at Casa Chango
Aerial Skills, Flexibility, Artistry, Dance, Acrobatics
Lyra, Silks, Sling
10 Week Course Program
February 18-April 28, 2024
4 Week Course Program
February 18-March 17, 2024
Circus Residency Mexico
CIRCUS RESIDENCY MEXICO OVERVIEW
Immerse yourself in training aerial skills, flexibility, dance, artistry, act creation, floor work, acrobatics, handstands & performance skills.
Live in a creative, supportive, inclusive community where you can truly be yourself.
Swim in the pool & the sea. Soak in the jacuzzi. Ice baths anyone?
Eat delicious, fresh meals served daily.
Work/study online remotely.
Practice Spanish.
circus residency Mexico Winter 2024 circus residency Mexico Winter 2024 circus residency Mexico Winter 2024 circus residency Mexico Winter 20ABOUT THIS PROGRAM
ABOUT THE COURSE PROGRAM
This program is a 10 week intensive for aerial students to focus their training in a disciplined, yet supportive, inclusive, and non-judgmental environment. Each student will choose a primary focus of either lyra or aerial silks. Other classes include flexibility, dance, improvisation, handstands, acrobatics, artistry, and conditioning.
We have 2 creative classes per week with our creative team of coaches. Focus will be on creative expression and theatrical exploration on the floor and on aerial equipment. Students have the options to create a solo act or artistic collaborations with other students. There will be a one week break from classes in the middle of the program for students to rest their bodies, practice in open gym, and explore the surrounding areas including Oaxaca City.
At the end of the 10 week program, we will present a public show. Students will be guided and encouraged to show work they have created during the program. The last 1-2 weeks of the program will be spent on building and rehearsing the show.
We have a limited amount of space for the 4 week program. Students signed up for the 4 week program will not have the opportunity to perform in a show or video shoot, but they will get one aerial photo shoot during their residency.
OPEN TRAINING & DOWN TIME
Open training in the gym is available whenever there are no other classes in session. The course program has 2 days off per week (Mondays and Tuesdays) for resting, open training and exploring! Down time can be spent relaxing by the pool, going to the beach, markets, nature excursions, salsa dancing, bars & nightclubs, creative projects, exploring the surrounding areas, and practicing your Spanish.
If you are a professional artist wishing to use the space for your own creative projects, click here.
Circus Residency Mexico
I cannot say enough how incredible my time at Sweet Retreats was! The training was exceptional, the community inclusive and supportive, the food delicious, and of course the settings were beautiful. The residency program changed my life and I am forever grateful.
Lily Rubin-Miller 2022
Kerri is the best aerial teacher I have ever had!
Julia Glünkin, 2022
Aerial Skills, Technique & Sequences
This is a goal focused, circus school style training program for recreational and professional track aerial students. We create a welcoming environment for people who want to dive into aerial training and make progress toward their goals. In aerial skills classes, students will learn and understand technique, build and link skills to make creative sequences, work toward physical goals, and take their training to the next level.
This program supports building strength and flexibility to execute tricks with excellent technique for safe and effective training for all types of bodies. We encourage students to move at their own pace and listen to their bodies.
Students must choose a primary focus of aerial silks or lyra. Students can have an optional secondary focus of sling. Open gym training is available daily.
Students with professional goals can book private lessons with instructors or apply for our Aerial Mentorship Program.
Flexibility, Dance, Handstands, Acrobatics
Ground classes include dance, floor work, flexibility, handstands, Pilates and acrobatics which provide a foundation for aerial work as well as cross training for injury prevention.
Students will learn dance and floor work technique & sequences that will be made into group performance pieces.
Focus will be on freedom of expression, play, exploring and developing new movement pathways and supporting each student to fully understand and connect with their bodies.
Flexibility classes are focused on active flexibility that will support their aerial and floor work training.
Floor work, acrobatics & handstands classes focus on useful skills for everyone as well as providing support for each student’s specific goals.
Creative Exploration & Act Development
The creative development classes will guide students to explore the creative process, develop their personal style, create an act, and be challenged outside of the typical class structure.
Focus will be on choreography, transitions, musicality, character, emotion, dynamics, personal style, & refinement as well as group collaboration.
We create a culture of inclusion and curiosity and encourage students to explore and lean into their creative ideas and develop their personal movement style. Judgement and shaming are never tolerated.
In addition to classes students will be encouraged to do their own creative research.
Students will be invited to perform in our public show.
INCLUSIVE CULTURE
It is our priority to create a welcoming, inclusive environment for all aerial students. Since all residents will be living in community during this program, it is important that each participant has a willingness and desire to grow as a human. We encourage self-reflection, kindness, & clear communication skills.
Each resident is required to do 1-2 hours of community service per week including keeping the living, eating, and training areas clean, helping with the local kids program, and/or working in the garden.
We support each student to experience a deeper connection with and understanding of their body, and create a safe space for personal expression. Students are encouraged to listen to their bodies, ask questions, and enjoy the process.
Suggested Reading:
The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz
Nonviolent Communication by Marshall Rosenberg
Start Where You Are by Pema Chodron
The Authenticity Project by Clare Pooley
Listen to podcast about Mastery vs. Success: a conversation between Brené Brown and Dr. Sarah Lewis
Applied Anatomy of Aerial Arts by Emily Scherb
Taking Route to Fly by Irene Dowd
GYM
Prerequisites for Silks Focus
(If you are a total beginner, don’t worry. Please contact us for options.)
- Climbs – Russian and French
- Bent arm hold (upper pull up hold) 10 seconds
- Straddle invert
- Inverted pencil hold
- Catchers lock
- Figure 8 foot wrap
- Aerial dance wrap
- Hip key
Prerequisites for Lyra Focus
(If you are a total beginner, don’t worry. Please contact us for options.)
- Invert – straddle and/or tuck
- Knee hang
- Front hip hang to sit
- Sitting to front hip hang
- Front balance
- Back balance
- Sit to stand on bottom bar
Circus Residency Mexico
ABOUT YOUR TEACHERS
Kerri Kresinski
Silks, Handstands, Acrobatics, Artistry, Dance, Flexibility
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.
Teachers TBD
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
What’s Included:
- Ground transportation from the Puerto Escondido Airport (PXM) to our accommodations if participants arrive to PXM on Feb 18 and depart on April 28.*
- Private or shared accommodations at our new eco-friendly resort. Click here to take a look at your options.
- Daily cleaning service.
- 3 nourishing meals a day, 6 days a week in our beautiful open-air kitchen. Click here to learn more about meals.
- Breakfast: 7:30-9:30am
- Lunch: 1-1:45pm
- Dinner: 7-7:45pm
- Communal space for personal food storage in our kitchen.
- Why only 6 days? Puerto Escondido is known for amazing food, so on Tuesdays we go to town to enjoy it!
- Use of all community areas:
- Swimming pool & hot tub
- Kitchen and dining area
- Open Gym (when classes are not in session) in our huge, amazing open-air gym
- Lots of hammocks for lounging
- Our private hiking trail down to the Colotepec River
- Up to 15 Weekly Classes:
- Aerial skills
- Act creation
- Flexibility
- Dance & floor work
- Acrobatics & handstands
- Performance skills
- Anatomy and injury prevention workshops
- Opportunity to create and perform in our live show
- Aerial photo shoot (w access to up to 15 photos)
- Video shoot
- High Speed Starlink Internet
- Access to our network of Spanish teachers who provide private or group classes on-site.
- Access to our on-site massage space and network of body-work practitioners for hire who come on-site.
- Recommendations and guidance to enjoy all that Puerto Escondido has to offer. Beaches, nature excursions, tours, surf lessons, networking events, dance classes, and so much more. Click here for an idea of what you have to look forward to.
- On-site events: Expect dance parties, pool parties, and fun hangouts with new friends. It’s never a dull moment at Casa Chango!
Not Included:
- Transportation
- Click here for travel tips and recommendations on booking flights.
- Taxis, ‘colectivo’ shuttles, and motorbike/car rentals make it easy to explore are all available locally.
- Massages, Spanish lessons and other excursions are booked separately and directly with the providers as needed.
Sample Schedule
Tuition:
| Accommodation | 4 week program | 10 week program |
| Shared Dorm (gender mixed) | $4000 | $6800 |
| Private Room w shared bathroom | $4800 | $7800 |
| Private room w private bathroom | $5200 | $8400 |
| Private room w private bathroom & air conditioning | N/A | $8900 |
Rates refer to cost of one person’s tuition. Listed in USD.
To get the early bird price, you must pay in full by November 1, 2023.
After Nov 1, the price increases by $300. Full tuition is due by Jan 1, 2024.
$1000 deposit is required to secure your spot.
All shared rooms and bathrooms are gender mixed.
*Airport shuttle transportation is available if you arrive/depart to Puerto Escondido (PXM), arrive on Feb 18, depart on April 28.
Ask us about our significant other prices.
Work-Trade / Partial Scholarships
We have one work-trade partial scholarship available for this residency. Applications are due by October 15.
Circus Residency Mexico
If you are a professional artist wishing to use the space for your own creative projects, click here.
Links for more information
- Accommodations
- Meals and Food
- Travel info – our advice on booking your travel
- Internet Quirks
- Testimonials
- Weather in Puerto Escondido
- Excursions
- Professional Mentorship Program
- Registration FAQs
See what people are saying about Residency
Circus Residency Mexico
Student Testimonials
“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. Kerri is skilled and optimistic, is genuinely there for you, and 100% rooting for you. 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 was a workshop on many levels.”
Elizabeth Ferretti – 2019
Going on an aerial residency at Sweet Retreats is one of best decisions I’ve ever made. The weather is perfect, the location beautiful and the training is absolutely top notch. But it’s the atmosphere, friendships, jokes and community that essentially make Sweet Retreats a summer camp for adults. Apart from that, it should be mentioned that Kerri, Stu and Erin create the sort of experience you get in a 5 star resort. It’s incredibly organized and well managed. Everything is taken care of, and I cannot remember the last time life was so stress-free.
Nora McFarland, 2021
The gym and conditioning palapa are beautiful, a really special place to train.
The residency program at Sweet Retreats has given me dear new friends and many fond memories. I have learned so much from the coaches and felt supported and seen. Sweet Retreats offers more than just a training opportunity, it is a community and a family. I couldn’t recommend it more.
Erin Bratkovich – 2021
Sweet Retreats is always an amazing experience- I’ve been to multiple retreats. I was part of the Fall 2020 Aerial Residency Program which was an amazing experience. I was very nervous about traveling given the pandemic but the COVID protocols Kerri and her team had in place made me feel very safe – social distance and mask wearing where constants the first few weeks. Once we were out of quarantine, we continued to wear masks whenever we left the property/went out into the world.
Sarah Hluchan – Arlington, VA 2020
The residency program was wonderful – the food was amazing, the people were great and the training was wonderful. All of the coaches are great at what they do and provide incredibly supportive classes. Kerri creates a great space for artistic growth and development – I produced a short film during my time there which was a huge achievement for me.
Aerials. My main driving force to get here—I knew without aerials I would struggle physically and mentally in lockdown. Kerri is the most amazing coach—She encourages everyone to live in their own body, and recognises the strengths and limitations of each person, with no judgement, and a clear focus of how to help you meet your goals. Teaching here is not one-size-fits-all: Kerri tailors training to the individual.
Sallie Chedburn – June 2020
I have already made so much progress in my aerial practice.
I feel confident in exploring new pathways and movements with my body.
I am developing a sense of musicality and performance.
I am starting to break bad habits.
I feel as though I am on the pathway to becoming an artist .
Kerri’s aerial artistry workshop was soooooo rewarding! Kerri creates a welcoming, encouraging environment just by being herself, and in turn I was able to let myself be more free, more silly, more open, more EVERYTHING. Just MORE. Angela Jackson – Halifax, NS. 2017
Read more about our Aerial Teacher/Performer Mentorship Program here.
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Cancellation Policy: No Refunds. No exceptions.
Deposits are non-refundable and non-transferrable.
Cancel more than 60 days before 1st day of program: 60% of your tuition paid (not including deposit) can transfer toward a future program within 18 months of cancellation.
Cancel 30-60 days before the 1st day of program: 40% of your tuition paid (not including deposit) can transfer toward a future program within 18 months of cancellation.
Cancel up to 30 days before the 1st day of the program: 20% of your tuition paid (not including deposit) can transfer toward a future program with 18 months of cancellation.
See complete list of terms and conditions here.
See complete COVID Policy here.