How exciting - I've managed to secure a room at the Crewe Vagrants Sports Club to run classes in.  I've been trying to find a room in the Crewe & Nantwich area for a while as I already have students from the area travelling to Stoke for classes.


Interest since I started marketing on Friday has been keen so far and I'm really looking forward to welcoming many new Hoopers at the class on Thursday!

It's been a while since I updated the blog as there has been so much happening with me.  This is only going to be a quick update too!


At the beginning of July I attended the first ever UK Hoop Gathering, where Hoopers from all over the UK and Europe came together to hoop and play.  It was truly an epic weekend and I can't wait for next year!


The hooping bug is slowly but surely catching on - I tell everyone I meet about it, and it's working out well.  I have been providing hoops to budding newcomers all over the country, and had some interest at a local festival this weekend too.

Next weekend sees HooperActive and Friends (the Lovely Amanda and Pheoniks Fire) at the Barefoot Festival in Leicestershire where we will be holding hooping workshops by day and in the evening providing a Fire Performance.


One quick final note, I am slightly changing the format of the classes so that the formal class is from 8-9, then from 9-930 there will be time to practice and play and I will be providing informal tuition.

Hope to hoop with you soon!

Jodie

Had a great class on Wednesday - 6 lovely hoopers came to play and learn.  I had so much fun - I hope they did too.!

Interest in classes is picking up and my marketing materials are coming through so advertising is moving into full swing. 


I'm also now looking forward to Hoopgirl Level 3 which is happening in less than 2 weeks!  The level 1 folks are gathering next week to begin their journey, and I hope to join them on the day off (Sunday 19 April) in Nuneaton to hoop and play in the park. Then the following Thursday I'm heading over to do Level 3 - woohoo!


Look forward to hooping with you soon!

Jodie

First class tonight...Just one happy hooper came and we had a lovely time just chatting and learning some basics.

Onwards and upwards...hopefully things can only get better!

Today's blog isn't entirely hooping related, but involves hooping and something which has affected me more than I imagined it would.

Since December 2005 I have taught a Teen Aerobix class at the local leisure centre.  When I first took on the class, the kids attended intermittently and I had some real trouble makers pass through.  I carried on with the class to get more experience teaching Exercise to Music (which is what I originally trained to do) and to make a bit of cash which in turn paid for my dance classes.

I had a group for some of 2007 who I got on okay with - they were the first group who talked to me other than by way of a grunted "Hi" on entering and "Bye" on leaving.  They were noisy and hard work, but I enjoyed teaching them for a time.  They didn't return to the class after Christmas 2007, and in January 2008 I was greeted with an entirely new set of faces!  I was quite daunted by this as I didn't know them, they didn't know me and anyone who has taught teenagers anything will know, they can be unpredictable!

But this lot were different - very friendly and eager to exercise.  Within a few weeks, I knew all of their names and had started to get to know THEM, and they were interested in ME!  They started to call me by name, instead of "Miss" (which I hated anyway - it made me feel old!); and some how, I ended up being known to them as Jodie-Jodie (not sure if Stacey or Betty gets credit for that one - I'm sure one of them will put me right if they read this!).  They brought more friends and encouraged one another to keep coming.  I ended up with a group that I genuinely looked forward to teaching every Monday night.

Once I had my Hoop Teacher Training under my belt, I decided to share my passion as part of my aerobics class.  The Gang loved it and some very promising hoopers have developed in that group.

Only last week I checked in with them to see if they were still going to come to the class after they left school and started college, because I had toyed with idea of leaving the class to just free some time up and didn't relish starting from scratch with a new group in September.  I got a resounding "Yes" from them all - they still wanted to come, so I decided that I'd happily carry on.

But here's the hard bit - apparently the class isn't reaching it's capacity so the leisure centre have cancelled it.  I won't go into the whys and wherefores - I'm sick of churning it over in my mind.  I got a letter 2 days before the last class and had to break it to the Guys tonight that the classes were no more.  They weren't impressed and have done me proud by filling in comment forms to the leisure centre complaining in a very diplomatic and adult way about the loss of the class.

I didn't feel that a regular class was appropriate so I took Hoops and they rocked out for an hour.  The hardest bit came when I switched off the music for the last time and had to say good bye.  I'd got myself worked up already over the weekend and was confident that I'd composed myself enough to just wave them off with a cheery "See You Again!".  I didn't.  I got a lump in my throat and welled up as they all came and hugged me in turn with tears in their eyes - All of Them!  They made me cry!  So we all cried together.  I'm so touched that they feel this way about me - after all, I'm just the Aerobics Teacher!

I want to thank you all here for your support and the fun you've all brought to the classes over the last year.  I'm so proud of you all, and I wish you all the luck in the world as you grow up and enter the next phases of your lives.

I'm going to miss You Guys.

Stacey, Betty, Ryan, Danielle, Thea, George, Lucinda, Katy and Eric

I know there have been many more of you than this - but you guys in particular have been my mainstay group, and have been pretty cool students.  You deserve a special mention.

Thank You All for coming to the classes  - please come and hoop with me in the Summer!

Great Big Hoopy Hugs to each and every one of you

Jodie-Jodie
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Hooray!  I've got a room sorted for All New HooperActive classes!  I will be teaching the Hoopgirl Workout Beginner Series on Wednesday nights 8-930pm at St Peter's High School, Penkhull.  Check out my classes page for details: http://www.hooperactive.com/page3.htm


I'm so excited!  So much to organise though, but I'm really looking forward to meeting lots of new Wannabe Hoopers.

~Hoopiness!~

So, my good intentions and rush nearly 2 months ago (can't believe it has been so long - time flies...) to get my website up to date to launch all went a bit "Pete Tong" as the room I had provisionally booked fell thru and getting another one sorted has been a headache.

All the good places are already booked on nights when I'm free, but my search continues...If you have or know of a room for hire in your area with a high ceiling and space for a group of hoopers, and you would like to see hooping classes close to you, please let me know!


I decided to launch the website anyway, as I hope to have a room soon - going to see one next week and making other enquiries around and about...


A couple of weeks ago, I went over to the first ever Leamington Spa Hoop Club hosted by my Hoopy friend Sue.  It was so good to get together with a group of other hoopers and we spent the afternoon dancing, chatting and trading moves.  The next one will be on Saturday 28 March and I'm really looking forward to it already.

Until next time...

Just a really quick post to get things underway and say "Hello".  Am busy (at a ridiculous hour of the night, and with a bad case of the munchies!) getting the website in some semblance of order for publication tomorrow night (all being well).

Have to finalise a few details with the room for classes and the dance teacher who I'm sharing the space with before I can go live - so all should be live by the time you read this.


Thanks for reading!
Jodie
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