Welcome to ChristaHoops!
Classes and workshop information can be found on the Calendar page, and Background contains the story of how I came to be a hooper, along with a general overview of hooping history. Community has links to online forums both local to Vancouver BC, and the international hoop scene, and you can visit the HoopShop to buy or make a hoop for yourself! Curious about the classes? Read what others have to say about my workshops and hooping under Hoop Play Testimonials. Don't miss the Images page for short video clips of hoop tricks along with my photo gallery, after scrolling down this page for tidbits on ChristaHoops in the news!
June 23, 2008
Due to my busy work schedule, the workshops in North Vancouver have been canceled. If you are a resident of the North Shore looking for hoop lessons, please do consider coming downtown for the weekly or monthly programs at the Dance Centre and Roundhouse - one connection from the Seabus terminal or the buses crossing either bridge will bring you within a few blocks of either location!
April 11, 2008
Fall weekly classes have been posted on the Calendar page, featuring a later time slot on Mondays for you night owls! (okay, a half-hour later isn't ALL that much, but I know some of you will love it!) and registration is now open. First come, first served upon receipt of payment in full - students and starving artists should contact me if you'd like to arrange installment payments!
Mar 7, 2008
New workshops in North Vancouver have been posted, and weekly spring and summer classes have been updated on the Calendar page. Changes have been made to my advanced registration and refund policies, please take a look, and let me know if you have any questions! Saturday Circuses downtown at the Vancouver Art Gallery have started up again, look for hoopers, jugglers, and more on most sunny Saturdays from 2-4pm on the steps of the Gallery cafe. Come play!
Dec 2, 2007
Winter classes have been updated on the Calendar page. Wednesdays are full for January already, but there are a few spots left on Mondays! Register soon, or add your name to the waitlists to be contacted if a spot opens up in the following months. Want a quick fix? Check out the monthly workshops at the Roundhouse on Sunday mornings: two hours of hooping, all levels welcome!
Aug 25, 2007
Mondays are full, but there is still space in Friday classes. I will be away until September 5th, but when I return I will be processing registration and payment for people in the order that I receive their emails, so DO send an email ASAP to ensure that you get a space!
Aug 13, 2007
Fall registration is up! See the Calendar page for details, including new policies regarding advanced registration, and more flexible payment schedules!
July 24, 2007
Illumnares is this Saturday, and hoopers are needed for a performance! 7:30-7:45pm, we will stage "Whole" - a celebration of all that is hooping! Wear your favourite hooping clothes, bring your beloved hoop, and join in! We will create a big circle of hoopers and take turns moving into the centre, showing off our best moves (or just whatever moves we feel comfortable doing in front of a crowd!), and cheering our fellow hoopers as they strut their stuff! Free to participate, and if you RSVP to me by noon on Thursday (tomorrow) I will get your name on the performer list, so you will have access to the hospitality and refreshments after the show! Visit http://publicdreams.org to learn more about Illuminares, and email me to get involved!
July 22, 2007
Unfortunately, it looks like the city workers will be going on strike, which means that the Monday classes at the Roundhouse will be cancelled until services resume. I have been told that participants will receive refunds from the Roundhouse for the classes that are affected as a result of this job action. Hopefully the strke will be over soon, and we can get back to hooping... if not, then keep in touch and watch for Friday night beginner classes at Harbour Dance starting in September!
July 16, 2007
Spaces still available in tonight's (Monday) 8:40-9:40pm class at the Roundhouse - BUT - their online registration system shows it as cancelled. THIS IS INCORRECT! Please call them at 604 713-1800 to register! This class has been changed from 'Intermediate' to 'All Levels' so beginners are welcome! See you tonight!
June 30, 2007
Some spaces are still available in the July classes at the Roundhouse and the Dance Centre - register soon so that you aren't disappointed! New this summer: one-afternoon intensive workshops that focus on a specific aspect of hoopng, see the Calendar page for details. Fall classes at the Dance Centre will be moving to Mondays, 8-9pm. The HoopShop page has more info on special colours I have in stock, along with updated pricing. Order your new hoop before July 12, 2007 and pay the old prices!
May 18, 2007
Summer classes and workshops are up! Visit the Calendar page for details. I am pleased to announce that Jonathan Baxer of the Hoop Path, based in Carrboro, North Carolina, will be visiting Vancouver on June 20th and 21st and is offering the First Steps and the Warrior Path workshops! Email Bax at thehooppath@gmail.com to register. Coming up soon, a build-your-own workshop with Vancouver's Cinderbellas, a local fire troupe who will be teaching us how to make fire hoops on May 27th. To get registered, email Heather at onrushinglife@gmail.com or visit the Vancouver Hoopers tribe for more details on both the Hoop Path and the Cinderbellas workshops.
Saturday playdates are going strong, and have been renamed the Saturday Circus. Why? Well, because that better describes the scene, with hoopers, poi-spinners, and jugglers galore! Join us at the Vancouver Art Gallery cafe steps, or below ground at the rink at Robson Square, every Saturday from 2pm onwards. Thursday nights, the same crowd is meeting near the restaurant at Kits Beach for fire- and glow-spinning. Come play!
Mar 21, 2007
Quick update to say that the Friday session at Harbour will be ending on March 23rd, due to low registration. Monday night classes, starting April 16 and continuing through the spring and summer, will be available for registration through the Roundhouse as of March 24.
February 28, 2007
Wow, happy new year!! Classes have been going really well, and some are even full! The Spring sessions are now posted on the Calendar page, for classes at the Dance Centre and at the Roundhouse. There is still space in the March session at Harbour Dance, but I haven't posted any spring dates at Harbour yet as I am waiting on another contract employer for some work that usually involves Fridays in May and June - once I've confirmed those dates, I'll be posting the Harbour Dance sets here. I'm going to be reducing the class size at the Dance Centre to 10 students per session, starting in April, to ensure that everyone has enough space to practice tossing and those moves that may result in flying hoops! Do register early for these sessions to ensure that you have a space!
November 20, 2006
Hoop Shop update: I will no longer be stocking multiple sizes of tubing. Limited amounts are still available in the larger and heavier weights, but when they are gone I will only be making hoops in the 3/4" 160psi tubing that has proved to be the most popular size.
November 16, 2006
Party announcement: On Friday December 15, 8:30-9:30pm I will be hosting a Hoop and Poi party at Harbour Dance (see the Calendar page for location) as a fundraiser for the Greater Vancouver Food Bank. Come play! Please bring whatever cash donation you can afford (suggested $5-20) to slip into the collection enevelop, then hoop, twirl and dance for an hour with other Vancouver Hoopers! We may head out afterwards for some food, drink and more merriment, so be ready for a good time! Please RSVP to me if you plan to come!
October 31, 2006
Happy Halloween! New classes for January-March have been added on the Calendar page, including Friday nights at Harbour Dance. Register before Nov 30 to get the earlybird rates! Here's a special treat for you, a video clip on YouTube of my mom doing hoop tricks:
Watch My Mom Do Her Mad Stylin' Moves
August 16, 2006
hooping.org has launched its new web-magazine format, and I am the first feature interview! Videos from Illuminares have been uploaded to my YouTube account, find the link on the Images page. Fall courses and workshops have been updated with cost and registration information, find it all on the Calendar page!
August 1, 2006
Zero had a successful debut at Illuminares, watch for the video clip coming soon! Fall classes have been added to the Calendar page, including Hoop Play classes at Harry Jerome recCentre in North Vancouver as well as the Dance Centre and Roundhouse.
July 10, 2006
Hoop Play at the Roundhouse has been soo popular, we've added another class! Thursday nights, 8:40-9:40pm, see the Calendar Page for details.
June 29, 2006
Lots of summer hooping opportunities coming up! Check out the Vancouver Hoopers tribe for weekly and special playdates through the summer, or join me on Canada Day at Waterfront Park in North Vancouver as I teach and perform hoop dancing as part of their community celebrations! I will have 20 hoops onsite and be giving free instruction from 2:30-4:00pm, with a 15 min performance at the main stage starting at approximately 3:20pm. Hope to see you there!
Also: ZERO practices resume July 4, see the Calendar page for details, and check the Images page for new video links!
June 18, 2006
Hoop Play at the Dance Centre has been added on Sunday July 30, see the Calendar page for more information!
May 29, 2006
Christahoops is featured in Vitamin V, Vancouver's online lifestyle magazine. I wasn't expecting this, so a big THANK YOU to the editors for spreading the word about hooping joy! Spaces are still available in the beginners class starting tonight, email me by 6:30pm if you would like to register! More info about classes and workshops on the Calendar page!
May 8, 2006
Another Hoop Play workshop has been added at the Dance Centre on Sunday June 4th. See the Calendar page for details! Please send me an email if you would like to attend a class or workshop, but need them to be offered on different days.
May 3, 2006
The Vancouver Courier has published Cheryl's great article on the Vancouver Hooping Scene, and can be read online here. The Hoop Play workshop on May 7 is filling quickly, but there is still lots of space for Mondays starting at the end of May, and Thursdays in July and August. See the Calendar page for details on those classes, and a new outline of the Zero hoop troupe performance concept!
May 2, 2006
Workshops have been added to the Calendar page, along with information about practice sessions for Zero, Vancouver's hoop performance troupe. Check out Flare magazine's May edition for a brief mention of hooping as a summer-shape-up tool.
April 17, 2006
New classes are added on the Calendar page: Monday night classes will be offered at The Dance Centre, starting on April 24 for intermediate hoopers and May 29 for beginners.
April 5, 2006
Hooping at the fundraiser for the Vancouver Children's Festival was lots of fun, including watching a gentleman in his tux borrowing a performer's props so he could bust out his mad juggling skills! It was also nice to see that even wearing fancy clothing won't keep people from trying to hoop!
March 27, 2006
Had a really enjoyable interview with Cheryl from the Vancouver Courier. She's writing a cover feature on hooping and the hoop scene here in Vancouver, and with the thoughtful questions she's asking and the details being written down, it should be an awsome article. I also managed to get her into a hoop after watching a Hoop Play workshop, and think I have another convert!
March 1, 2006
Shared Vision publishes "Hoop It Up" article. Jon did an excellent job of capturing my thoughts and enthusiasm for hooping: its all about the play!
February 25, 2006
Mountain Mardi Gras hoop performance and workshopping went well, lots of people eager to play even though it was cold, windy, and raining or lightly snowing!
February 22, 2006
I've added weekly summer classes at the Roundhouse to the Calendar!
February 10, 2006
I was interviewed by Jon Azpiri for Shared Vision magazine for another article about Hooping for fitness, to be published in March.
February 7, 2006
ChristaHoops.com is launched, and I was interviewed by Carly Bailie for an article about Hooping for core fitness, hopefully to be published by Flare magazine in May.
January 28, 2006
Hooping article appears in the Globe and Mail. If you are an online subscriber to the Globe and Mail, you can read the article here.
For the record, I do not actually hoop for three hours a day, nor have I choreographed a hoop routine to AC/DC (but I *did* talk about a bellydancing troupe who DID...) but reporter Leanne Delap did a pretty good job of promoting Canadian hooping! (oh, and Sarah, another Vancouver hooper who was interviewed for the article, says that she has never been to a multi-day hoop retreat, but would love to have the opportunity if such a thing exists!)
August 24, 2005
The Tyee is an alternative online daily newspaper, and the article can be read for free here.
I think Lisa Johnson did an excellent job of catching the flavour of hoop enthusiasm as it spreads, and her article even contains a link to the video that started my own hoop journey!
I have decided to focus on the very popular 3/4" heavyweight polytubing for my hand-built hoops, so the other tubing weights and sizes will be discontinued and removed from the Hoop Shop page as my current stock runs out. If you are interested in heavier or lighter hoops, order them soon!