![Performer Marawa the Amazing holds a microphone and smiles while sitting in a [[Director's chair]]. Her hair is pulled back and she is wearing a red outfit with red lips and long, dangling earrings.](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=http%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aMarawa_The_Amazing_Cropped.jpg)
Marawa (née Ibrahim, formerly Wamp), stage nameMarawa the Amazing, is an Australian-born performer, athlete, and author. She has held 12 differentGuinness World Records, but is best known for holding the record for the mostsimultaneous twirling hula hoops, having spun 200.[1]
In 2007, Ibrahim began performing her hula hoop act withLa Clique, a variety show that includedcabaret,burlesque, andcircus performances.[2][3]
Later in 2008, Ibrahim went on to perform the role ofJosephine Baker in the showDésir, aSpiegelworld production.[4] She played the role for six months,[5] earning a positive review from the New York Times: "A banana-skirted virtuoso of the Hula-Hoop named Marawa Ibrahim blissfully reincarnates Josephine Baker as channeled byBetty Boop."[4] Ibrahim then continued performing withLa Clique,[6] and eventually joined otherLa Clique cast members to perform inLa Soirée's inaugural season in London in 2010. Also in 2010, Ibrahim performed in theMarisa Carnesky stage showDystopian Wonders, where Ibrahim climbed a ladder of swords barefoot, recreating an act popularized byKoringa in the 1930s.[7]
Ibrahim then created a solo show,Exotica, that she performed in the 2011Jacksons Lane Postcards Festival.[8] The solo show covered a history ofexoticism in women and performance, including such women as:Saartjie Baartman,Josephine Baker, Koringa, andYma Sumac.[9] Each act was based on one of the featured women and Ibrahim's circus skills, which included: trapeze, hoops, the ladder of swords, high-heeled skates,dance of the seven veils, and a watermelon on her stomach getting sliced in half.[9]
In 2012, Ibrahim launched a U.K.-based hula hoop troupe—the Majorettes—and performed with them at theLondon Olympics.[5][10][11] Ibrahim and the group have been credited as helping repopularize hula hooping.[12] While in London, Ibrahim also held her weekly hula hoop class Hoola Schoola, and taught and performed with the Majorettes.[9][11]
Ibrahim performed with her hula hoops and skates inLucha VaVoom and appeared in the 2018 documentaryLucha VaVoom Inside America's Most Outrageous Show.[13] Other notable performances of Ibrahim's include hooping on stage withToddla T and performing regularly withMajor Lazer at London's annualNotting Hill Carnival; she has also starred in music videos forChilly Gonzales andEliza Doolittle.[9]
In 2019, Ibrahim premiered her own circus show, Quality Novelty, atAdelaide Fringe.[1] The group of novelty acts includedjuggling popcorn pieces in the performer's mouth, a performer spinning 100 hula hoops, and a performer skating whilewhipcracking.[14]
Roller skating has held a prominent role in Ibrahim's career. For instance, a notable early feature was at the 2008Sydney Mardi Gras where Ibrahim roller-skated onstage whileOlivia Newton-John sang a ten-minute version of the theme fromXanadu.[15]
Ibrahim is particularly known for skating in high-heeled roller skates. The initial design of "Heels on Wheels" was created by Hannah Havana, which Ibrahim then commissioned a functional pair for her personal use.[16][17] One of Ibrahim's world records was set using a pair of skates using customized high-heels by British shoe designerTerry de Havilland.[18]
In 2022, Ibrahim collaborated with the brand Impala to create the first commercially available high-heeled roller skate.[19] Ibrahim had previously collaborated with the brand on a popular rose-gold roller skate design in 2019.[20][21]
Ibrahim's bookThe Girl Guide was published in 2018 byHarperCollins and illustrated by Sinem Erkas.[22] The book is geared towards preteen girls navigatingpuberty and discusses a variety of topics includingbody image,menstruation,bras, eating and exercise,meditation,gender identity andexpression,moods, and more.[22] Ibrahim incorporates personal stories—including menstrual leaks, ayeast infection, and chafed thighs—to help normalize the events for young readers and provide encouragement.[22] The book's illustrations includecut-paper illustrations of a variety of vulvas and a photo of Ibrahim with makeup on only half her face to demonstrate the power of makeup and Photoshop.[22]
Ibrahim owns a gear shop, I Want to Go to Paradise.[23] Ibrahim also runs Hooper Market inEast London, where hula hoop supplies can be purchased and where she and The Majorettes practice and offer lessons.[11][24]
Ibrahim has competed in four differentGot Talent shows, namely:America's Got Talent,Arab's Got Talent,Australia's Got Talent, andBritain's Got Talent. Ibrahim was a semi-finalist in both Britain's Got Talent and Arab's Got Talent,[25] competing in thefifth series of Britain's Got Talent in 2011[26] andArab's Got Talent in 2015.[25] There were 300 million live viewers during Ibrahim's run on Arab's Got Talent,[27] and one of her performances included a burning hula hoop.[25]
Ibrahim holds the current record for mostsimultaneous twirling hula hoops at 200 hoops.[23] This was her fourth time breaking the record.[28] Three of the hoops rely on the use of her long middle fingernail to provide extra length when her arms are outstretched to the side.[23]
Ibrahim holds the record for the fastest 100 metres travelled in high-heeled skates.[29] She also holds the records for the fastest 100 metres on roller skates while spinning three hula hoops and the longest duration on high-heeled roller skates while spinning three hula hoops.[5][30] Additional records of Ibrahim's include the farthest distance on high-heeled roller skates while spinning eight hula hoops, the fastest mile while hula hooping, and the most hula hoops spun while suspended from the wrists.[5][30][31]
With the Majorettes, Ibrahim achieved the record for the most hula hoops spun by a group of 10; they set the record in 2013, spinning 264 hoops.[11] They also hold the record for the most passes of a hula hoop by the feet in one minute by a team of 8, by passing 26 hoops on 3 September 2017.[32]
Born the oldest of four children to aSomali father andAustralian mother, Ibrahim grew up inAustralia,Papua New Guinea, and the Middle East.[33] The family eventually moved to the Melbourne suburb ofCamberwell.[34] Ibrahim moved to theUnited Kingdom in 2007, then eventually moved toLos Angeles in 2016.[3][35]
Ibrahim has roller skated since the age of two.[23] She studied rhythmic gymnastics as a child, which is where she first hula hooped.[36] Ibrahim attendedStrathcona Girls Grammar,[34] then studiedsocial science at university before switching to a degree in circus arts.[37] She specialized in swinging trapeze and graduated in 2004 with a bachelor's degree from Melbourne'sNational Institute of Circus Arts.[33][38]