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Maria Randolph recaps her second year at Hoop Convergence....
After a good nights rest, thanks to my hostess, Beth, I was
ready to start the day on Friday with Shakti’s Fine Lines workshop. Shakti’s
teaching is concise, comfortable and easy to understand. I found her pace to be
one I could follow without getting either bored or impatient. I find that my
brand of learning needs a LOT of repetition and I need moves really broken
down. Shakti gave us plenty of time between moves to work at our own pace.
Despite the fact she was just getting back from Sacred Circularities in Bali and
had very little sleep her teaching seemed unaffected.
I also took Beth’s class on Exploring Texture in the
Vertical Plane in which I attempted to look as liquid and smooth as her own
moves and found it MUCH harder than it appears. I’m gonna need a little more
flight time with those moves! I appreciated Beth’s approach to her class. She
commands attention but does so with humility, grace and humor, always
encouraging the workshop attendees to make the moves their own while going at
their own pace. There was a little collaborative fun towards the end as other
instructors in attendance shared what they appreciated about the class. It’s
always great to see instructors taking each other’s classes and discovering new
concepts and ideas.
I’m left brain/right brain challenged so taking Caroleeena’s
fan class was like taking a poi class for me, which is often like a foreign
language to my brain. A bit befuddling
as I attempted moves that looked so simple but that my brain didn’t really want
to digest. Caroleeena has a well known teaching style and she brought it to
fans interweaving history and culture with the movements. While she only had an
hour to go over the material, in the end the workshop group made some beautiful
fan music together!
Aileen Lawlor’s contact staff was one I didn’t participate
in, but watched. The great thing about workshops is that even when watching and
taking notes, one can get SO much out of a class. Aileen didn’t teach moves as
much as she taught about the relationship one has with their prop. She
encouraged us to engage the staff as a story that we were telling with emotion,
as an attempt to have a dialogue and relate to the prop and find our inner
rhythm. In doing so, the moves start to produce themselves as opposed to being
learned. I played with the contact staff here and there throughout the weekend
and think that I possibly have a new love. No left brain/right brain confusion,
and every bit as lyrical and fluid as the hoop!
And that’s just Friday! This post
could go on and on…however, a few more highlights will have to suffice. Tiana’s
energy and approach are amazing. What I took away is that it’s all in the feet
and loosening the knees as the body and hoop follow. Despite her cough that
wouldn’t take a hike, Tiana remained clear, concise and professional throughout
the workshop. Her teaching is so very accessible.
I took a hoop to Khan’s class
but it wasn’t needed. Partnering up with another hooper, Khan had us exploring
the way our body told it’s story without the hoop, and without the music. For
ten minutes I moved and explored space while my partner, Angie, watched.
Afterwards we shared our experiences as mover and witness in a non-judgemental
discussion. We then switched places as Angie moved to her own internal rhythm. I learned about myself, my dance and my
thoughts and feelings about others dance in profound ways which I am still
digesting.
The rest of the weekend: long string flow wand led by Aileen,
Spiral’s class on Whirl’s and Whirlpools (in which I learned some amazing face
contact moves), Gail’s concise teaching with humor and perfect pacing. And food…oh, boy, the food, did I mention that? Catering
to the needs of a variety of hoopers diet is a major challenge and the retreat
center pulls it off with graciousness as befits true southern hospitality.
Carnivore, vegetarian, vegan, gluten free and completely healthy. Kale salads,
fruit smoothies and lemonade stand out in my mind as well as amazing side
salads and delicious entrees.
On Saturday night
we gathered for the Hoop Flowcase and were blown away by some amazing performances. There are too many to recount, but suffice to say my hands were raw
from clapping and my throat sore from shouting. After the Flowcase, we grabbed
our hoops and jammed for the rest of the evening. Sunday evening the Renegade Show entertained
us further with some of our communities more original and ‘unique’ skills in
and out of the hoop! (And we got to meet Mulder who is a big part of
Caroleeena’s tutorials! He performed just for us!) Oh, and the vendors! How could I forget the amazing
jewelry and clothing collections featured as well as getting to try Astral
Hoops products in person! I’d like to say I bought new flow toys this year, but
I succumbed to clothing vendors instead!
By Monday afternoons closing
circle I was exhausted physically and emotionally. My brain was trying to
digest all I had learned and experienced. I was delighted when we circled up
and listened to about 10 minutes of beautiful local wood flutist. It was the
perfect end note to ground us as we left with teary good-byes.
For more about Maria, read on here. Also visit her Facebook Page HoopMe!
Have you attended an event, retreat, or conference that changed your life? Want to share it with Hippy Go Lucky Hoops? Email me today to get started!
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