Author: spinmatsuri

This year’s Spin Matsuri is going to be a fun adventure filled with movement workshops, dance parties and creative collaborations. As it did in 2009, the weekend will involve approximately 40 participants and 7 instructors.

And this year we are hoping to expand our range of workshops. All sorts of hooping, flow toy, spinning, and dance techniques are welcome at this event. We are looking for people who can teach a range of skill levels in a large group. Is that you?

Spin Matsuri offers its instructors:

1. Compensation of 20,000 JPY
2. Spin Matsuri ticket: Saturday and Sunday accommodation plus buffet meals from Saturday dinner through Sunday lunch at Seimei no Mori Resort. And of course, access to all workshops and events
3. Reception dinner on Friday, October 8th (following a pre-event meeting)
4. Scheduling and logistics information and assistance
5. Opportunity to sell merchandise to event participants

Instructors will:

1. Teach one 90 minute sessions with 40-50 students
2. Provide music for session
3. Perform a short piece on Saturday night “show-off” and provide music  (any talent is welcome)
4. Attend the pre-event meeting and reception dinner on October 8th
5. Inform Spin Matsuri of any special needs or changes to plan

We are accepting inquires and applications through May 20th via e-mail to spinmatsuri@gmail.com. If you are not interested in being an instructor but would like to enjoy the experience as a participant, please  join our group on Facebook, follow us on Twitter or check out our website at http://www.spinmatsuri.com

Looking forward to getting into the spin with you soon!

(If you wish to apply as an instructor, it would be helpful if you’d fill in the bits below and return them via e-mail)

APPLICATION

Name:
Art:
Website:
Bio: (100 words or fewer)

Workshop Title:
Description: (100 word summary)
Video Link: (to sample, if available)
Equipment required:

Please understand that Spin Matsuri 2010 is a small adventure and there are limited spaces for instructors and participants. Decisions will be made based on your availability, timely submissions, lesson fit and desire to be a positive participant in the growing hoop and spin community within Japan. Sadly we cannot guarantee a space to all instructor applicants, however there are also spaces for participants at the Spin Matsuri event should you wish to attend.

Selection criteria

* Available the weekend of October 9/10/11, 2010 to be in Chiba, Japan.
* Able to offer a unique and captivating 90 minute movement, dance, play lesson to approximately 40-50 participants.
* Provide own materials or spares of special equipment.
* Willing to communicate with organisers as needed.
* Available for one pre-event meeting the day before Spin Matsuri.
* Willing to help with non-teaching tasks, if required.
* Open to the possibility of schedule changes due to weather or unforeseen circumstances.
* Willing to perform for a “show-off” event during the retreat. Any talent is ok

It was one month ago that we gathered to spin together – I still grin every time I think about that terrific weekend. Now I am finally gathering all the photo and video links together into one place to share. If you have photos online and I missed linking them here, please let me know the URL!

Yuta’s Flickr set: videos of the action and photos of everything from the dining tables to LED portraits

Sigsy’s photos on Flickr

Deanne’s photos on Flickr

Deco’s photos on Facebook

Arika’s photos on Facebook

Spin Matsuri Recap video by Mandi (as seen on hooping.org)

Friday Stage Performance videos on Mandi’s You Tube channel

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tkHnPQIgS08]

We are thrilled to announce that Rainbow Michael will be sharing his mini-hoops expertise with us in a new Saturday session at Spin Matsuri.

Mini hoops, which are popular in the US, are rarely seen in Japan. In Rainbow’s workshop you’ll learn to manipulate two small hoops in sync with isolations, spins, and breaks to make flowing, symmetrical patterns in the air. Many mini moves are adapted from poi spinning. Spinning minis gets your arms moving in broad gestures and refined movement as you learn to control the hoops in a whole new way.

And in conjunction with Hoop Lovers, we are offering a Spin Matsuri Pre-Order Mini Hoop Bargain. Order a pair of 60cm mini hoops before September 28th for only 4,000 yen. Specify gold or silver and your choice of  black, orange, pink, blue or green gaffer. (In addition, special edition Spin Matsuri practice poi in fun green and white stripes are available for 1000 yen.) To place your order, e-mail hooplovers@gmail.com. Pick up and pay for your gear at the Spin Matsuri registration table so this offer is only for registered spinners.

If you were at Yoyogi Park two Sundays ago, you might have seen this:

We dressed up, hooped up, and passed out flyers between Harajuku and Shibuya. It was a fun afternoon – even when we were chastised with the patrolling guards who shoo’d us away from NHK Street.

Spin Matsuri promotion is in high gear now. Here’s where to find us in the near future:

• Alishan Market Day on Saturday 9/5 in Koma, Saitama
• World Hoop Day events on Sunday 9/6 and Wednesday 9/9 (both at Yoyogi park)
• Inopoi on Sunday 9/6 at Inokashira park
• Metropolis magazine (Sept 18 issue) & various listings/calendars online
• Circle hoop gatherings: Mondays in Inokashira park; Wednesdays at Yoyogi
• Around town at random being silly and passing out flyers guerrilla-style, so keep an eye open

If you see us, stop to say hello.

For busy hoopers, a full weekend away can be a challenge. But don’t miss Spin Matsuri if you can’t find time for a three-day retreat. Come on Saturday! We have a new option for busy spinners that gets you 5 workshops, resort access, and lunch for only 18,000 yen.

Day Program Schedule:
8:30 registration at Seimei no Mori Resort
9:00 2 workshop sessions
12:00 lunch & break
2:00 3 workshop sessions
6:30 conclusion of Day Program

Sessions & Instructors:
Beth Lavinder Williams: Hoop Path
Yuta: Poi Spinning & Body Movement
Bunny Hoop Star: Hybrid Hoop Morph
Rainbow Michael: Poi Yoga
Miss Rosie: Dance for Hoopers

To get your ticket, send an e-mail to spinmatsuri@gmail.com. Let us know if you prefer to pay by paypal or bank transfer and we’ll get right back to you with details.

300 A6 sized flyers arrived at my door today and I am quite happy with the way they turned out.  There is something magical about holding printed matter that you have only seen on your computer screen in many iterations over several weeks of design and editing. I always experience a moment of breath-holding as I open the package, look at the pretty colors, and check for mistakes I might have missed.

Here is what they look like on screen (Japanese on one side, English on the other). If you are at any hooping or spinning events in Japan in the near future, you are likely to see them in person.

The bulk of our instructors are on board now and today Deanne put their bios and session descriptions online. We have quite a lineup!

Beth Lavinder Williams, who lived in Japan for five years before returning to the US, is going to teach Hoop Path techniques – hooping blindfolded to focus your senses on the hoop and its movement. Hoop Path is booming in the US right now, but the style hasn’t been taught in Japan before; this is really exciting!

Bunny Hoop Star, Deanne’s mentor, will be visiting from Australia to do a workshop on circus/dance fusion with multiple hoops.I can do two hoops rather wonkily at the moment, so I am thrilled to get more instruction from such an expert.

Miss Rosie will be teaching us dance fundamentals and showing how we can incorporate them into our hoop dance.  And also in the dance realm, our own StinaSparkle will be guide us into hoop group choreography. My paltry dance background needs some shoring up and I am looking forward to both of these sessions.

We have poi on the menu, too. Tokyo’s own world-famous poi sensei Yuta will guide us through body movements and core spinning techniques. (If you want to experience Yuta before Spin Matsuri, sign up for the July 25-26 Dance, Move, Play workshops at Hooplovers.) Rainbow Michael, a fire performer from the US, will lead us in a spiritual journey with Poi and Yoga. I’ve only recently started spinning poi and I love how I can turn off my brain while I spin.

And of course Deanne is teaching a session, too, but she hasn’t quite decided what it will be yet. Check the website in a few weeks to find out.

To make this event the most fun it can possibly be, we encourage you to find a friend to come along. You’ll get a 4,000 yen discount off the single ticket price if you bring one friend, and 5,000 yen off if you bring two or more friends!

Spin Matsuri tickets went on sale this morning and we are already fielding inquiries for nearly a third of the available tickets. So don’t wait too long before you book yours.

All the details you’ll need are on the Spin Tickets page.