I started dancing at the age of 4. I love everything about dance. The challenge, the competitiveness, the performance, the community. Constantly moving from state to state and struggling financially, though, it hindered my ability to dance consistently, and that killed me. With cheerleading being more affordable than going to a dance studio, I got involved with that, and manifested my love for dance in cheerleading. Now, living in Chicago, I considered going back to a studio, but something else sparked my interest. Hoop dancing. With the culture becoming more and more prevalent at every festival, fire jam, and even on my college campus, I couldn’t stop thinking about it. I would see people hooping, and I would think to myself, that looks so liberating.

For the past few months I contemplated whether or not I should try it out. I knew it was difficult, and notorious for spreading myself too thin, I hesitated. But the thought always came back.

And believe it or not, when I heard the song “Eva” by production duo Punctual, I thought about hooping. “Eva” is a beautiful song. The track begins with a mellow beat, followed by a trickle of high-pitched sounds, which then cue the vocals. Right then and there, a wave of ecstasy came over me. I imagined myself frolicking through the meadows, dancing freely. Pure euphoria. I can feel every individual beat, and though the vocals are incomprehensible, I have the urge to sing along. It has me smiling from ear to ear, and I love it.

And then I thought about hooping to “Eva”.

This is the beautiful thing about music. It’s inspiring. When hearing a track I love, it doesn’t necessarily motivate me to go out and produce music. Sometimes, yes. But other times, my inspiration translates to something else. One art form can inspire us to pursue another art form. After all, it’s all the same. It’s art. A creative form of self expression. And “Eva” is exactly that. It’s Punctual’s masterpiece, and my inspiration.

Several days after listening to “Eva”, I picked up my first hoop…and now I can’t put it down.

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