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A real “Epic Tale of True Love” unfolded in Bex’s life while producing the original work, reflecting the love story woven within the lyrics of the piece. This art-to-life happening inspired the restaging of the piece at New York’s premier arts festival, The Figment Project.

HELLO!100 offers an accessible opportunity for hoopers of all skill level to perform in a unique hoop happening, a free-to-the public live performance of epic proportions for Figment audiences, and inspiration for all who experience HELLO!100 that True Love exists.

See links for participation and contribution below the video.

Click here to view the video on YouTube.

JOIN THE DANCE!! 
Hoopers of all abilities are invited to register to learn the dance and perform in New York on June 9 and 10 as part of New York’s premiere arts festival Figment. Sign up to be in HELLO100! and learn more about participating as a hoopDancer. (Details coming soon).

MAKE IT HAPPEN! 
Your generous contribution of funds helps ensure that everyone contributing dance, time, talent and effort are gifted and recognized properly. You can make a secure contribution here through the Kickstarter Campaign  through May 16, 2012.

If you’re richer in time, product or service, there are volunteer positions available, and room for donations to thank both dancers and financial donors. Please contact bex@senseofmotion.com directly.

FOLLOW HELLO!100 on Facebook!

GOT QUESTIONS?
Read the HELLO!100 FAQ’s and share your own. Check back for frequent updates.

image by acidwurx.com / original drawing by Bruce Lindsay

Wednesdays May 30, June 6, 13, 20, 27
8:15-9:30pm
Triskilion Arts Studios
Williamsburg, Brooklyn

Class packages:
FULL SERIES PACKAGE SOLD OUT
$20 drop in with RSVP via email

email questions to: bex@senseofmotion.com

Goals:

• Define “warm up” and discuss the fundamentals of what makes a good warm up
• Learn full body exercises that address fundamentals of warming up as well as specifics needs of one’s particular flow practice (hoop, poi, staff, fans etc.)
• Learn basic postural muscular activation and breathing techniques to promote a strong center and fluid extremities
• Pinpoint repetitive patterns found in flow arts and discuss the anatomy and biomechanics of these movements
• Learn exercises to strengthen elongated, overstretched muscles developed from flow patterns
• Explore active and passive stretch and massage of shortened, tight muscles developed from flow patterns

“Sense of Motion,” is the conscious and active awareness of the body in motion and at rest. Sense of Motion draws on dance, Pilates and Thai Massage principles to support correct alignment and proper movement patterns of the spine and major joints. This focus builds functional strength, injury prevention, alleviation of low-level chronic pain, and correction of muscular imbalance due to poor movement patterns and over use.

This is an interactive workshop where Flow Dancers are encouraged to attend with their movement questions, their painful situations, or simply an open curiosity of how better to promote the longevity of healthy Flow. By incorporating SOM techniques, we have the potential to increase efficiency, ease of improvisation, and physical benefits of Flow Movement, and support and sustain one’s Flow practice.

Bex Burton is not a doctor. ? If you have severe chronic pain or other related injuries, past or present, please consult a doctor prior to attending the workshop.

Things to bring:

• A yoga mat or blanket
• Your flow prop of choice (or pain)
• Questions regarding specific movements, postures, alignment etc.
• An open mind!

Fill out this form to complete your registration.

Payment Via Paypal: $35 to bex@senseofmotion.com (label “Personal/ Gift”)

$40 cash day of

Saturdays: Skills and Drills I and II :: Two separate sections to build your HoopDance vocabulary, and discover your own beautiful hoop rhythm. Beginners welcome! More experienced hoopers dig deep.

Classes are held at Triskilion Arts, Williamsburg, Brooklyn  (L train to Bedford/ G train to Nassau).

To register, fill out this form,
and follow direct Paypal links here.

6-Week Series: Wednesdays March 7, 14, 21, 28 / April 11, 18, 8:15-9:30pm
Choreo and Play: Learn phrases from Bex and explore your own, from a vocabulary of individual movements and infinite variations (Some experience recommended.)
Advance registration closed.  email bex@senseofmotion.com for drop in availability. Drop in $20/class

4-Week Series 1: Saturdays March 3, 10, 17, 24, 2:30-4pm
Skills and Drills I : No experience necessary! Beginners welcome. More experienced hoopers dig deep. Build your hoopdance vocabulary and find your personal rhythm.
SOLD OUT email bex@senseofmotion.com for drop in availability. Drop in $20/class.

4-week Series 2: Saturdays April 7, 14, 21, 28, 2:30-4pm
Skills and Drills II: No experience necessary! Beginners welcome. More experienced hoopers dig deep. Build your hoopdance vocabulary and find your personal rhythm.
Advance registration required: $72 .

HELLO! Debuted in New York City at the Gotham Girls’ Roller Derby in April 2011 with just four hoopers, and grew to over 40 hoopers dancing at FIGMENT NYC in June. More than sixty additional hoopers learned and danced the piece at PEX Summer Festival in Darlington, MD, HoopFest New England in Maine, Castles in the Sky Parade in NYC and The Return to Roots Hoop Gathering, Poconos, PA from July to September.

Plans are in the works to reprise the work **with 100 Hoopers** in Summer 2012 in New York City. Stay in the hoop loop for more information and to follow HELLO100! unfold.

I recommend you watch this full screen!

Click here to view the video on YouTube.

See photos of the piece here

photo by Eraj Asadi

Like many love stories, my story begins with heartache.

Last Spring, I ended yet another relationship. Though this time, circumstances were completely different than breakups past.  I wasn’t repeating patterns or severing ties. I chose to end this relationship for self-preservation and for the preservation of friendship. My feelings were growing disproportionately deeper for the friend that I had been dating for several months, and I finally accepted the fact that he couldn’t offer me what I wanted, though I wasn’t fully aware of what that was exactly at the time. I just knew that I wasn’t happy.

I felt as though I was better off on my own, than together wishing our situation were different. I chose to honor the agreement I’d made with myself not to accept anything less than “Extraordinary”.  To that end, I had adopted a slightly tongue-in-cheek mantra of  “I’m a Big F*cking Deal,” for all the time and effort I invest in growing and living passionately:  I’ll be damned if the person I share my time and my life with doesn’t recognize that fact or isn’t a “Big F*cking Deal” himself.  These affirmations came about after attending my hoop brother’s magical beach party wedding to his Extraordinary bride in Mexico, surrounded by over a hundred cherished hoop friends and family, who are deeply in love with them both.  I finally realized what was missing.

Divine, Exquisite, Extraordinary Love. I call it True Love here, for short.

I returned to New York from that trip with a fresh understanding of the deep, divine love that is possible between two people. Where love radiates around two people, and infectiously permeates to all those near them. There was no question in my mind that True Love exists! I saw it in them, and I realized that I wanted it too. And so, despite this void, I felt quite peaceful about my decision to end another relationship, and held on to my heart in belief that True Love exists.

Around the same time, I was experiencing devastating creative heartbreak. I had been cut from a performance for which I had invested over a month rehearsing. Worse, I was cut on opening day. I fell apart. I tried so hard to find the positive spin on the situation (there was no hooping involved, so I was thankful for that), but that process of replaying the situation just spun me deeper into sadness.

With a slash to my heart, and a crippling blow to my performing ego, in the midst of the still-bitter New York spring, my heart light was dimmed to a mere flicker. But I look back on that day with awe. For in that place of heartache and sorrow, there laid the seeds of destiny.

Merely hours after I was notified about getting axed, a Pilates client of mine, a Roller Derby Girl, poked me again about performing a hoopdance in an upcoming Gotham Girls home game halftime show. As this was at least the third time she had brought it up, and since I had a freshly cleared calendar, I agreed.

She gave me three dates, April, May and June. As it was March 31, my inclination was to go with the June date, so as to prepare a proper piece to fill the “10-15 minute requirement.”  My hoop sister commented on what a big deal the gig was, and I felt inclined to meet the mission with something bigger than me. A group piece! I trolled my hoop family to see who was available and determined a 10-minute dance for five hoopers was my goal.

The Derby then had an emergency cancellation, and I made a leap. I accepted the April date, which was just ten days away. I needed to get to work. Another hoop sister of mine had made a music recommendation: “Dog Days are Over,” by Florence + The Machine.  I loved this track and wanted to use it, but needed a second track as a punchy opener. I poured through the iTunes store for convenience and popularity, and found “Hello” by Martin Solveig and Dragonette. The song completely lended itself to hooping, was perfect for the Derby crowd, and mixed with “Dog Days,” provided a perfect running time.  As I wrote out the lyrics to send to my dancers, I chuckled to myself at the pairing of songs. To my ears, a story developed of a sassy party girl sideswiped by love and happiness. I wrote a love story! How precious.

I had only one week left to choreograph and teach my girls. With such a short amount of time, I decided the moves had to be basic, and the music cues should be clear.  I went to my tiny neighborhood inlet park at night and danced. I danced to everything but the show music: warming up, setting intention, being in my hoop. When I finally played my songs, the dance came to me. I remember being lost in time the nights I worked on the piece, only touching ground to jot notes in my book. Each night I stayed out in my hoop way past my self-imposed curfew, absorbed in counts and filling them with shape. It felt good. It felt ME. I was more connected to myself and my dance in those moments than I’d permitted myself to feel in months. I was letting go of the heartache. And I had a beautiful piece of HoopDance to show for it.

With less than a week to showtime, I completed the first half of the piece, “Hello”,  on Monday. I finished the frame for “Dog Days” on Thursday.  Four Hoop sisters learned the piece on Friday and Saturday before the game. The fifth hoop sister got sick, and we were now a quartet with last minute changes to our choreography. We had never seen the venue, and had no idea how big the space was. We rehearsed in the lobby. The halftime buzzer rang, and we were on.

The show was a success, but afterwards I wanted more. I was so in love with HELLO!, I wanted to dance the piece again with more hoopers. Four was just not enough. Maybe seven. Or twelve. FIFTY?!? Why bother making limitations, an INFINITE NUMBER OF HOOPERS! I envisioned a sea of hoopers in twinkly sparkly unison, and I immediately thought of FIGMENT.

FIGMENT is New York City’s only free, open to the public, family friendly, participatory arts gathering. It is held every June on Governor’s Island, following the 10 Principles of Burning Man Festival. I knew it was the most appropriate venue for my dance, and I had six weeks to make it happen.

I went back to the studio and reworked the dance. The choreography only changed slightly, but I created layers to the dance. The original four dancers would begin the piece as Tier 1, and the energy of the dance would build and build as more and more hoopers would join in the “Spontaneous Dance.”

As I recruited and rehearsed over forty New York City area hoopers to learn and dance the piece, out of the blue I received a message from a man on okCupid. I wasn’t actively dating nor looking to on okCupid, in fact I’d all but forgotten about my account. I certainly didn’t think I would find True Love online, as I’d resigned to believe that online dating was “cheating on True Love.” Regardless, this message broke through, and lackadaisically I figured it wouldn’t hurt to go out on one date.

He had written that he liked my spirit and was interested in getting to know it better. Which I thought was interesting. None of my photos had my face (they were all Hoops!) and my profile was brutally honest. (“I’m a Big F*cking Deal. And if you don’t know what one is, I don’t want to give a tutorial”). Despite my dare and bravado, he wrote.

He wrote he was a creator and a teacher, which interested me as I am the same. In writing, we discovered we both consider Burning Man an important part of our life, though we were both on okCupid in hopes of finding someone outside of our circles. We realized we frequent the same events in New York, but I had never seen him before, which seemed impossible, because “I know everyone.” It wasn’t long before we discovered he even had photos of me from a performance I had done two years prior. He never knew who that hooper was. I never knew he existed.

I met Nick on Friday, June 3, one week and two days before FIGMENT. I was surprised by and delighted with our conversation. Nick asked me so many great questions, and three hours felt like half of one. He asked me tons about hooping, which is a golden topic for anyone dating a hooper. I told Nick about my “Spontaneous Dance for an Infinite Number of Hoopers”  that was happening the very next weekend, and without seeing it or knowing the conditions, he offered to film the piece. I was extremely grateful, but was not without disbelief due to the enormity of the undertaking to which he’d agreed. Moreover, I was a bit stunned given the fact that we’d only just met that night.

I knew it was worth seeing him again. The following Monday, Nick picked me up on his motorcycle for our second date, where he brought me to the Brooklyn industrial waterfront for the sunset. (romantic and sexy.) After dinner and conversations about childhood and family memories, we landed by the water again, this time for an epic make out that secured his third date with me, though my verdict was still out. “I’m a Big F*cking Deal” after all…

Our third date was Thursday. Nick made me dinner, and in his home, we opened up about our personal paths toward consciousness.  We shared with each other our similar experiences, like Burning Man and meditation, and how these things have shaped us. We elaborated on our different passions, hooping for me, film and photography for him, and how these things drive us. As Nick and I talked into the night, less than one week of having met, the verdict was in: I knew I’d be spending a fair amount of time with this man.

That Sunday was FIGMENT, the day of the performance. Everything was different. I was uncharacteristically calm and joyous in a flurry of chaotic preparation and delayed arrival for my own show. Hoopers and friends were gathered alike. The energy on the Island was high–mostly because I was 30 minutes late! But I had a huge smile on my face, and a glow in my heart. The time had come to hoop.

Our stage was cleared and the drumbeat began. I ran out with my hoop, joining my original dancers, and we began to dance HELLO!

When the music mixed to the second track, I took the center of the circle for my solo. As Florence + The Machine sang of the end of the “Dog Days”, and how “happiness had hit her like a train on a track,” I realized the love story I wrote was my own. As I danced that day with more than 30 other New York City Hoopers, I realized that before I ever met him, Nick was my muse, and I had called all my people to gather to greet him. HELLO!

We performed the show twice that day, and after the second show, Nick and I hopped on our bikes to explore FIGMENT and have some quiet time. It was then that he asked me if I believed in soul mates, and I almost fell over. I found it! I believed in it, and I knew it existed. I just didn’t realize it would happen so fast, nor be wrapped so snugly with my hoop. There was no denying it, what we shared was and still is, Divine, Exquisite, Extraordinary Love.

HELLO! danced again several times last summer at various festivals and parades, including HoopFest New England, and Return to Roots Hoop Gathering.  And, as Nick and I round out the second half of the first year of our partnership, our Epic Tale of True Love continues. We are in the throws of planning HELLO100!  Featuring at least 100 Hoopers from across the country, the free and open-to-the-public live HELLO100 performance will return to Figment NYC June 9 and 10 in New York City. Share the love and follow HELLO100! Join the dance, or watch it unfold. If nothing else, believe in True Love!

The full-series’ block is sold out, but there is space for 1-3 drop in’s per week **with advance registration. Email as early as one week in advance, as late as one hour prior to class to check on availability. Please note advance reg drop-in space is limited and will be booked on a first-come, first-serve basis.

Section 1: Saturdays 2:30-4pm beginning 1/21/12, runs weekly through 2/25
Focus is primarily on on-body (core) hoop dance phrases, with a strong emphasis on turning within the hoop, how spin influences our dance, and dancing full body movements within core hooping.

Section 2: Wednesdays 8:15-9:30pm beginning 1/25/12, runs weekly through 2/29
Focus is primarily on off-body hoop dance phrases, with a strong emphasis on point and counterpoint buoyancy, how the hoops’ natural circular path influences our dance, and how we can incorporate full-body to follow.

Package pricing is closed. Drop in’s with advance notice $20/class.
Email bex@senseofmotion.com weekly to check for availability and reserve your spot.
Classes are not refundable, but are transferable.

Triskelion Studios, 3rd Fl, Studio A
118 N. 11th St., Brooklyn 11249
between Berry and Wythe: Williamsburg, Brooklyn
L train to Bedford/ G train to Nassau

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