"It all started with one hoop in 2005 that Rachel built from scratch" says former mountain bike racer Balazs from Canada. Rachel, being an artist and dancer, was experimenting with various kinds of body movement and heard that there was a movement starting in California's surfing communities, where adults were using big 'adult-size' hoops to dance with. It took Balazs some time to gather the 'courage' to try the hoop ...and the day after, he woke up with a full body muscle ache. He immediately thought that hooping could be a great form of exercise and alternative way for him to stay fit and agile in a city.
They started experimenting and practiced daily in a park where they met loads of curious onlookers who wanted to learn from them, join them, buy hoops from them and hire them to perform at parties and events. In the course of that summer they came up with a series of over 150 moves, hired a room and a workshop, formed Hoopla!Berlin and started making hoops and teaching classes along with performing regularly. They've perfected their hoops and their curriculum to be all inclusive and called it ‘Freestyle Hooping‘, not aimed at performers, but rather everyday people, making it easy for beginners to start and progress through whether the interest is to dance, for fitness or just for fun in a park with friends.
The hula-hoop-power couple now run 10 classes a week and produce and sell their own brand of hoops. They also organize events to introduce people to hoops and offer Hoopla workshops in Berlin. They've been featured at countless festivals with their InterActiveHoopZones, have made thousands of people move at private, corporate and public events around the country and were even invited to represent Germany at the World Expo 2010 in Shanghai.
Their ultimate goal is to have a hoop in every home and to help everyone in trying on a proper adult size hoop at least once in their life, so they too can see and feel the goodness that hooping can bring.
"It all started with one hoop in 2005 that Rachel built from scratch" says former mountain bike racer Balazs from Canada. Rachel, being an artist and dancer, was experimenting with...
