When did you start hoopdancing? & Why did you think it is a good idea?

I started hooping about a year ago, I couldn’t hoop as a child but I was looking for a keep fit challenge!

Did you find the beginning easy? Did you ever think you would get to hoopdance as well as you do now?

I was very surprised that I could even get the hoop going around my waist and every new trick was hard work. Nothing came naturally to me .

Has hoopdance changed anything in your life?

Even my youngest daughter can hoop now; she is so cute ( nearly 5 ) and can keep it going a long time. My older daughter ( 9 ) is a champion, everything comes naturally to her. Even my boys (11 and 15 )  have had a go not to mention my partner ( he hasn’t quite got it yet ! ) and friends. I am completely hooked on hooping and can’t imagine life without it now.

Do you often get frustrated when things do not work with the hoop? How do you get over that frustration? What motivates you to keep trying?

ME frustrated? Yep! I just keep practising and telling myself one day I will be able to do it. It took me several weeks on holiday last year practising at every opportunity to be able to hoop from knee to waist. Nothing comes easily but I just love it !

How much time do you spend hooping?

In the summer it is a bit easier I try and spend some time every day but it is not always possible as I work school hours and then look after the kids. There is no room to ‘swing a hoop’ in our house so nothing much happens on rainy days. I am also training for a triathlon so there are just not enough hours in the day.

Have you achieved any of your goals that you had before signing up for the first class? Did you have any expectations?

I had no expectations other than to lose a bit of weight and get fitter. I think I have done that but I injured myself running 10k last year so that put me back a bit. Now I have something which I just love to do and is part of staying fit.

Have you got any favourite moves or any that you particularly dislike? Any really really frustrating ones?

I can’t think of any favourite moves yet. My efforts to date have been just getting the moves! Knee to waist and kick start took me a lot of work but also shoulder hooping took many hours of practice and it is still a work in progress to get to smooth execution. My current most frustrating one is the 3 beat weave with 2 hoops, I am trying to overcome the voice in my head saying ‘You’ll never be able to do this! ‘

Would you recommend hoopdance to others? What is your advice to those who are just at the beginning of their hoopdance experience?

Yes I would recommend it, how could one not love it!  My advice is start with a large hoop, I started with a slimmer hoop than most people and it has made it a lot harder work for some of the moves. I had to resort to a larger hoop to get the hang of shoulder hooping.