Some UNC students pride themselves on being adults, but for the Carolina Hula Hoopers, returning to the simple pleasures of childhood has been the most fun part of college.
The student group was created last spring by then-senior Gigi Nemeroff, who decided that Carrboro’s burgeoning hooping scene needed a home on UNC’s campus.
Nemeroff said she began hoop dancing after being exposed to “fire hooping,” a hula hooping style where performers use a hoop that has been doused in lighter fluid and set on fire, in her hometown of Atlanta.
She initially started hooping because she was inspired by that performance, but then continued practicing because of its health and exercise benefits.
“I never really liked running or riding a bike, but I found this as a good way to work out,” Nemeroff said.
When she came to Chapel Hill, she found a nearby community that not only supported hooping as a creative form, but also enhanced it with classes and workshops.
“I quickly learned that Carrboro is a hula hooping mecca,” Nemeroff said.
“But there wasn’t that same community for UNC students, and I wanted to do something about it.”
After hooping on the quad with a sign that read, “Come Hoop with Me!” Nemeroff attracted a number of students interested in joining the group.
