There are two months in Tokyo that make me gloriously happy because they have the absolute best weather – May and October. I’ve been enjoying this year’s May very much. It’s combined a lot of outdoor time with hooping and some new skills, too.
First, I hosted a Guru-guru Camp during Golden Week. 15 people joined in the hooping fun for 7 nights on Niijima, one of my favorite places in the world to camp. Such a long break from the city was refreshing. I cooked al fresco, took a dawn stroll to the beach each morning, relaxed with friends, taught hoop workshops, juggled and learned to play some chords on my new ukulele. I was so happy to be in nature that I didn’t even walk into the village until the last two days. I would love to be able to live in a house surrounded by trees with a stream nearby, just like I did when I was growing up. Not really a possibility in central Tokyo, but maybe someday…
Right after Guru-guru Camp, I finished up the Japan Tricks Showcase video. This is a collection of original hoop tricks by nineteen Japan-based hoop dancers. We hope that people who watch the video will donate to one of the many earthquake and tsunami relief projects we support. Thanks to features on Hooping.org and Hoop City, the showcase has been viewed 1,177 times as of today. You can find out more about it on the Spin Matsuri website.
Tutu Party crew: Raha, Emily, Masa, Savannah, Roon Roon, me, Sareh and Miki. (Photo by Fernando Ramos)
Sareh also had a fundraiser in the form of a Tutu Party at Orbit in Sangenjaya to launch of her line of party tutus. In addition to performing with my hoop on the night along with the very talented Raha pole dancing and Miki doing burlesque, we were part of a video shoot on a sunny Sunday afternoon in Nakameguro. Five girls in tutus (and very little else) running around with a treasure map and a tiara caught a few eyes. The video isn’t quite done yet, though it previewed at the Tutu Party.
Performing in a shoebox. (Photo by Fernando Ramos)
I loved my performance at the tutu party. It was technically a nightmare. I botched every trick I’d planned. I was injured and couldn’t do much with my left arm. The space was smaller that I realised so my choreography had to be tossed out the window. The audience was sitting at decapitation height. I kept twacking the dance pole installed behind me. The tiara fell off and my wig went askew. And yet…it was a good performance. My energy was high; I interacted with the audience; I didn’t let my mistakes or surprise changes stop the show or upset me. I had a lot of fun. I hope the audience did, too. Especially since I didn’t decapitate any of them!
The day after the Tutu Party, I held a Hoop Hospital in the carport here at home. Deanne generously gave me all her hoop making tools and supplies when she left Japan this month. About the same time as she left, five hoops got busted. So all the sad hoop lovers got together to fix them. I showed everyone how to use the tools to make and/or fix hoops, and everybody repaired their own. Tod manned the tools for a few extras that needed attention (he also strung an ethernet cable out onto the balcony so we could listen to music and he made spiced iced tea, following up the event with a yummy grilled dinner) while I nursed my shoulder and ran errands for more scissors and glasses and things. It was a fun afternoon and we will definitely have another one later in the summer.
And as if I haven’t had enough hooping joy this month, this Sunday is 4th Sunday Spin at Yoyogi Park from 12:30 til sunset. And from 2:30 and 3:30, we are going to be shooting a goofy music video for a friend’s new song. Come be a robot hooper back dancer! There’s a little hoop routine we’ll dance while the star robot does his thing up front. If you want to do a solo, that’s an option, too. I have enough construction paper and glitter masks for 13 robots and later today, Jesse and I are creating a cardboard and tinfoil costume for the star robot. Such production values have never been seen before.
All during this month we’ve been on the alert for flaming nuclear plants, more tremblors, higher death tolls, and disaster dramas. I think I have gotten past all the fear and worry. Looking forward to finding more ways to conserve electricity this summer, going to volunteer in Tohoku, and living my life with as much joy and verve as possible.
And hey, why worry? The Rapture is tomorrow anyway. So I’ll see you all at the park on Sunday, right?
