2025 Wheel Weekend with CirquesExperience and USA Wheel Gymnastics

The USA Wheel Gymnastics Team is hosting Wheel Weekend from March 14 to March 16th in Chicago’s Edgewater and Roger’s Park neighborhoods. Top coaches worldwide (bios below) will lead over 15 classes and performances. Students of all experience levels aged 13 to 99 can participate in multiple daily activities, such as wheel spirals, spins, dismounts, and hangs.

A complete list of activities can be found here: https://thecirquesexperience.regfox.com/2025-chicago-march-wheel-weekend-

Quick Facts:
When: March 14-16, 2025
Where: Gym Wheel Events: Willye B. White Park, 1610 W Howard St, Chicago, IL 60626 and
Cyr Wheel Events: “Thorndale Gym” 5944 N Magnolia Ave, Chicago, IL 60660
Press Photos: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1HEIF6QHRuLrEtzre27p7eCjtkZsS9IvL?usp=sharing

EVENT SPECIFICS:

Performance Events:

See the U.S. top wheel artists in Cyr and Gym Wheel perform in their first trial competition. – Willye B. White Park (address above).

Friday, March 14, 2025: 06:00 pm – 09:00 pm

Workshops:

Signature Workshops for Gym Wheel (Willye White Park) / Cyr Wheel (Magnolia Gym).

Friday: 9:00 am – 12:00 pm and 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm (5 hours)
Saturday: 10:00 am – 12:00 pm and 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm (5 hours)
Sunday: 9:00 am – 11:00 am (2 hours)

Specialty Workshops:

Saturday:
4:00 pm -5:00 pm Gym Wheel: Partner Wheel; Cyr Wheel: Manipulation, and
5:00 pm – 6:00 pm Gym Wheel: Flips and other B Dismounts; Cyr Wheel: small spiral tricks
Sunday:
11:00 am – 12:00 pm Gym Wheel: spiral level progress; Cyr Wheel: Duo Cyr Wheel, and
12:00 pm– 1:00 pm Gym Wheel: specific choreography manipulation; Cyr Wheel: Changes

Coaching for Gym Wheel:

C1 Level 1 course A
Friday: 9:00 am – 12:00 and 1:00 pm – 04:30 pm
Saturday: 9:00 am – 12:00 pm and 2:00 pm – 06:00 pm
Sunday: 09:00 am – 11:00 am
C2 Level 1 course B
Saturday: 8:30 am – 12:00 pm and 1:00 pm – 06:00 pm
Sunday: 8:30 am – 12:00 pm and 1:00 pm – 03:00 pm
C3 Level 1 50%
Saturday: 9:00 am – 12:00 pm and 2:00 pm – 06:00 pm
Sunday: 09:00 am – 11:00 am
C4 Level 2 (10 Units)
Saturday: 9:00 am – 12:00 pm and 2:00 pm – 5:00 pm
Sunday: 9:00 am – 2:00 pm

Coaching Clinics for Cyr Wheel:
Upon request: Wolfgang@CirquesExperience.org.

Judging Clinics for Cyr and Gym Wheel:
Please check in with Wolfgang@CirquesExperience.org.

Saturday Fun Day:
Saturday, March 15, 2025: 10:00 am – 4:00 pm (lunch break is included)

Rolling 101 – Try It Out:

For Gym or Cyr Wheel
Friday: 3:30 pm – 5:00 pm or
Saturday: 4:30 pm – 6:00 pm

More About the Coaches:

Cheyenne Rechsteiner is a two-time world champion in wheel gymnastics and the head coach of Liestal Wheel Gymnastics Club. After making the national squad, she trained under national coaches Jasmin Braunwalder and Claudia Herger in Zurich. She participated in six World Championships, collecting 15 medals, including two World Championship titles and five Vice World Championship titles. After the World Championships in Magglingen, Cheyenne decided to pass her knowledge to the next generation and took over the head coach position in Liestal. When not in the gym, she works as a PhD student in aging research, plays video games, reads books, and plays the piano.

Cyrus Luciano is a movement artist and coach based in Reno, NV. Cyrus has been performing and teaching Cyr Wheel for the better part of a decade, and together with his partner, Keisha Thrift, he runs Acro Enso – a Circus Arts facility in Reno with a strong focus on Cyr Wheel, Partner Acrobatics, and Aerial Arts. The teaching methods and philosophy that lay the foundation of the coaching program at Acro Enso are steeped in strong foundational movement and progressive skill development, emphasizing creative exploration and the development of each artist’s unique personality and expression.

Julia Pohling, originally from Taunusstein, Germany, was the dominant female gym wheeler worldwide in the aughts. With six world Championship titles in technical difficulty and the highest level of difficulty score until this year, she cemented her name in wheel gymnastics. She moved to St. John’s, Newfoundland, and joined the gymnastics federation, where she now coaches.

Athena Haralambous is the head coach at CirquesExperience, where she has been leading classes and shaping the future of circus arts since 2016. As head coach, she enjoys creating a supportive environment where students can build confidence and push their limits. Alongside her work at CirquesExperience, Athena is the High School P.E. teacher at the Chicago Waldorf School, blending traditional physical education with her passion for circus arts. She also performs annually with the Triton Trouper Circus, which allows her to stay connected to the performance world and continuously expand her skills. Athena is committed to fostering growth in her students while continuing to evolve as a coach and performer.

More About CirquesExperience:

Located in Chicago, CirquesExperience has welcomed people of all ages to participate in various programs and activities since it was founded in 2011. They offer Summer Camps on-premises and with the Chicago Park District, Camps during Winter and Spring Break, Day Camps when school is off, and Aftercare camps. They also offer Competitive Classes for Gym wheels and four advancing levels of courses to help students excel in the sport and art of wheel gymnastics.

CirquesExperience participates in parades (Thanksgiving Parade, Parade of Lights, Halloween Parade, 4th of July, etc.) and performs year-round on various occasions, such as Loyola Summer Plaza, Christkindl Market, and Virginia Tattoo. In addition, they work with the Park District Summer Program (Workshops and Field trips) and hold regular Circus Arts classes at Chase Park and Willye B. White Park.

Together with the USA Wheel Gymnastics Federation scholarship program,
CirquesExperience runs a scholarship program to support refugee kids (5 to 13 years old) and their families. In addition, they provide in-person family support services through education, creation, practice, and circus arts performance, uniting youth across all backgrounds and ethnicities and encouraging self-esteem, leadership, and mutual respect.

About the Coach, Principal and Founder:

Wolfgang Bientzle started Wheel at six in Taunusstein, Germany, becoming the most successful competitor and wheel performer. He has garnered 8 World Champion Titles, 11 European titles, and over 60 German National Titles. He has performed for Cirque du Soleil, Disney, NBA, NFL, NHL, Holiday on Ice, and more than 70 TV shows worldwide. Besides his accomplishments as a performer and competitor, he holds a master’s degree in Sports Science from Johannes Gutenberg University (Mainz, Germany). He was a director, producer, and choreographer for the Gymnastic Federation, Cirque du Soleil, and other companies. Under his leadership, the gymnastic wheel club TSV Taunusstein became the most successful club worldwide with numerous titles at World, European, and German Championships and leading an international wheel show troupe that traveled the world to introduce wheel gymnastics. Wolfgang moved to Chicago, United States, in 2004.