There is some thick competition for the Female Hooper this year, with a very deserving field. I consider each of these women friends and any one of them could win.
Beth is one of the most skilled, precise, flowing and humble hoopers in the world. Anah has greater control of her hoop than any other person I’ve ever seen on top of being a catalyst for this whole thing. Shakti is beautifully fluid, precisely choreographed, and innovative as hell. Brecken is a game changer, tearing down walls, and is quite possibly the sickest hooper I have ever seen.
The reasons behind my approaching Spiral to partner with me on Hoop Technique continue to be the reasons I’m stoked to be working with her today and the same reasons that she’ll be receiving my vote for Female Hooper of the Year.
Spiral has shaped so much of our community so thoroughly that many of the traits we just think of as modern hooping come directly from her creative input.
Spiral was the first person recognizing the strength of smaller lighter hoops, sparking the downsize race. We’ve all been following her lead on this since. She was the first person to research new plastics for regular hoops (which I later shared openly on Isopop.)
Spiral brought hooping to North Carolina. She and Jewels started the community in Carrboro that was later shaped by Bax to include the Hoop Path. The Hoop Path has since become one of the most influential forces in the hooping world and in my own personal hooping. Referring to the Hoop Path metaphorical mountain, Bax references Spiral as the top of that mountain. I’ve felt that way for years. At the last SF HP workshop, Bax talked about how he and Spiral created Warrior Style hooping, jamming for hours in his backyard and during long, late nights at the gym. That Warrior movement style has become the base of national tour and continues to be one of the sickest styles of hooping.
Dynamic stalls were created by Spiral shortly after she and Jewels concurrently gravitated towards sustaining spins within the hoop, attending a Sufi workshop together and posting the videos that coined the term. These moves were paired with with full, flowing skirts and popularized to the greater community by Spiral. Since, these movement ideas have infiltrated the entire community and are staples of modern hoop dance. They are beautiful techniques creating an amazing optical illusion that has inspired many.
On top of all this, she has invested herself deeply into the pursuit of hooping as a serious modern art. This isn’t just something she pursues for herself but as a way to legitimize what all of us do to the wider community. She literally trains 4 hours a day. She continues to expand upon hoop vocabulary by integrating acrobatics into her acts in non-traditional ways. I don’t believe there is another person who has put more hours into their practice than she has.
The pursuit of the legitimization of hooping as a modern art is what we founded Hoop Technique around. This principle is the single strongest guiding force in our vision. I’m honored that she has chosen to include me in her pursuit of this goal. We’ll see where this takes us…. regardless I’m confident and happy with my vote this year.
Don’t forget to place your vote on Hooping.org: here
