Hula Hoop Dancing in Cincinnati, Ohio

When you watch a Hula Hoop dancer perform you must consider, for a moment, exactly what it is she's doing. Is it dance? Is it exercise? Is it Play?

You would have to give it a bit of thought; but as the dancer picks up her hoop, you will perceive it as child's play, the simple twisting and spinning we've come to know over decades of hulahoops coming in and out of favor. As the seasoned Hula Hoop dancer begins a rhythmic sync with her background music, you may realize it's dance. And as she throws all of her energy into her Hula Hoop dance routine, you will realize it's exercise as well.

Hula Hoop dancing will strike you as a mix of modern and belly dancing with a bit of child's play thrown in for the fun of it. It's a precision dance only the limber, rhythmic and soulfully smooth can duplicate.

Brianna knows exactly how it's done. Watch her video above and witness a fascinating demonstration of the art of Hula Hoop Dancing as she performs at the Cincinnati, Ohio Second Sundays in OTR Street Festival.

If you were around in the 50s.... Okay, you probably weren't; but if your were, you would remember how popular Hula Hoops were. Life was pretty slow back then, no electronics or digital anything; and quirky plastic toys were all the rage. Slipping a hoop over your waist and rotating your body to keep it smoothly in play, was the big thing for a long time.

According to Ideafinder.com the hula hoop goes back a lot further than you might imagine. Egyptian children created play hoops from grapevines as early as 1,000 BC. Fast forward to 1957 when an Australian company began selling wooden hoops for play. A year later, Whamo-O Toys in California created their own hollow, plastic version of the hoop.

The 50s version of the hula hoop: plastic, hollow and round, has changed very little in the decades that followed. Manufacturers have broadened the color range, adding brights and neons. They've added stripes and glitter and other fancy decorative elements. Somewhere along the line, someone got the idea to add a substance to the the inside of the tube so it would make a "Shoop-Shoop" sound. And there have been hoops with lights inside. But essentially the Hula Hoop has remained the same.

Check out the website, Hooping.org for an update on today's Hula Hoopers.... or Hoopers as they prefer to be called these days. According to the site, the current Hooping trend began in the 90s when members of the singing group, String Cheese, tossed Hula Hoops to their fans.The fans played with them during concerts and spread the Hooping enthusiasm to underground dance events and raves.

Today's hoops are bigger and heavier, allowing a slower movement. Hoop aficionados claim Hoopers of all ages, shapes and physical fitness can master the smooth rhythm.