You really never know just when, where, or most importantly, how you’ll be struck with the drive to create and perform.
You might wake up one day when you least expect it with the urge to write a new song or create a new painting, or you just might even feel the need to ride a unicycle.
That’s how it happened for Chelsea Parks, the OKC-based circus performer, hula-hoopist, and yes, unicyclist that entertains children of all ages with pop-up indie performance troupe Inspyral Circus and solo as Hooplahoma.
Over the past decade, Parks has grown from an amateur hoopist and unicyclist to a pro-level circus performer of all stripes and styles, wowing audiences across the state as part of Inspyral Circus and even taking her own Hooplahoma act on a two-month tour of Oklahoma libraries throughout June and July, inviting children to marvel at her abilities of juggling, balancing, hooping, and clowning - sometimes all at once – and even to get in on the fun and movement themselves.
But even as Parks has made a whole life out of circus performance, it’s not something that she ever expected for herself in the past.
Chelsea Parks: I didn't really know that this is what I wanted to do with my life until I was 27.
I got a unicycle just for fun to see if I could teach myself how to ride it for really no other reason than just to prove a point that if you, like, put enough time into something that you can do it.
Brett Fieldcamp: Her willpower and determination paid off, driving her to explore other forms of circus performance and movement-based “flow art,” and eventually leading her to discover a full community of performers through free pop-up “circus jams” like the one that happens each Wednesday evening in OKC’s Scissortail Park.
Chelsea Parks: I was introduced to a circus jam in Norman, and this get together that they had at the park every week had people hula hooping, unicycling, juggling, doing acro-yoga and all kinds of flow and circus stuff. And I was like, “Oh, I found my people!”
The community is so welcoming. And what I've experienced with jugglers and circus people in general is that everybody is so excited about what they do that they just want to share it and teach people to do it.
Brett Fieldcamp: That motivation to share her skills and educate others brought her into the Inspyral Circus team and opened the door for her to bring Hooplahoma into libraries all across the state with Inspyral’s Summer Reading Program.
Chelsea Parks: I befriended the people who own Inspyral Circus and found out that they were doing library shows teaching kids how to hula hoop and juggle, and also teaching them, like, to believe in themselves, and that you can do hard things, and it's okay to be bad at stuff, and failure is part of the process.
And that clicked with me so deeply because I had previously wanted to be an elementary school teacher. That was a path I was on at one point.
And they taught me how to do these library programs like the one I did today, where I did a 45 minute circus show, basically, where I talked about how you have to learn things one at a time, and you have to try again when you don't get it the first time. And then I busted out like 40 hoops and taught all the kids different tricks, and we just had a blast.
It's really nice that the libraries have these free programs to get these kids interested in something that they may have never been exposed to before.
Brett Fieldcamp: It’s not all just about highlighting the fun and the technical impressiveness of her circus-y skills, though.
Parks also emphasizes the importance of movement and physicality on mental health, especially in an age where children and adults alike are getting so much less exercise and so much more time in front of screens.
Chelsea Parks: I definitely do educate people on just how movement is good for your mental health.
Exercise is good for your brain, connecting to your body and nervous system regulation, and then juggling is just, like, another form of that, and hula hooping is another form of that.
Brett Fieldcamp: That, she says, is one of the greatest appeals of the weekly circus jam events, or even just of picking up a new prop, toy, or trick at home to prove that no matter your age or your skill level, it’s never too late to run off and join the circus.
Chelsea Parks: The great thing about what I do is I can just make it whatever I want it to be, and just urge people to play and have fun. “Professional Joy-Bringer.”
Brett Fieldcamp: You can learn more at inspyralcircus.com, and you can check out all of Chelsea Parks’ many talents – including custom hula hoop-making and a full list of libraries and dates for her Summer Reading Program performances – by visiting hooplahoma.com and following @hooplahoma on Instagram.
———————————
KGOU relies on voluntary contributions from readers and listeners to further its mission of public service with arts and culture reporting for Oklahoma and beyond. To contribute to our efforts, make your donation online, or contact our Membership department.
