Beginner/Intermediate Aerial Retreat
Silks, Sling, & Lyra
Skills, Conditioning, Flexibility, Creativity
At Casa Chango in Puerto Escondido, Mexico
Instructors: Kerri Kresinski & Lily Rubin-Miller
Feb 22-28, 2025
BIPOC Scholarship Available. Apply here by Jan 1.
Spend a WEEK in PARADISE with new friends, the beach, delicious, fresh, local food, and learn loads of new Aerial Skills!
This retreat is for aerial students who are at or towards the beginning their journey into aerial arts. Classes will be focused on foundational skills, technique, strength building, flexibility and creativity. We will work with 3 apparatuses to get a well-rounded dive into aerial arts. Each apparatus teaches us different skills that help us excel at anything we do in the air. We will also practice our skills and sequences with different kinds of music and themes in order to explore our creativity within and around the skills.
This retreat will have 2 daily classes – The morning class will focus on movement efficiency, technique, and skills progressions, with each day building on the skills taught on the previous day.
Afternoon classes will be focused on implementing the skills creatively and working with music.
When you aren’t training, you’ll be eating amazing, healthy food, lounging at the pool, swimming in the ocean, reading in hammocks, and enjoying being in nature. Get ready to move, play, breathe, feel, stretch, and express. At Casa Chango you are invited to shine and be yourself!
Our amazing teachers will cater to the different skill levels of students from beginner to intermediate level. Total beginners are welcome, but we recommend trying aerial before coming.
Daily Schedule Sample: Everything is optional!
- 8-9:30 am: Coffee, Tea and Breakfast
- 10:30am-12:30pm: Warm up & Aerial Skills
- 1pm: Lunch
- 1-3:30pm: Pool-time, siesta, relaxing
- 3:30pm: Afternoon Treat
- 4:30-6pm: Creative Exploration &/or Flexibility, AcroYoga
- 7pm Dinner
- 8-10pm Evening activities
Other activities include:
- 2 Beach Trips
- Baby Turtle Release
- Bioluminescent Lagoon Trip
- Mexican Night Market
- Morning aerial/acro photo shoot
- Ice Bath
- Option for a night time photo shoot with fancy lights as well.
Space is limited, so sign up now!
Your coaches:
Kerri and Lily met in January 2022 when Lily came to Sweet Retreats as a student in the Circus Residency Program. They immediately clicked and realized they have the same passion for training, teaching, learning, and creating. Lily shadowed Kerri’s teaching for the next 2 years while committing to her own practice. Now, having the same vocabulary and foundations, they have become an unstoppable teaching team. They find joy in all of the steps, progressions, and love exploring and learning new ways to approach challenges as their students present them. If you get the chance to train with them, you and your aerial practice will be refreshed, excited, and filled with new perspectives and potential!
Kerri Kresinski
Kerri is an aerialist, dancer, choreographer, and coach. She 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—physically, emotionally and spiritually. She has learned that anything is possible with patience, discipline and a positive attitude. She is truly a unique performer, engaging, thrilling, and moving audiences with her skills, style, and heart.
Kerri has always been the most passionate about movement. She started my dance lessons when she was 3 years old and over the next 25 years studied theater, acting, music, circus acrobatics and aerial arts. Her professional career as a multi-disciplinary performer brought her to shows and festivals all over the world. She feels that the body is the gateway to the higher powers for healing, transformation and expression.
Technique and physical strength didn’t come naturally to Kerri’s body, but her insatiable appetite for understanding the body helped her to figure it out. She has developed techniques using active flexibility, strength, and physics to work with physical movement and goals.
Kerri’s technical expertise comes from working with students of all ages, shapes, sizes, and challenges. She loves to figure out the best route for each individual, celebrating successes big and small. She has learned that anything is possible with patience, discipline, self-awareness, and a positive attitude.. Kerri’s knowledge of anatomy, physics, injury prevention, creative problem solving, and realistic goal setting makes her one of the most masterful coaches of her time.
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. She is truly one of a kind.
It is Kerri’s life’s purpose to support people in finding joy in their lives and make choices that serve them physically, emotionally, mentally, and energetically, to reduce stress and allow space to wake up all that is possible in this life. When we climb into our bodies with curiosity and joy, we cultivate self awareness that can open us up to creating a life that is better than we could have ever imagined.
You can find Kerri’s performance videos here and Circus Fit free online tutorial videos here. Find Kerri on Instagram @SweetCircusKerri.
Lily Rubin-Miller
Lily is an aerial silks and rope instructor known for empowering beginner to strong intermediate students to explore and embody their own unique movement styles in the air. With a background in contemporary, jazz, and modern dance, she has been teaching technique and creative movement since she was 16 years old. Discovering aerial arts later in her career ignited Lily’s passion for exploration and creation in the air. Her personal aerial practice is rooted in a profound love of movement and a deep connection to the body, which directly translates into her teaching philosophy. Lily’s mission is to guide each student towards a deeper connection with their bodies, facilitating authentic self-expression within the aerial arts.
Lily has spent the last two years under the mentorship of Kerri Kresinski, esteemed founder and head coach at Sweet Retreats, as a coach for the Aerial Residency program. She and Kerri developed the dance curriculum within the Circus Residency Program, equipping aerialists with concrete tools and confidence to express themselves on the ground. Drawing from a diverse range of dance styles including modern, ballet, jazz, hip-hop, and Gaga, Lily’s approach has transformed her students’ relationship to floor movement.
Fueled by her deep love of vertical apparatuses, Lily’s classes blend essential aerial concepts with a sophisticated understanding of theory, offering students of all levels engaging, challenging, and fulfilling learning experiences. You can expect technique, drills, theory, choreography, and creativity from her classes. She is adept at identifying individual student challenges and skill gaps, providing targeted guidance and progressions to facilitate growth and mastery. Her warmth and energy create an inclusive and supportive learning environment where every individual feels welcomed, supported, and seen.
You can find Lily on Instagram @lilacandthebee.
Student Testimonials
“Kerri’s teaching is accessible, creative, and empowering. This retreat was one of the most inspiring experiences of my life. I can’t wait to go back. Taking what I’ve learned here and applying it in my home studio has inspired me to level up my aerial game; advancing my technique, my understanding of theory, and my creativity and intentionality. I cannot say enough good things about how enriching and powerful this experience in Mexico is, including the people I met along the way.’
Kieran Stilson, 2022
“Kerri is hands-down the best aerials instructor I’ve ever had. In our retreat, we had some students with 3 months of experience and some 7 years, and somehow she gave us all personalized attention and narrowed in immediately in each of our needs. She has an unparalleled knowledge of the human body and how to create a safe, sustainable aerials practice. Whether you are just getting started, or having been practicing for years, Kerri helps take your practice to the next level and teaches wrap theory in a way that makes learning new moves at any studio more feasible. All her classes are energetic and fun, often featuring easy cardio dance routines that double as specific muscle warmups. After working with Kerri in one residency, I was so hooked I came back for a second. She is a one-in-a-million teacher, who really lives eats and breathes her craft, and it shows!”
Sophie Sandweiss, 2022
“Not only did I learn how to manage aerial math and exploration, but I learned about what muscles to use and how to engage them. We also spent a significant amount of time learning how to use our bodies artistically through dance and the importance of proper strength and flexibility. Kerri is an incredible teacher. I plan on attending regular retreats.”
Elizabeth Rillera, 2022
“Kerri’s enthusiasm is infectious; she is a master teacher who generously shares all her wisdom accumulated from years of practicing her art and craft.”
Linda Huang – San Francisco, Ca 2022
Kerri imbues her classes with a really sweet combination of focused work, zany playfulness, and an earthy and body-positive sensuality. I walked away from my time as Kerri’s student more capable, skilled, and excited not just about aerial, but about the journey to reaching my goals. I typically have given myself a hard time– about a number of things in life– including my journey with aerials. Kerri is skilled and optimistic, is genuinely there for you, and 100% rooting for you to “get that thing” and if you’re not there yet, can show you what needs to be done to get you to progress. She knows the value of the hard or ugly work, but she knows how to do it in a way that is fun and full of compassion for yourself and your journey. I truly appreciate this woman and friend, and I now know that my time at Sweet Retreats was a workshop on many levels, and not just in the air.
Elizabeth Ferretti, 2019
Kerri is an amazing silks teacher that really helped me to understand silks in a way that never made sense to me before. She has such a wealth of knowledge to share from silks theory, progressions, etc. Deborah Oh, 2021
Retreat Pricing (in USD):
| Room | Early Bird Price | Full Price |
| Shared Dorm (gender mixed) | $2000 | $2300 |
| Shared Private Room (2 friends sharing a room) 1 king size bed or 2 individual beds | $2200 | $2500 |
| Private Room with Shared Bathroom | $2500 | $2800 |
| Private Room with Private Bathroom | $2800 | $3100 |
| Private Room with Private Bathroom and Air Conditioning | $3100 | $3400 |
Early bird price is good through Dec 1, 2025.
Full tuition is due by Jan 15, 2025.
Rates refer to cost of one person’s tuition.
Couples must sign up together.
Rates refer to cost of one person’s tuition.
Couples/SO’s are welcome at an additional price.
What’s included:
- Ground transportation to/from the Puerto Escondido Airport (PXM) to our accommodations*
- Arrive on Feb 22. Depart on Feb 28.
- Accommodations for the duration of the retreat
- Daily meals – breakfast, lunch, dinner, dessert & snacks
- 2 Daily classes
- Aerial photoshoot
- Evening activities
- Trips to local beaches, baby turtle release, and night market
- 24 hour use of Swimming Pool, Jacuzzi, and Community Spaces
- High Speed Starlink Wifi Internet
- Evening Jacuzzi soaks
What People Are Saying:
Kerri’s teaching is accessible, creative, and empowering. This retreat was one of the most inspiring experiences of my life. I can’t wait to go back. Taking what I’ve learned here and applying it in my home studio has inspired me to level up my aerial game; advancing my technique, my understanding of theory, and my creativity and intentionality. I cannot say enough good things about how enriching and powerful this experience in Mexico is, including the people I met along the way.
Kieran Stilson, 2022
Kerri is hands-down the best aerials instructor I’ve ever had. She has an unparalleled knowledge of the human body and how to create a safe, sustainable aerials practice. Whether you are just getting started, or having been practicing for years, Kerri helps take your practice to the next level and teaches wrap theory in a way that makes learning new moves at any studio more feasible. All her classes are energetic and fun, often featuring easy cardio dance routines that double as specific muscle warmups. After working with Kerri in one residency, I was so hooked I came back for a second. She is a one-in-a-million teacher, who really lives eats and breathes her craft, and it shows!
Sophie Sandweiss, 2022
Kerri is a lovely human being and a true master of her craft. I have never learned aerial silks in such a technical, digestible, applicable yet artistic, creative and vulnerable way.
Jessica Leong, 2022
Kerri imbues her classes with a really sweet combination of focused work, zany playfulness, and an earthy and body-positive sensuality. I walked away from my time as Kerri’s student more capable, skilled, and excited not just about aerial, but about the journey to reaching my goals. Kerri is skilled and optimistic, is genuinely there for you, and 100% rooting for you to “get that thing” and if you’re not there yet, can show you what needs to be done to get you to progress. She knows the value of the hard or ugly work, but she knows how to do it in a way that is fun and full of compassion for yourself and your journey.
Elizabeth Ferretti – April 2019
Sweet Retreats has encouraged me to be a better version of myself both physically in the circus arts and also personally in my interactions with friends and the community. The instructors at Sweet Retreats are not only world class performers, they are also some of the most caring, beautiful, and authentic individuals. I’m so fortunate to have discovered this paradise of athletic endeavors, delicious food, unending laughter, and all within the gorgeous surrounding.
Liz Marotte, Oakland, CA
Questions? Email us at SweetRetreatsMexico@gmail.com.
Links for more information:
- Accommodations – room descriptions
- Meals and Food*
- How to get here. Info and advice on booking your travel to Puerto Escondido.**
- Weather in Puerto Escondido
- Testimonials
- Excursions
Discounts
- Sign up early to get the Early Bird Discount
- Refer a friend to any of our upcoming programs and get a $100 referral discount. You get $100 discount for each person you refer. Referrals must be for first timers at Sweet Retreats.
- Sign up on our mailing list to find out about more discounts.
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.
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*Food service begins with dinner on arrival day and ends with breakfast on departure day. The food is amazing!
** Your taxi to/from the PXM airport is included if you arrive/depart on those designated days.
Cancellation Policy:
No Refunds.
Deposits are non-refundable and non-transferrable.
Cancel more than 60 days before 1st day of retreat: 50% of your tuition paid can transfer toward a future Sweet Retreat within 18 months of cancellation.
Cancel 30-60 days before the 1st day of retreat: 25% of your tuition paid can transfer toward a future Sweet Retreat within 18 months of cancellation.
Cancellations up to 30 days before the 1st day of the retreat will not be credited or refunded for any reason.
At the time of payment for your retreat, we strongly advise purchasing a travel insurance policy. Make sure your policy covers the full cost of the retreat fee, as well as unexpected cancellation, trip delay, losses and other risks. Also, consider protection for canceled or delayed flights, lost luggage, medical needs while traveling. Please bring the policy with you in case of emergency. Click here to compare plans.
See complete list of terms and conditions here.
Read our COVID Policy here.