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Lian Nitani (Soft Bun)
Southern California
Tell us a little bit about yourself?
Hey! My name is Lian. Fun facts: I'm 28 years old, Japanese-Taiwanese American, and am trilingual. I was born and raised in Portland, Oregon and am currently living in San Diego. Other than training with my props, my hobbies include film analysis and making vegetarian/vegan versions of traditional Asian foods. I have a degree in English literature and love watching movies, tv shows, and anime. I'm obsessed with cute things and dream of living in Japan or Taiwan some day.
How long have you been hooping? What got you started?
I saw a woman hooping at Northern Nights festival in Northern California one year and was inspired to start right after that. The way she gracefully moved freely and danced with her hoop was something I've never seen before and I thought to myself that I absolutely had to learn how to do this. It's been 5 years and 3 months of consistently practicing and chasing hoop dreams since then and I haven't looked back.
What’s your favorite thing about hooping?
My favorite part of hooping is the freedom I feel when flowing and the satisfaction my ADHD brain gets when I drill tricks. The "a-ha!" moment when you finally nail a trick is extremely satisfying and I have found lots of joy in sharing those moments through teaching. But my ultimate favorite aspect would have to be putting together acts and creating narratives with my hoops and movements that incorporate different themes, emotions, and story lines.
What else you got going on in your hoop/flow life?
Aside from hoops, I spin rope dart and fans. I am an instructor and performer and I have shared my work along the west coast over the past few years. My most recent accomplishments this year includes presenting an act for the FireDrums Performance Gala titled Spicy Cowgirl: Wild West Show and leading a discussion panel at HoopWest on racism and diversity.
Follow Lian:
@softbun
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