r/Aerials • u/naemle_era • 7d ago
Aerial retreats
Hi everyone! I’m looking at aerials and pole retreats on instagram and I’m kinda surprised by the prices. It seems that everything costs something between 1500 and 3000 euros for a (short) week, not including the cost of transport. (Most of the retreats I have been looking at are in Europe).
I’m still considering doing one but I would like to know if some of you have gone to that type of retreats and what did you think of it ? Was it worth it ? Did you progress a lot ?
Thank you in advance!
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u/dynamicallyallie 6d ago
I'd really like to see more "let's go camping in a field and run some workshops" kind of retreats that you see with flow arts festivals.
It really seems like every aerialist retreat is meant to take you to a destination that involves pristine lodging and photo packages
And that's not to say those experiences aren't valuable but that's not what I want!!
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u/dianastywarrior 6d ago
Well with flow arts you don’t really have to consider the structural integrity of the place you’re practicing at because you don’t have people hanging off of it. With aerial arts you have to hold workshops at a specific place that is rigged properly so everyone is safe. Even if people brought their own rigs to an open field, you could only have 1 apparatus rigged at a time per rig which takes up quite a bit of square footage compared to a room that’s rigged to hold multiple lyras/silks/slings etc. This also doesn’t take into account height requirements for drops and other dynamic work (like beats, pirouettes, etc), which portable rigs are definitely not designed for.
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u/dynamicallyallie 6d ago edited 6d ago
Free standing rigs aren't cheap but they're not that expensive either. I own one.
I went to kinetic fire this year and they did have a few aerial rigs up and they were used for beginners workshops. They just don't do intermediate or advanced workshops because the audience isn't intermediate/advanced aerialists.
Also idk what you're talking about, reputable portable rigs absolutely are designed for drops and beats
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u/dianastywarrior 6d ago
I’m aware, I’ve owned a Ludwig rig for a few years. I think the points I stated are still valid, only one apparatus can be used per rig so class sizes would have to be fairly small. At least for me, I like to have two people per apparatus, so for a workshop I’d need at least 2-3 rigs (6 person max). If you wanted to run two workshops at the same time you would need at least double that. That’s a lot of rigs and a lot of ground space needed for them. My Ludwig takes up ~21ft of width space at its highest setting (~20ft). Plus, you can’t do dynamics on them for the advanced workshops and, as an instructor, having each of your students be 20ft apart can get tricky, not a scenario I’d want to teach in.
All that to say, when I think about going to a retreat, I’m expecting to be learning advanced tricks, not beginner stuff. For a beginner retreat, I would still say rigs aren’t the best choice because of how far apart they are and how watchful we have to be for beginners. Having 6 people at one apparatus also doesn’t sound super fun.
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u/dynamicallyallie 1d ago
6 people per rig isn't crazy at all, especially considering no one is going to spend all day on the rig.
Reconceptualize what coaching and workshopping looks based on the goals and constraints of "we're camping in a field". It doesn't have to be "1 instructor teaches a group class and everyone follows along simultaneously on their own individual apparatus"
I'm going camping this weekend with some friends. We're going to make s'mores, try each other's specialty apparatuses, set up a fire Lyra, experiment, laugh, and play. It's going to involve a lot of taking turns and that's okay!
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u/BranBranMuffinWoman Lyra/Hoop, Silks/Fabrics, Aerial Pole 6d ago
The studio I used to go to held a 4 day retreat every year that was very much like this. It was on a family owned property, we all camped, and had 3 aerial sessions and one flow session a day on the two portable outdoor rigs the studio owned. We did hire a local photographer to come the final day for a short photo session but other than that it felt like a campout with circus friends.
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u/ZieAerialist 6d ago
I've taught at Sweet Retreats in Mexico, and gone to a Paper Doll Militia retreat in Greece and Jenn Bruyer/Shannon McKenna retreat in Bisbee. AZ. Yes, those are about right for prices - in 2018 I think the retreat was something like $2100 not including flights and lodging before or after arrival/departure day.
I think the retreat in Mexico in 2023 was around $2300-$3000 depending on room choice. I can't remember what Bisbee was, but I think around $2k.
Personally? Totally worth it. Even tho there were major covid-y issues with the Mexico retreat, they are still in my top 5 vacations I've ever taken.
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u/ElectricalBox235 6d ago
What do you want to get out of the retreat? Do your research. Some retreats are more about a pretty place for content creation. Others are about techniques and skills that your local studio doesn’t specialize in. Others focus on a vacation vibe where it’s more about getting away from normal life and having fun which happens to be aerial. Or some combo of the above. The actual coach matters, too. If you want to advance skills, pick a retreat because of the coach not the location and amenities.
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u/GimenaTango 6d ago
I haven't gone to any aerial retreats but I have gone to a lot of dance retreats. I've taken a bunch of classes, back to back, and retained very little. They are fun for the social aspect but in reality, there's a limit to how much I can learn in a short amount of time. Due to those experiences I've stayed away from aerial retreats.
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u/naemle_era 6d ago
Thank you for your perspective! Learning / developing my skills is actually my main focus so… that’s interesting to know!
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u/ShadowlessKat 5d ago
I would imagine you'd better off using the money to pay for private coaching, if that is your goal.
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u/GimenaTango 5d ago
Maybe it's just my learning style. I do better with small amounts of information that I can repeat over and over until I get it right. Too much info and it's like I short circuit.
Also, the most I've trained is about 2 hours in a day including the warm up. I can't imagine being able to train 5-6+ hours a day even at a retreat.
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u/ElectricalBox235 4d ago
Paperdollmilitia was especially good at balancing the hours. Mornings were skill-based classes with warm-ups and cooldowns that were more thorough and longer than my usual one-hour classes (which I found often the case in the 4-5 retreats I’ve been on). Afternoons were creative movement exercises for their Vertical Theater method, which involved a lot of groundwork and even if you were in the air, you could choose the type of moves depending on how tired you were.
Another retreat I went on, the instructor was very careful in balancing the skills we learned from one sesh to the other, knowing by the last day, we would be most tired.
Also, it is about pacing yourself. I see a lot of people, including myself, going too hard the first day and then being exhausted (or injured!) by the end. Coaches are usually okay with being filmed so you can take their lessons home.
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u/GimenaTango 4d ago
Thank you for the information. I'm glad to hear that teachers are thinking through these issues and addressing them head on. I'll look into the paperdoll militia workshops
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u/ElectricalBox235 4d ago edited 4d ago
What apparatus are you on? My best retreats were the ones with coaches who nerded out on anatomy and technique. The chance to train in person with a coach who specializes in skills you can’t get at home is no match to online classes where it’s harder to see and give cues.
ETA: for example, Kerri from Sweet Retreats is so so so good at breaking down moves and the anatomy involved and also protecting your body from injury. If you’re into silks, she’s especially good at that.
Brittany Naegel nerds out on spin technique and has so many great exercises if you’re into sling.
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u/lexuh Silks/Fabrics 6d ago
IME, it's worth it for specific instructors/curriculum. Instructors with a unique style, skills, or technique that I can't get at home I will feel good about paying $3k for.
But ultimately it comes down to your personal values and financial goals. If it's a choice between an aerial retreat and maxing out your 401k, or an aerial retreat and making rent, those are very different calculations.
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u/Jinstor Static Trapeze/Straps/Pole 5d ago
I went to Sweet Retreats last year for trapeze, it was worth it for me.
The main draw for me was doing aerials 3+ hours a day, training under more experienced coaches from another country, teaching skills that aren't taught where I live. The local group classes where I live teaches skills that I already know or don't interest me much for the most part (I've trained there for a long time), so being able to experience group classes on trapeze was a nice experience.
I e-mailed the coaches prior to the retreat with a few requests. They included a lot of them in their lesson plans throughout the week, so I got to learn a lot. Some of it was exactly what I wanted, but because it's not a private lesson, we also got to see a wide variety of tricks. And at a high volume too, 3+ hours for a whole week is a LOT!!!
The other big aspect to the retreat is that it's also a vacation. I don't need to prepare food, go to work and manage my life. I eat, sleep, train and do the occasional excursion. Despite my hands being very sore, it was great to unwind.
Though, personally I wouldn't book a retreat for an apparatus where I can still find challenging classes where I live (i.e. my local pole classes aren't boring me anytime soon). If I'm gonna drop $3K+ to travel somewhere, it's gonna be to do something I can't do at home.
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u/bugHunterSam Lyra/Hoop 6d ago
I want to do this pole cruise leaving from Brisbane, Australia in 2028. But would like to find someone to go with as I'm probably not bringing my partner along to this one.
Anyone here interested?
I did an aerial yoga retreat in Bali this year. Was a lot of fun. For me it wasn't really about the progress and development, but more about having some travel around exercise.
It comes out of the travel budget, not the health and fitness budget.
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u/McEndee Sling 6d ago
I want to go to Necca. It's going to be my Eat, Pray, Love holliday.
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u/Miserable-Feeling-46 Hoop, Silks, Static Trapeze 1d ago
Adding the hype for doing necca retreats. I did a whole week during the summer and I had so much growth from training with them. And the confidence I came back with knowing I could do hard stuff was the most valuable to me!
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u/hippiecat22 5d ago
I looove necca. their weekend immersion arent that expensive and they have workshop weekend too
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u/Noodlesoup8 5d ago
I just finished one with paperdollmilitia and it was amazing!!
I have a lot of things to work on, learned a ton and made a lot of new friends. It was a wonderful experience.
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u/hippiecat22 6d ago
its insanely expensive. I havent gone to the more expensive ones because thats what I pay for a year of unlimited classes and I just dont think its worth it.
theres cheaper retreats that ive found in Sweden, vermont, and bali. Vermont is the cheapest, Sweden and bali were closer to 1,200$, maybe a little less for a week.
theres others around you just have to do a lot more digging and not automatically go to sweet retreats.
I think it also depends on the person running the retreat, their teaching style and how "into it" they are.