Samantha Gabai has taken a childhood toy — and applied it to dance.

The University alumna is teaching her second semester of beginner’s hoop dancing classes at Floorspace.

And it’s a little bit more than a simple swivel of the hip.

“Most people know that you can hula hoop in a circle on your waist,” Gabai said. “But what a lot of people don’t realize is that there are other ways you can manipulate a hula hoop … and all the kinds of tricks you can do with the hoops to incorporate with dance moves.”

Samantha Gabai teaches hula-hooping — but, she said, the practice isn’t just about moving the rings in a circle. It’s about learning the art of rhythm. RANDY SCHAFER/Staff

She compares the same principles of the performance art poi — with tethered weights that are swung in patterns — to hoop dancing.

“It’s like object manipulation,” Gabai said. “You’re using the force of this object … it’s a certain shape and a certain weight, it moves in a certain way and you’re using that force combined with your body to produce the dance or visual image.”

And it appears that the dance requires more of a fluid movement — requiring a different mindset from its movers.

“It’s more flowing,” said Christy Fricks, the owner of Floorspace. “And you definitely have to get in more of a flowing groove to do it.”

Gabai said that the dance style has taken a rise in Atlanta and festival scenes. But for multiple years, she learned to perform hoop dancing on her own – until she met like-minded friends.

“Then I met other people that did it and we’d learn from each other,” Gabai said. “And then the Internet helped.”

Gabai said that with the help of YouTube, she was given an outlet into tutorials and performances worldwide.

“You get to see what people in other parts of the country or other parts of the world are doing,” she said. “You get to be inspired and learn.”

But, Gabai said, hooping is still an underground style.

“I’d seen hooping at festivals and I had a couple people request hoop dancing,” Fricks said. “So, I thought it would be a good class to have.”

Gabai believes that hoop dancing is a style that most people can do well at — even if they are rhythmically challenged.

“Hooping is a pretty good example of bringing the appreciation of dance to people that don’t necessarily have a dance background,” she said. “If you have a body, you can do it.”

Fricks sees hoop dancing as a mixture of nostalgia and dance, including movements from years past as well as  light routines set to a beat.

“It’s basically hula-hooping with some really good music, with some steps thrown in and a few tricks here and there,” she said. “It’s all the stuff you did when you were a kid, but you can do it when you’re older.”

There are no boundaries to hooping, Gabai said.

“It doesn’t matter your body type or dance skill,” she said. “A lot of people that feel like they aren’t good at other types of dance find that they can hoop and it can be a very empowering thing in that sense.”

So far, her main clientele are females. But, Gabai said, it shouldn’t be limited to just women: instead, it should be another way to understand your body and enjoy dance.

“It can definitely be sensual in terms of learning how to use and moving your body and it doesn’t have to be sexy,” she said. “It can often be quite goofy, especially when you’re learning before you smooth out tricks, but it’s all a part of the fun.”

HULA-HOOP CLASS

Where: Floorspace

When: 2-3 p.m., the first and third Sunday of the month

Price: $60 for six classes, $80 for eight classes and $12 for single sessions