hoop Kisses @ Joe’s

Noelle Powers — Sat, 04 Sep 2010 13:53:37 +0000

This is one of my all time favorite hoop shots for so many reasons (thank you Christine for taking it! and Carol for sharing!). The composition & lighting= my cup of tea. It a picture of my oldest friend on earth, Carol, whom I have known since the ripe young age of one. It’s a picture of a beautiful rainbow hoop complete with alien inside- and don’t we all feel a little alien now and then? In it, Carol’s giving a *beso* to the alien kin, AND wearing an iFree tee that is pretty much the coolest t-shirt this side of anywhere. Everyone and thing is laying on the ground which is such a nice gift for ourselves in this fast-paced culture where we rarely stop to lay down unless we’re in bed. Lastly, this picture was taken at Joe’s Movement Emporium- where I’ll be starting new classes on Monday the 13th- new HumpDayHoopJams on Wednesdays beginning next week, and where we’ll be having the screening of the new-hot & not-yet-released documentary about hoopers called The Hooping Life on Saturday October 9th in celebration and FUNdraising for World Hoop Day 10.10.10!

Foto~Circular #4: Bring It!

Noelle Powers — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 16:16:14 +0000

Many thanks Erin [Doh!] for sending along this fabulous femme-fantastical hoop shot in my general direction. Love to hoopers all over the world! It’s already been brought’en. : )

The Infinite Power & Joy of Poi

Noelle Powers — Sun, 04 Jul 2010 00:02:25 +0000

While I have yet to take a formal class on the New Zealand-born art of Poi, I have increasingly amp’ed up my own exploration of poi-inspired hooping techniques in recent months and it has proven more powerful for bilateral brain strengthening than most other movement paths I have explored in this lifetime. The basic motion of poi hooping movement involves circles and figure 8s~ infinite shapes that create infinite flow. As a pianist plays one chord with one hand, and another chord with the other, so does a flow artist trace one path with one hand, and another path with the other, while often times crossing the midline of the body & brain~ a critical tool for enhancing neural connections from your brain’s right hemisphere to the left hemisphere. Back and forth, over and over, this criss-crossing & ever-circling figure 8 pattern helps the merging of one’s emotional and rational facilities and in turn eases emotional trauma and improves coordination & mood, among many other health benefits. I’m excited to continue to share more of the poi-style hooping in my classes with both adults & youth, as I think it’s an underutilized & invaluable tool in overall flow technique, shoulder-arm-wrist-hand strength/flexibility, & breadth of one’s off-core hoopdancing repertoire. A big thank you goes out to the several poi & hoop artists that have shared technical know-how with me in the last 6 months to acquire certain moves that would have been tricky if not impossible for me to have mastered on my own. In flowing & infinitely loving gratitude~

De’Arra’s Hoopy B’day Jam~

Noelle Powers — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 03:42:43 +0000

Here’s a mildly fuzzy yet still super fun shot from De’Arra’s recent 3rd year of life birthday party in which I facilitated a HoopingPowers Hoopy Birthday jammy-jam-dance session of bliss with HOOPS! This particular moment captured was when we were driving around with hoops as our steering wheels, whirling up a storm of goodness. The party was unique in that the ages of the youth ranged from 3 to around 11~ and it seemed to work out comfortably if not perfectly for all ages involved. I think, now that I’ve been constructing smaller, lighter, “toddler-friendly” hoops, and also hanging and hooping with both my 3 year old niece and 4 year old nephew, that I have developed more of a capacity to flow well in introducing hoops to younger humans. I used to shy away from working with youth under ages 6 or 7 for hoop parties and/or classes. I am excited to be gaining skill and grace in working with younger folks as well, and am thankful to De’Arra’s party people for being so cool and open to the magic of HoopDancing. I’m currently scheduling summertime parties from birthdays bashes to Bat Mitzvahs and all around the hoop of life. Contact Noelle at HoopingPowers dot com with party deets and visions, and we will liberate dancefloors with celebration & delight through HOOPDANCE!

April Hoop Shoot With iOboka

Noelle Powers — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 22:35:19 +0000

Here’s a powerful double hooping shot from a recent afternoon with my talented dancer and photographer friend Isaac Oboka. Thank you so much Isaac, for the lovely images & and for the laughter-filled time in the studio. I will be sharing more from this hoop-shoot in the near future so check back often to see what we recently captured. Also, if you are a dancer-mover-person in the DC area and are interested in getting some fresh images of yourself and/or your work, Isaac is currently accepting new clients. Especially gifted in the the art of photographing dancers, I highly recommend contacting Isaac for your upcoming still picture wants and needs~

Mandala & Hoop-Making Workshop! This Sunday: 4.25.10

Noelle Powers — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 18:59:14 +0000

I will be hosting a Mandala & Hoop-Making Workshop this coming Sunday the 25th of April in Baltimore City (Waverly neighborhood)- complete with tons of education & materials at your fingertips, refreshments, and the house cat, Ellsie, who rather likes herself a hoola hoop.

A hoop is an example of a mandala, or an expression of inner reality, on the levels of the individual, society, and universe at large. The process of making a hoop and/or mandala often provides a way for meditation, creative energy, and various nuggets of self awareness and growth to flow forth. Drawing from Susanne Fincher’s The Mandala Workbook: A Creative Guide for Self-Exploration, Balance, and Well-Being, and my own 5+ years of hoop-making & spinning experience, we will convene in comfort at my humble abode in Waverly to construct & decorate large, adult-size-friendly hoops with brilliant colors & bits of bling to boot, and also create a second smaller mandala craft of choice as well (i.e. drawing, journal, baby hoop, mobile, necklace etc.) all the while learning about the history and significance of hoops & mandalas throughout the world & building hooper-community to boot.

It is not too late to register for this unique DIY workshop-opp. to create a sweet hoop & relish in the magical beauty of mandalas. Sign up here, and please contact me with any questions at: noelle at HoopingPowers dot com. All materials provided with workshop investment. Locale will be emailed to you upon receipt of payment. The picture above is not my house in B’more, it was taken this past December with my friend Christine outside her house in Chile. I am looking forward to group-hoop-making Sunday night! 6pm~?> Probably wrapping up around 8 or 8:30 depending on our flow…

Strr r r e t c h with your Hoop

Noelle Powers — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 02:56:58 +0000

Anyone who’s ever stretched and moved about with hoop in hands is sure to have felt the incredible benefits of this simple & most gloriously deep shape in ever-expanding one’s range of body movement/s. I have danced throughout my lifetime, but only in the last five years and more intensely in the last one or two years have I felt a dramatic increase in my joint mobility, a lessening of pain to the point of completely eliminating my lower back pain, and a strengthening of my wrists & hands so much more than I ever would have thought possible without the blessing of a healthy dose of hoop practice. Moving your spine does good stuff in your bod. It is my assertion that: twisting, shifting, rolling, and reeling through space with and against gravity, pushing and pulling and dance-making with your circular partner makes you at least a bit to A LOT more happily cope-able with and on this world. Tonight I had an interaction with a woman from the group who comes in after our hoop class to use the space for her Gamelan Orchestra. She was stretching, bending forward with widening arms and such, when I noticed and suggested she try it with a hoop~ explaining after she inquired–> how we integrate stretching regularly into our warm ups and cool downs and into specific movement choices that contribute to beautifully slow & flow-ful paths of hoopdance. She tried it and immediately, enthusiastically agreed how powerfully good it felt~ & naturally energizing! The hoop sells itself. It needs no marketing gurus, no Hollywood Hudsucker Proxy tales of success. It is a magnetic shape in which we want to be enveloped, & with which we want to adorn our lives. It helps us feel united & whole, in a rather torn apart world. Within families that couldn’t be more repelled, it brings folks together. The hoop helps you stretch out of your comfort zone just a little bit more, each and every day. Even if you don’t have time, space, or energy to hoop it out on a given day, the simple act of lifting and lowering, bending and reaching, circling and twisting, & all the while Breathing with the magic ring allows a person to be more flexible in the inevitable winds of challenge & change. May the hoop increase your peace in the whirlwind of your life~

Mine Irish Hooper-Eyes Are Smiling

Noelle Powers — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 19:58:42 +0000

Hoopy St. Patty’s Day, friends! Here’s a stunning Celtic Mandala created by Barbara Clare Goodwin that I feel well represents the beauty & majestic power of this ancient art form recently experiencing a surge in popularity~ no doubt thanks in part to spiritually conscious hoopers all over the world~

Hoopy Pi Day!

Noelle Powers — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 16:07:03 +0000

Hope we all get a chance to spin it up today: the 14th of the 3rd month of the year (3.14), or annual “Pi Day!” Pi is the mathematical constant that represents the relationship between a circle’s diameter and circumference. As hoopers (and even more as hoopmakers) there’s a chance we think beyond most (non-mathemetician) folk about the strange and infinite number that is Pi. It seems fitting to me that a number so critical to the existence of a circle would be an INFINITE one. Hoopers know that the ring is a supreme device of connection for us all~ that there is indeed a spot in/on the circle for all beings, feelings, and choices to co-exist. It is by far the most inclusive tool I have come across in my lifetime to joyfully unite, build community, uplift, induce laughter, generate peace, self-awareness, transcendence, and energized calm. While traditional scientists and math geeks celebrate & reflect on the wonders of Pi today through news reports or fancy calculators or pie-eating parties, us spiritual scientists can express our gratitude by taking some time to move our bodies inside the circle~ and feel infinitely connected to all that has come before us and all that will come after, AND most importantly: feel an enhanced connection to the present moment through the grounding and whirling and never-ending shape of the hoop. And then maybe eat some pie, too! Holistic & happy hooping to all~

DC Hoop Collective Revolvie Award 2009

Noelle Powers — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 13:59:22 +0000

A belated and genuine thanks to the lovely Revolva from PDX for highlighting our DC Hoop Collective in her 2009 Revolvies, commending solid and extraordinary folks & happenings in our ever-growing hoop community. And of course, gratitude goes out to Jaguar Mary (who’s currently in BALI for a Sacred Circularities hoop retreat that she’s organized) for being the gentle driving force behind the creation of our widening & solidifying DC hooper-group. Above is a picture of my dear friend KaRa Maria (of Circles of Alchemy) who does not reside in DC herself, but does hold the HIGH honor of having introduced me to my first play with modern-day-hoola hoops back in 2005. Best wishes to hoopers all over the world for a peaceful 2010!