Special Events
What is the next big Special Event?
A workshop with the Hoop Path
When is it happening?
First Steps
Saturday July 11
5:00-8:00pm
Warrior Path
Sunday July 12
1:00-4:00pm
$120 USD for two days, register directly with the Hoop Path folks here.
Registration for both days is encouraged. If workshop spaces remain available closer to the workshop dates, single-day registration will open. Sunday’s Warrior Path is suitable only for those who have previously participated in a Hoop Path workshop. (Everyone who participates in First Steps on Saturday will be ready for Warrior Path on Sunday!)
Who is leading the workshop?
Baxter leads Hoop Path classes and workshops in Carborro, North Carolina, and around North America! This will be his second visit to Vancouver, and many of us who participated in the workshops last time will be returning for more!
Why take this workshop?
In Christa’s words: Following the Hoop Path has led me to a better connection with my hoop, knowing where it is, focusing on its connection to a point on my body, acknowledging its flow… but it has also taken me beyond the hoop, to improve my mind-body connection when I’m not hooping, relating more to the greater hooping community, and giving me metaphors to use as I work through struggles in work and personal relationships.
Baxter teaches hooping with simple tools: a hoop, a blindfold, and music. When we stop taking input from our eyes, physical awareness improves. Listening to Baxter’s voice guide us through movements (”sway like a tree in the breeze”, or “your hands are birds to fly, fly, fly!”) brings a freedom to try new movements without any fear of looking foolish - everyone else is blindfolded, too! Later in the workshop, we learn more specific movements, controlling the hoop as we change currents with breaks or paddling the hoop along its path, or guiding it lightly to flow in new directions.
First Steps will start with basic on-body hooping, and throughout the workshop we’ll learn a lot of the vocabulary used by Bax and Hoop Pathers around the world. Warrior will build on that base, and we’ll leave on Sunday afternoon with VERY tired bodies, open hearts and new friends!
Who can attend this workshop?
Hoop Path workshops are for adult hoopers of all levels - yes, if you can just keep the hoop going around your waist, you will be welcome here!
If you are coming in from out-of-town and need help finding a hostel or hotel, get in touch! Looking for a couch or floor space? Try posting on the Vancouver Hoopers tribe to find a willing host! Don’t want to fly with your hoops? Loaners are available, contact Christa to make arrangements.
Where is the workshop held?
The Dance Centre, 677 Davie St (at the corner of Davie and Granville), in either the Birmingham or Kraul studio (the large studio at the end of the hallway on the 3rd or 4th floor).
Extra Information
Bax often brings some fabulous Hoop Path tanks and tshirts to sell, so bring extra cash if you’d like to take home a souvenier!
Note-taking during the workshop is encouraged, so a pen and notebook would be good. Remember a water bottle, and dress in layers - these workshops definitely get hot!
Before the First Steps workshop, we’ll be hitting the Saturday Circus at the Vancouver Art Gallery - there will be hooping, juggling, poi spinning, and more! Baxter will be getting on a unicycle (he might not know this yet!), and this would be a great place to start warming up your hoop muscles and getting to know fellow attendees.
After the First Steps workshop, we’ll head out for a group dinner nearby, so plan for extra funds to cover the cost of your food and drinks. (If money is tight, pack snacks to eat ahead of time, and just come hang out at the restaurant!) There are some showers available at the Dance Centre if you’d like to freshen up before dinner.