Road Trip Ready!

Patching a Beloved

Smirkus Flag

Toes and Flows!

"Show" or "Flow" Thoughts, and the Big Apple Circus

I went to see Big Apple Circus last night, and there was a hooper!  I was happy not to miss her act, as it was first up after the opening charevari, and I was running late.  She even made the program and poster...

The show had a bit of an "around the world" journey type theme.  Her particular dress and music and movements were "señorita" inspired, so I'm thinking she was Spain.

Her dress was to the floor, but had a very high slit up one side.  She did have tights under it however. (I'm at a place where I'm still struggling to knee hoop with my legs covered, so I am interested in how people dress best for hooping, how they handle this.)

All her hoops were silver tape.  They were different sizes, and she would roll them out, and new ones would be thrown in by stage hands, from the audience, when she was ready to do different segments.

She started with one hoop, moved on to two.  The next part I think she did about seven, on body.  Then she had more thrown in, and did eleven on body - one on knees, four on waist, three in each hand.  The audience responded quite well to this, and I thought the act was over, but she did actually finish with the slinky hoop.  My favorite skill involved using the space between her high heel and the body of her shoe to toss the hoop.

Her stage presence was polished and very traditional circus, and the crowd responded well to her.  

I love all hooping.  Having said this, recently I have become very interested in the difference between show and flow.  I feel like it's something I am just coming to understand.  I am trying to develop my concept for where I'd like to take my own hooping.

I think with flow, it's definitely more meditative and personal.  This is why, I believe, people say things like "hooping saved my life" or that it has healing powers.

This show act I saw last night, in contrast, was much more about the audience.  I got the feeling the performer regards it as all a gift for them, there is nothing "self" about it.  The eyes look up at the audience, not at the hoop.

I liked the act, and I was particularly interested in it, since it's the first circus hoop act I've seen since I seriously started hooping.  In my mind, I am trying to figure out, what makes an act good enough to get hired for paid performance?  So I very much viewed it from that context, and it was a good study.

Poster on the Wall of New Jersey Circus Center