St. Louis World Hoop Day

My beautiful friend, Erica Keller is on the blog today talking about her love for hoop dance and the changes it has made in her life.  I had a great experience photographing World Hoop Day at the end of September as well as  and loved being a part of this awesome community collaboration.  Erica is a real inspiration and an amazing friend.  I hope you are inspired by her story and can learn more about how hoop dance is changing the St. Louis community.

Finding the hoop was the beginning of a brand new life for me. In 2009 I was recently a mother for the second time and had lost my sense of self, I began going thru the motions of life and soon thought, “is this it?”. After my first spin around in my living room after building my first hoop, I had a goofy smile on my face and I was hooked. I began hooping for hours at night once my kids went to bed, finding new music that made me want to move and trying to find any video on You Tube I could that would link me to the world of hoopdance.

I always told myself I wasn’t a creative person, fast forward four years later and I am still a hoop fanatic. I have had the opportunity to create a life for myself that I could have never dreamed of, now I am teaching, performing, dancing, collaborating and creating art with incredible people. The best part of hoopdance is the community. The hoopdance community, especially in St. Louis is one that is open, loving, accepting and generous. We embody the true spirit of connectedness and unity.

Each year hoopers have a holiday called World Hoop Day. World Hoop Day promotes the art of hoopdance, creativity, healthy movement and self confidence thru community outreach and donations. Our greatest focus is children and youth around the world.

As a World Hoop Day Organization Ambassador, I have had the opportunity to hold community outreach events and provide donations to youth centers and orphanages in Chicago, IL, O’Fallon, MO and internationally in Boquete Panama. However, I am so proud to call myself a part of The STL Hoop Club which has been holding a World Hoop Day event for 5 years and has donated 100 hoops each year to a school within the St. Louis Public School District.

We are still accepting donations in the form of gently used or new hoops, supplies or monetary donations so we can meet our goal of our 500^th hoop this year.

St. Louis Hoop Club
World Hoop Day