The sound of ropes hitting the floor and small feet hopping up and down resonated throughout Fort Hunt Elementary School last week.
Rene Bibaud was there, presenting her popular jump-rope school assembly, "My Life as a Hot Dog," on Thursday and then her two-session workshop on Saturday.
The universal appeal of jump roping was summed up by workshop attendee, Lindsay Paul, who said she was there because "I like jump-roping."
Obviously, so does Bibaud, five-time Rope Skipping Champion and former performer of Cirque du Soleil, who has made a living as a jump-rope competitor, artist and presenter.
Amy Thompson, cultural arts rep from Fort Hunt, found out about Bibaud when she was looking for child-sized licorice jump-ropes. She came across the Web site www.jumpropenet.com and noticed that they also did school assemblies.
"I thought it would be nice to have a motivational assembly," said Thompson, and she booked the assembly for January. Although the cost of Bibaud's presentation was reasonable, the travel costs associated with coming from the West Coast were significant, so Bibaud agreed to put on a workshop over the weekend and give a percentage to the school. They also sold jump-ropes and Bibaud's book, "Red Hot Peppers: Games, Rhythms and Fancy Footwork."
THE ASSEMBLY had to be moved up a day due to the school, but it went well. Thompson said that the children seemed to enjoy it. Bibaud had several students as well as some teachers participating in the drills.
There also was a good response for the workshop. About 20 children participated in the morning session, while another 10 or so came in the afternoon.
Bibaud started off slow, teaching children the two-foot basic jump, slightly different from the double-bounce jump that many people do.
"Once you get it, it's not too bad," said Bibaud. "This is something you can work on."
Then she started adding. "Once you've got the basic rhythm, you can add the arms, jumps, gymnastics."
One of the first things she added was a side straddle. Apart-together-apart-together.
"It's always a good idea to try the step without the ropes, and then you can add on," said Bibaud.
The children all seemed to catch on quickly.