Author: spinmatsuri

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Materials & Essays

Recipe for Sock Poi

On Sunday afternoon during Spin Matsuri, world-class poi sensei, YUTA, will teach us the basics of poi spinning and how to make flowers and other patterns that can be translated to hoops so you’ll need a pair of poi to play with. You can buy them, but they are easy to make yourself!

Sock Poi

makes one pair of practice poi

Ingredients

  • 1 pair long socks, striped, patterned, or gorgeous.
  • 2 pairs of socks, old worn out ones are perfect

Method

  1. Lay out the long socks side by side.
  2. Roll the other socks to make two balls of equal size and weigh.
  3. Slip one sock ball into the toe of one long sock.
  4. Repeat.
  5. Tie a knot at the top opening of each long sock.
  6. Serve with smiles.

Note: You can use rubber balls, tennis balls, beanbags or balloons filled with rice instead of old socks in your poi.

Check out this video from Poi Community that shows sock poi and some other constructions!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wpsKPfXyx24]

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Spin Matsuri Retreat

Free Market!

Sunday night after our workshops, we’ll enjoy a relaxed evening of activities and one of them is a free market. You are invited to bring things to sell – hula hoops, poi, spin toys, clothes, costumes, fashion accessories, books, DVDs, pretty much anything goes. Here’s a chance to introduce your line of products, or to pass along used items and maybe make some cash, too.

We’ll have a sign-up sheet for vendors. Anyone who wants to sell items will get a 2 meter square space in the gym from 8-9:30 pm. Please man your own booth and bring your display, change and signs as needed. There is no charge to be a vendor but only Spin Matsuri students and instructors  may participate.

If you want to shop at the market, bring your wallet!

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Spin Matsuri Retreat

Meet the Staff

Masao Tamaoki is our facilities liaison, so if you have any questions about the venue during the weekend, please find Masao. Partner of HOOPLOVERS, Deanne Love, Masao  rocks his own funky hoop style.

Madoka Konishi brings her bright spirit to Spin Matsuri as schedule and ticket coordinator, so you probably communicated with her when you reserved your ticket. She is also our go-to girl for translations (thanks, Madoka!) Her hooping style is elegant and gentle

Nick Wong is new to the team this year, but you’ll be seeing a lot of him – he’s our multilingual MC. Nick is a graduate student from Malaysia studying traffic systems and started hooping at this August.

Heather Minowa is in charge of all the evening activities, free market, and ceremonies. A mandala artist living in Utunomiya, Heather loves all circles, including hula hoops!

Kristen McQuillin is general coordinator and dogsbody to the team. In addition to being on staff, she’ll be teaching a workshop on 10/10. She’s been hooping for two years.

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Spin Matsuri Retreat

More than workshops

Spin Matsuri’s hooping and movement workshops are amazing, but there is so much more to the weekend.

Buffet meals give us all a chance to mingle and talk while we nourish out bodies. It’s great fun to meet new hoopers and relax with friends. Our rooms are shared, so you’ll have time to chat in the mornings and evenings, too.

On Saturday night we celebrate with an open show where everyone has a chance to share their talents and then we move onto a rocking party with hoops and dancing.

After our Sunday workshops, we open an evening of relaxed activities – mandalas, costume making, among others – and also host a free market for people who have hoops, costumes, and accessories to sell.

And in between it all, or any time you want to take a break, Seimei no Mori resort has a swimming pool, sauna and other facilities that you are welcome to use.

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Spin Matsuri Retreat

Schedule Change

We would like to announce a change to the workshops schedule. Ellie will not be able to teach her workshop, “A Spiritual Journey: Hooping through the Chakras” as planned. Instead we have a special workshop to celebrate World Hoop Day on 10/10/10.

Tink will lead us in the dance she is collaboratively choreographing especially for World Hoop Day events around the world.

World Hoop Day is an annual fundraising event that sends hoops to children all around the world. Last year in Tokyo, we raised 100,000 yen to buy and decorate 100 hoops. They are being delivered at ports of call by the Peace Boat.

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Spin Matsuri Retreat

Instructor Profile: Tink

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NRpZuo9tI34]

Tink shares the joy of hooping by hosting free hoop jams and organising events including Spin Matsuri. She is leading a global dance project for World Hoop Day and developed “hooper trading cards.” Tink is a member of the HOOPLOVERS troupe and has been hooping since August 2008. She is a creator, geek and foodie. In her spare time, Tink is married.

Spin Matsuri takes place on World Hoop day this year, so in her workshop we will learn the 3 minute World Hoop Day dance and perform it for the video camera. Our performance video will be edited together with other hoopers around the world to create a World Hoop Day Dance montage!

１０月１０日　フロー
Tink teaches World Hoop Day Dance on Sunday, October 10th.

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Spin Matsuri Retreat WHD Dance

World Hoop Day choreography

World Hoop Day takes place during this year’s Spin Matsuri and we will be joining in the celebrations by doing a performance of a group dance that other hoopers around the world will also perform.

We’ll be practicing the choreography at hoop events – Circle, 4th Sunday Spin and more – around Tokyo between now and 10/10/10 and also running through it a few times at Spin Matsuri before the final performance.

If you want to get started learning the dance, here is the first part:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NRpZuo9tI34]

And here are the moves performed in slo-mo with notes:

And yes, that is Tink in Tokyo doing the dance for you. She launched the idea that is taking off like wildfire around the world. More sections of the dance are coming soon and we’ll be sure to post them.

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Spin Matsuri Retreat

チラシ！Flyers!

It is always an exciting moment to receive our event flyers from the printer. The paper feels smooth, the ink is intoxicating, and the design is a joy to behold. Having a flyer makes Spin Matsuri seem so much more real.

Thank you to Hideko Tsutsui for the flyer design; she has a talent for combining elements into a beautiful whole.

プリンタからスピン祭のチラシを受け取りしたら、どきどきにします。紙はさらさら、インクはいい匂い、デザインはとてもきれい。にこにこをさせられます。チラシを持て、エベントがリアルになります。

筒井英子さんはスピン祭の上手なデザイナーです。色々な写真、日本語と英語，様々ものを組み合わせました。ありがとう！

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Spin Matsuri Retreat

Instructor Profile: Ayumi

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yHEyt7XPqgk]

東京と大阪でフープダンスエクササイズのクラスを持っています。6月にはNTVの番組「ミリオンダイス」に出演。
｢フープ東京」代表。フープダンサー、フープダンスインストラクター養成講師、フープダンスインストラクター、フープエクササイズインストラクター、フープダンスコレオグラファー（振付師）「フープ東京」創設期よりMarioらとテレビ、雑誌等に出演。フープダンスエクササイズの実技指導やデモンストレーションを行う。Mario監修「HOOPエクササイズwith DVD」（ダイアプレス）にて全編デモンストレーターを務める。2010年1月フープ東京代表就任。

Ayumi is a hoop performer, choreographer and head of Hoop Tokyo, Japan’s first hoop dance school. She teaches hoop dance and fitness classes in Tokyo and Osaka. In June, she and her hoop group presented the weekly challenge on NTV’s reality contest show, Million Dice.

１０月１１日　フロー　
Ayumi teaches How to Flow on Monday, October 11th.

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Spin Matsuri Retreat

2010 Teaser Video

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0hTVwjMIjQ&hl=en_US&fs=1?rel=0&color1=0x234900&color2=0x4e9e00]