Most of us remember the hula hoop from a fad born in the 1950's. A piece of flimsy plastic that was twirled around the waist for amusement. But, that history of the hoop dates back over 3000 years to Egypt, where hoops were made from grapevines and propelled using a stick. Ancient Greeks and Romans considered this form of hoop rolling a sport - not just a children's game. In the 14th Century, "hooping" swept through England considered to blame for many heart attacks and back dislocations. The word 'hula' was added to 'hoop' after sailors visiting the Hawaiian Islands noticed similar movements between the hula dance and hooping. The hula hooping fad of the 20th century was due to the re-invention of the hoop by Wham-o.

Today however, hooping has taken on a new dimension. What use to be a small, light plastic hoop or vine has now developed into large diameter, heavy-weight tubing; and what in the 50's was a kids play toy, today has become an art form, a way of expression for adults that combines ecstatic and urban style of dance, yoga, meditation and performance. And people everywhere are getting hooked!

SCOPE

This pathfinder was developed to introduce adults, of all ages and sizes, to the newest kind of hula hooping; Hoop Dance. Seeing that this new style of hoop dance has been around for less than ten years and is only recently gaining popularity in the main stream, most of the resources listed here are electronic. There are a few resources that are available at UNC-Chapel Hill's Davis Library (best browsing areas are under the Library of Congress heading GV490, or by searching for 'hoop dance' or 'hula hoop'), but even non-UNC students with a interest hoop dance can find useful information on this site.