We use cookies to make your experience better.
To comply with the new e-Privacy directive, we need to ask for your consent to set the cookies.
Learn more.
Artist Photo
Hoopologie Ambassador
Ben
Ben
Cirka
Germany → Las Vegas
“The hoop is not just an apparatus. It is a language — one that speaks across gymnastics, circus, and flow arts simultaneously.”
01
Meet the Artist
Ben Cirka is a professional rhythmic gymnast, circus performer, choreographer, and coach based in Las Vegas, Nevada. One of the rare male athletes to reach the top level of competitive rhythmic gymnastics, Ben has built a singular career at the intersection of elite sport, circus arts, and flow performance — earning international medals on three continents and performing on some of the world’s most prestigious variety stages.
Born in Germany and trained from a young age, Ben’s mastery extends across rhythmic gymnastics apparatus, aerial acts (single-point trapeze, aerial silks, aerial straps), acrobatic dance, and hoop flow. His performing name, Cirka, is a nod to the circus world that shaped him — and the discipline he brings to every performance and class.
02
Career Highlights
2020–now
Coach & Choreographer
Nevada Rhythmic Academy — Las Vegas
2018–2020
Rhythmic Gymnastics Duo Hoop Act & Single Point Trapeze
Celestia — Las Vegas
2017–2018
Aerialist
Flic Flac — Bielefeld, Germany
2016–2017
Rhythmic Gymnastics Hoop Act & Aerialist
Wintergarten Variété — Berlin, Germany
03
Awards & Competition
Ben has competed at the highest levels of international circus competition, bringing home medals from four continents over a decade of performance.
● Bronze
Festival Mondial du Cirque de Demain
Paris, 2020 — 41st Edition
● Bronze
International Circus Festival of Italy
2017
● Gold
International Circus Festival of Riga
2016
● Silver
International Youth Circus Festival of Budapest
2015
“The Festival Mondial du Cirque de Demain in Paris is one of the most important showcases for new circus talent in the world — a stage that has launched the careers of some of the most celebrated performers alive.”
04
The Hoop & Flow Arts
Ben’s relationship with the hoop spans two distinct but deeply intertwined worlds. In rhythmic gymnastics, the hoop is a precision apparatus — thrown, caught, rolled, and spun with exacting technique. In circus and flow arts, it becomes an extension of the body and an expressive medium.
What makes Ben unique is that he doesn’t separate these traditions. His performances and his teaching draw simultaneously on the technical precision of elite gymnastics and the creative freedom of contemporary flow arts. Performers who work with him come away with both: a deeper command of the apparatus and a wider sense of what’s possible with it.
“When you train with the hoop every day for years, it stops being something you hold. It becomes something that holds you.”
05
Coaching & Community
Since 2020, Ben has been a coach and choreographer at the Nevada Rhythmic Academy in Las Vegas, training the next generation of rhythmic gymnasts and helping athletes bridge competitive gymnastics with performance and circus arts.
He brings a rare dual perspective to his coaching: a decorated international competitor who has also lived the grind of professional touring circus. His athletes don’t just learn technique — they learn how to perform, how to hold an audience, and how to make every pass with an apparatus tell a story.
For the flow arts and hoop dance community, Ben represents a powerful bridge between worlds. His embodiment of the hoop as both athletic apparatus and artistic tool shows what is possible when precision training and creative flow truly merge.
06
Inspiration
- The language of movement
- Elite gymnastics & circus tradition
- Students who surprise him
- Berlin’s variety theater world
- The stage under the lights
- Flow arts & hoop community
- Performance as storytelling
- Las Vegas performer culture
- International competition
- The hoop in all its forms