Where to work up some mad hoop skills

With so many trendy recreational activities taking their cue from the skinned knees and stubbed toes of youth, it was just a matter of time before some entrepreneur figured out how to reintroduce hula-hooping to the masses. And as anyone who’s attended the desert gatherings of Burning Man can attest, that time is now. Now called “hooping” (the hip-specific Hawaiian prefix tossed aside like a grass skirt), it’s as much an art form as an exercise, and well on its way to becoming big business again, thanks to people like Hoopnotica founder Rayna McInturf.

A 33-year-old UCLA graduate who originally embarked on a career in information technology, McInturf was inspired to take up hooping in 2000 by Anah “Hoopalicious” Reichenbach, an innovative festival performer who helped turn the ‘50s fad into a kind of interpretive dance using the whole body as an axis power.

After a few months learning Reichenbach’s techniques and several years offering her own lessons, McInturf teamed up with two of her former students and, in 2006, founded Hoopnotica as a one-stop shop for customized hoops, instructional videos and group lessons. That’s where I joined her, ahem, circle.

Arriving at scenic Marvin Braude Mulholland Gateway Park in Tarzana for a special alfresco version of McInturf’s introductory course, I was eager to test out my centrifugal powers. And after a few easy stretches with a loaner hoop, I was ringed in plastic and learning my natural rotational tendency (leftward spin), the basic hula style positions (front stance and side stance), and the simple movement needed to hold gravity at bay (a bimodal thrust toward the opposite points of each stance).

But before you could say “this is so easy a child could do it,” McInturf gave my six-person class a taste of more advanced moves: spinning 360 degrees with the hoop; spinning the hoop from one hand to the next; and the “corkscrew,” which involves easing the ring down from a Statue of Liberty position to a pelvic orbit while rotating in place. Suffice it to say that I could see where the instructional videos might come in handy.

Did the whole thing seem a tad silly? Yes. Did the $45 fancy-pants “limited edition” hoops seem overpriced? Definitely. It’s a circle, folks. Is McInturf going to strike it rich? As long as her hooping-hardened belly remains washboard-flat and her figure retains the perfect hourglass silhouette of a fertility goddess, it’ll be child’s play.

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-- Liam.G[email protected]

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HOOPING LESSONS

WHERE: Hoopnotica, 114 Washington Blvd., 2nd Floor, Marina del Rey

WHEN: See schedule

PRICE: Free demonstrations, $10-$15 introductory classes, $29 per class

INFO: hoopnotica.com