Mercedes L. Gomez, founder of Chicago Hoop Dance, has been a performing artist for over 12 years.  The El Salvador native began her career in the movement arts at a Las Vegas High School in 1994. A devoted student to Music and Dance, Mercedes began to practice Yoga in 2000.  During 2005 while Mercedes was pursuing her Yoga Teacher Certification, she met her friend, teacher and colleague Bryan Gallagher who shared with Mercedes the joy of dancing with Fire! After finishing her training, she became a certified Yoga instructor in November 2005 and continued pursuing her interest in fire dancing.

During this time she observed Fire Hooping for the first time performed by Spunn, a fire troupe based in Chicago. Inspired by these performances, she acquired her first Hoop in late Spring of 06 and has been enraptured by the art of Hooping ever since. Mercedes believes that Spinning Fire and Hooping are simply other forms of moving meditation with similarities to Yoga. “The beautiful thing about all of these ancient arts is that they all require you to be fully present in the moment, and you begin to trust yourself,” she comments. Increased awareness, confidence and freedom of self-expression are some of the benefits that Mercedes has experienced since she embraced Fire Dancing and Hooping. She hopes her students can enjoy these benefits as well through participating in her classes.

In November of 2006 Mercedes received her HoopGirl Certification in Los Angeles from Christabel Zamor, a.k.a. Hoopgirl. Mercedes teaches group and private classes for beginners in the Chicagoland area, Michigan and Wisconsin.		  


For more information, email or call 773 865 6745.