Ali Padiak

Ali Padiak grew up in Chicago, Illinois, with no background in dance, gymnastics, or circus — not a single class, not a single teacher. Everything she became she built herself, starting with a single moment on May 27, 2010, at her first music festival.

"Walking into the concert area I saw a handful of beautiful girls dancing with hula hoops — manipulating this prop in such an elegant way that I was completely captivated by the beauty. I had seen poi and staff, but I had never seen hoop dancing. It was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. I had to give it a try."

That moment planted a seed that became a career. Ali dedicated every moment that followed to hoop dance and circus arts — completely self-taught, building her skill through obsessive daily practice, a drive to learn, and a community that met her exactly where she was.

In November 2015, Ali relocated from Chicago to South Florida — and was accepted almost immediately into Rainbow Circus Miami, a troupe of professional cirque performers working the south Florida coast and the Bahamas. They had been looking for a hula hooper. Ali was welcomed with open arms.

Rainbow Circus Miami became the platform through which Ali brought her full performance portfolio — hoop, fire, LED, aerial, and mermaid — to corporate events, festivals, and private clients across one of the most vibrant entertainment markets in the country. Her Facebook page, Ali Padiak Cirque Entertainment, documents the full range of this work.

Ali describes herself simply: "My main prop is hula hoop, though I do dabble in other circus arts." The word "dabble" understates it considerably. Starting from zero at 18, she built expertise across six distinct disciplines — each requiring its own training, certifications, and years of practice.

Ali is, above all, a daily practitioner. Whether it's two minutes between bookings or eight hours in a training session, she puts on a hoop every single day — a discipline that has shaped everything about her movement quality and her connection to the art.

Her favorite practice space is her living room — one wall entirely mirrored from ceiling to floor, a setup she describes as every spinner's dream. Her second favorite: ten minutes from the ocean, sand between her toes while the waves crash, hoop in hand. South Florida provides both.

"There is just something about the feeling of having a hoop around your body and sand between your toes while the waves crash at your feet."

This grounded daily practice — never missing a day, never losing the joy — is part of what makes Ali's teaching so effective. She knows exactly what it feels like to be a beginner who discovered this art by accident, and she carries that first feeling into every class she teaches.

Ali's relationship to the hoop community is deeply personal. Some of her closest friendships and most meaningful relationships came directly from hooping — connections formed across different backgrounds, lifestyles, and cultures, held together by one shared circle.

As both performer and educator, she has worked to reflect that community back to the people who find it: welcoming with open arms, embracing the small magical moments that hooping offers, and sharing her knowledge the same way others shared theirs with her.

"Hooping has taught me the power of movement and self-love — and mostly learning experiences. You can learn something new every day, even if you think you already know it all."

With 31K Instagram followers, 4,000+ posts, and a TikTok and YouTube presence under @alihoopmama, Ali has built one of the most consistent and authentic voices in the American hoop and circus community — a performer and teacher who shows up, every single day, for the art and for the people who love it.

• Born & raised in Chicago, Illinois
• Started hooping May 27, 2010
• Completely self-taught — no prior training
• 15+ years of daily hoop practice
• Relocated Chicago → South Florida, 2015
• Rainbow Circus Miami — south FL & Bahamas
• Hoopnotica Certified Instructor — 2015
• MoodHoops Sponsored Artist
• Fire & pyrotechnics — 6+ years · fire safety trained
• LED performance specialist — 6+ years
• Aerial silks & lyra — 3+ years
• Professional mermaid performer
• Stilt walking
• Insured performer — private & corporate events
• Instagram @alihoopmama — 31K followers
• 4,066+ posts · TikTok · YouTube · Facebook