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Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need any aerial experience to get started?

Not at all! No experience is necessary. Everyone who is brand new to aerial begins in one of our Intro Aerial classes.

Intro classes are designed to teach the foundations of aerial arts, including basic skills, terminology, body positioning, safety, strength, and aerial awareness. Our goal is to give every student a strong foundation before progressing into our leveled classes.

Do I have to sign a long-term contract?

No! Our classes run month-to-month with no long-term commitment.

While we divide our year into Fall, Winter/Spring, and Summer Sessions, these sessions primarily help us organize our schedule and make adjustments that best fit our students, instructors, and studio programming.

You are not committing to an entire year when you register for a class.

What are Fall, Winter/Spring, and Summer Sessions?

Our sessions are simply the different scheduling periods we use throughout the year. At the beginning of a new session, you may see adjustments to class times, instructors, available apparatuses, or specialty programming.

Students who are already enrolled will receive information about upcoming schedules and registration before each new session begins.

How do I move from Intro to Level 1?

For our Kids Intro Program, students should plan to complete one full Fall, Winter/Spring, or Summer Session before progressing into Level 1.

Our Adult Intro Program is typically offered in a shorter format of approximately eight weeks before students are eligible to move into Level 1.

Regular attendance is important! Intro is where students learn the vocabulary, safety practices, body positions, and foundational skills they will need in their Level 1 class.

How do I move up after Level 1?

Once you enter our leveled program, advancement is based on individual readiness rather than time alone.

Our instructors look at many factors, including:

• Skill mastery and consistency

• Aerial vocabulary

• Strength and flexibility

• Body awareness and control

• Ability to safely enter and exit skills

• Comfort with spinning and being upside down

• Ability to follow instructor cues

• Skill retention from week to week

• Safety and decision-making in the air

• Regular attendance

• Confidence and readiness for increased height and more complex skills

Moving up is not a race! Every aerialist progresses differently.

How long should I expect to stay in each level?

Students should expect to spend a minimum of approximately one year in each level. As students progress into our higher levels, they will typically spend even longer before advancing.

We like to think of aerial as a giant game of add-on.

As you move through the levels, we don't simply add harder tricks. We also add more complex transitions, increased height, greater strength and flexibility requirements, spinning, sequencing, aerial awareness, endurance, and the ability to stay oriented while moving, spinning, and being upside down.

Our goal is to move students up when they are ready to be successful in the next level—not simply because a certain amount of time has passed. We never want a student to move up only to feel like they are constantly struggling or falling behind.

What should I wear to aerial class?

Wear comfortable, form-fitting athletic clothing that allows you to move freely.

We recommend:

• Leggings that extend past the knee to help protect your skin

• A form-fitting shirt or athletic top

• Hair pulled securely away from your face

• Bare feet unless otherwise instructed

Please do not wear jewelry while using aerial equipment. Clothing should also be free of zippers, exposed metal, buttons, or other hardware that could damage our equipment or cause injury.

Permanent jewelry should be securely covered before participating.

What should I bring to class?

Bring a closed, leak-proof water bottle and be ready to move!

Please do not bring food or open drinks onto the aerial floor.

Can parents watch class?

We love that our families want to see what their aerialists are learning! However, for the safety and focus of our students, only participating students and instructors are allowed on the aerial floor during regular classes.

Parents and family members are welcome to use our designated lobby/viewing area.

Keeping the aerial floor limited to students and instructors helps reduce distractions and allows our teachers to maintain a safe learning environment.

Is aerial safe?

Like gymnastics, dance, cheerleading, and other athletic activities, aerial arts involve inherent risks. At 417 Aerial, safety is always our priority.

Students learn skills through intentional progressions and are taught proper technique, body awareness, safe entrances and exits, and how to use the equipment appropriately. Skills are introduced based on the student's individual readiness, not simply because another student in the class is working on them.

This is another reason we take our level progression seriously!

What if my child misses class?

Regular attendance is extremely important in aerial arts because skills build upon one another.

Missing an occasional class happens, but frequent absences can affect strength, skill retention, confidence, and progression. Students who miss regularly may need additional time before they are ready to advance to the next level.

If you know your student will be absent, please follow our current studio policy for reporting absences and available make-up options.

What if my child progresses faster or slower than another student?

That's completely normal!

Aerial is an individual sport practiced in a group environment. One student may naturally have more flexibility, while another has more upper-body strength. Someone else may pick up spinning quickly but need more time with sequencing or remembering wraps.

We don't compare students to one another when determining advancement.

Our instructors look at the whole aerialist and determine when that individual student has the skills, strength, awareness, confidence, and safety knowledge needed for the next level.

Will my student work on Silks, Hammock, Lyra, Trapeze, and other apparatuses?

Apparatus offerings can vary by class, level, instructor, and session. Throughout their aerial journey, students may have opportunities to explore a variety of apparatuses and specialty workshops.

Some apparatuses or specialty classes may have minimum age, level, strength, or experience requirements for safety.

Is aerial only for kids who are already strong or flexible?

Absolutely not! You don't need to get strong or flexible before starting aerial.

That's part of what we teach!

Students develop strength, flexibility, coordination, balance, body awareness, and confidence through consistent aerial training. Everyone begins somewhere, and our Intro classes are specifically designed to help new aerialists build those foundations.

What ages do you teach?

We offer programming for both kids and adults, with classes divided by age, experience, and level when appropriate.

Check our current schedule for available classes and age requirements.

What if I'm nervous about starting?

That's okay—most people are!

You do not need to know how to climb, invert, do a pull-up, touch your toes, or have any circus experience before walking through our doors.

Come ready to learn, laugh, build strength, and try something new. We'll take it from there.

What makes 417 Aerial different?

We want our students to find more than just a fun class.

At 417 Aerial, we focus on safe progression, quality instruction, confidence, creativity, and community. We want students to challenge themselves while feeling supported by their instructors and fellow aerialists.

Our goal isn't to see how quickly we can move someone through the levels. Our goal is to develop safe, confident, knowledgeable aerialists who love being in the air.

Come fly with us and discover the circus family you didn't know you needed!

I added questions about safety, missed classes, comparing progression, apparatuses, strength/flexibility, parent viewing, what to bring, age groups, and nervous beginners because those are likely to answer a lot of questions before someone ever contacts the studio.