Emily Tilton ’17 (Denton, Tex.) earned her Carleton moniker, Hula Hoop Girl, her first week on campus. Tilton ran circles around the other performers at last year’s Freshman Talent Show with a dazzling hula hoop display. “I’m sure everyone thought, ‘Really? This girl is just going to hula hoop on her waist for two minutes?’” she says. “They woke up when I started doing tricks.” Tilton can work up to five hoops at a time: spinning, tossing, and catching them on various body parts—head, neck, shoulders, and feet—all in time to music.
Apparently, hula hooping is second only to football in her home state of Texas. “My town had a hula hoop club, which met once a week. I also watched a lot of YouTube tutorials,” says Tilton, who was reintroduced to hula hooping her senior year in high school by her stepsister, Amanda. “She was the first person I’d ever seen do tricks,” says Tilton. “And she looked so graceful. I’m gangly and a bit clumsy, and I hoped that if I learned to hula hoop like Amanda, I too would become graceful.”
Tilton plans to establish a hula hoop club this year thanks to the interest piqued by her talent show performance and by her regular hula hooping on the Bald Spot. “It’s a great way for me to calm down when I’m stressed out,” she says.
Before she sets Carleton spinning, we asked her to complete the Carl Quiz.
Why the hula hoop?
It’s a full-body workout and it increases your flexibility. Hula hoopers are great people. I’ve never met a mean hula hooper.
Best music for hula hooping:
Anything that’s fast and exciting, so a lot of dub step. I like deadmau5 and Lindsey Stirling the best.
How do you keep the hoop on your hips?
Oddly enough, there’s no actual hip motion to hula hooping. Stand with your hips shoulder width apart and put one foot in front of the other, then just shift your weight forward and backward
Little-known secret:
I have stage fright. I was too scared to look at the crowd at the Freshman Talent Show, but I could hear them cheering and I got a standing ovation, which was great. It was also embarrassing.
Longest you’ve ever hula hooped?
More than seven hours at a competition during elementary school. I got to miss class, which was plenty of motivation at the time.
Most misunderstood fact about hula hooping:
You don’t have to be flexible or know how to dance. Some of the best hula hoopers I know can’t even touch their toes.
What’s next?
I’d like to learn how to “fire hoop”—using hoops with wicks that you light on fire. To do tricks you have to learn where the wicks are so you don’t burn your hands. It would be crazy and fun and dangerous—I have to learn how to do it.