About - bring the Hoopla Our Staff and Newsroom

Our Mission

BringtheHoopla LLC provides high-quality programming for children of all ages by using the hoop as a form of play, exercise, and learning. Our unique curriculum aligns with state and national standards to ensure developmentally appropriate programming that promotes physical literacy. We use positive reinforcement and encouragement to foster persistence, self-confidence, and free expression for all students.

BringtheHoopla is committed to bringing children high quality, professional enrichment programs that inspire creativity and exploration. Our staff members are experienced and educated; 90% of staff hold degrees in education or related fields. All BringtheHoopla staff receive ongoing training in developmentally appropriate practice and Common Core standards, creating an environment of effective learning for all students.

The majority of our staff are veteran BringtheHoopla teachers, building relationships with students statewide each year. Our company is proud of our staff longevity, as a low turnover rate is indicative of a positive teaching and learning environment.

Our educational philosophy is rooted in child-led experiences. Children engage with each other using the hoop as a tool for exploration, growth, and creativity. As teachers guide students through each program, children develop physical, cognitive, and social-emotional skills that can be applied long after we part ways. BringtheHoopla is impactful - we aim to touch the lives of children in a way that creates positive change, and supports healthy minds and bodies.

Our Team

Nicole Heriot-Mikula
Owner

bringtheHoopla has been on a wild journey since April 2011. Moving back from NYC, after 10 years pursuing a career in music theatre, she was inspired to be a part of a community again and create something she had always been passionate about: small business. Hula hoops had become a positive part of her life; empowering and confidence-boosting.

Nicole is also Festival Director of Soupstock Music & Arts Festival, CT Folk Fest & Green Expo, and Co-Founder of Celebrate Shelton. She lives a beautifully crazy life with her husband, Ben Mikula, of The Alpaca Gnomes, and their daughter, Magnolia Francis.

Sarah Murphy
Program Director

Sarah Moon Beam was given her first hoop in 2011 and since that day she has grown her life through hoop dance. She has been teaching hoop for 3 years with BringtheHoopla. Sarah has also transformed her passion and hard work into a path of hoop, flow and fire performance with Sarotonin Flow Performance Art. When not teaching she can be found enjoying music, performing, with friends, sharing her love of the hoop and growing bringtheHoopla.

Marisa Caron
Curriculum Coordinator

Marisa has been a proud Hoopla team member since June of 2014. She has an Associate of Science degree in Early Childhood Education and loves bringing the hoopla to daycares, preschools, and elementary schools. Her favorite part of her job is saying "Yes, you can!"

Alexandra Capaldo
Hoop Yoga Instructor

Alexandra is a 500-Hour Registered Yoga Teacher and teaches several Yoga classes around the state of Connecticut. She is CPR and First Aid Certified, as well as Bridgeport Archdiocese VIRTUS trained. Alex enjoys the freedom of dancing inside a hula hoop, where she finds creative expression through moving meditation. Alex teaches our Adult Hoop Yoga classes, where both of her passions, of yoga and hooping, merge.