Strapped for Rope
Rope & Straps Retreat
w master teachers PJ Perry & Leah Jones
November 23-30, 2024
At Casa Chango Mexico
Puerto Escondido
HALF SCHOLARSHIP AVAILABLE for one student who identifies as BIPOC. Apply here by June 15.
a WEEK in PARADISE with new friends, the beach, delicious, fresh, local food, and rope rope rope!
Strapped for Rope is a retreat for those wishing to level up their skills on rope and discover the fun (and torture) that is straps training! In this retreat, we will use straps to enhance the work you do or wish to do on rope. Straps work is a great way to fill in strength gaps and bust out of training plateaus that are common when progressing on rope by reducing the grip demand and unevenness so you can dial in the rest of your mechanics. By combining straps conditioning with rope skill building, one can seriously bump their performance level!
Daily classes in straps conditioning as well as a fun and safe introduction to straps performance skills are given in compliment to daily classes in intermediate+ rope skills and sequencing. Supplementary classes will include ground conditioning, training planning, psychology of training, kinesiology of one-armed skills, and more.
PJ and Leah have worked together for years, coaching each other, giving each other artistic eyes and help with creative work, and mostly just enjoying the camaraderie of working near another person who can push you just by being a serious badass on their own! PJ first got to know Leah when she started doing straps to supplement her rope practice. Leah was and still is her straps coach/idol. And now, PJ really wants you to have this same life-changing experience!
This Strapped for Rope Retreat will have 3 daily movement discipline classes – Morning class has 2 parts. 1. Getting it done: The straps portion of class. Skills selected to help with foundational strength and principles of one armed movement. Dynamic and spin pathways broken down without that pesky grip limitation or tail in the way. 2. Doin’ it. doin’ it, and doin’ it well: The rope portion of class. Take those principles into the air with further skill breakdown and short sequences.
Afternoon classes will be Skillin’, drillin’ and chillin‘ focusing on cross conditioning, technical breakdowns, and training methodology. We will also have some guided group and individual study time for workshop materials.
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.
Prerequisites:
Each student should arrive with a clear understanding of and be able to execute all of the following:
- Multiple straight arm inversion
- Proficiency in skin-the-cat
- Familiarity with basic beat pathways
- Basic experience with meathooks on any apparatus
Please feel free to email PJ at gingerly.aerial@gmail.com with any questions about the prerequisites.
Daily Schedule Sample: Everything is optional!
- 7:30-9:30 am: Coffee, Tea and Breakfast
- 9-9:45am : Training Theory/Discussion over coffee
- 10am-12:30pm: Warm up, Straps,& Rope Class
- 1pm: Lunch
- 2-5pm: Pool-time, siesta, relaxing
- 3:30pm: Afternoon Treat
- 4:30-6:30pm: Ground Work & Creative Exploration
- 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.
“I am so impressed with PJ’s knowledge of kinesiology and how to apply this to her aerial and handstand teaching. While I have only had the pleasure of learning virtually from PJ through her Patreon membership, I have fine tuned and progressed my aerial rope practice immensely solely from her classes! I always do and will continue to recommend her for any aerialist needing technique and dynamic movement guidance.”
Kim Freedman
Space is limited, so sign up now!
About your Coaches
PJ Perry is a corde lisse specialist from Bellingham, Washington, who has been in the air since 2008. Her works have included solo, duo, and larger group pieces that have taken her around the globe. In addition to being involved in recurring local shows and special events like Moisture Festival, she has completed contracts with Circus Monti in Switzerland, Friedrichsbau Varieté in Germany, Venardos Circus in the states, and Acrobatic Conundrum here in Seattle. Festival work has even taken her to the outer edges of the universe with performances at the Western Australia Circus Festival, Russian Circus Princess Festival in Saratov, Russia and The Golden Horse Festival in Bulgaria. Her current performance projects focus on solo rope and duo synchronized rope with her partner, Eve Diamond in their project, Girls Gone Rope. PJ continues to work year round with the illustrious Bellingham Circus Guild, which is also her teaching home base where she works with local students as well as students all over the world via online coaching.
Click here to see PJ on Instagram. Click here to see her website. Click here to see her patreon.
Leah Jones is a ballet trained aerial straps artist who has been training, teaching and performing straps for the past twelve years. She received her training under the tutelage of Cirque du Soleil straps coach Chloe Farah and has performed with companies such as Quixotic Fusion, Stufish Asia, Acrobatic Conundrum and Teatro Zinzanni. Leah’s fixation is technical precision, and her favorite experiences with straps have been ones that have required her to push her focus, work ethic and creative problem solving skills to their limits.
Additionally, Leah had taught various movement disciplines since 2008. Over the years, she has been an American College of Sports Medicine-certified personal trainer, a group exercise instructor and TRX specialist at the University of Washington as well as a hip hop dance instructor at Exit Space School of Dance in Seattle. Leah has choreographed and performed for a multitude of private aerial and dance projects. In addition to her solo straps work, Leah is one half of the aerial straps duo Ripple Effect with Jody Poth.
Social media: IG @leahvjonesuphigh Click here to see her website.
“Working with PJ has been incredibly helpful in my training and growth on rope–her capacity to integrate detailed pedagogical information, provide simple and supportive diagnostics, and share her expertise from multiple disciplines in approachable, digestible ways has allowed me to grow tremendously.”
Drew Sevel
I have had weekly straps lessons with Leah, with mostly brief interruptions, for the last 8 years. I am so glad to have the opportunity to train with her, since your approach to movement is in many ways so similar to mine. I appreciate Leah’s clear thinking and presentation of movement ideas and how to prioritize and sequence them. Leah’s clarity in laying out the direction and quality of each of the movement ideas in a skill is so helpful to me as I work toward improvement.
Leah’s acute observations, plus the creative introduction of supplementary exercises as needed, have helped me build a base of coordination, strength, and flexibility that allows me to progressively expand my skills. Leah’s acknowledgment of my progress, no matter how incremental, helps get me through the plateau times. Her constructive attitude, combining frankness with positivity, helps to keep me focused on moving forward and learning from my experiences.
Kevin Ruddell
Retreat Pricing (in USD):
| Room | Early Bird Price until July 15, 2024 | Full Price |
| Dorm (up to 4 people – mixed gender) | $2000 | $2300 |
| Shared room (1 king bed or 2 individual beds) shared bathroom (2 friends signing up together) | $2200 | $2500 |
| Shared room (1 king bed or 2 individual beds) private bathroom (2 friends signing up together) | $2300 | $2600 |
| Private room w shared bathroom | $2500 | $2800 |
| Private room w private bathroom | $2800 | $3100 |
| Private room w private bathroom & Air Conditioning | $3100 | $3500 |
Full tuition is due by Oct 15, 2024.
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 Nov 23. Depart on Nov 30.
- Accommodations for the duration of the retreat
- Daily meals – breakfast, lunch, dinner, dessert & snacks
- 2 Daily classes (4-6 hours total/day)
- 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
“PJ is a fantastic coach. Her understanding of body awareness and mechanics lends beautifully to her instruction as she aims to meet her students where they’re at skill wise and build from there. Her insight and guidance has helped me tremendously in a number of ways ranging from warm up techniques to activate the appropriate muscle group to technique specific conditioning to help me achieve my goals. PJ’s support cues and insight have helped me in making progress with beats and roll-ups, things I had previously thought were simply out of my reach. She is phenomenal and a treasure to the circus community!”
Sarah Claussen
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
Sign up early to get the Early Bird Discount
Refer a friend and get $100 discount*.
Questions? Email us at SweetRetreatsMexico@gmail.com.