THANK YOU thank you!!!!!!!!!

saying "I" is a great start and great advice

the last thing I want is people to feel criticized and judged.

I will look for that thread too and share.

just hooping on my waist and dancing is what I have been working on, happy to hear I am starting the most efficient way

and thanks again

I knew if I posted on here I would get great advice and I would have good ways on how to approach people without hurting their feelings

<3

I've been interested lately in the hoop community's focus on "flow" (which I see as the more dance focused as opposed to trick-focused style of hooping). I think it has been heightened to the status of "ultimate state." But for me, that's true in certain, but not all, situations.

When I'm approaching hooping as a spiritual practice, for mood enhancement, for personal joy -- and in a *certain type* of performance -- flow IS the ultimate state. And I love it. Don't get me wrong. I've been using dance as a doorway into a happier realm since I was a little girl. It's so important.

I can't say that flow/dance is always 100% more "visually appealing" than skilled "tricks," though. I perform fairly often, and over the years, I've done shows with higher and higher skill level acts. So if I'm in Portland, in a lineup with a bunch of object maniulators the caliber of Rhys Thomas www.jugglemania.com/ ... I've found that a flow number actually doesn't cut it. Not unless the "flow" is knitting together high level "tricks" -- which I would actually prefer to call "moves." And even then, to match the energy of the other acts, it can actually be more visually appealing to build a progression of moves, to break flow to change number/size of hoops, to highlight the complexity of individual moves instead of just flowing through them, etc.

I guess my point is that there isn't one "best" or "most ultimate" way to use hoops. It's situational. And so there's actually nothing wrong with focusing on tricks/moves because, although dance can knit it all together into a bigger picture, the tricks/moves also serve as the stars in the constellation.

I've found it highly inspirng at times (because it's a personal challenge), to push further in the direction of skilled moves. Landing a complex trick consistently comes after hours and weeks and sometimes months of practice, so it's the end result of honing one's art. That can be extremely satisfying for the artist, and not just in a self-congratulatory way -- in a way where the impossible suddenly becomes *possible* and personal fears drop away. The world opens up. It can be a really healthy thing.

Anyway, just thought I'd add two cents worth to the discussion. I totally understand the attraction to and importance of the "dance" in "hoopdance." But because I think flow sometimes gets emphasized in a way where the focusing on individual moves is seen as less pure, or totally ego-based, I wanted to state that I personally don't see anything wrong with focusing on moves.

In which case, you might not need to tell your friends anything, except that you personally are focusing on dance. They may or may not be inspired to follow that path. I think the only thing that could possibly offend them would be to consider it *wrong* if they didn't.

Hope you all continue to have fun and progress in the way that makes you feel most alive~
xxoo