Radical Self Love

Posted on February 9, 2010 by sushizume

OK ok I am playing catch up, I love leaving things til the last minute but I don’t want to miss this delicious boat all together. One of my favorite gals Gala Darling is declaring February RADICAL SELF LOVE month. I am digging it so I want to play too.

In Gala’s words, Radical Self Love month goes something like this..

“I’m delighted to announce that from now until the 28th of the month, in addition to your regular content, I’ll be dishing out tips on how to really truly madly deeply fall in love with yourself! Topics will range far & wide. Girl love, body image, masturbation, jealousy, honoring & respecting yourself, positive self-talk, being assertive, manifesting your own dream girl persona & self-marriage are all up for grabs! Homework will be assigned (though it is totally optional, of course!), & I’ll be asking you to participate by sending in photos, stories & spreading the word!

I have a ton of goodies lined up already, but to make it totally useful & tailored to you, I want to know what you’d really love to hear about! What have you battled with most in your quest for radical self-love? Do you have trouble with your body image? Don’t know how to develop more confidence? Find it tricky to speak your mind? Whatever it is, let us know, & I’ll do my very best to create content around it!“

I love the concept and the energy behind this so much and for so many reasons. One of my all time favorite words is radical, I am pretty into my self and I am definitely in love with love. But in all seriousness I could do with a bit of a spruce up in the self love department. While I spend much of my time completely self absorded or inside a hoop that is not to say that I go about it all in an entirely positive manner.

So I am handing in my homework late and I have scribbled it down all messy but…

I have got my Radical Self Love Bible and it just so happens to have a huge red love heart on the front.

I have written my love prayer. “I am stopping to smell the sweet and gorg roses. Soaking up the beauty, enjoying the moments of pleasure and forever reaching for a higher place of bliss and good feeling. What more can a girl ask for?”

Just like Gala I am a sparkle fiend, sometimes I think it would be hard to have more sparkles in my life, so I am using all those sparkles that constantly surround me as a reminder of how beauty filled life is. I plan to look at them all in a new way and never, ever take them for granted. I am blessed to live such a sparkling life.

My other little goal for this month is to nurture a more sassy and girly approach to relationships, dressing and my dance style. This has been an over riding desire in my life recently and just as it always does the Universe is presenting me with opportunities to explore and manifest the sass. I am excited to go for it and intend to use the Radical Self Love connection as inspiration.

Thank you Gala and I look forward to following the other super radical self lovers! I hope you will join us.

mwah mwah
xx

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Sparkle Time

Posted on February 8, 2010 by sushizume

As I sat at Masao’s desk rubbing incredibly hard to remove red nail polish from my finger tips, I thought “it’s that time of year again”. And then when I had a peek at my blog stats I realized other people were thinking the same. Mardi Gras time.

This time last year I was preparing for my first Sydney Mardi Gras. I don’t know if one can ever be fully prepared for such spectacular. It was beyond my expectations.

I had every intention to repeat last year’s extravaganza but it seems that the Universe had other plans for me. This February I am not going to Australia sadly and I will miss the glitz and glamor, the creativity and light. I will miss the people and the new connections.

This year though, I have been presented with some new opportunities. Just like this time last year, what is yet to come I don’t think I have fully soaked in.

eimi with hulahoop

Since my first visit to ageHa, well before I even knew what hula hoops were capable of, I dreamed of somehow being on the dazzling stages and podiums of the huge event space. I kept those vibrations pulsing as I ogled Pink from a front row seat, pumped the air with Fat Boy Slim and drooled over many a go go dancer, pole dancer and drag queen at various Shangri La nights.

Well, you know I keep on saying it, dreams do come true. Funny thing is they are not always in the form you first visualized or expected them. On February 25 I and my LED hoops will get a chance to be on both stage and podium at ageHa as the opening and closing act for…wait for it… Duran Duran. The event is set to be a fabulous 80s themed party, a private one with sequin clad go go girls, fabulous cover acts and Duran Duran. Practice is in full swing. This is a major honor for me but my thoughts keep clicking to what a wonderful showcase it is for the art of Hoop Dance. I will do my bestest, I promise!

Another factor keeping me from Mardi Gras this year was a potential TV appearance, without hoops. I was a little nervous and not entirely sure what was expected, some core rhythms show (??). When that got canceled unexpectedly I momentarily felt bummed, not because I was missing a TV op but because I had said no to a Sydney adventure for something that had not panned out.

Often, very often if you open up to it, life hands you copious gifts for very little work at all. I consider this next opportunity a pure gift from the goddesses.

I received a phone call from Masao last week saying a TV crew were interested in coming to FAB to meet me and my hoops. Naturally I had a few questions. Who? When? What the hell should I wear? The next day a very funky Japanese guy and girl rocked into the studio with a small camera, some unusual requests and an obviously limited understanding of Hoop Dance. With Kike and Masao by my side I played around in my hoops for the camera and was told we would hear back from them once they showed their director. A few more phone calls and a couple of days later it was confirmed that I would be taking my hoops and Mikori (Kana) on to a TV show called Sekai Marumie.

I don’t watch TV and have a very limited knowledge of celebrities in any part of the world, but when I mention this TV show to people they all seem to have the same reaction – their eyes kind of bug out of their head, their jaws drop and they say “you are going to be on TV with Takeshi?” The answer is YES!

Probably best known internationally for Takeshi’s Castle and his cinematic work, Takeshi is a genius.

The TV show does have a comedic focus though so I may be seen running around in circles with 20 hoops on my waist while Kana throws huge paper mache boulders at me that I have to duck and weave from. Who knows, but it is sure to be another adventure.

Thanks Universe!

Filed under: hula hoop tokyo, life | 2 Comments »

Mix, Minis and Me

Posted on February 6, 2010 by sushizume

It was love at first sight in the September of 2008, spotting Shakti Sunfire dancing on the great field at Hoop Camp with a dazzling pair of the smallest hoops I have ever seen. Minis, they were being called and I had to get me a pair. Making a bee line to Shakti’s stall at the Hoop Camp marketplace I snapped up a pair of silver and hot pink minis.

Now that I had these tiny beauties in my possession I was exhilarated thinking about the possibilities but had absolutely no idea what to do with them. I watched stunned as Shakti, Spiral, Jewels and others spun the fast moving minis and shyly asked for a few tips.

There was no workshop offered on minis that year at Hoop Camp, it was if they had some how just burst onto the scene. Although I had seen them used for other isolation and circus arts I had not seen them used with such contemporary style of flow. It seems I was not the only one who was drawn to them. After returning from San Francisco to Tokyo, I watched from afar to see the minis and a variety of smaller sized hoops picked up and taken to new heights/lengths/speeds/shapes by ground breaking artists such as Rich Porter and Rainbow Michael.

So while the rest of the hoop world was having fun, pushing the hoop envelope and “using” their minis my gorgeous hot pink and silver babes sat in the hoop pile looking fab, attended a few kid’s parties and generally felt unloved.

DSC08911

That was all set to change with the much anticipated arrival of Rainbow Michael at Japan’s first hoop camp, Spin Matsuri. My minis got dusted off and demand for minis on the Hoop Lovers shop soared.

Once again on a great field, but this time in the Japanese hinterland, I gripped minis in hand, listened carefully to the instruction and watched in wonder. This time I was not so shy to ask for tips. Determination was more the theme.

Enter Mix. A fearless and highly skilled hooper, basketball trickster and freestyle soccer artist. A diagramatical thinker, powerfully inspired by Rainbow Michael’s skills, Mix put her thinking cap on and rocked into Yoyogi Park about one week later with some mini tricks and eager to partner up with me to create a “show”.

In the beginning we had lofty goals, very lofty. World stages, stories of and from the Universe. Enchanting costumes, mind boggling tricks and sequences. We practiced once a week for about two months. Seasons changed as did the colors of the leaves in the park and we both came to a point where we wanted and needed to record our progress.

Again, it took about a week for Mix to emerge with a track and a fairly tight set of mini sequences. We messed around with it for a bit. I tried hard to soak up the instruction and do some personal practice. Had a lot of fun trying to understand each other. Mix’s English improved and I am happy to say my mini skills did too.

two become one

This is where we got to with a few practices. We wanted to film it in one take, so we could see where we needed to be more solid. It is interesting to see it on screen. I am a harsh critic and considered requesting it to be deleted but am glad we recorded what we had been working on. I have a long way to go, but I have learned many things from the process and Mix has been a huge help.

I love the intro created by Mix’s brother, Ma Rock.

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Tokyo’s Got Talent with Hoops

Posted on January 28, 2010 by sushizume

Late last year I was invited by the Tokyo based super talent Phil Mcqueen to participate in a creative hot pot event he was naming Tokyo’s Got Talent. Excited and honored of course I said, Yes!

Phil set the scene for me and explained there would be 5 other acts. We would all be “competing” for 1st place. Knowing that hoop dance is simply not a competitive sport I took to the idea as a bit of fun and another creative journey – that it certainly was.

TGT Million Dollars 1
dd Hoop Love feeling like a million dollar bill

Weeks later as I was laying on a gorgeous sun drenched beach in Thailand, Masao asked, “Aren’t you doing some talent thing next week in Ni Chome” Words that begin with O M F G probably came to mind as I raced back to our bungalow to grab my iPod for some musical inspiration. A quick message from the beach back to Tokyo, Phil confirmed – 2 acts, 10 minutes each.

The visions came thick and fast. It was going to be an extravaganza, hoops, costumes, choreography, go go boys, a diverse spectacular of dance, theatrics and color. Yes, yes, yes! Then reality set in, in a sobering and solid way, I had about 5 days to pull this together. Oooooh this was going to be fun!

Being the super lucky and blessed being that I am I have some of the most creative and colorful friends, I am proud to call them my family. Some people say, when you want something done you have to do it yourself. I have learned that when you want something done with love and goodness you call in the troupes and turn it into a party. More is more and having a beautifully creative and support family around really helps. I am forever grateful.

Mildly frantic on the inside but trusting in the process and the creative intensity within the group I made a few quick phone calls and summons a few meetings. YES, Mix was in! She agreed with enthusiasm to perform the first song in Act 1 with me. We had been working on a mini hoops piece for a while, mostly choreographed by Mix, it was coming together nicely so what better time to really test it out than on stage in a fun atmosphere surrounded by a supportive crowd.

circular communication

That left 15 minutes to fill in.

I had a few things up my sleeve, pieces from other acts, songs I had been enjoying, beats that made me move and costumes that added sparkle. It all felt smooth and fertile. Then I received the call. The one I secretly wait for. Kike. I think the conversation went something like this… Kike: “Love, what are you doing for the Tokyo’s Got Talent thingie?” Me: “Well um I was thinking, um, Mix and I will do our act then I was just going to to something circus, or um kind of cute, you know um” Kike: “No! We are going to make you FABulous! Be at my house tomorrow morning OK!” (This was Wednesday night!) I think I spent the rest of the conversation gushing, squealing and thanking Kike as always because I knew he had the power to transform my ideas and pour them solidly into a tight act. I was right.

on fire

Kike is a true professional, so humble, never bragging about his phenomenal costuming skills, his time training Vegas Show girls or several Miss Universe Japan, but it shows. It was like I walked into a machine from The Jetsons, Kike pressed the button and I left 2 hours later with 3 new looks and an almost complete 2 acts.

Time to call Tink. I wanted something theatrical and tight for the transition between minis and my second song for Act 1. I knew Tink would be the perfect character, and she was. With such short notice she whipped up a crowd pleasing spin and by the sounds of things had a whole lot of fun doing it! You can read about Tink’s experience here.

Tink

With about 24 hours to go I felt confident that Act 1 would be a lot of spinning fun but Act 2 was incomplete. I had a look, a costume and it was hot, strong and dark (thanks to Kike). I needed something to match. Scouring iTunes and recently played tracks I picked two and just went from there. The choreography didn’t really kick in until a few hours before show time but I had a plan – let the hoops take over, enjoy the flow and tap into a pool of buried intensity. Act 2 was going to be dark! A change from my regular focus, I enjoyed the contrast.

ready set pose

So we had 2 acts, with 5 songs including mini hoops, circus style theatrics, LED hoops, lip syncing, big wigs, sparkles, multiple hoops, funky tracks, audience participation and a whole lot of fun! I was pretty confident we were in for a good night.

Before I knew it I was rushing from a hoop fitness class (in full, spectacular make up done by Kike earlier that day at FAB) to a tech run at Bar Exit where Tokyo’s Got Talent was being held. Meeting Masao, Mix and Tink at the door and then being greeted by Phil and the rest of the staff set the night in motion and as it always does it just kind of flowed from there.

All of our loving and supportive family were there and man did they show their support. It always helps to have a fun crowd but Saturday night was like no other. These guys were LOUD, and I loved it! Editing the video was so much fun because all I could hear was wild, lewd and loud explosions from the crowd. I love my friends so very much!

At no point did I feel like this was a competitive arena, it was simply a night of good fun and lovely entertainment. It felt kind of funny being up on stage at the end when the votes were being counted because hoop dance and competition have never been linked in my mind. But just to let you know the pole dancing group were awarded first prize. Sadly I didn’t get to see them perform, I am sure they were gorg, 3 guys and 2 girls in the troupe. We came 2nd ;) Funny I feel like we should have had red ribbons pinned to our chests. At school when we ran in races we got ribbons, blue for first, red for second, yellow for third. Thankfully Tokyo’s Got Talent was not as exhausting as a school sports day!

A huge thank you goes out to Tink, Mix, Kike and Masao. Of course also much gratitude to Phil and the crew for organizing such a fun event and supporting creativity in Tokyo. Thank you to our loving friends who came along and shared a fun night.

Just in case you wondered what we looked like up there, here are some vids with highlights from act 1 and 2.

Act 1 – Light and Love

Mix and dd Hoop Love (that’s me) mini hoops act : Seventeen Years – Ratatat
Tink LED theatrics : Thunder and Blazes
dd Hoop Love starring Masao, Leila, Kike, Akiko and friends : Million Dollar Bill (Freemasons Mixshow Edit) – Whitney Huston

Act 2 – A Tribute to the Dark Side

dd Hoop Love : Disturbia (Johan Baath Remix)
dd Hoop Love : Miles Away (Morgan Page Remix)

TGT Mix and dd minis 2
On stage with Mix and the minis

TGT ending 1
Taking a bow with Mitsubichi Mcqueen

TGT disturbia 2
Getting down with 3P

Filed under: art, dance, hoop dance | Tagged: , , , | 5 Comments »

Dream Bigger 2010 – Hoop Happenings in January

Posted on January 2, 2010 by sushizume

“Better to live one year as a tiger, than one hundred as a sheep.” – Madonna

Celebrating 2010

Happy 2010! How ever you chose to bring in the New Year I hope you did it with joy in your heart and grand dreams of the wonderful adventures you are going to tackle this year.

My goal for this year is to dream bigger. We all know what happens with thoughts like that…watch out! What are your dreams for this year?

January has always been a powerful month for me, not just because my birthday falls on the 7th, it is a month of new beginnings. I grew up with January being a month of pool parties, back yard barbeques and back to school preparation, these days in Tokyo January is about temple visits, creating new paths and warming the insides.

There is so much freshness going on this January in the hoop loving community I really want to share it all with you and hope that you will kick off the year with me in high spinning spirits.

New Year Spin

January 3
New Year Hoop Jam in Yoyogi Park from 12:30pm

Tink has organized a hoop up to celebrate the new year.
Harajuku Side gate entrance Yoyogi Park
Bring your friends, snacks and toys. Music and hoops provided.

Front Hoop Lovers

January 9
Aprodizzyhoop Play Shop at The Sanctuary, Koh Phangan, Thailand

Let’s celebrate love and connection with a spirited and sensual hoop dance in paradise. I am so very excited to share the hoop love in such a magical space.

The-Sanctuary-yoga-retrea-001

January 16
FAB Dance Academy opens for 2010 classes
Join me for the first Hoop Love Dance class of 2010

Check out the FAB site and schedule for details.

FAB Academy Tokyo

January 17
Dance! Move! Play! Workshop with Cherry Typhoon & dd Hoop Love
at FAB Dance Academy 1-3pm

Learn the art of Burlesque tease and theatrics with Tokyo’s burlesque bombshell Cherry Typhoon and embrace playful hoop love with hoop mistress dd Hoop Love.

Dance! Move! Play! with Cherry Typhoon & dd Hoop Love

January 20
Hoop Lounge @ Super Deluxe
from 7pm

A FREE hoop jam held in the lush and open lounge space at Super Deluxe.
A chance to dance and hoop freely in inspiring and casual surroundings. Enjoy a catch up with friends new and old, yummy food, good drinks and fun times to celebrate the new year.

Hoop Lounge at Super Deluxe Jan 20

January 23
Tokyo’s Got Talent

COME AND VOTE FOR HOOPLOVERS

Hoop Lovers has been invited to enter the first Tokyo’s Got Talent event at Bar Exit. Come and support the hoop love and VOTE FOR ME!! Sure to be one hilarious night of super entertainment.

Tokyo's Got Talent

Check out the updated schedule on Hoop Lovers and get in touch hooplovers@gmail.com anytime.

Look forward to spinning with you!

Hoop love,
Deanne
xx

p.s. I will be in Thailand Jan 5 – 15. Class schedule will return to usual January 16.

Hoop Fun

HOOPS ON FACEBOOK
Join these hoop loving groups on Facebook.

HOOPLOVERS
FAB Academy
Hooping.org

HOOPLOVERS’ HOOPS

Give a lifetime of joy with the ultimate gift of Hoop Love, a gorgeous HOOPLOVERS’ hoop dance hoop. Hoops now available on the HOOPLOVERS’ shop and at FAB Academy

Filed under: hoop dance, hooplovers | Tagged: , , | 4 Comments »

Hoop Loving in 09

Posted on December 31, 2009 by sushizume

Sending love and gratitude to you on the last day of 2009. What a year! Our hoop family here in Tokyo grew and changed in so many ways. It was sad to see so many of our family leave, but a joy to watch their adventures unfold. It was a treasure to have so many visit and share their passion and talents with us, making for a rapid evolution of the hoop community in Japan. It was with happiness that we welcomed many new hoopers into the community this year and watched as their spin took off.

Hoop dance is a life changing art that touches us all in various ways. Today I am giving thanks to all of you who have changed my life so greatly. Whether you are an obsessed hooper, casual hoop lover, spectator or friendly supporter you have touched my life so intensely and for that I am forever thankful.

Being a Hoop Lover is not about how much you hoop, how good your tricks are, how many events or classes you turn up to, it is about embracing a loving spirit, an adventurous outlook and the never ending goal of being a positive activist in any area of life.

Thank you for your love, creativity, support, laughter and energy in 2009! Together we were able to manifest so much, share with so many and generate unlimited goodness. Let the good times spin on in 2010!

Thank you. I Love You
Deanne
xx

Hoop Loving in 09

Filed under: hoop dance, hooplovers | 2 Comments »

Two Thousand and Deevine

Posted on December 30, 2009 by sushizume

Yes there were calendars on my wall, clocks on my iPhone, days and dates imprinted in my memory, I turned up to classes on time, got on the planes in time, turned up to parties and performances on the right dates but for the most part 2009 feels like it flowed past with very little structure or adhering to time boundaries. A new kind of flow.

That is not to suggest that the year was all about freedom and smooth sailing, there were definitely moments in 09 when I felt like the flow was being whipped from underneath me or I had simply missed the boat all together. Thankfully however, I experienced even greater moments, lengths of time when I felt in every way I was on the right path at the right time, for me.

2009 was a year of rapid evolution in many elements of my life, relationships, ideas, learning, change. I witnessed many mirrors in my relationships with others this year, the reflections had a powerful influence on me and supercharged growth and expansion. Some of the mirrors got broken, as mirrors often do and I simply refuse to believe in the 7 years of bad luck superstition. The shattering sparked self awareness, good luck I think.

A great deal of newness entered my chosen realities and as a result I witnessed in many ways the responsibility I have over all the events in my life, how fully I was creating each happening. In many ways I feel like 2009 was a time of observation, I saw my self in many circumstances sitting back and observing, learning, holding back. Some major outcomes have been presented and it is with intense excitement that I proactively help them unfold in the new year!

2009

The year in pics is always a yummy way to review. Putting this little collage together also helped me retrace some steps!

Some memories…

* Birthday with lovely ladies at the Pink Cow, Shibuya
I love having my birthday at the beginning of the year. Precisely one week after we are told it is a new year with new numbers to write on paper I turn a new age, I love it that way. This year I celebrated with some very special ladies at The Pink Cow in Shibuya. Felt very lucky and loved.

* Think Global. Dance Local.
In early Feb I packed up some of my stuff and headed to Australia for a two month adventure that included the Sydney Mardi Gras, sharing hoop dance with the Active After School Program in NSW schools and teaching adult Hoop Dance classes in Sydney .

* Intergalactic Space Babes
With Bunny Hoop Star at the wheel we made an intergalactic space babe landing on the stage at the Kooky Mardi Gras Extravaganza, one week before the parade. Think lots of bling, amazing make up and hair, LED hoops a spinning, a UV reactive spaceship and a triptastic soundtrack to boot.

* dd hoop love
It was around about this time that dd hoop love (em)braced herself with the full support of two troublesome twins known as the Party Tina’s. Alter egos galore. Wigs and make up did wonders to coax these characters out of their caves. New stars were born and the party went on.

* Hoopaholics DID Mardi Gras
From beginning to end the Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras was a glitter filled swirl of ecstasy. The Hoopaholics coupled with the Color Parade worked it to paint the back end (we were the last float of the parade) with a hoop dance party never to forget. Led by the silver space ship, flown by Nick Coppins, we spun, twirled, skipped, partied and danced the whole route.

* From Parade to Party
The parade was only part of the party for Bunny Hoop Star and I as we took our hoops, hair and costumes on into the night performing 3 hoop spots at the Mardi Gras Party.

* Starland
Starland was a magical getaway on the southern coast of NSW, home to numerous characters, that I was lucky enough to play and stay at for Feb and March of 09. Too many memories, all so beautiful!

* Hanami
I worried a little that nearly two months away from Tokyo would be difficult to recover from but the reception I received upon my return – Sakura Season – whisked me straight back into the wonderland of Tokyo. A magical weekend spent in Yoyogi Park. Friends and faces, dance parties under the stars, hooping in magical groves and of course the stunning cherry blossoms.

* Cherry Blossom Dates
Masao and I continued our Sakura season with lots of relaxing dates under the falling petals in the near by Inokashira Park.

* Couple Jam
One early morning in Spring the talented photographer Hal showed up, we costumed up, he shoved us in the bath tub and the flashes went off.

* Cops and Robbers
My partner in crime, Spanky, and I were joined at the hip by Spring and found great pleasure in dressing up and hooping up or simply trawling the back streets of Tokyo. Much fun was had the night we were invited by some sweet boys to play Doro Kei – Cops and Robbers.

* 1st Birthday
HOOPLOVERS turned one! Naturally we had fun in Yoyogi Park!

* Ideas Worth Sharing
I felt like the luckiest kid in the world when I received an invitation to TEDxTokyo. Words barely describe the absorption of goodness that went on that day. You know those days, the ones when you can actively feel every cell of your body circulating and creating. That was TEDxTokyo.

* CIRCLE
I had a little dream that I wanted to share and that dream was CIRCLE. Not a new concept but definitely a worthwhile one. People getting together and doing what they love. That has got to make the world go round, right?

* Cross Pollination
HOOPLOVERS moved beyond offering beginner hoop classes and we were lucky enough to share space with some of Tokyo’s most creative flow toy performers. New juice for the evolution of the hoop crew.

* Abraham
In 08 I was introduced to Abraham, in 09 I connected more powerfully with the teachings. This resulted in life changing outcomes that I am still hugging and absorbing each moment of each day. Life long loving and learning with Abraham.

We spent a lot of time in bed together this year. He is good!

Let your desire for pleasure and your desire for feeling good be your only guiding light. As you seek those thoughts that feel good, you will always be in vibrational harmony with the Energy that is your Source. And under those conditions, only good can come to you — and only good can come from you.
— Abraham

* I Love Leila
Leila and I chatted so much one night we ran up the steps to the platform to catch last train, jumped on last train, chatted through several stops until we suddenly realized we had been heading the wrong way for at least 10 minutes. With no train back into Shinjuku we had several options; karaoke all night long, sleep on the streets or cozy up in a business hotel. The robes, slippers and long sleep in were so worth it!

* Everybody’s Doing It
Spanky and dd got all dressed up (in very little) one night, grabbed their hoops, video camera and Masao and headed to Shibuya. An all night hoop up on the streets of Tokyo resulted in this.

I miss you Steph!

* Masao the Man
Masao has been my number one, super supportive, loving, massage giving, hug sharing, hoop carrying, video taking, photographer through out this whole hoop crazed year. I love you Masao!

* Kamakura
Oh Summer on the beach. We spent many a gorgeous sunset with hoops spinning, waves washing over our feet on Yuigahama Beach this Summer. Bliss!

* Goddesses
It was most definitely Year of the Goddess. I have so much love and gratitude for all of the beautiful women in my life. You have helped me so very much to reconnect with my femininity, sensuality and nurturing spirit plus it has just been a ton of girly fun. Thank you.

*Hoop Boot Camp
August was Hoop Boot Camp month around here. Created as a community project the results were wonderful in so many unexpected ways. Gratitude goes out to all those who participated all over the world!

* Kids
Kids love hoops. I love kids and hoops! It is a pretty rad package! I got to play with so many amazing children in Australia and Japan this year, I am forever thankful for their inspiration and reminders.

* dd Hoop Love did Dr Sketchy’s
With the loving help of Lady Elle, Kike and Cherry Typhoon, dd Hoop Love (that’s me – sometimes) took herself and her hoops up onto the Dr Sketchy’s stage and realized it is tricky standing still for 20 minutes! The crowd was gorgeous and the experience was wild.

* Friends in Tokyo
Living in Tokyo can be exciting, lonely, busy, peaceful and jam packed. When friends come to town everything gets multiplied in all the best ways. We had so many wonderful times with friends from Sydney, UK and US in Tokyo this year. Treasured!

* Spin Matsuri
Spin Matsuri was one of the greatest learning experiences of my year, maybe my life. I am forever sending my love and gratitude to the participants, instructors and friends who made this happen. So much growth came out of this weekend, impossible to put into words.

* World Hoop Day 09
World Hoop Day in Tokyo was a wicked, whirling adventure. We had a blast as did the hundreds that turned up to spin hoops with us in Yoyogi Park. We raised enough money to purchase hoops to send on the Peace Boat. Fun and success!

* Oz Adventures
Time for a break. Gold Coast, Byron Bay, Sydney, Sunshine Coast. Some of the most glorious spots on the planet with the most amazing people. Australia is a magical place, we will live there one day!

* FAB Academy
A few months ago I got a phone call from the very gorgeous Kike, one of the most life changing calls ever. This man and his partner Brad are absolute superstars. They opened FAB Academy in November, I feel so blessed to teach hoop dance and run workshops there.

* Hooping
I really have those magical circles called hoops to thank for so many connections, creativity, opportunities and change in my life. An even more heartfelt thank you goes out to those who spin in and around them. 2009 has brought so many beautiful friends, creative spirits and all round superstars in to my life. I want to list names but it would take far too long, you know who you are and I hope you know how grateful I am.

yeeeeeeeeeeeha!

2010 looks like a mighty luscious number which surely correlates to it being a truly righteous year! With powerful and clear visions I am so ready to take on adventures with the colorful force of my double fire dragon energy. Prepare for take off.

One thing I do believe…

You are meant to live an expansive, exhilarating, good-feeling experience. It was your plan when you made the decision to become focused in your physical body in this time-space reality. You were born knowing that you are a powerful Being; that you are good; that you are the creator of your experience, and that the Law of Attraction (the essence of that which is like unto itself, is drawn) is the basis of the Universe, and you knew it would serve you well. And so it has.

— Abraham

So here is to expanding, being exhilarated and feeling good in 2010. Wishing you all the love and energy that you so fully deserve!

Love,
d
xx

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Cherry on Your Sunday

Posted on December 14, 2009 by sushizume

If you have had the pleasure of witnessing the beauty that is Cherry Typhoon on stage you will know that she is the bombshell of burlesque in Japan and has WOWed crowds worldwide with her powerful presence and kewpie cuteness. The queen of tassles and theatrical tease is teaming up with Hooplover’s dd Hoop Love (that’s me xx ) to bring you Dance! Move! Play! – Cherry on Your Sunday


Cherry Typhoon by Martine Cotton

Learn the art of Burlesque tease and theatrics with Tokyo’s burlesque bombshell Cherry Typhoon and play with props and poses with playful hoop mistress dd Hoop Love.

December 20 (1 space left) & Jan 17 (3 spaces left)
1-3 pm
FAB Dance Academy

Hooplovers’ Members ¥4000
Non-members ¥5000
Come to both Dec 20 & Jan 17 and receive ¥1000 off the total price!

Reservations to hooplovers@gmail.com

Filed under: dance, hooplovers, hooplovers tokyo | Tagged: , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

Dance! Move! Play! Workshop with Cherry Typhoon & dd Hoop Love @ FAB Academy

Posted on December 6, 2009 by sushizume

Woah! Wow! Weeeeeeeeee! It is all happening again, but this time with so much more energy and sparkle it is hard to comprehend. Some major creative forces have come together in Tokyo and I am excited to let you know about them.

On December 20 and January 17 Tokyo is being presented with a unique opportunity to test out it’s sassy theatrics and burlesque booty shaking at the most fabulous boutique dance studio in the city, FAB Dance Academy. Cherry Typhoon, Tokyo’s burlesque sensation and dd Hoop Love (that’s me – he he) are sharing two, 2 hour, rare but jam packed workshops. Learn the art of burlesque tease and theatrics with Cherry and allow me to guide you through the playful and sassy use of props and poses in play and performance – with hoops of course!

Dates: December 20 & January 17
Place: FAB Dance Academy
Price: Hooplovers’ Members ¥4000 Non-members ¥5000 (for each 2 hour session come to both and receive ¥1000 off the total price)
Reserve: email hooplovers@gmail.com 10 spaces avaialble

Filed under: dance, hoop dance class tokyo, hoop dance tokyo, hoopdance, hooplovers, tokyo events, tokyo hula hoop | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

Offline Adventures

Posted on October 22, 2009 by sushizume

Just so you know, there has been a whole lot of blogging on the inside going on. Time away from the blogosphere has made way for real life, offline transformations, experiences and experiments. Some personal growth, observations and extravaganzas.

I felt entirely ready to sit and write today and at the same time encased in the struggle of recapturing the past events and being able to relay them all succinctly. So much to share, so I am offering up a treat I just threw down ont he HoopLovers blog. Enjoy!

Yeeha Hoop Lovers it truly has been an age since I last gave myself a chance to sit down with you all and share some stories. This could get LONG so grab some refreshments and snuggle up with me for a bit…

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World Hoop Day Tokyo

With a great deal of joy, excitement and community input we put together a very sunny gathering for World Hoop Day on September 6. Kicking off the morning with Laughter Yoga by the gorgeous fountain in Yoyogi Park we were in fresh and high spirits as we made our way to our regular grassy, hoop playground on the Harajuku side of Yoyogi Park. Setting up early for a day of adventure. Out went the mats, the hoops and the very colorful World Hoop Day sign created by Tink.

Our goal was to hoop, play, share, enjoy and invite. I think I speak for the whole hoop community when I say we well exceeded our expectations thanks to the friendly community effort embraced by all. It was a pure gift from the Universe that our celebrations coincided with spectacular weather and the Tokyo Brazilian Fest also in the park. Think…droves of happy hoopers, hot Brazilians, giggling children and wide eyed passers by spinning in colorful hoops under a brilliant blue sky. It was clear that spinning hoops are so very alluring to people of all backgrounds, ages and abilities. People desire happiness and joy, that is what the hoop brings.

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The day continued with games, prizes, face painting, dance, mini lessons and fun filled gathering. Festivities roamed well into the night.

There was another goal on our list and that was to raise funds to purchase 99 hoops to be sent on the Peace Boat. Thanks to the kindness, open hearts and generosity on the day we were able to raise a little over half needed to purchase 99 hoops. Since World Hoop Day Tokyo we have pooled our finds and can happily say that we now have 99 hoops ready to be donated to the Peace Boat. They will be taken on the next voyage and shared with children all around the world.

Immense love and gratitude goes to all of those who supported the World Hoop Day Tokyo adventure. Huge thank you to Hoopin Annie and her inspiration for kicking off the first World Hoop Day and continuing to share the love with so many.

The colorful fun continued on the REAL World Hoop Day 09 – 09/09/09 A spectacular sunset followed by light beings activating playfulness and hoop joy! More than 40 LED and glow hoops spun under the clear Tokyo sky with the moon as our witness and the beats stirring up the energy.

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With Ace behind the camera and a gaggle of spirited hoopers with LEDs in hand and on body an extravaganza of movement and capture catapulted light beings through a magical time and space reality that needed to be captured forever…and so it was…

Spinning right along, Spin Matsuri preparation was interrupted ever so lushly by a night on the stage at Tokyo’s monthly night of nights – Dr Sketchy’s Tokyo. Ya ha dd Hoop LOVE made her presense felt. As I wished and washed in and out of my alter ego vibe I spent valuable time being prepped by Tokyo based, divine master of the dance Kike Yamakawa (soon to be opening the FAB Dance Academy here in Tokyo…more on that soon!) an experience I am intensely grateful for!

For the three act night a costumed and painted image of my self hit the stage first with disco stick in hand as dd hoop love, continuing the bling she transformed later into an intergalactic space babe in silver sparkles and finally oozed onto stage as a hoop goddess for the final 20 minute pose. I played witness to it all…were there two of me up on stage that night? I think yes, perhaps many more it all felt very multidimensional! An interesting experience and experiment in stepping outside of physical form and settling into static poses.

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With merely moments before Spin Matsuri was about to kick off life headed into over drive mode and so much more. That in itself is a whole other story.

to be cont…

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