By Sadie Hunter
Oakley Gianokos had her sights set on what most people her age did – going to college, starting a career, becoming independent.
All three of those things happened for the 2011 Noblesville High School graduate, but she said her life as a hula hooper isn’t what she expected a few years ago while she was attending IUPUI for a degree in Communications.
Gianokos, 23, who graduated in May 2015, said she was inspired to start hooping by a friend who had moved away and was introduced to it in Virginia.
“I never really had seen it before until she showed me,” Gianokos said. “I just discovered this whole community of it after that. There are a bunch of people at music festivals who perform it, so I just started seeing it more and more. So, I got into it like that.”
Now, Gianokos has been hooping for two years.
This year, she says she’s going to begin trying out to perform at music festivals she regularly attends, like the Summer Camp Music Festival in Chillicothe, Ill., Resonance Music Festival in Thornville, Ohio and Hyperion Music & Arts Festival in Spencer, Ind.
On March 31, she will perform under her stage name, Sunflower Spiral, in the Egyptian Room at Old National Center at Raw: Natural Born Artists’ “Signature,” a showcase that will feature nearly 60 other Indianapolis artists, including dancers, painters, sculptors, musicians and bands, photographers, fashion designers, hair and makeup stylists, filmmakers and more.
“It’s so fun because literally all my friends do it now,” Gianokos said. “One of my friends, she loved it, but she was like, ‘I can’t hula hoop around my waist.’ I finally got her to try, and now she won’t put a hoop down. She’s lost weight; I think she’s lost like 100 pounds from doing it. It’s a really good physical and mental release.”
Gianokos said with her active lifestyle and personality, hooping has changed her to become a more relaxed, laid back and easygoing person.
“It’s definitely changed me a lot to where I’ve learned more patience. Sometimes I would get really frustrated with myself, and I’d give myself a hard time, but with hula hooping … I just love it so much that I’m able to see so much more result,” Gianokos said. “I’m a very active person. I’ve tried yoga, but I always just thought it was really boring. (Hooping) just kind of takes me away from everything, and I get so lost in it, so it’s like my form of meditation.”
To purchase tickets to the March 31 “Signature” show, email Gianokos at [email protected], or visit rawartists.org/indianapolis/signature. The 21-and-older event begins at 7 p.m., and tickets $15 in advance and $20 at the door.
To see videos and photos of Gianokos’ hooping or learn more about lessons, visit facebook.com/sunflowerspiralx.
History of hooping
The earliest uses of the hoop are believed to date back to Ancient Egypt, where men used a hoop for sport competition.
The hoop later transformed into hoop rolling – guiding the hoop with a stick – a game popular with children.
Native American tribes also used hoops to perform ceremonial dances, possibly as early as the 1700s.
Dancers in the 1920s used hoops to practice movement, later incorporating them into routines.
- Hoops were used by gymnasts for rhythmic gymnastics routines in the 1936 Olympic Games.
- In the 1950s, recreational hula hooping became popular in Australia, where the design for the modern-day hoop was engineered by the Toltoys company, who brought the design to WHAM-O in Southern California
- Hula hooping was demonstrated on the Dinah Shore Show in 1958, and more than 100 million hoops were sold the same year.
- Hooping surged again in the 1960s when WHAM-O began selling hoops again and holding national championships. Another reemergence was seen in the 1990s.
- Today, small communities of hoopers can be found all over the world. Hoops continue to be sold in toy departments, and professional hoops can be purchased online or locally in specialty shops.
- World Hoop Day is celebrated annually on Oct. 1.
(Source: hooping.org)
Meet Oakley Gianokos
Age: 23.
Family: Parents Angelique and Steve Gianokos, sister Onna, 13.
Education: Graduated from Noblesville High School in 2011; graduated from IUPUI in May 2015 with a degree in Communications. Plans to go back to school for a career working with animals.
Number of hoops: “Collectively, I probably have around 20, but I’ve given a lot to friends and people I give lessons to.”
Other hobbies: Volunteers at a cat shelter, Cats Haven in Indianapolis. Enjoys writing, reading, hiking and camping. Currently works at Scotty’s Brewhouse in downtown Indy.
Social media/contact: Facebook: Sunflower Spiral, Instagram: sunflower_spiral, email: [email protected].
