Aerial Straps, Rope, & Handstands
Retreat Mexico
w teacher Abbie Rooney
Puerto Escondido, Mexico
August 19-26, 2023
Space is limited so sign up now.
a WEEK in PARADISE at this Straps, Rope & Handstands Retreat with new friends, the beach, delicious, fresh, local food, and great training.
Straps, Rope & Handstands Retreat is for intermediate/advanced aerial students and pre-professionals interested in honing their skills. Daily handstand and ground conditioning practice will be thoroughly coached and guided so that participants come away with a complete idea of training with body balance and injury prevention in mind.
This retreat is perfect for anyone who already has a straps/rope practice as well as people who haven’t practiced straps before but are advanced on a chosen aerial apparatus. If you would like to level up your technique/to apply straps foundations on other apparatuses, this is the retreat for you.
This Straps, Rope & Handstands Retreat will have 2 daily movement discipline classes – Morning class will be technique, conditioning, skills, and choreography on aerial straps and rope. Some creative and performance elements will be touched on as well. Afternoon classes will be handstands and flexibility to support your aerial training and create a well rounded training regimen. There will be a functional anatomy workshop as well as injury prevention techniques.
The rest of our time can be spent eating amazing, healthy food, swimming in the warm river and ocean, reading in hammocks, and breathing the tropical air.
Intermediate/Advanced Levels WELCOME!
Prerequisites:
Each student should arrive with a clear understanding of and be able to execute all of the following:
- strong straddle inversion
- has been exposed to momentum work
- comfortable in hip keys
- can sustain 3 minutes in the air without rest
Please feel free to email Abbie at abbieroon@gmail.com with any questions about the prerequisites.
Sample of daily schedule
Arrival day is August 19. Departure day is August 26. There are no classes on arrival/departure days.
(choose as many or few classes/activities as you like)
8-9:30am Coffee, Tea and Breakfast
10am-12:45pm Warm up & Rope/Straps Class
1pm Lunch
1-5pm Pool-time, siesta, relaxing
3:30pm afternoon snack and ice coffee
5-6:30pm Handstands or Flexibility class
7pm Dinner
8-10pm Evening Activities
We will take you to our favorite beach for swimming, surfing, snorkeling, and releasing baby turtles into the sea.
Classes include:
skills & conditioning
rope & straps
rope & straps-specific choreography
handstands
flexibility
functional anatomy
Space is limited, so sign up now!
About your Coach
Abbie is an aerialist and movement artist originally from Kansas City, MO. Beginning with competitive gymnastics, to University of Colorado School of Engineering, to an international circus career; Abbie is an accomplished aerialist, dancer, acrobat and fire/prop manipulator. She attended Frequent Flyers Productions (aerial dance) Professional Training, developing her overall aerial technique. Originally a trapeze specialist, turned aerial straps fanatic. She has been seen dancing and flying high on National television, in large arenas, big top circuses, corporate events, theatrical productions, festival performances and doing acting/stunt/character work. A few notable companies she has worked with include Carnival Cruises, On the Fly Productions, Meow Wolf, T-Mobile, United Airlines, Quixotic Fusion, Fox Entertainment Group and many more. Currently, she is the female aerial trainer for 4 shows on Carnival Cruises’ newest ship: developing choreography and training the casts that entertain crowds around the world.
Abbie’s coaching approach in her own words:
I love to coach the dirty details. I help artists grow their technique and be inspired by truly feeling the body. I am big on warming up with intuition, following the hearts desires and letting that motivate what techniques should be focused on in any given training session. I am also big on breaking things down into smaller parts/drills, breath work and visualization. I really see straps as both a training tool and a next level apparatus. What ballet is to dance, straps are to the aerial arts. Given a chosen skill, I always offer progressive strength elements. I enjoy coaching new dynamic skills that students may not have known were accessible when I can feel that my students are ready and ‘on their game’ for the day. I do believe in adjusting the ‘plan’ for how we actually show up. I like having plans and regimens, I can be/came from a very ridid and disciplined gymnastics background; however, I find that circus being an art form as well as highly athletic: the more important leaving room to just simply vibe can be for creation’s-sake. My coaching almost always involves a bit of both, usually a sandwich of ‘how are you feeling’ with ‘here’s the workout’ and back to ‘how are you feeling’/finish training with something that simply feels good or fun so that I always end on a positive note. I want to find freedom on/in a challenging apparatus or skill.
Rates for Straps, Rope & Handstands Retreat
Rates are listed in USD. A $500 deposit is required to save your spot. Payment is due in full by July 15, 2023.
| Room | Early Bird Price until July 1, 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 |
| Private room w private bathroom & air conditioning | $2800 | $3100 |
Rates refer to cost of one person’s tuition.
Couples/SO’s are welcome at an additional price.
Prices for Straps, Rope & Handstands 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/smoothies!
- 2 Daily classes (3-4 hours total/day)
- Photo shoot
- Evening Activities
- Trip to baby turtle release!
- 24 hour use of Swimming Pool, wi-fi, and Community Space
- Homemade chocolates, popsicles, and other treats
- COVID safety compliance
Links for more information:
- Accommodations – room descriptions
- Meals and Food
- How to get here. Info and advice on booking your travel
- Weather in Puerto Escondido
- Testimonials
- Excursions
Discounts
- Sign up early to get the Early Bird Discount
- Refer a friend and get a $100 referral discount.*
- Sign up on our mailing list to find out about more discounts.
Questions? Email us at SweetRetreatsDR@gmail.com.
*Food service begins with lunch on August 19, and ends with breakfast on August 26, 2023. The food is amazing!
** Arrive on Aug 19. Depart on Aug 26. 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.
*Referrals must be first time retreaters and not already have had communication or a relationship with Sweet Retreats.
Read our full COVID Policy here.
Cancellation Policy:
No Refunds. No exceptions.
Cancel more than 60 days before 1st day of retreat: 60% of your payment (not including deposit) can transfer toward a future Sweet Retreat.
Cancel 30-60 days before the 1st day of retreat: 40% of your payment (not including deposit) can transfer toward a future Sweet Retreat.
Cancel up to 30 days before the 1st day of the retreat: 20% of your payment (not including deposit) can transfer toward a future Sweet Retreat.
Deposits are non-refundable and non-transferrable.
Sweet Retreats will not cancel this retreat unless the Mexican border closes, ALL flights are cancelled, and all airports close..
See complete list of terms and conditions here.
See complete COVID Policy here.