Vasai-based Abigail Ambrose has been attracted to the hula hoop ever since she was a child but never saw her own potential till the Covid-19 pandemic turned things around for her. “When I started with the hula hoop, I used to do it only on my waist and perform during church feast, cultural programmes and local competitions. However, I was not serious at the time about it.” That was the past. Now, she has taken it a step further by combining her love for dancing and hula hooping to make videos of her performing to popular songs. 

“During lockdown, I decided to make a dance video of me with the hula hoop and posted it online. Being a part of the internet generation, not even the pandemic could douse the fire that had been reignited in her. Since in-person classes had stopped, she honed her skills by watching videos online.

It is that time of the year again when most of us prefer to stay indoors and limit our outdoor activities due to the monsoon and the looming threat of the resurgence of Covid. 

Like Ambrose, there are many Mumbaikars who are rediscovering or simply gravitating towards hula hooping, pole dancing and even belly dancing – the latter two of which may otherwise be considered bold. These are activities that are not what you would traditionally consider as ones to learn or participate in but the last few years would say otherwise. Three Mumbaikars who have been pursuing them individually over the last decade have observed that there are many more people taking to them now than before, most likely aided by awareness and the Covid-19 pandemic.

It is evident from the fact that at 21, Ambrose not only does it for herself but has even interacted with people who have found her on the internet and want to learn from her. Even though she doesn’t have any formal training, the Vasaikar visibly hula hoops like a professional. It is also why many parents from all over have been reaching out to her to teach their children. After two years of self-learning, she can now proudly say she even teaches others. "I started teaching accidentally after a few students messaged me when they saw my videos online,” she laughs, still surprised, adding, “I now have two batches - one for children and one for adults. The younger students are from Bengaluru, Jaipur and the US too.”  

Abigail Ambrose combines her love for dancing and hula hooping to make videos of her performing to popular songs now. Photo Courtesy: Abigail Ambrose 

Hooping around
Swati Shah is another hula hooper like Ambrose in the city. The self-taught hula hooper may have picked it up later in her life than the Vasaikar but hasn’t looked back in the last decade. In fact, while Shah started out at 30 by just spreading the word about hula hooping, she is now an established name in the community in the city, which she says currently is between 4,000 – 5,000 people. She says, “When I started, it was more passion driven because it was something that I figured out in my adulthood and I had never tried it as a child.” The 40-year-old started with a kid’s hula hoop and soon realised she couldn’t really do it. Shah soon realised the problem wasn’t in the technique but in the hoop size and that’s when she picked up an adult-size hoop.  

“I discovered my own rhythm, how to hula hoop very easily and then realised why people were not able to figure out their rhythm with it,” she adds, pointing out that getting the right hoop is the first step. At the time, she didn’t find too many people who were teaching hula hoop and so the Andheri resident decided to take matters into her own hands. “I wanted everybody`s misconception to be broken by showing them how hula hooping is for everybody, and anybody can pick it up. There are simple steps -- you have to have the right size of hoop and you have to be able to spin it correctly - just tips and tricks,” she explains. Luckily social media and Facebook was booming at the time and the Mumbaikar took advantage of it. “My page was super organic. I never invited friends even to join it. I would mention that the group is a community I have created on social media only to people who come to my class so that they could join it.” With attendees sharing the photos, their friends also joined. One workshop led to another and 10 years on, she has only got better at it. Shah conducts sessions with enthusiasts – which are usually children but also have adults, the group with which she started her teaching journey.