Chloe Somers Wall

1. Tell us your roots - where were you born and raised? I was born in Peterborough, NH and grew up between NH and VT! :)

2. Why hooping? How did the journey begin? How did the journey begin? After I tore my knee for the first time, I realized that I wanted to learn some skills that are lower risk of danger than solo trapeze (which, I studied in circus school!) I have always admired hula hoopers but thought that I wasn't the right fit for hoops. Boy, was I wrong!!! I started hooping in Osaka, Japan, under the umbrella of an amazing Mongolian coach and a Spanish coach! Their styles are very different, and gave me a lot of room to play and develop a style and technique special to me! Little did I know that it would become my favorite skill in the world and that I'd only want to be training and performing hula hoops for the rest of forever!

3. What has the hoop taught you about life? The hoop has taught me to never give up, and that I can always delve deeper. I thought I would only learn the basics of hula hooping. Once I got over the hump of the super challenging learning, I was(/am!!!) completely addicted!! I've gone so much deeper with hoops than I could have ever imagined that I could go, and am doing tricks that I never dreamed that I'd be able to do!!

4. What's next? How is your hoop life evolving? 'm currently on tour with many different shows, mostly performing my circus hooping act, bottlewalking act, solo trapeze act, and in a bunch of different club passing acts! I am hoping to have more opportunities to represent and meet other hoopers at different festivals and to continue with my multihooping goals as well as working on my comedy and flow.

As far as what's next with my bigger plans for my impact on the community...I plan on continuing my Hoop X tour, with the eventual goal of a small retreat. I have some ideas, that I think are unique and will bring something entirely different to the hoop scene. I also have a few “bucket list” videos that I want to produce, some involving as many as 50 hoopers. My creative wheels are always turning, so we will see what comes next!

5. What aspect of the hoop community do you value the most and what do you hope to contribute to the future of hooping? I love that the hoop community is so welcoming and inclusive! Everyone is always kind and open to helping and collaborating, which is such a welcome quality (especially coming from a circus/acrobat background!) My biggest community goal is to continue to be an articulate and open minded hoop teacher, to learn from as many hula hoopers as I can, and to make new friends! I love this wild life on tour, and I'm really excited to continue with so many people that I love!!