AlbinoPlant

Biography:

An engineer by day and hula hooper by night, Melissa takes a scientific approach to her hoop dance to concoct mind-melting manipulations. Once Melissa caught the hoop bug in September 2013, she was instantly hooked. Now, she teaches workshops at festivals, performs at events, and hosts private lessons. She has also helped choreograph and perform group routines with The Hoop Unit, solo pieces, and duet acts, including one act that earned her a spot as part of the Electric Forest Hoop Troupe. Apart from her hoop journey, Melissa also has a strong passion for sustainability and encourages everyone to help save the earth!

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Tell us how you fell in love with the flow arts?

I did winter guard and color guard between 2003-2009 and performed in around 10 different choreographed routines. I didn't really feel like I had "flow," but I really appreciated the combination of dance and the technical aspects of prop manipulation. Hooping came into my life in 2013 because I had a few friends that did it, and one of them showed me how to do a vortex. From there, I instantly bought my own hoop and felt like it was the prop I was looking for all along!

What inspires your style of flow the most and how do you find your flow state?

I used to think I would never like double hooping until I saw Caterina Suttin's Perfect Timing video. Once I saw that, I felt like my eyes had been opened to how much more there was to double hooping than I had thought. My main inspiration for finding my unique flow is the quest to discover pathways with multiple hoops that stem from the movement with one hoop. Nothing gets me in the flow state like good music and an open-minded environment.

Tell us what makes you passionate about the flow arts?

My driving force in life is self-improvement and looking forward to making today better than yesterday. This makes flow arts easy for me to be passionate about because I can easily see the fruits of my labor while also exercising and improving my mental health.

Tell us other ways you contribute to the flow arts and/or festival community?

I have helped run flow jams, I attend flow jams, I volunteer at flow festivals, I teach at flow festivals, I perform at flow festivals and other events, I have performed and choreographed pieces for the local hoop troupe, I make online tutorials including contributions to @tips4flow, I teach online lessons and private lessons, and I practice with others in the community. There are probably other things I am forgetting, but flow arts has become a really integral part of my lifestyle.