Int/Adv Aerial Silks & Hoop Retreat
Skills, Sequences, Flexibility & Creativity
Instructors: Kerri Kresinski & Chloe Axelrod
August 16-23, 2025
Casa Chango Mexico, Puerto Escondido
BIPOC Scholarship Available. Apply here by Jan 15.
Spend a WEEK in PARADISE with new friends, the beach, delicious, fresh, local food, and learn loads and loads of new aerial skills!
Enjoy 3 classes each day where you can focus on one or both apparatuses. The morning classes includes technical training on aerial hoop/lyra and aerial silks including skills, sequencing, transitions and spinning to advance your training. There will be 2 classes each morning for each apparatus. Students are welcome to take one class for each apparatus or 2 classes on the same apparatus.
The afternoon classes will focus on flexibility & creative sequencing. The rest of your time will be spent eating delicious food, swimming in the pool, lounging in hammocks, and enjoying being in nature. There will be time to explore local markets and beaches as well as the local night life.
This retreat is for intermediate to advanced level aerialists with at least 2 years of ongoing practice. It is great for aerialists who want to advance their skills, work on sequencing, cross-training, flexibility, and floor work, and have loads of fun doing it!
Daily Schedule Sample:
- 8:00 a.m. – 9:30 a.m. – Tea, Coffee and Breakfast
- 10:00 a.m. – Group Warm Up
- 10:30 a.m. -11:45 a.m. – Aerial Hoop Skills & Sequences
- 11:45 a.m. -1:00 p.m. – Aerial Silks Skills & Sequences
- 1:00 p.m. – Lunch
- 2:00 p.m. -5:00 p.m. – Free time (pool, hot tub, hammocks)
- 3:30 p.m. – Afternoon snack and beverage
- 5:00 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. – Flexibility, Creative Sequencing
- 7:00 p.m. – Dinner
- 8:00 p.m. -10:00 p.m. – Free time and evening activities
We’ll also take you to our favorite beaches for swimming, surfing, snorkeling, and releasing baby turtles into the sea. There are evening adventures to a bioluminescent lagoon and local night market.
Ask about our significant other / BFF rates!
Aerial nerds can indulge in all of your hoop desires while friends and family can enjoy the retreat environment, delicious, healthy food, surfing, swimming, relaxing, and get into their bodies.
Prerequisites:
Each student should arrive with a clear understanding of and be able to execute the following with ease:
(Note: Students who plan to take classes on only one apparatus (silks or hoop) only have to meet the prerequisites for that one apparatus. Students who plan to take both apparatuses must meet the prerequisites for both apparatuses.
Silks:
- Climbs – Russian and French/Standard
- Straddle invert (doesn’t have to be perfect, but expect to work on it!)
- Catchers lock
- Foot wraps
- Hip key
- Basic star drops and saltos
- Ability stay in the air moving/doing skills for 3 minutes without a rest
Hoop/Lyra:
- Straddle invert (doesn’t have to be perfect, but expect to work on it!)
- Knee hang
- Strong Front Balance
- Back Balance
- Some experience with Span Set Work
- Ability stay in the air moving/doing skills for 3 minutes without a rest
If you are more suited for a beginner retreat, please sign up for our Beginner Aerial Retreat.
Your instructors:
Kerri has been performing and teaching acrobatics, dance, and aerial arts for over 20 years. Her life’s work, as an artist and teacher, has been to develop and deepen her study of the body. She has learned that anything is possible with patience, discipline and a positive attitude.
Kerri teaches her students how to own their practice. Focusing on fundamental elements of technique, anatomy, and the physics of movement, her students learn how to train. Kerri goes beyond teaching skills and sequences. She teaches how to identify, alter, and create your own skills and sequences, and best of all how to fully embody the movement of each skill in the most satisfying way for the doer and the viewer. Technique, balance, stability, mobility, movement pathways, creativity, 360 degree movement, musicality, originality, intentional movement, elements of surprise and awe, and a deep connection to humanity is what you will get if you work with Kerri.
Kerri’s technical expertise comes from working with students of all ages, shapes, sizes, and challenges.
You can find Kerri’s performance videos here and Circus Fit free online tutorial videos here. Find Kerri on Instagram @SweetCircusKerri.
Chloe Marvel Light Axelrod (aerial hoop, flexibility), a born and raised San Franciscian, has over 20 years of circus training, and over 15 of circus teaching. She trained with masters of acrobatics such as Mr Lu Yi, and Xia Ke Min, and of flying trapeze Scott Cameron. She has done every thing from doubles on the flying trapeze to sitting on her head in contortion to basing and flying for three high human towers. Chloe’s specialty is aerial hoop on which she has a solo act and a doubles act. In her teaching an performing, she synthesizes years of training, a love for spinning, strong, fierce passion for movement into a whirlwind of virtuosic expertise. Chloe teaches in professional training programs as well as recreational classes in the San Francisco Bay Area. Through teaching and performing she shares the magic of circus all over the world. chloeaxelrod.com Instagram @lishalight
Attending the aerial hoop retreat has reignited the flame that had been missing for so long and has given me new goals to work towards and skills to progress. This trip was definitely among the top choices I have made in my life.
Jessica Smielecki – Sebastopol, CA
Retreat pricing in USD:
| Your choice of accomodations: | Early Bird Price until April 15 | Full Price by July 15 |
| Shared Dorm (mixed gender) | $2000 | $2300 |
| Shared Room (2 friends/couple sharing a room) | $2200 | $2500 |
| Private Room w Shared Bathroom | $2500 | $2800 |
| Private Room w Private Bathroom | $2800 | $3100 |
| Private Room w Private Bathroom & Air Conditioner | $3100 | $3400 |
$500 Deposit is required to secure your spot.
Early bird prices end April 15.
Full tuition is due by one month before the first day of the retreat.
Rates refer to cost of one person’s tuition.
Couples must sign up together.
Significant others and friends who are not taking classes are welcome at a special price.
Dorms are mixed gender.
Click here for room descriptions.
What’s included:
- Ground transportation to/from the Puerto Escondido Airport (PXM) to our accommodations*
- Arrive on August 16. Depart on August 23.
- Accommodations for the duration of the retreat
- Daily meals – breakfast, lunch, dinner, & desserts and treats!
- 3 daily classes (4-5 hours total/day)
- Aerial photoshoot
- Evening activities
- Trips to a local beaches and markets
- Baby turtle release excursion
- Trip to our local night market
- 24 hour use of swimming pool and community space
- Evening Jacuzzi soaks
- Starlink Wifi Internet
BIPOC Scholarship Available.
Links for more information:
- Casa Chango accommodations – room descriptions
- Meals and Food*
- How to get here**. Info and advice on booking your travel
- Weather in Puerto Escondido
- Testimonials
- Excursions
Discounts:
- Book and pay early and save $300!
- Refer a friend to any of our retreats and save $100 with our referral discount.*
- Sweet Retreats Alumni discount $200.
ECO RETREAT CENTER
Casa Chango is an Eco Retreat Center. We do our best to live in harmony with the natural world. We are off grid, and use 100% solar power. We have dry composting toilets and use the humanure and food waste to create soil to feed the amazing plants and trees all around the property. We ask all of our staff and guests to come with the mindset of learning about and respecting nature. The gray water from our sinks and showers filter out to water the plants. Therefore we ask you to bring natural shampoos, conditioners, and toothpaste to your retreat. All of our buildings were designed and built to be cool and comfortable, and we hope you enjoy your stay with us.
Casa Chango is an animal friendly place. There are several friendly animals on site including dogs and cats. They will not enter your rooms, but they will be on property and in common areas during your retreat. Animal lovers will be in their happy place.
Native insects live in this area of Mexico. We fumigate regularly to keep insects away and out of your rooms. We also acknowledge that the insects are an important part of keeping nature in balance. Most of the community spaces at Casa Chango, including the gym, dining area, pool, lounge are open air which means there are no walls. You can expect to see a variety of native insects, birds, and lizards during your visit. We hope you enjoy the experience of living more connected to nature.
Questions? Email us at SweetRetreatsMexico@gmail.com
*Food service begins with a snack and dinner on arrival day, and ends with breakfast on departure day. All meals are provided. 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.