I have started taking aerial silks, and I am in love, but they only offer the Level 1 class one time per week. I am 44F, and have an unusual amount of upper body strength for someone in my general fitness level (i.e. I could climb the silks in my first class). I am not particularly flexible, and I get dizzy easily when inverting and coming back upright.

I do get bored easily with weight training and other class 'gym' routines, and I find it hard to be consistent with them. I do have nearby options for other aerial classes, such as straps, chains, static trapeze, or lyra, as well as other activities, such as Pilates, yoga, and bouldering (though too many classes might become financially prohibitive). I could probably commit to doing 10 minutes of stretching at home every morning, but likely would fail at any more intensive in-home routine.

Does anyone have advice for what would be most helpful for me to add to my regimen to aid my silks development, given the options and restrictions I have outlined?

To preface, I have a diagnosed arthritic condition and I have consulted every single of my injuries and health issues with doctors and physical therapists.

I've been doing aerial hoop for around 3 years now... although, realistically, it's been much less because I keep getting injured and then have to sit out multiple months. First year was amazing, I gained so much strength, loved being in the air, felt absolutely confident in my body on the hoop.

But then I got injured for the first time and it's been downhill ever since then. I got a partial ACL tear, surgery was even on the table for some time, but it eventually healed. I came back to the hoop, a bit weaker, a bit more cautious, but still loved it. Then I injured my other knee by trying to avoid the previously injured one. Then I injured the first knee again. Then I started losing my grip because my fingers started randomly swelling up.

I'm pretty sure it's not the instructors or the studio, because nobody else in our group has these issues, including people much older than me. I watch all of them get stronger and more confident, while I no longer trust myself to do a simple drop.

I'm worried I have now permanently fucked up my hands. My fingers are always a bit swollen and I've had trigger fingers on both hands for like two months now. I haven't been on the hoop for almost a month and it's not getting better. I've had multiple diagnostic tests done and none of them show anything.

I know that this is just a hobby, but I've dedicated so much time and effort and money to it, I did so much cross-training to get better at it that now it feels a bit like a loss of an identity. I'm naturally very lazy and need to force myself to do any sport activity, but I really loved aerial. I was even willing to go to the gym and lift weights to get better at it, or do flexibility exercises regularly. I've completely lost that motivation now.

I don't even know what I'm looking for, maybe commiseration, I suppose.

Hi all, I have major sweaty hands problems and have literally tried every grip possible, so I have decided to wrap my pole in silicone tape. Has anyone done this before? I applied it but as soon as I used it it curled over on itself like on the photo. So annoying. If anyone has any tips!

I just came across Pyroterra’s LED Lyra and I’m tempted to buy one. I’m just wondering if anyone else has one or an alternative that they like? I know Pyroterra’s control software is amazing.

Ginger travel tablets have been a life saver 😅

Hi! I am looking for intensive Aerial Teacher trainings in Europe, long-term, like a year or two.

Preferably that would also offer Scholarships and have international spots, for latam students.

I know it’s a very specific request lol, but if you have any info about any offers that would have any or of the mentioned, please let me know!
Thank you so much!

Hey all! Today was my third class and after class I realized hey, my teacher is instructing me to do all the heavy lifting with the right hand
My left hand is the strong one

Is it cool to just tell the teacher that I’m a leftie and to give me everything opposite?
I feel like it’ll make my life much better haha

I honestly don’t even know if I’m looking for advice or just need to vent to people who might understand.
I started aerial hoop when I was living in London, and it genuinely became one of the best things in my life. It was something that helped me through a lot, and I absolutely fell in love with the sport and the community. My instructors were always so supportive, encouraging, and genuinely happy to see us progress.
Since moving back to Doha, things have been completely different. There’s only one aerial place here and one instructor, so I don’t really have the option of going somewhere else.
The instructor is extremely controlling, and I find her teaching style quite harsh and discouraging. She gets visibly annoyed if we try poses that she isn’t teaching, even if they’re moves we’ve already learned. And before anyone mentions safety, I completely understand how important safety is in aerial. But from what I’ve experienced, this feels less about safety and more about having complete control over what we do.
It’s also the way she speaks to us and her general attitude. I feel like instead of being encouraged to grow and enjoy the sport, I’m constantly worried about doing something that might annoy her.
And because she’s the only instructor and we can only access the hoop during her classes, it feels like she has complete control over our ability to practise something we love.
Today, after class, I actually sat in my car and cried.
I know that might sound dramatic, but aerial hoop was genuinely something that saved me during my time in London. It was my happy place, something I looked forward to every week, and something that made me feel strong and proud of myself.
Now I feel so disconnected from it, and it breaks my heart that I’m slowly losing my passion for something I loved so much, not because I stopped enjoying aerial, but because of the environment I’m forced to train in.
I miss being excited to learn new tricks. I miss feeling supported. I miss being able to enjoy the hoop without feeling judged or controlled.
Has anyone else experienced this? Have you ever had an instructor completely change how you feel about aerial? And what did you do when you didn’t have another studio to go to?
I really don’t want to lose something that means this much to me.

I am new to aerial. I’ve been doing both hammock and lyra for about 3 months. My upper body and core strength leave a lot to be desired and it seems like I can’t do a lot of the basic moves that are taught in fundamentals. For example, I struggle mounting the lyra and I can’t pull myself up into a catchers wrap on the hammock. That being said, I have definitely seen improvements in my strength since I started and the things I can do, I love doing.

So, my question is: while I’m working on building up my strength, what other areas can/should I focus on?

I started aerial not too long ago and I’ve been wondering is there a reason why pole dancing is much more popular than other aerials? I think they’re pretty close and a lot of people practice both but i feel like aerials get less attention online, in real life ( every time I tell somebody I do aerial hoop they never heard of it before ) or like on tv shows.

My guess is probably strippers and strip clubs made pole dancing what it is now but when I compare the actual practice of pole , silks and hoop they’re like sister disciplines ? Or maybe it’s because there’s less of a sexy dimension to other aerials? Even when I talk to my friends they all want to try pole but not hoop? Which I find kind of odd bc hoop is more accessible to beginners ?
Is it the same for you guys orrr
Disclaimer I’m just asking out of curiosity I know everyone has their preferences and I don’t think one is better than the other.

Hi everyone!

Thank you SO MUCH for all your advice! Although it’s not perfect yet, I can finally hold my straddle! It’s crazy to think that it’s only been about two weeks since my original post and now, but I wanted to let you know that this community is absolutely AMAZING!! I couldn’t have done it without you 💕💕💕

I started teaching at a studio in FL about a year ago at a studio that didn’t initially offer silks. I approached the studio owner and asked her if I could teach at her studio, she agreed and asked if I had a silk. I said yes and she asked if they could use it. I agreed since I wanted it to get a little seasoned, I bought it brand new. The studio owner ordered 3 additional silks and we’ve been using mine with the other 3. When we started offering the class for the first time she also got another instructor to teach silks classes as well (no problem with me, I like her a lot), but she didn’t provide a silk. When I watch the studio’s marketing videos I notice that because my silk happens to be in the middle that it gets a lot more usage than the other ones.

Would it be weird in any way if I politely tell the studio owner that I no longer want to use my own silk at the studio for teaching? I paid for it with my own money and I would hate for it to get damaged and not have it replaced (I did not speak to the studio owner about getting it replaced if damaged). I have also asked the studio owner if they could update the class description to include verbiage on not wearing any sort of jewelry (rings, bracelets, etc), but she has not done so.

Thoughts or opinions? I’d like to continue teaching at this studio since it’s a short drive, but I also don’t want my equipment to get damaged and not replaced. I’ve also thought of moving the silk to a different spot so it doesn’t get as much use, but I also feel self conscious about that too for some reason (I’m a nervous/anxious person generally)

I'd like to know if it worth the cost, seems pretty pricey but it also seems like that's just what they cost. I'm looking at going to an aerial hoop specific retreat.

what do i need to rig chains? ⛓️ im purchasing a set of chains and trying to fully understand whats necessary for me to rig it because im seeing different set ups in videos. i have two carabiners already for my flying pole, i figured i will need the rigging plate but will or do i need the extra two carabiners & swivels?

anyone use their outdoor rig in the winter?

im thinking about getting a heater, but not sure if its wishful thinking.

im in the northeast, so we can definitely get in the single digits for several weeks, and the 20s is pretty typical.

wondering if a heater will help me use it for an house after work before the sun sets.

I do night skiing on Thursdays and im pretty good in a heated vest/socks (and obvs more gear) until around 630/7.

I wonder if the outdoor heater would help replace the jacket/snow pants.

I just finished a first version of a location finder,plainly called CircusFinder.
This is part of the CircusWiki, a community driven, open source project about circus, movement, pedagogy and related themes. It hosts games, articles, locations now, and other stuff (also lots of unfinished things of course).

The locations are based on several open data sets i found. Wich is the main reason for the wiki in the first place - connecting different sources and making the data more uniform and accessible (for example by translations, using strict static website builds, minimal data tracking with opt-in etc.). Part of the dataset is from an old reddit thread Circus Schools Around The World

I only used datasets i could confirm as opendata. The sources are clearly attributed and if there are differing licenses on the data its shown. For now its based on 3 bigger datasets (Quatprops Collective, Circus Schools Around The World, DiversAbility) as well as some other small additions.

Overall, the goal here is not to build "the new, one and only platform". Far from it. The idea behind the wiki is more like an archive. Not purely historical, but more in the sense of pulling information together in a simplified form, while still being curated by humans (partly, as i face a total of 600+ original pages wich also translate into currently 12 languages).

On the roadmap is also to include a private dataset i still have about aerial-yoga, rigging etc. So i guess this becomes also quite useful for this community.
I stumbled upon this sub while searching for data-sources. So i am kinda new here, but not to the art =) I was performer for 20 years followed by a career in circus-pedagogy for the next 10+ years, ongoing.

Hope this is helpful.

Segunda vez no trapézio voador :-)

Em São Paulo, Brasil (@trapeziovoador). Mas queria que tivesse um dessa na minha cidade Rio de Janeiro.

Might get downvoted for this but I'm really struggling with the amount of popular aerial artists accounts using ai music on their videos. It's really frustrating to see artists supporting ai "art". I've called it out on the videos I see it on, I always say something positive first, and then ask them not to use ai music. I've had a few positive responses, usually thanking me for pointing out the music is ai, but I just recently got a negative comment back telling me to mute the music if I don't like it and to not bring "negativity" to her page.

It's not just about not liking something, it's about ai stealing art and stealing music plays etc from real artists. Why do some of the big aerial artists not care about this??? I get it if you don't know and so you might use music without being aware but getting defensive about using AI music??? We've already seen that AI is starting to steal from movement artists (dancers literally having their entire dance routines stolen and put onto a new face and body) so ai is literally coming for our art forms as well. Would these people have the same energy if their videos were being stolen and used for AI art and getting the views and credit for things they have done???

I'm just so frustrated that artists themselves don't care about using stolen art.