Author: spinmatsuri

Categories
WHD Dance

WHD 2011 in Tokyo

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SkI4hkk6rZY]

Here’s the Tokyo version of the WHD Dance. It is one of 32 videos that I’ve received so far for the WHD Dance compilation video.

Our World Hoop Day event on Saturday raised over 55,000 yen (about $720) to send hoops to kids in Tohoku and on the Peace Boat, and we also decorated and donated 25 hoops that day. I wil be shipping those hoops up to our partners in Tohoku later this week. Thank you everyone for your generosity!

Some highlights of the day, from my perspective:

  • Hooping with a blind woman and her guide
  • Surprise appearance by John Politowski
  • Naomi’s beautiful sign explaining our charity project
  • The park cops shutting us down for having a sign and an amp (stupid rules!); sad faces and no music for ten minutes, then it was back to normal…without the sign.
  • Flowers from my “video crew” from the Welcome to Tokyo video
  • Giving a club of Lomographers something to film with our hooping
  • The sun shining after a day of hard rain – teru teru bozu power
  • Giving and receiving dozens of hugs and kisses
  • Busting out the tandem hoop and finally figuring out how to make it work every time with new partners
  • Meeting photographer Robert Stacy of Visualwhiplash.com, who shot these great photos of our dance:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/mediatinker/sets/72157628009045523/

Categories
WHD Dance

52 Hoops, 3 Hoopers, and a Driver

View from the front seat towards the back.

Usually I take the train to our hoop jams but for World Hoop Day I brought more than the usual number of hoops to Yoyogi Park. I hailed one of Tokyo’s convenient taxis and proceded to stuff 52 hoops into it, along with myself, two hooping friends, and a trunk full of miscellany. It was packed floor to ceiling with hoops on the 25 minute drive across town.

I am sure that this is the most hoops a Tokyo taxi has ever seen.

My view from the back seat looking forward.

Categories
Workshops & Events

“Welcome to Tokyo”

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d5yYug3dQu8]

Last week, Philo Hagen from Hooping.org contacted Spin Matsuri and Hoop Tokyo about judging the next round of his virtual international hoop race. Ayumi and I both agreed to play and within an hour had organised a video shoot, costumes, and a general schedule. We convened the next morning  to make our “Welcome to Tokyo” video because it was the only time we both were going to be in the city for the next five days, though we’d each be back before for the online judging. Talk about perfect timing.

Our camera operator, Tijana, and best boy, Chaobang, were our genki support team as we dashed from location to location around Shibuya and Harajuku. They carried bags, followed us with the camera, and helped in every way as we hooped on escalators, in sushi shops, at shrines and in a huge purikura booth. I will never visit Hachiko again without remembering that dogs can’t hoop.

The four of us worked fast and furious that morning. I came home with our footage and spent the rest of the day editing and smiling at our good fortune being able to pull this off so smoothly.

The contest entrants in London, Bristol, Australia, Seattle, Wisconsin and Texas were busy, too, creating their videos that mimicked Japan and embodied grace and beauty in hooping. You can see their entries at Hooping.org: http://www.hooping.org/2011/11/amazing-hoop-race-japan

The judging results will go online on November 8th, so check back with Hooping.org to see who wins this round. They will win a prize of “Tokyo Hoopers Essentials” that I’m putting together, including at least one item that appears in our video.

Categories
WHD Dance

WHD Dance formation


Yesterday in rehearsal at the park with 8 awesome and enthusiastic dancers, we had a revelation. Our WHD Dance is going to be performed in a circle. Everyone faces in toward the center. We’ll position a camera on the inside and one on the outside. This makes the dance look and feel great.
The one tricky bit is that you have to remember which direction to move (grapevine left, pivot right) or risk running into someone coming the other way. The backwards steps for the weave increase the size of the circle and the forward steps return everyone to place.
I can’t wait to try this with the larger group. If there are enough dancers, we might even have concentric circles.

Categories
WHD Dance

WHD Practice Tips

I had the pleasure of teaching the WHD dance to a group of Tokyo-based hoop teachers (train the trainer!) last weekend and we brainstormed some of the tricky bits. Our practice video shows what we ended up with:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vki2wAPam_I]

  • The pivot turns work well if you count them out as slow – slow – slow- fast-fast. That means the first three are 2 counts and the last two are one count each. Visually great, too.
  • The big circles end on the lyric “everybody look at your hands.”
  • For the solo sections, we will get everyone moving in a circle, dancing by the camera. We expect to have a rather large group dancing for the video, so proper solos are a challenge.
  • At the end, it is helpful to have someone or something for everyone to gather in towards for the pose. Shouting a prompt helps get everyone moving in the right direction, too.
  • On the day we film, we’ll assign partners and groups by handing out stickers – heart and star, maybe. Depending on the number of people dancing, I’ll figure out the starting arrangement Grid? Concentric circles? We’ll see. For our six-person dance, two lines worked nicely.
  • The camera has to be pretty far away from the action to ensure everyone doesn’t grapevine off screen. We will use two cameras, just in case.
  • To help raise money for the WHD charity, I will donate my fees from classes where I teach the dance. It’s only two classes scheduled at this point, but that might total $100. Fingers crossed.

How are you rehearsals and practices going? Have you figured out any great tips you can share?

Categories
Workshops & Events

Japan Hoop Instructors Conference

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.

Categories
Info and News

Introducing Spin Matsuri Hoop Mixes

Hooping.org hosts 30/30 challenges – hoop 30 minutes daily for a month – and we love them for giving us a reason to focus on our personal practice every day and build good habits.

Today we introduce what we hope will be a series of musical inspirations for your hooping during these 30/30 challenges and beyond. The Spin Matsuri Hoop Mixes are 30 minute playlists of music that we love, put together into cohesive collections that capture mood, style, and speed. We start with two playlists in a SoundCloud set called Hoop 30:

http://soundcloud.com/spin-matsuri/sets/hoop-30/

“Geo-Bounce” is a high-energy set ideal for hoop drills, fitness, and keeping up a good pace from start to end. It draws on music from all over the world:
Tu Vuo Fa’ L’Americano, Yolanda Be Cool; Rhythm; Palance, JW & Blaze;
Pipe, JW & Blaze; Lisztomania, Phoenix; Gold Dust (feat. Ce’cile), Fresh;
Husan, Husan; La Camisa Negra, Juanes.

“Meditation” slows the pace a bit with new-age and world music to get you in a mellow and thoughtful groove that isn’t boring. It features seven tracks: Ong Namo – I Bow, Gurunam Singh; Joni, Julianne; Movement, Ulele; Firewoods I, Light Rain; Dervish, Light Rain; Celestial Soda Pop, Ray Lynch; Strong Spirits, Taniki Hikaru.

Be aware that our free SoundCloud account has a limit on the number of downloads, so act quickly to ensure you get one. We’ll be bringing you new mixes in upcoming weeks and months, so if you miss out this time, stay tuned for more.

Categories
Info and News

October Events

Spin Matsuri Events

10/10: Japan Hoop Instructors’ Conference. Japan’s first conference for hoop dance and hoop fitness instructors. All certified and/or practicing hoop teachers are welcome. The one-day event will cover topics related to teaching. Every participant will prepare at least one mini-lesson, presentation, or lead a discussion.  Contact spinmatsuri@gmail.com for an invitation.

10/14: WHD Dance class @ FAB.  Tink is taking over Kana’s Beginners and Beyond hoop class to teach the World Hoop Day Dance. Dancing with hoops indoors on a Friday night – hooray! Let’s get ready for our WHD event on 11/12. After a good warm up, we’ll go through the dance steps together. Then we’ll focus on adding flair to the basic moves and creating awesome freestyle sections and solos.  Cost: 2750 (FAB class price). Tink will donate 1000 yen per student to World Hoop Day to send hula hoops kids in Tohoku and around the world. Directions to FAB: http://www.fabacademytokyo.jp/contact.php

10/23: 4th Sunday Spin. Monthly hoop jam at Yoyogi Park. Join us for an afternoon of hoop play and dance. Bring your hoops or get into your own groove with juggling, poi or any combination of flow arts. Pack a picnic, if you like. Everyone is welcome. Be ready to learn some hoop dance steps as we practice the 2011 World Hoop Day Dance (from 3pm). World Hoop Day is 11/11 and we are cooking up some fun activities to raise money for hoops to send to Tohoku and on the Peace Boat in 2012. 4th Sunday Spin is FREE, as always. Cancelled if it rains. You’ll find us on the Harajuku side of the park, in the grass near the kiosk.

More Hoopy Goodness

10/2: Sadistic Circus Tink, Mikori and Roon Roon are featured as  “cute bondage hoopers” in an evening of  hot and wild circus action. http://www.sadistic-circus.com/

10/16: Baby Loves Disco Tink’s hooping it up with the little ones at BLD’s BOOOgie Halloween 2011 party. http://babylovesdisco.co.jp/english/

10/30: HoopChi with Betty Lucas Hooping + Tai Chi = gentle hoop exercise for everyone. A special workshop hosted by Mikori with Betty Lucas from the US. Registration: http://www.eventbrite.com/event/1844038569?ref=ebtn

Categories
WHD Dance

Downloadable Choreo video

The World Hoop Day dance choreography video on YouTube’s been viewed over 1300 times now and a few people have asked for a version they can watch offline and use in their rehearsal spaces.  Here’s a link to an MP4 version. WHDance2011-choreo-.mp4 (18.7MB).

If you prefer not to download the file or need a different format, you can also grab the video from YouTube using screen capture programs like SnapzPro. There are few online services, too. Google for “save YouTube video” to find the most current ones that will work with your system.

Categories
Materials & Essays

Organizing Free Events

Spin Matsuri has been hosting hoop jams and other (mainly free) hooping get togethers since 2009. Here are some things I’ve learned and suggestions for making your free event successful.

  1. Research your venue. Usually I hold our jams in parks or at the beach. Outdoor venues are usually free, which fits the budget.  But not all parks allow music, others are fussy about where you can play (only on the grass, only in the playground, etc), some don’t like signs. Make sure you scope out the place where you want to hoop. Know where to find the nearest toilets, vending machine, water fountain or convenience store because people will ask you about them.
  2. Consider a theme. If you are holding a regularly scheduled event, an occasional theme added to the mix can be a lot of fun and provide a boost to attendance. We’ve enjoyed Hawaiian hooping, mini-lessons, a video shoot, and World Hoop Day dance practices. If you are holding your event on a holiday, consider using that as a base for your theme.
  3. Get the word out. Let people know when and where you’ll be. Word of mouth is great but folks forget. Whether you use your favorite social network, e-mail or flyers, give everyone a way to get the details, including a map.
  4. Arrive early. If you’ve advertised a 2 pm hoop jam, aim to get there at 1:30. Give yourself time to get the space ready. Set up your music, unbundle your hoops, layout your picnic gear. Start hooping so people can find you.
  5. Bring supplies. Music and hoops, for sure. Maybe snacks and drinks to share and a picnic blanket. And don’t forget your personal provisions – sunscreen, a hat, whatever else you need to make your day pleasant.
  6. Hoist the flag. Hoops will make the group stand out, but you may want to have another form of identification – a sign, a flag, a hoop display.
  7. To disclaim or not? In the US, lots of organizers are concerned with liability and have participants sign waivers or disclaimers. In Japan this hasn’t been much of a concern for us. What you decide to do on this front is up to you.
  8. Signups and name tags. Although I generally don’t bother asking people to sign in and wear name tags, one of the local poi gatherings does and they have a simple and elegant system. The organiser has a clipboard, a roll of duct tape and a Sharpie marker. When people arrive, he gets them to sign in and write their own name tag to stick on the body part of their choice. 
  9. Promote your other events. Make sure you have a take-away with information about other events you’re holding. It doesn’t matter whether it is a business card with your URL or a flyer with the upcoming dates as long as there is something to hand out to interested people. 
  10. Encourage onlookers. Spread the hoop love by encouraging onlookers. Those people standing on the fringes of the group or who stopped to watch a while – they secretly want to play with you. Give them a chance to try the hoop. I usually grab a bunch of hoops, catch an eye and run over to hand hoops to people. They may demure, but once they touch the hoop, they usually spin it, too. And some people return for future hoop jams.
  11. Have hoops for sale. Set aside one or two hoops for sale. Mark them with tags and signs so they don’t get used in the regular jam. You won’t sell a hoop every time, but there will be a few people over the course of a year who are interested enough to buy a hoop on the spot.