Aerial Silks & Hammock Retreat
w Gabriela Sissons
May 22-29, 2023
Casa Chango
Puerto Escondido, Mexico
a WEEK in PARADISE at this Aerial Silks Retreat with new friends, the beach, delicious, fresh, local food, and tons of fun.
Come and fly with us in paradise! This Aerial Silks & Hammock Retreat will focus on adding dance elements, style and flow to your aerial repertoire. We will work on creating beautiful shapes, sequences, drops and combinations that flow seamlessly together leaving you looking and feeling like the Aerial God/dess you are!
Spend your week learning how to dance gracefully in the air and choreograph killer aerial silks routines and sequences in a blissful and beautiful tropical setting. We will work on creating graceful and seamless entries and exits into your aerial movements, stage performance techniques and tips on how to create and choreograph your own routine and use your music correctly.
This Aerial Silks Retreat will have 2 daily classes – We will learn a new sequence in the morning class, focusing on how to add dance elements and creative expression to your movements. Afternoon classes will be working on our daily sequence, adding floor work, and learning how to work with music. We will also go into more depth on act creation, connecting with your audience and how to feel and look great performing on stage. The bulk of the skills will be on silks with supplementary skills on hammock.
You will receive professional photos of yourself showing off your new found aerial skills in a gorgeous tropical setting. Alongside the workshops and classes there will be additional activities and trips included to give you the opportunity to explore and experience the culture. You will leave with a new found sense of confidence, some bad ass aerial skills and adventures and memories that will last a lifetime!
Intermediate Level WELCOME!
Aerial students at the intermediate level are welcome on this Aerial Silks Retreat. Prerequisites include a good knowledge of basic wraps, climbs and foot locks, and the ability to invert in the air. This is where you are invited to shine and be yourself!
Sample of daily schedule
(choose as many or few classes/activities as you like)
8-9:30am Coffee, Tea and Breakfast
9:30am-12:30pm Warm up, Aerial Silks Class & Sequencing
1pm Lunch
2-5pm Pool-time, relaxing
5-6:30pm Floor Work & Creative Work w Daily Sequence
7pm Dinner
8-10pm Evening Activities
We will take you to our favorite beaches for swimming, surfing, snorkeling, and releasing baby turtles into the sea. Also we have evening adventures to a bioluminescence lagoon and local night market.
Space is limited, so sign up now.
Retreat includes:
Choreography techniques and tips
Graceful and seamless entries & exits into your aerial movements
Combinations, sequences and drops
Floor work
How to create your own routine and use your music
Performance techniques
Professional Photoshoot
End of week performance
Beach excursions
Baby Turtle release
Space is limited, so sign up now!
About our coache
Gabriela Sissons
A dancer most of her life with over 25 years of stage experience, she has been part of various dance companies in South Africa and performed in countless shows and events. Her strengths lie in her musically driven choreography and strong performance ability.
Gabriela owns and runs her own Aerial Silks studio called Skydancer Academy in Cape Town, South Africa and was the 1st Xpert certified instructor on the African Continent. She has represented South Africa and competed in various competitions around the globe, placing in the top 3 in every competition she has ever competed in and winning her very first competition at the International Aerial Championships in Hong Kong in 2015. In 2017 she was a semi-finalist on the South Africa’s Got Talent television show. Gabriela teaches workshops around the globe including countries like South Africa, Russia, Italy, China, Switzerland, Costa Rica and Thailand, and has been a judge in several prestigious aerial competitions in the world including Airstars in China and the APPA championships in Russia.
You can find Gaby on Instagram @skydancer.sa
Rates for Aerial Silks Retreat
Click here for room descriptions.
Rates are listed in USD. A $500 deposit is required to save your spot. Payment is due in full by April 15, 2023. To get the early bird discounted price, you must pay in full by January 15, 2023.
| Room | Early Bird Price until January 15, 2023 | Full Price |
| Dorm (up to 4 people – mixed gender) | $1800 | $2100 |
| Private room w shared bathroom | $2200 | $2500 |
| Private room w private bathroom | $2500 | $2800 |
Rates refer to cost of one person’s tuition.
Couples/SO’s are welcome at an additional price.
Prices for Aerial Silks Retreat include:
- Ground transportation to/from the Puerto Escondido Airport (PXM) to our accommodations*
- Accommodations for the duration of the retreat
- Daily meals – breakfast, lunch, dinner, & snacks!
- 1 Dinner out at our favorite local restaurant
- 2 Daily classes (4-5 hours total/day)
- 2 Photo shoots – Beach and Aerial
- End of retreat showcase
- Evening Activities
- Day trip to a local beach, turtle release, dinner out, and night market!
- 24 hour use of Swimming Pool, wi-fi, and Community Space
- Homemade treats
Links for more information:
- Accommodations – room descriptions
- Meals and Food
- How to get here. Info and advice on booking your travel
- Testimonials
- Weather in Puerto Escondido
- COVID Policy
- Excursions
Questions? Email us at SweetRetreatsDR@gmail.com.
*Food service begins with lunch on May 22, and ends with breakfast on May 29. The food is amazing!
** Your taxi to/from the PXM airport is included if you arrive/depart on designated days. Click here for info about getting to Puerto Escondido.
Note about COVID 19
It is our first priority to make this retreat safe, fun and sustainable, and create a safe get-a-way for people to feel healthy and active during this time.
We have been running our programs throughout the entire pandemic, and we have established a safe and effective policy for safety without sacrificing fun.
Read more about out COVID Policy here.
Your responsibility before traveling to Casa Chango
- We ask everyone to quarantine as carefully as possible for 1 week before your trip to Mexico. This is to lessen the chances of bringing COVID or any other illness on the airplane and to our community in Mexico and at Sweet Retreats.
- Each participant is required to bring at least 1 home antigen test set (each set has 2 tests) to retreat. These help us identify whether or not a participant has covid if they show any symptoms of covid or if someone else tests positive. You can find at home antigen tests at most drug stores in the US or order then online.
- All participants are encouraged to get a COVID VACCINE before coming to this retreat.
- We may require each person to get a PCR test the day before traveling to Casa Chango.
Upon arrival
- During COVID times, our guests and teachers will be a pod and have limited interaction with the local community. We will take nature excursions, beach, river, and outings to local markets.
- Each participant is required to bring at least 2 home antigen tests to the retreat. These help us identify whether or not a participant has covid if they show any symptoms of covid or if someone else tests positive. You can find at home antigen tests at most drug stores in the US or order then online.
- Participants might be able to attend the retreat unmasked depending on the current state of global and local health.
- If a retreater begins to experience symptoms of COVID before or during the retreat, they will be required to get tested immediately and isolate from the group. If this occurs, extra financial investment may incur at the resident’s expense for isolation housing, medical, and/or transportation expenses. Sweet Retreats is not financially responsible for paying for alternative housing or medical expenses. We recommend research on travel and health insurance to help cover costs if that becomes necessary. Sweet Retreats staff will do everything in our power to take care of any sick participant.
- Once the retreat is over, all retreat services will end and participants will be on their own. If anyone tests positive and cannot travel back to their home country, they can book accommodations locally. We will provide them with our contacts for doctors and food services, but we will not be able to continue caring for the individual We encourage all participants to be prepared with funds, research, and a back up plan just in case they get delayed and/or sick after the retreat is over.
- These rules will update according to scientific evidence at any given time. Any participant who breaks this agreement during the retreat will be asked to leave with no refund.
Note: You may be required to get a COVID test before returning to your home country. We will schedule those tests for you, but participants must pay for their test ($40-$100 US). It is your responsibility to research your home country’s test requirements and request the appropriate test.
If a participant tests positive on their covid test at the end of the retreat, it is their responsibility to find housing once the retreat is over. Sweet Retreats cannot accommodate any retreater once the retreat has ended.