Aerial Dragons Studios

Jonathan Pelletier
5⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
We just had 2 performers here at Sandpearl Resort from Aerial Dragons and they were nothing short of AMAZING!! They were beyond amazing! Also, I have dealt with a ton of entertainers in my career, these two were so very nice, friendly and professional! Many times these folks can be standoff divas but not these two, well done in picking such fantastic representations of your company! They were an absolute pleasure to work with! They practiced their routine before doors opened and genuinely cared about the experience they gave our guests. I am so happy to have found you and your team and I look forward to having you with us again here at the Resort!!

Amelia Bennett
1⭐
Good:

* ADS invested in actual crash mats, and they´re usually used.
* Lots of height to work with, I haven´t seen sketchy rigging here.
* Expansive offerings that can be challenging to find elsewhere.
* Excellent flexibility classes – flexibility training here saved me $700/month on physical therapy.
* Shares a building with Cigar City CrossFit, which is absolutely phenomenal.

Bad:

* Safety isn´t taken as seriously here as it should be – one person has been hospitalized so far this year after hitting the floor without a crash mat. Some instructors present content with little understanding of risks inherent. Some instructors teach content involving internal rotation overhead with a significant load, resulting in rotator cuff damage. This is a cultural issue – don´t be fooled by flooring that wasn´t there six months ago or safety theater.
* Outside of introductory content, coherent programming is scarce – everything else is arbitrary and at any given instructor´s discretion. Teaching competency is often limited to specific aerial content. Many instructors explicitly prioritize the short and slim at the expense of everybody else.
* There are massive curriculum holes here, including ignorance of fundamentals of strength training and fundamental aerial technique. Multiple instructors teach ineffective inversion technique – collapsing the legs past 90 degrees results in a disengaged TVA – and almost nobody here has any idea how to program effective conditioning for inverts. Push-pull technique in sling and crossback straddle isn´t taught here. Appropriate abdominal engagement and positioning isn´t taught in inverted positions. There are countless examples of this – those applauding them don´t know any better.
* Inadequate airflow during warmer months. Recommend bringing your own portable fan, water, electrolyte drinks, and taking frequent breaks.
* Some instructors are unprofessional – power tripping, playing favorites, showing up late, inappropriate personal questions, etc.

Ugly:

* Cliquey, passive-aggressive crowd. I was personally attacked by a bunch of the students for suggesting that maybe more conditioning might be a good idea.
* Toxic gatekeeping – whether you´re physically able to do things safely or not doesn´t seem to matter – I was given “movement quality” as an excuse, rather than something specific or actionable. It boggles the mind how someone can say a student needs to work on “movement quality” and not immediately understand it as toxic gatekeeping. Of course, favorites get to skip past gatekeeping, and their technique doesn´t matter. Management endorses this form of toxicity.

I wish I didn´t need to write this. I asked them, practically begged them, over and over again, to change their ways. All I wanted was to have the same opportunities as everybody else..

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