The idea for Hoopy Happenings started when I was at Circus Fest 2009 in Tasmania and wanted more than just 2 hoop workshops during the training time. A few of us tried to pick a place & a date but everyone had different ideas & we all lived in different parts of Oz. I decided if it was going to happen we just needed to set a date & go for it. I decided on Sydney, chose a weekend, advertised it and searched for teachers. It kicked off in 2010 & after many hours of work I managed to cover costs, we had 29 participants. The next year, 2011, I learnt a lot from 2010 & made the changes to make it a success again & we had 39 participants. Every year though right up until the very last week I'd be stressing out and wondering if I'd sell enough tickets to cover the costs. Every year my sister Lisa who helps me & Bunny would tell me to breath and the hoopiverse will come through for me. Hundreds of hours spent to get this hoop community event up & running each year and its really beautiful when it comes to fruition and all the bills get paid and there may be a little left over for me too.
I try to get a good mix of workshops together that covers top to toe hooping... this year we have workshops in contortion. foot hooping. salsa, belly-dancing, isolations, native american-indian inspired hooping, acrobalance, fire hooping, World Hoop Day Dance choreography, twin hooping plus I've added master classes where hoopers can develop their teaching skills & performance development. It's totally full of awesomeness! Plus this year I have a cameraman on board to do a DVD for us so that it is professionally done. Hoopy Happenings is a community happening. It accommodates for the circus styled hoopers and the hoop dancers. These 2 different styles of hooping don't always see eye to eye, the teaching & training styles are very different and there are still some who are just one or the other. I like to see HH as the bridge & inspiration for hooping creativity. Next step to grow.