Hooper of the Month - February 2019
Hello and welcome back for another edition of HooperSonic’s Hooper of the Month!
I am not sure I’ve been this excited about a February in a long time. (Although, I am hoping to hit Mardi Gras and the Immersion Hoop Retreat in New Orleans next year! So I am sure I maaaaay be excited NEXT February as well)
Here in Toronto, February is cold and everyone has usually had it with snow by now. This year we didn’t have a proper snow until just a few weeks ago. It is now clear that winter is here, but if you REALLY think about it…. There are only a few more weeks until SPRING….. is only a few more weeks away.
Back to why I’m excited about February…
This month’s Hooper of the Month is PURE AWESOME! I’ve been following this hoop dancer since I first started over 7 years ago. I literally send all my students to go and watch her super amazing and very professional YouTube channel between taking my classes!
Initially, I wasn’t sure what to say when I decided to write her and ask her to be February’s hooper of the month. The silly wing of my brain began asking questions: Would she respond? Would she say she was too busy? Would she send me the middle-finger emoji??? HAH! No No, Silly brain!! This woman is as stunning of a human being as she is a hoop dance queen!
Here are 5 out of so many reasons why I love this person (Get ready for some gushing!):
I ASPIRE to be as business savvy as she is. She makes me want to work harder, be a better teacher, and create better content.
Her personality and wisdom that she has put out into the world have made me smile on multiple occasions. She continues to inspire myself and hoopers all over the world.
I have learned so many tricks and techniques from her over the years including beginner hoop techniques that I will treasure forever.
She's One. Gorgeous. Hoop Dancer!
Overall, this woman is #GOALS!
If you haven’t guessed yet, I’ll tell you now!
Congrats to …..
DEANNE LOVE
Here is her interview:
What is your name?
My name is Deanne Love. When I created Hooplovers.tv in 2008-ish I was also in the market for a performance name. Deanne Love landed and stuck. Deanne is my birth name, Love was given to me.
Where do you live and what is the flow/hoop dance community like there?
I now live on the Gold Coast, Australia. It is paradise and halfway between Byron Bay and Brisbane on the East Coast of Australia. There is a pretty small community here. I started hooping in Tokyo and built a sweet hoop family there. Then I moved to Melbourne, Australia where hooping is really huge. I feel so lucky to have lived and hooped in so many incredible places with such a supportive community.
How long have you been hooping for and how did your journey begin?
I began in 2007. I stumbled on a blog post about a hooper, clicked on a link and saw a girl totally rocking her hoop on YouTube, I was hooked. I got an adult size hoop soon after and haven't stopped since. It felt like fate and totally changed the trajectory of my life.
Generally, why do you hoop and what benefits have you noticed since you began?
Hooping has changed all elements of my life. I hoop for creativity and emotional release, I hoop for the feeling of being embodied, I hoop for the sense of flow it gives me and how that ripples out into everything else I do in life. I hoop if I am feeling stuck, elated or to manifest newness in my life. Hooping excites me and calms me at the same time.
Have you and your hoop travelled to other countries/cities together? What were some of your favourite flow communities to visit? Which places are you (and your hoop) eager to visit in the future?
I quit my job soon after I started hooping to go to Hoop Camp in California, it was the most incredible experience to be flowing in a sea of hoopers, surrounded by like-minded humans it brought me to tears. Since then I have loved hooping in Bali, Thailand, Germany, New Zealand, Philippines, Japan and Australia. Did I miss anywhere? I am about to go to Brazil and cannot wait to meet the hoopers there!
What inspires your hoop dance flow?
Everything and anything. Music, my feelings, other hoopers, hoop students, emotions, nature, the hoop I am using. I feel like every time I pick up my hoop my practice and play time is different even if I am doing the same tricks.
What hoop move/technique are you working on at the moment?
In the past couple of years, I have really let go of working on any specific tricks and have immersed myself in the feelings of flow, the expressions I can make with a hoop as an extension of me.
I have played with a technique I call Trick Restriction, exactly as it sounds, I restrict the tricks I am doing. I pick one hand grip, one movement or one concept and I move through that without getting caught up in trying to create a sequence of tricks or wandering what should come next. What this allows me to do is dive deeply into the sensations in my body, the creativity that I can access amidst the limitations and a sense of freshness to my flow.
What’s your “go-to” hoop technique/method/trick/style at the moment?
My hooping has always been about full body expression as it ignites the transmission of so much. I discovered this very early in my hooping life when I would dance around in the park, on body hooping with headphones on and tunes turned up. The freedom of freestyle expression has always excited me and kept me devoted to hooping for almost 12 years.
I would describe it as embodied hooping, when I drop down out of my head and fully into my whole body. This is what keeps me coming back. I can switch off my thinking and feel the full force of playful healing and expression in my body. This is when I am spirited away. This is also a powerful lesson for my life that hooping teaches me over and over again, to release the tension of my overactive mind and ignite the sensations of my body.
An example of freestyle, full body expression:
https://youtu.be/Y3Kc0PR6yK8 or https://www.instagram.com/p/BtWAKfCHyjc/
Who are some of your favourite hoopers/flow artists to follow online and what do you love about
them?
Every one. I love the new hoopers who tag me and say they just got their first hoop or hoopers who are learning with me online and share the flow session they are working on. I love the hoopers who flow with grace and the hoopers who stumble through learning new tricks, the hoopers who have a daily on body practice and hoopers who rock the wild off body tricks. They are all my fav.
Do you have a favourite hoop maker? What hoop do you use and love?
For most of my hoop life I have made my own but I have got hoops from all over including Hoopologie, Super Hooper, Mood Hoops and Bayside Hoops. There are so many incredible hoop makers.
What advice or wisdom would you share with someone who is struggling with their practice or feeling in a “rut” at the moment?
First of all, always remember that your style, your body, your hooping is YOURS. It is not a competition, it is not a comparison, it is purely for you and those you choose to share it with. If you are struggling with comparison you might consider doing a social media audit being mindful of what you are consuming and how it is impacting your feelings. More importantly, remember that no two hoopers are alike, we are all completely unique, no one hoops like you and you will never hoop like anyone else.
Recognize that every practice can feel different and it has to do with a range of things. Sometimes it is about adding something like new music, hydration, a sweet warm-up time, a new class or inspiration. Sometimes it is about taking things away like distractions, tricks that you have been struggling with (come back to them later) or your mind chatter by giving yourself some extra time to flow and express.
Hoop love,
Deanne
Want to check out Deanne for yourself? Here are some links to see what is going on!
Thank you so much to Deanne for taking the time to answer my questions and for all your do for the hoop community!
