Sure, there was a band playing, exhibits all over the place, and crowds of people moving to and fro, yet our eyes are fixed on Mary.
Mary is a hula hooper. In fact, Mary is an excellent hula hooper. This video, captured by YouTube user Cambria Leigh, was shot at the Toledo, OH Art-O-Matic Festival, a celebration of art, poetry, dance, music and various other visual and performing arts, all under one roof.
Hula hooping as performance is experiencing a bit of a renaissance right now, as evidenced by this woman's unique painting technique, or even this rather nontraditional use of a hula hoop. However, the origin of the hula hoop is practically too old to trace. There is evidence in the form of art that Egyptian children played with hoops, pushing them with sticks and twirling them around their waists.
Apparently the British were also hula hoop fans back in the 14th century: Doctors' records from the time tell tales of those who were treated for sore backs and heart attacks that were attributed to the act of hula hooping. Native Americans have been using hoops in their traditional dancing for years, yet hooping as we know it today really took off in America thanks to the now iconic Wham-O company, who also made such technologically forward-thinking (it was the 1950s, after all ) toys like slingshots, Frisbees, and yo-yos.
Know someone who has a bit of a thing for that old classic, the hula hoop? Please SHARE this video on Facebook!
