AliHoopMama
Ali Padiak - Miami, FL
Ali first discovered hoop dance when she was 18 attending her first music festival. Since then, Ali has dedicated every moment to hoop dance & circus arts in improving her balance, meditation, rhythm, physical boundaries and bringing out her spiritual being. With no background in any dance or gymnastics, completely self taught, she has broadened her horizons in the flow arts and circus community such as pyrotechnics, trapeze, aerial silks, lyra, fire eating, and even becoming a mermaid!
Ali offers a one of a kind hoop dance act that brings a totally different and vibrant energy to the table! From nose hooping to multi-hooping from head to toe! Ali has proper fire safety training & is an experienced Fire & LED hooper for over the last 6 years. Equipped with the highest quality props and safety materials, taking all precautions in making sure her surroundings are safe for both her and the audience!
Ali has also taught her hoop dance and circus techniques at various events and establishments. In summer 2015, Ali decided to become a “Hoopnotica Certified Instructor” to professionally teach/instruct hoopers of all ages!
In November of 2015 Ali relocated from Chicago to South Florida. She was then accepted into an amazing troupe of cirque performers that did events all along the south Florida coast and Bahamas…and they were in need of a hula hooper! Ali was honored to join Rainbow Circus Miami and was welcomed with open arms.
q & a
My main prop is hula hoop, though I do dabble in other circus arts such as aerial silks, Lyra, fire eating/other pyrotechnics, mermaid, and still walking. I’m definitely strongest in hula hoop, I hula hoop every day, whether it be for two minutes or eight hours, I have to hula hoop every day. I have been hooping for almost seven years now, aerials here and there for the last three years, pyrotechnics for the last six years, and mermaid and stilt walking just this past year.
Honestly I love to practice the most in my living room because the wall on one side of my house is completely mirrors from the top of the ceiling to the floor – every spinner/dancer’s dream! My second favorite place to practice is the beach, when you live 10 minutes from the ocean its kind of hard not to take advantage of such beautiful scenery. 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.
I began my journey on May 27, 2010. I had arrived at my first music festival and I was going to see one of my favorite bands. walking into the concert area I saw a handful of beautiful girls and they were dancing with hula hoops, manipulating this prop in such an elegant way that I was completely captivated by the beauty. These dancers portrayed such happiness, and light, and freedom it inspired me to try.
The flow community has touched my life by making me more open to people and just learning how to be myself. This community has also taken me tons of really cool places which also lead to meeting other really awesome people in the community.