Native American Hoop Dance was, and is a form of storytelling

dance incorporating anywhere from one to 30 hoops as props .

These props are used to create both static and dynamic shapes,

or formations, representing various animals, symbols, and

storytelling elements. The dance is generally performed by

 a solo dancer with many hoops.

Hula hooping has been a type of exercise and play

from as early as the 5th century in ancient Greece.^{[dubious – discuss]} Before it was known and

recognized as the common colourful plastic toy

(sometimes with water inside the actual hoop),

 it used to be made of dried up willow, rattan,

grapevines, or stiff grasses. Even though the has

existed for thousands of years, it is often

misunderstood as being invented in the 1950s.

According to author Charles Panati, there was a 'craze' of using wooden and

metal hoops in 14th century England. He reports that doctors treated patients

suffering from pain and dislocated backs due to hooping - and heart failure was

 even attributed to it. Panati also says that the name 'hula' came from the

Hawaiian dance in the 18th century, due to the similar hip movements.

Modern History

The hoop gained international popularity in the late 1950s when a plastic

version was successfully marketed by California's Wham-O toy company.

 In 1957, Richard Knerr and Arthur "Spud" Melin, starting with the

idea of Australian bamboo "exercise hoops", manufactured 1.06 metre

(42 in) hoops with Marlex plastic. With give-aways and national

marketing and retailing, a fad was started in July, 1958; twenty-five

 million plastic hoops were sold in less than four months, and in two years

sales reached more than 100 million units. Carlon Products Corporation

was one of the first manufacturers of the hula hoop. During the 1950s,

when the hula hoop craze swept the country, Carlon was producing

more than 50,000 hula hoops per day. The hoop was inducted into the

National Toy Hall of Fame at The Strong in Rochester, New York, in 1999.

Modern Hooping

The past few years have seen the re-emergence of hula hooping, generally

 referred either "hoopdance" or simply "hooping" to distinguish it from the

children's playform. An International Holiday World Hoop Day has become

the hula hoop holiday celebrating the circle around the world. Every year, in

numerical sequence starting from 2007-07-07 and continuing through

2012-12-12 hoopers dance in every city and country to raise money and donate

hoops to others who can't afford them. Modern hula hoopers can be found

among fans of jambands like The String Cheese Incident, Disco Biscuits,

 Phish and participants of Burning Man and more recently at other music

festivals like Bonnaroo, Camp Bisco, The Gathering of the Vibes, All Good,

 Coachella, etc.

Many modern hoopers make their own hoops out of

polyvinyl chloride, polyethylene, high-density polypropylene, or

 polypropylene tubing. The polyethylene hoops, and especially

the polyvinyl chloride hoops, are much larger and heavier than

hoops of the 1950s. The size and the weight of the hoop affects

style of the hooper. Heavier, larger hoops are more often used

 for slow hooping and body tricks while lighter, thinner tubing is

used for quick hand tricks. These hoops may be covered in a

fabric or plastic tape to ease the amount of work in keeping

 a hoop twirling around the dancer, and can be very colorful.

Some use glow-in-the dark, patterned, or sparkling tape, and

others are produced with clear tubing and filled with plastic

 balls, glitter, or even water to produce visual or audio effects

 when used. LED technology has also been introduced in the past

 few years, allowing hoops to light up at the flick of a switch.

The hooping movement vocabulary now includes many core or 'on body'

 moves, many 'off body' moves and a multitude of transitions creating

 the possibility for endless permutations and combinations. When a

hoop dancer improvises combinations of movements (usually to music)

he or she can get into a 'flow' state where the moves seem almost

 to direct themselves. The mind detaches from planning or judging

 the dance and exists in a state of blissful awareness. In order to get

to a place of flow more easily and frequently it is advised that one

should have a steady practice - daily, if possible. It takes a certain

 amount of drill to get comfortable enough to get to the flow. Both

drill and flow count towards 'flight time' - the actual amount of time

 in the hoop that is logged.

During the recent revitalization of the hula hoop, its uses have

 been extended to serve as an implement for fitness. A multitude

of websites have been created as a result of this revival, many of

which provide links to hooping clubs, online retailers from which to

 buy specialized hula hoops, and information on workout routines.

Hula hooping in recent years has become a more social activity

than it may have been in the fifties.

Within the past few years, some hoopers have taken up fire hooping,

 in which spokes are set into the outside of the hoop and tipped

with kevlar wicks, which are soaked in fuel and lit on fire.

Some companies produce collapsible hula hoops for easy transport and

 versatility: each hoop breaks down into four or more pieces to later be

reassembled. Other collapsible hoops are simply twisted down, and

folded in half for easy storage.