Bhangra, zumba, street, pole and countless other types of dance forms have all been cited as the newest and most effective womens' fitness craze. And now we have a new contender... the humble hula-hoop. Most of us haven't picked up a hoop since childhood, and so it may come as a surprise that there's actually a whole dance course on 'hooping' or 'hoopdance'.
As a tomboy child I was more interested in playing football than learning such things, but I was secretly jealous seeing all the girls hula-hooping in the playground. I distinctly remember trying, and failing. If anyone could make me embrace the hoop, pick it up and keep it up, it'd be Polestars' star instructor Emma. She'd already taught me some amazing moves on the pole, and with her enthusiasm and encouragement I think she could teach pretty much anyone how to dance.
So we can successfully keep the hoop up, what now? Emma teaches a few techniques that show there's much more to hooping. She's fresh off of one of the many national and international hoop dance competitions in America, and boy is she good. Spinning it up and down her whole body, around various body parts, jumping in and out of it, changing direction... it makes me dizzy just watching. Then she brings out her custom made LED light filled hoop, turns down the lights, and puts on an even more impressive show.
This lady loves hooping, and she's got the abs of steel to prove it. I ask her about the muscle tone, and she says that fifteen minutes of hooping per day is enough to tighten the abs. Each time you learn a new move, you practise until you get it right - and the whole time it's giving your body a really decent work out. I'm not sure it'd get you ripped, but my whole abdominal area was seriously aching for two days after that class. It's a hell of a lot more fun than doing sit-ups, and it doesn't risk straining the neck or back. And although it's a low-impact class, it definitely improves fitness and endurance. Along with their pole-dancing class, this is one of the most physically challenging of the Polestars classes. Emma says that hoopdance burns around 100 calories in ten minutes - that's a lot of work in two hours.
But you don't realise how hard you're working, or how much you're learning. When we put all the moves together at the end, we do a hoopdance sequence that we're all quite proud of. My co-ordination is not the best, but by the end I could hoop it and twirl it like a pro. It's something that can be practised at home or anywhere there's space, in front of the TV or on the phone. I only worry that by the end of the six week course, we'd all be flying off to Arizona in search of fame and fortune at the 20th Annual Hoop Dance Contest.
Polestars can be reached at www.polestars.net
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