Glenda Jordan, a senior majoring in studio art with a concentration in drawing, figured out early in life where she could be herself and grow as an artist.
Jordan is a performance hula hooper, who learned of the art in 2007 when she was participating with her family in RAGBRAI, an event where teams bike across Iowa in seven days. During the day teams ride approximately 80 miles, but at night the groups participating get the chance to let loose and have fun.
“A girl hoop danced as a part of the show, and I had never seen it before,” said Jordan. “And I just thought it was the most amazing thing I had ever seen to that day. I knew at that moment, I just wanted to do it.”
Once Jordan received a hoop of her own, she began searching the Internet for websites and videos to learn more about the community and the art itself.
“I don’t know how long I sat there watching every video I could get my hands on,” said Jordan. “I practiced everyday in my living room and pulled aside the couches. It was this obsession, like I couldn’t stop doing it and every new trick I learned was this total new thrill of learning something.”
When Jordan came to UT in the fall of 2008, she quickly became known as the “hula hooping girl.” She used her hooping to win the 2010 show, “UT’s Got Talent,” and won against the popular local musician, Brad Blackwell.
Hooping has allowed Jordan to experience a variety of opportunities she would not have received without the art. In 2011, she was featured in a music video by the band The Ghost Ballerinas, and placed fourth in “Hooping Idol”, a global Internet competition.
Jordan studied abroad during the 2010 spring semester where she had the opportunity to perform at Club Queen, a Paris nightclub. Jordan was treated like a celebrity when she received her own hair, costume and makeup stylist to get ready for her fire hooping performance.
“I got put on the podium and I did a fire performance in front of 500 people and everyone stopped and watched in the middle of the club,” said Jordan. “I felt so on top of the world. I remember that moment as knowing absolutely without a doubt that this is exactly what I wanted to do with my life, and I had never felt so empowered, excited and exhilarated and pumped up about performing.”
Because hula hooping is a rare performance practice, the Internet has helped aspiring artists to connect and learn about the evolution of the movement.
“The Internet is your friend and it’s an incredible resource because there are so many forums and chat rooms,” said Jordan. “It’s a growing movement, but often you don’t find other people who are doing it and the Internet is a great way to do that. And even if you live in the middle of nowhere, we do video jams and we will all dance in our living rooms together.”
Not only does the hula hooping community have an outlet to meet new people and share interests, the community teams together in philanthropic events as well. World Hoop Day is on the first Saturday every October and raises money yearly for a charity of their choice.
“Right now there is a big national campaign called ‘One Billion Rising.’ A lot of them are getting together to help end violence against woman,” Jordan said. “’Hoops for Haiti’ was a program that Hoopers started; that after the earthquake there was so much aid as far as with food and shelter but hoopers were concerned with people being happy in the element of play in their life. Hoops are so cheap if you make them in the most basic way and it’s a sturdy toy that you don’t need any batteries you need to play with, so we sent over thousands and thousands of hoops so these children could have some sense of play and still be a child in the midst of all this turmoil.”
Jordan’s mother, Gayle Jordan, said she has had the opportunity to see her daughter grow into a unique artist and recognizes the importance of supporting Jordan in doing what she loves most in life.
“If I truly describe my favorite way to watch her hoop, it’s in the yard, when she’s not trying to learn a new skill, but she’s doing it just for the absolute joy it brings her to hoop,” Gayle Jordan said. “She’s smiling and happy, and you can watch her lose herself in the flow.”
Jordan said hula hooping has helped her find who she is as an artist and find happiness.
“I don’t who I would be without it,” Jordan said. “When I found hoop dance, it was this little plastic ring that I could manipulate my body and enjoy doing it; I enjoyed getting up and moving around and excising. It just made me so damn happy.”
Once Jordan graduates from UT this summer, she plans to launch her career as a performance hula hooper in Las Vegas,.
“I am 100 percent in support of her move to Las Vegas,” said Gayle Jordan. “She is right about having a limited amount of time in her life to have a career in performing, and she is wise beyond her years to take advantage of capturing that moment. Not only do I support her move, I’ll do everything I can to help her when she gets out there to connect with contact people at clubs and events.”
