In 2013, the effort to record hoop movements in writing had become a recurring theme. My class notes and choreography were written in long, detailed sentences, often accompanied by arrows and stick figures. As it turned out, I wasn't alone. I learned that the world of dance at large had yet to developed a practical system of notation.
Simply, it seemed, there were too many differing components at play amid any given body movement to succinctly notate into one symbol. So it hadn't yet been done.
The Hoop, I decided, may have offered a solution to that...
Because one's exchange with the hoop manifests as a traveling point of momentum -sometimes felt through the body, whipped through the hoop, or grasped at the point of connection to the hoop- there exists a trackable line, forming loops, 8's and spirals resembling those of written cursive.
Not only that, this cursive line work was an intuitive form of notation, as it felt similar to write as it did to watch or dance- at least to an experienced hooper.
I think this probably started with stick figures a really long time ago, when I realized I didn't need to draw in the legs. I had a couple of symbols that started to look like hieroglyphs but they were basically still just stick figures.
Here's the thing...
I don't know where this is headed.
It may actually never be viable as a language tool for anyone but myself.
But the hurdles that have come up are things I wouldn't have known unless I'd already worked to get there. So the failures have become a success in that way.
That still doesn't mean that I know where it will land. But I think that makes it art.
Right?
Can a written hoop language feel the same to write as the movements feel to do? I think so but I might be wrong. I'm not sure yet.
