Spinning around

Spinning outside the Blavatnik School of Government. Photo by Roger Close.

Oxford is a city of wheels – the cars and bicycle wheels of William Morris, the mill wheels of the Thames and Cherwell that powered the medieval town. But it has never before seen wheels like Ariel Dempsey’s.

Ariel Dempsey is an exponent of the Cyr wheel, an acrobatic, gyroscopic performance wheel that has been wowing worldwide audiences since the 1990s. But whereas inventor Daniel Cyr was a full-time acrobat and circus artist, Ariel Dempsey is also a postdoctoral research fellow in the Faculty of Theology researching uncertainty, as well a medical doctor going into palliative (end-of-life) care.

You might have seen her joyously spinning on her Cyr wheel on May Day, or outside the Blavatnik School of Government. For onlookers like us, it’s entertainment, but it’s also a serious acrobatic feat – last month, she broke a world record.

Spinning on Broad Street. Photos by Stephen Foote (colour) and Sandra Devaney (black and white).

As a professional Cyr wheel artist, Ariel has toured with circus troupes throughout the UK and elsewhere. Despite the touring schedule, her favourite place to spin remains here in Oxford. On a sunny day, you might find her spinning in the new piazzas outside the Blavatnik School of Government in the Observatory Quarter. She says she loves to spin outside the Blavatnik because the community of people, locals and passers-by alike, have been a source of joy and encouragement through her journey of learning to spin:

“The community has been such a source of joy and encouragement to me over the years – an elderly gentleman who walks his dog everyday, the kids who come out of nursery and dance with me, the students, academics, professionals, artists, friends who work at the Co-op or post office, my friends in the homeless community and everyone else. I just wanted to say thank you for all the moments you’ve stopped to watch or cheer me on, for the company on the cold days training, the pictures, and smiles, and conversation and for all the kind words of encouragement you’ve shared. Just your presence passing by has meant more to me than you know.”

Her acrobatic temperament doesn’t just express itself through the Cyr wheel. In a glorious co-option of English tradition by someone who is a Michigan native, she accidentally won the 2025 Coopers Hill Uphill Cheese Rolling Race in Gloucestershire – despite an administrative mixup when the prize cheese was mislaid in a volunteer organiser’s fridge.

But it is on the Cyr wheel that she is about to enter the book of Guinness World Records. Her record attempt was in memory of her grandfather, who passed away this time last year. Ariel spun in her wheel for four hours straight without stopping, quadrupling the previous world record of one hour.

“Spinning for four hours in the Cyr wheel was painful but also a really beautiful experience. I listened to the Jesus prayer on repeat and prayed for people I care about while I spun. A number of years ago, I suffered a brain injury. I was bedbound in a dark room and I used to feel miserably dizzy all the time. Now I’m praising God I get to feel dizzy for the joy of it.”

Breaking the world Cyr wheel record. Photos by Mark Rayson and Stephen Foote.

There can be few disciplines that combine artistry, endurance and sheer spectacle in the way that Ariel's Cyr wheel spinning does – and there can be few more fitting backdrops than the streets of Oxford.

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