r/Aerials

i just farted during aerial class, i’m sure everybody heard, i wanna kmy 👌

please tell me you have fart stories, i’m so mortified i think i need to change studios

I love Aerial, but one of the main reasons I can do it is because there’s a crash mat and knowing how to fall safely helps to relieve a lot of my anxiety around the heights and the risks involved.

I’m currently training for a competition next spring and I’m seeing on the website that crash mats are optional. The set-up they provide is basically a gymnastics mat. You know, the fold up kind that you use for stretching 😂. But they will provide a crash mat upon request, which I will be asking for.

I’m just curious as to why a competition, especially one that bills itself as kid friendly and learning oriented, would not just have crash mats set up for every performer. I have been on this sub and in the Aerial Instagram world for about a year now and that’s been long enough to see that everybody that’s had a catastrophic injury has had one during a performance or practice that doesn’t have crash mats. These are not just beginners, these are aerialists of all levels - including experts. At my own gym, I’ve seen one of the instructors fall from the top of the Silks and luckily land on the crash mats safely (she bounced off and flew a couple feet across the room. It was crazy.). This was during a rehearsal for a performance, where luckily there were gonna be crash mats.

Is this just an aesthetic thing or a culture thing? What disappoints me so much about this specific “family friendly” competition is that by not making crash mats the default you’re training the kids there to believe that using a crash mat is less-than and takes away from your performance. I’m old AF and asking for a crash mat isnt embarrassing to me… but I’m guessing it might be for a 16 year old who’s friends are competing without one.

What are your thoughts on this? Is there something I’m missing?

Full disclaimer: my children call me “safety Mom” and my mother is a physical therapist who rehabs people with severe neck and back injuries.

What can i do to become more graceful? Is it just drills and drills and drills? I don't have a dance background, and watching myself move around the apparatus usually just looks.... not super nice lol despite being on year 3 of my journey :(

Hey everyone! I’ve been doing aerial silks and hoop for a little over a year now, and I really want to start putting together full routines to music for both.

So far I’ve picked my songs and started mapping out moves, poses, drops, etc. to different parts of the music. But now that I’m actually trying to do the routine, I have so many questions 😭

First, how do you guys ACTUALLY choreograph a routine? I have zero dance background, so right now I’m basically like “lyric happens → change pose” or “big beat → do a drop” lol. It technically matches the music, but sometimes it feels kind of robotic. How do you make everything flow and actually look like a performance rather than just a bunch of skills timed to a song?

Timing is also confusing me. Sometimes the same skill takes me 5 seconds, and another time it takes 10 (such as having to invert twice cuz I got stuck first try lol). How do you choreograph around that?

And if you realize mid-routine that you’re behind the music, what do you actually do? Skip a pose? Speed up a transition? Just accept that you missed that musical moment and keep going?

Basically, how do I go from “here is a sequence of aerial skills that matches the song” to something that actually feels fluid and choreographed?

Any tips for a first-time aerial choreographer would be very appreciated! :)

Hi All, coming back to aerial after 10 years off after having a kid and work travel.

Started with a Pilates apparatus for husbands PCL rehab and my fitness.

Bought a chair, started looking at a cadillac - which has a fair number of possible inverts including skinning the cat and rollovers, inverts and planche...

Which brought me to a thought - I've seen less than 10 ig accounts of aerialists doing moves on calisthenics bars - so is anyone out there adapting aerial moves for calisthenics parks?

Calisthenics parks are far more common where I am, I have 2 in walking distance. Aerial gyms on the other hand are a minimum half hour drive + park. I'd be able to carve out 1 session every 10 days to 2 weeks. Even climbing gyms are more common, I have 3 within a 10 minute drive.

Would love to connect with people who are doing aerial practice/moves with Pilates or calisthenics so I put that consistency back into my practice.

Hello! I do both hoop and straps pretty often and love doing them but have been considering getting my eyebrow pierce and was wondering if anyone knew how they would interact? If anyone has any experience with mixing eyebrow piercings and hoop or straps please let me know how thats going!

This is a bit niche but I’m looking for a place to rent, available at the weekend, preferably in Guildford that has high ceilings (5m+).
I would like to use it for partner acrobatics so ideally it would have a structural beam or something that longes can be attached so the training can be safer.

I tried to look online but didn’t have much luck, there is a circus school in Walton but it’s not bookable at the weekend.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.

I consolidated what I could find on the popular free-standing aerial rigs (specs, prices, materials, setup, lead time, etc., as of Aug 2026, as a USA buyer).

PLEASE verify info before using this for buying decisions!

Rig	Ships From	Origin (customs)	Rig Price (USD)	Pulley Price (USD)	Shipping Price (USD - to Utah)	Est. U.S. Import Duty	Est. Total to U.S.	Max Height	Footprint	Material**(Steel rigs are marketed as "weather resistant" but joints/chipped coating will rust eventually; aluminum is better left outdoors longer but will theoretically corrode eventually too and is less strong)**	Working Load Limit	Breaking load	Swinging	pulley system available?	Set Up (# people & difficulty) --> Take this with grain of salt...not all websites advertise this clearly	Lead Time (as of Aug 2026)
Ludwig Quad Rig – Large; Vvolfy	USA		3420	675	Free	N/A	4095	19 ft, 6 in	19' 6" x 21'6" (+ 2 ft with 6 ft header)	powder coated steel	400 pounds	?	Moderate	Yes — dedicated 2:1	2+ (tools and screws - some reviews say its kind of a pain)	10-18 weeks
Circus Concepts ACHILLE Tripod	Canada		2882.5	650	450	Unsure - depends on origin country	3983 + customs	24 foot	triangle where sides are 23' (so its 23' wide by 19'9" long)	structural grade aluminum - website advertises long outdoor use	1120 lbs	5500 Lbs	? probably not but doesnt say	Yes — manufacturer-supported 1:1 or 3:1	1+ (but you lay it down so need huge footprint - 50'6" long by 22' across for 24' setup because you lay it all down flat then use pulley to pull it up together. You CAN built it piece by piece vertically but is harder and they dont recommend it)	in stock
Circus Gear Portable Aerial Rig	USA		3995	411	250	N/A	4656	23 feet	20' x 20'	6061 aluminum	400 lbs	2000 lbs	moderate	Yes — dedicated 4:1	2+ (no tools)	wait - amount not specified
Bobby's big top - 20' Engineered Quad	USA		3875	?	? not free "plus shipping"	N/A	3875 + pulley/shipping if applicable	20 ft	18' x 18'	aluminum	Does not say; mentions a stamp for ANSI E1.43 Standards		?	?	2+	unknown
Juggle Gear Aerial Rig MK3 - 20ft	Canada	Taiwan	2087.53	267	235	120 (4.6% using tariff code 9506.91.0030 from taiwan)	2589.53	20 ft	18' x 18'	Chromoly steel; powder coated with a tough epoxy	1250 lbs	6250 lbs	?	Yes	claim 2 people in 10 min (no tools)	in stock - ship tues/thurs
Acrofab Aerial Quad Rig 16-20 ft	USA		$3,350.00	340	450	N/A	$4,140.00	20 ft	17' x 20'	steel; powder coated (custom color included)	400 lbs	2000 lbs	no (website says no duos, so I'm extrapolating)	yes	2+	made to order (3-5 weeks)
Suspendulum Tripod	Says "worldwide" - Unsure		2497	? unsure if option	460	Unsure - depends on origin country	2957 + pulley + customs (if applicable)	20 ft	?	steel	180 lbs	1900 lbs	?	?	1+	in stock
Coggs Circus Quad	USA		2949	400	Free	N/A	3349	20 ft	20' x 23'	Mix - Website says aluminum legs will not rust but that the steel inserts and top bar will eventually.	500 lbs	?	?	Yes — dedicated system	2+ (website says 1 hour)	in stock

Image Version:

https://preview.redd.it/1pwcb96qzzjh1.png?width=1627&format=png&auto=webp&s=dd0f5198b3ef8aa8fb92565ebd10cbcdbefce8f4

I decided on the Juggle Gear rig (bolded) due to my own constraints:

Constraints:
USA buyer
Yard size: 25' wide (a high residential power line is above fence on one side, garage wall is on other) and 50' long; need to stay a 10+ foot radius from powerline
Outdoor use in Salt Lake location - dry environment (not prone to rust) - might remove over winter
Portability/ease-of-setup - want to take camping/to music festivals
I'm inpatient - want available now/soon

Let me know if anything's wrong or if you know any of the missing pieces!

A few performers and myself were asked to perform at a 3 day long camping festival which is local and drivable. They are paying for our ticket plus meals and a performer fee. In addition to the performer they are paying us ($500/each for the festival) I am wondering what would be an appropriate fee to bring our rigs (standing aerial and lollopop)? This is our first time renting them out and are a little unsure what to ask, if anything in addition to the fee they are paying us. Or does it seem like what they are giving us is already sufficient. TIA

I'm having a hard time with transitioning from one move to the next when the instructor is teaching a combo. I can do them individually but connecting them together is where I have a hard time. Like my brain will short-circuit after completing one move and I don't know how to transition to the next one, even though the instructor had demonstrated how. I'm very much a complete beginner (I've taken 6 beginning lyra classes so far). Does it eventually become second nature with time and practice where I don't even have to think long and hard about how to get from one move to the other?

I started aerial chains recently and the pain of the bruises is getting me down. By the time I get home I feel like I’ve been hit by a truck, even worse the day after, and by the time my next session rolls around the bruises have barely begun to heal so it just compounds and makes them worse. I’m trying arnicare but it’s barely touching the sides. Surely there has to be something 😭🙏🏻

I’ve had my eyes opened to the world of cord lisse and am obsessed! Currently, I’m an extremely busy mom with very little break away from my LO so I’ve been keeping up with pole with home lessons from my old studio’s owner via zoom lessons. I think it’s doable for me because I trained for a while in person, getting the necessary corrections. Would it be possible or advisable to install a rope at home and try lessons via zoom given that I won’t have had any cord lessons in person but a pretty strong pole background? The nearest aerial studio that offers lessons is about 40 minutes away so I just can’t afford the round trip time plus time for the lesson even once a week