Flowlab

Hi, I’m Carla.

I’m a hoopdance teacher, a performer, and I hand make hoops.

It’s just called “Hooping”.  We dropped the “Hula”.

I have been hooping since 2008, when I first picked up a hoop at a summer music festival and discovered that it was nothing like trying to hoop with the toy store hula hoop of my childhood.  This was a dance, elegant and beautiful.

I played, I danced, and I did it for myself.

Just like that, I was hooked. I found that hooping improved my physical health and appearance, brought back my self-confidence, and gave me a vehicle to express myself artistically.  Inspired, and maybe a little obsessed, I began developing my hooping skills under the guidance of world-renowned performer and teacher, Sandra “SaFire” Sommerville.

Then I found out I wasn’t alone.

Since then, I have studied with a number of high profile “hoopers”; attending hoop workshops in the United States led by amazingly talented individuals like Rich Porter (Hoop Technique), Jonathan Baxter (Hooppath), Miss Rosie Masters (Hero Hoops), and Christabel Zamor (Hoopgirl).  I’m also active in the international hooping community, serving as a moderator for the highly popular Hoopcity online forum, as well as staying networked with hoopers from all over the globe.  That’s right, all over the globe!

Being a hooper means sharing what you know.

I’m a founding member and coordinator of the performance troupe Flowscience.  Together, we organized Edmonton’s first World Hoop Day event in 2009. And this year, I was delighted to bring the Edmonton hoop community together to share in the instructional talent of Baxter and his Hooppath methods.

And now I teach it too.

In the classroom, I love sharing the hooping experience with my students. We laugh and cheer each other on, and they discover that they can do amazing things with a hula hoop. I view teaching as an opportunity to share the same physical and emotional benefits that hoopdance has brought to my life with every one of my students.