Despite a huge population to draw from, Tokyo’s hoop community is rather small. How can we increase the number of hoopers in Japan?
That was one of the topics discussed at the inaugural session of the Japan Hoop Instructors Conference. Six hoop dance teachers, representing five different hoop groups, met yesterday for a half day to share ideas, concerns, and inspirations.
It was one of the best hoop events I’ve attended in Japan because it opened channels of communication, allowed us to set common goals, and proved that our community is maturing into an attitude of cooperation to improve hooping for everyone in the nation. I anticipate great things in the coming year from all of us – fun classes, more students, rocking events. Lots of hoop love.
Aside from discussing how to broaden the community, we explored dancing to unusual music, worked in teams to create a performance, figured out some great ideas for the World Hoop Day dance, talked about how to make our hoop jams more interesting and discussed promoting our various classes and events to the community as a whole.
We’ll meet in about six months to share in person again. If you’re teaching hoop dance in Japan and want to come along, let us know.