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Since you are moving, spinning, swinging, and dropping when you are doing aerial acrobatics or aerial dance you are creating a dynamic load (one that is in motion) on the structure supporting you.
Even if you weigh 100 pounds, your body when in motion weighs more depending on what you are doing. Certain drops create more of a shock on your equipment and structure. Certain movements like swinging creates more force on your equipment and structure. Even spinning creates force on your equipment and structure.
Safety is essential you’re in the air doing aerial acrobatics or aerial dance.
For aerial acrobatic rigging, a safety factor of 10 to 1 is the standard. This means that if someone weighed 200 pounds, they would want their equipment and structure to support at least a 2,000 pound load. If they weighed more than 300 pounds, then they would want their equipment and structure to support a 3,000 pound load.
It is a good practice to verify that your structure can support a dynamic load of 2,000 pounds per attachment point, or 3,000 pounds per attachment point. This gives you a safety factor of 10 to 1.
You can check with a structural engineer who can help determine if your structure is the right one to support you. You can also check with an acrobatic rigger when you have questions or need help attaching your equipment to your structure.
Remember: You would like to verify if your structure can support a dynamic load meaning, you in motion: spinning, swinging, or dropping. And you want a safety factor of 10:1.
Experience the Fun, Joy, Freedom and Strength of Aerial Dance at Colorado’s Full-Time Aerial Cirque Training Center
It is wonderful to hear your success stories, see your photos, and learn from your tips!
We will be launching a new section on our website in October to share the tips, stories and photos you share with us called: What’s Up
It is just another way to connect you to other studios and trainers in the aerial community.
Do you have something you would like to share?
Send us an email with your tip, success story, or photo. Be sure to let us know if we can publish your contact information.
Stress and Load-Cell Tests
What do we know about the fabric we sell? We have done stress tests and can provide you with a certificate upon request. The tricot with shine tears when pulled to 2,000 pounds. The Tricot with Bounce tears at 1,700 and the Interlock at 2,200.
We did load-cell tests and learned that a 165 pound person generated an additional 300 pounds of force when just climbing or sitting in the fabric, not dropping. Our female volunteer was 135 pounds and generated an additional 200 pounds of force through the fabric to the ceiling point when climbing, posing, or sitting in the fabric. We learned that a sudden drop generated an additional 600 to 700 pounds of force.
The standard is a 1:10 ratio for human rigging meaning that you want a safety factor of 10 times your weight.
All this to explain why the equipment we sell meets your needs and why we recommend that you check with a structural engineer before you rig your studio with hammocks or aerial silks!
What does Medium Stretch Mean?
There are a few misleading articles on Wikipedia and Youtube videos indicating there is “medium stretch” fabric. Here is our explanation of the different fabrics we sell:
The tricot with shine stretches on the width not the length. This means it gives with you when you sit in it for hammock use, and it does not stretch when you climb it for aerial silks use. It is recommended for any level of aerialist, and aerial hammock. Some people refer to it as a beginner fabric, but it really is up to the preference of the aerialist.
The Tricot with Bounce has a slight bounce at the bottom of a drop and does not stretch when you sit in it or climb it. It is less ideal for aerial hammock since it tends to snag easily. It is used by all skill levels of aerialists.
The Interlock stretches in two directions. This means it stretches when you are climbing it for aerial silks. It also will stretch to the floor when you sit in it as an aerial hammock. It is used by aerialists who want this extra amount of stretch, and it requires more strength to use. It is not recommended for aerial hammocks. See our short video showing the amount of stretch in the different fabrics: https://youtu.be/12-idAq1RlQ
All the aerial fabric stretches more when mounted from a high ceiling point.
Use coupon code: whatsup to get 7% off your order of $100 or more through the rest of September!
Thank You!
What an honor to supply you with quality aerial equipment! We have made so many wonderful friends since 2002 and hope to make many more!
Use code
ThankYou2019
to receive 10% off your order of $100 or more!
Soon, we will be launching a new section on our website called What’s Up!
What’s Up follows our mission:
To provide quality, customized service, information, and reliability to help you take your aerial adventure to new heights!
The new What’s Up section will be our way to connect you to new information from over 500 studios and individuals world-wide who we consider our family. We want to share your success stories, funny incidents, tips for fabric care, or the best techniques for new student success with your peers and our circle of friends!
What to Know About Your
Aerial Fabric Choices
Tricot with Shine
- 100% nylon, tightly woven
- Breaking point of 2,000 pounds
- Stretches one way, the width not the length
- 9 feet (108 inches) wide
- 40 denier (thickness of the thread)
- Made in the USA
- If properly cared for, will last many years
- Used for Aerial Hammocks and by Aerialists world-wide
Tricot with Bounce
- 100% Nylon, looser weave and will snag easily if used for Aerial Hammock
- Breaking point of 1,700 to 2,000 pounds
- Stretches on the width and will bounce slightly when used for Aerial Silks
- 9 feet (108 inches) wide
- 40 denier (thickness of the thread)
- Available in a small range of colors
- Does not last as long as the Tricot with Shine or Special Order Tricot
| Tricot with Bounce Products » |
Tricot with Shine and Tricot Special Order are the same products.
The ONLY difference is we do not stock the special order colors.
Interlock Fabric
- Polyester
- 60 inches wide
- 70 denier (thickness of the thread)
- Very stretchy: stretches on the length and the width
- Too stretchy for Aerial Yoga
- Loses the stretch after 500 to 700 hours of use
Source Studio has been purchasing their hammocks from Aerial Fabric Acrobatics for some time and we’ve really enjoyed working with this inspiring studio that focuses on health and well-being! We think you should check them out, which is why they’re our studio of the month!
Source Studio is located in Riverside, California and offers a variety of “wellness classes,” including yoga classes such as slow flow yoga, Ashtanga yoga, and Kundalini yoga, and even classes involving BollyX and Pop Pilates workouts.
Learn more about Source Studio at SourceYogaCA.com!
Mohara’s Advice for Studio Owners
In honor of celebrating fathers this month, Mohara gave us some tips for how she helps men feel at ease in a studio environment.
WHEN WORKING WITH MEN…
INSPIRE HIM BY TEACHING HIM WHAT HE CAN DO WITH HIS BODY
He may not be used to touching his toes regularly, but get him to pull his knees up to his chest in a wrist wrap, or get him into a deep twist, and he will be excited to see what his body can do next!
KEEP IT FITNESS-BASED
Of course we all can benefit from a restorative aerial or an aerial thai yoga class, but get him hooked by first eliminating any ‘yoga is for women’ preconceived notions. Having him hold plank with his feet attached to the hammock will make him quickly realize ‘oh wow, this is challenging!’
REMIND HIM TO BREATHE
Masculine energy in both men and women is often exhausted by doing and getting, and constantly taking action. Get him to connect with his breath. An easy way to do this is to start with three Aums and arm circles. He will suddenly become present, no longer focused on what he needs to do or be, but rather instantly connected with his body.
PLAY MUSIC HE’LL ENJOY
While I prefer yoga music with mantras in class, there is no harm in playing something he is familiar with and enjoys. You can make a man feel comfortable in class by playing something mainstream, and there are many amazing Yogi men musicians, such as Girish, Krishna Das and Guru Singh for example that he will likely love to hear. If your Studio does any sound healing, I’ve also found men love and relax quickly when we play the gong for them at the end of an Aerial Yoga class.
BE PROFESSIONAL
This advice goes for all Yoga students, but most certainly should be taken when with men who are new to Yoga, that might get really excited when you connect them to feelings they’ve not yet connected to.
As a yoga teacher it is our job to help people connect to themselves, whether that’s physically, emotionally or spiritually. If and when that happens, it is not because of you, it is because they opened up. Their Spirit did the work and we had the honor of guiding them there.
When someone is open and in a vulnerable space, as with any teaching profession, it is important not to take advantage, or to do anything that could get them off track from their spiritual practice.
BE AVAILABLE AFTER CLASS
Ask if he has any questions and check in on how his experience was when class is over. Sometimes they will open up and share and sometimes they won’t, but they will appreciate being asked.
“Yoga is a journey…let’s take it together!”
Finding Bliss with Yoga Bliss Studio
What a treat to visit Yoga Bliss in Palm Springs, one of our recommended studios. While there, we experienced a Floating Yoga session led by studio owner, Jenn as well as an Aerial Yoga class offered by Jivani. We appreciated the attention given to our breathing and quality of movement.
Yoga Bliss has a nine foot ceiling and the hammock attachment points are part of a custom reinforced system. Jenn finds our 5-yard double point adjustable hammock a good length for her studio. For Restorative Yoga and Floating Meditation she sets the hammocks at about 18 inches from the floor. For the Aerial Yoga class with inversions, the height is at hip height.
Yoga Bliss opened three years ago. The studio offers Yoga and Aerial Yoga classes, along with Teacher Training sessions. Jenn’s studio has recently been featured in the May issue of The Guide; Palm Springs Life, and it’s clear to see why: she truly does help those in her classes “Find their Zen.”We recommend Jenn’s classes and her teacher training, which are grounded in the tenets of Yoga while incorporating the advantages of the Aerial Hammock. We appreciate her focus on safety and attention to each student’s quality of movement.What a pleasure to meet Jen and Jivani and to experience our aerial hammocks in action!
Go check out Yoga Bliss here!
Also, if you want to be a featured studio in the future, click here!
Jenn’s Tip for Studio Owners
A quick and efficient way to disinfect the aerial hammocks and to remove any lingering body odor comes from an age-old theater technique that removes smells and disinfects costumes without damaging the fabric.
While still hanging from the ceiling points, the hammocks are spread out and knotted together at the corners. Jenn uses a spray of cheap Vodka, diluted with water in a 1:1 ratio. The emphasis here is on cheap Vodka. Jenn also adds a touch of lavender essential oil to the solution. After being sprayed down, the hammocks are left out to dry, and, a few hours later, voilà! The hammocks are disinfected and any lingering odors are gone!
April 20, 2019 is the 10th annual World Circus Day! This marks ten years of celebration for a classic form of entertainment that has amused and delighted crowds for centuries. Performances have changed quite a lot since the 1700s, when they first began with horse riding tricks, and evolved to include magicians, jugglers, tightrope walkers, and other entertainers, all of whom served to add a little more flavor to the fun.
Nowadays, the circus is a diverse display of all the wonders that humans can do! Fire-breathers, acrobats, and others all perform great feats nightly to celebrate the power of passion, persistence, and perseverance. We may not all enjoy certain aspects of the circus, like the death-defying stunts or the goofy clowns, but this World Circus Day we can all try to have a little more fun.
You can find a circus near you or simply take your children, your significant other, your friends, or your dogs, and go out and play! You can even bring the fun home with an Aerial Yoga Hammock or an Aerial Dance Kit of your very own from our online store! However you choose to celebrate World Circus Day this year, don’t forget to make it a fun one.
Featured Studio: Aerial Fun and Fitness
“We have way too much fun being strong”
Aerial Fun and Fitness has been purchasing aerial equipment from Aerial Fabric Acrobatics for several years and they’re super fun to work with! We think you should check them out, which is why they’re our studio of the month!
Aerial Fun and Fitness has locations in both Phoenixville, PA and Newark, DE, and offers a range of Aerial classes, as well as Aerial Fitness Teacher Training Certification. Established by Zina DiTonno, this great studio has an Aerial Fitness program that is adapted from a VaihAyasa Aerial Yoga based program. They truly have a style for all, whether that be gentle and restorative, fun and flying, or power and strength-building. This award-winning studio uses Aerial Yoga Hammocks with added acrobatic and traditional Yogic elements. You can go to relax and manage your stress, or join their classes simply for the fun of it!
They also offer Aerial Thai, Aerial Barre & Conditioning, Hula Hoop Fitness, Lyra Mixed, as well as Sports & Thai Massage sessions. As they put it: “One Hammock. Many Styles.” You can say that again!
The Aerial Fitness Teacher Training Certification that they offer consists of over 100 hours of training, along with Master Instructor Training. The application for training is available on the Aerial Fun and Fitness website.
The people over at Aerial Fun & Fitness are currently excited about their upcoming showcase—they’re performing their first-ever bungee dance with black light piece! Also, contact Zina if you’re interested in hearing more about the new teacher manual that she’s got in the works!
Go check them out here!
Also, if you want to be a featured studio in the future, click here!
Fighting Gravity Fitness located in Richmond, Virginia, offers a bunch of fitness classes that work all your muscles, which avoids injuries from overuse and the boredom of repetition. Not only do they have Aerial suspension (like Aerial yoga, Aerial Restorative, gentle stretch, pilates, sculpting, fun, and flips) but they offer Lyra classes and Bungee fitness.
Their clients love Lyra, bungee’s great cardio workouts, and their studio in general! In addition to all the wonderful classes mentioned above, this studio ALSO offers Mat Yoga, Pilates, Beach Body themes classes, Barre, and resistance fitness. They got everything a fit person could want! Fighting Gravity Fitness is a fun-loving, heart-pounding, fitness enthusiastic place welcoming in anyone willing to give it a try, which is what makes them out studio of the month!
Check out Fighting Gravity Fitness!
If you want to be our featured studio, click here.
Fading Fast: A Color Experiment
One thing that needs to be considered when buying fabric for a studio or for performance is will the color be affected by direct sunlight? Well, don’t worry! We did it so you don’t have to worry when making your choice in color.
Just like our own delicate skin, the sun can damage your beautiful silks. Now, we aren’t scientists- but what could be more fun than throwing some fabrics outside and tracking when they fade? We tested tricots, tricots with stretch, and interlock fabric by laying them out in direct sunlight on the grass.
Our results are as follows:
Time Took to Fade
Within One Hour
After 2 Hours
No Change (After 11 hours)
Color of Fabric (All Types)
Turquoise
Jade
Red, Tangerine, Royal Blue, Black, Lavender, Purple, and all others
To conclude
All of our fabrics’ strengths will not be affected by direct sunlight, but Jade and Turquoise will fade quickly if left out long. So, if you have a portable rig, plan to spend the day outside, or perform in a sunny area, it is in your best interest to get one of the colors in the third row.
The Colors of the Heart
We often think of pink for the heart or for the feminine self, but pink used to be the color for young boys (it was a milder version of of red-a manly color). So let’s step back from reds and pinks this Valentine’s day- Anahata (the heart chakra) is a beautiful green! This means “unbeaten,” “unhurt” in Sanskrit- it’s the flame inside your heart that allows you to feel balanced, tranquil, together. So, this month focus on your heart. Consider where you can bring your heart back into alignment with the rest of your hardworking, self-loving, confident self; focus on the greens!
Employee of the Month: Self-Care
This snoozy pup is our unofficial HR representative, demonstrating some much needed self-care. Self-care can be simple, like staying in for the night, or a developing plan- like getting into a good workout routine! Whatever it is, we want you to know that using energy on yourself is one of the best ways create love and give more.
FAQS: Tidying Up
One doesn’t often think of cleaning as self-care or love, but let’s face it: We have to care for EVERYTHING in our lives before we feel complete.
So, the only thing we can help you with is caring for your fabrics.
To wash: Wash with a liquid detergent, such as Woolite or Tide. Do not use stain remover or fabric softener! The best way to remove odor is baking soda. Use the gentle wash cycle, and an extra rinse cycle is advised to remove soap residue. Please note, the Tricot fabric, especially the red, can release color in the wash. Please do not wash items together with your fabric.
To dry: Set each fabric in the dryer at a medium temperature- do no wash several fabrics at once!
Finally, we are still on the hunt for some amazing studios!
We know you are doing great work, so if you would like to share with our list of over 400 studios and trainers, send us a brief description and photo for the chance to be featured in next month’s newsletter! https://goo.gl/forms/jOLhqFGOhr9XFXTN2
We are always looking to expand our adventures, so let us know where you are headed!
Focus on the greens, use Heart2019 to get 10% order of $100 or more through the rest of February!
We often think of pink for the heart or for the feminine self, but pink used to be the color for young boys (it was a milder version of of red-a manly color). So let’s step back from reds and pinks this Valentine’s day- Anahata (the heart chakra) is a beautiful green! This means “unbeaten,” “unhurt” in Sanskrit- it’s the flame inside your heart that allows you to feel balanced, tranquil, together. So, this month focus on your heart. Consider where you can bring your heart back into alignment with the rest of your hardworking, self-loving, confident self; focus on the greens!
New looks come to our website!
Our goal this year is to make a better, clearer, and more interactive website. So look for some changes to our looks, but rest assured, we will still be offering the same quality goods to wonderful studios and trainers like yourself! We want to make it easier for new adventure seekers to find hammocks and more without being overwhelmed at the choices.
We are also snazzing up our social media accounts as we embrace 2019 digitally! If you don’t already, follow us on Facebook (@AerialFabricAcrobaticsLLC), Instagram (@Aerialfabric), or Pinterest (@aerialfabric). We already post news updates and are hoping to interact more with studios and trainers as we see them post exciting milestones or fantastic performances!
As you see changes come up, feel free to give us feedback! If you have anything to say feel free to take this short survey: https://goo.gl/forms/Lqhqsc8kkX5h7BjK2
New Idea: Featured Studios
Maybe you have a new class, or you are pioneering a new approach that is really helping your students, or you are just proud of the work your studio has put in- no matter what, we want to hear about it! So each month we plan to cast a spotlight on one studio or trainer who have taken their students to a new and exciting level. If interested, submit a photo and brief description to https://goo.gl/forms/NmT05Z2a17vqRaV43 and it may be
featured in next month’s newsletter. We look forward to seeing your great work!
Answers to Your Questions!
As always, our website has a FAQ section. We are revamping the answers and trying to simplify our work to make it easier for people to read through. One of the most asked questions is: “What’s the difference between hammocks?” Well, we’ve created an easy chart to help compare! But that’s not all, to see the rest of our answer click here (https://aerialfabric.com/what-is-the-difference-between-the-hammocks/)
The answer: Yes, Turquoise and Jade Tricot with Shine Fade in sunlight.
We did a sun-fading test in the bright Colorado sunshine and found that the tricot with bounce and Interlock aerial fabric did not fade. However, Turquoise and Jade Tricot with Shine DID FADE.
We timed our test and checked all aerial fabric after one hour. The turquoise had gray streaks, not at all attractive. After two hours the Jade had faded to a lighter color.
All other colors, including the Tricot Special Order Aerial Silks were color fast after 11 hours of direct sun exposure.
Our results are as follows:
| Time to Fade | Fabric Color (All Types) |
| Within One Hour | Turquoise |
| After 2 Hours | Jade |
| No Change (After 11 hours) | Red, Tangerine, Royal Blue, Black, Lavender, Purple, and all others |
We followed up our sun-fading test to see if the faded aerial fabric still met our criteria for a break strength of 2,000 pounds.
The answer: Yes, the tensile strength of the aerial silks was not affected by sun fading. Even after 11 hours in the sun!
To conclude:
All of our aerial fabrics’ strengths will not be affected by direct sunlight, but Jade and Turquoise will fade quickly if left exposed to UV light through a window or in direct sunlight after just 1 to 2 hours of exposure. So, if you have a portable rig, plan to spend the day outside, or have a sun-filled Aerial Yoga studio, we recommend purchasing any of our other beautiful Aerial Silks that are not Turquoise or Jade for your Aerial Yoga Hammock or your Aerial Silks.
As with so many aerial innovations, Cirque du Soleil pioneered Bungee Dance. In their show, “Saltambanco,” four acrobatics captured the imagination and excitement of the audience doing bungee trapeze throughout the high arena space. We got started with Bungee in 2001 with our halftime performances at Denver’s Pepsi Center for the opening game of Denver’s Mammoth Lacrosse team and Denver’s Arena Football team the Crush- so we know bungee dance is exhilarating and an engaging core workout!
So, what do you need?
With the flips and flying, you have to have a high ceiling for bungee trapeze. In our research, we discovered studios were using a pulley system to suspend the bungee cord from different heights. But, if you don’t have a pulley, you must have at least a 10 foot ceiling space, and at this length the cord can only be two-feet long. Among the belts we’ve tested, we sell a back point for bungee dance and two side hip points for aerial bungee dance. We attach three bungee cord to each hip of the aerial bungee dancer, as well as the 24 inch multiple link, and necessary carabiners, and a swivel.
We have tested several bungee belts and the one we sell has a back point for Bungee Dance, and also two side points on the hips for more Acrobatic Aerial Bungee Dance. For Bungee Trapeze, we use the two points on the hips and have the belt resting lower so it is easier to flip. For Bungee Dance, the belt is worn higher up so the center of gravity of the dancer is closer to the center of the body.
A back point allows the dancer to spin, run in place, and to float in the air, hovering over the floor. If used with a partner, adagio moves are possible. The movement of the flyer is assisted by the bungee. When the back point is used, we recommend a multiple link go between the bungee attachment and the harness, in order for the hardware to be away from the dancer’s back. Swivels are used to aid with spinning, one is needed for the back point, or two for each side of the belt
Bungee Type:
We sell bungee dance cord that has a soft stretch, medium stretch, and hard stretch. Bungee cord stretches quickly to twice its length, meaning the soft stretches faster than the medium and the medium extends faster than the hard. We recommend using individual cords in aerial bungee so that the dancer can use a combination of cords to fit their needs. It always best to have at least three cords for a dance per point on the belt (three total for a back point and six to eight (3-4 per side) on each hip).
Weight Considerations
The stretch of bungee used depends on the weight of the dancer:
| Dancer’s Weight | Recommended Bungee |
| Less than 100lbs | Soft bungee |
| 105 to 130lbs | Combination medium and soft |
| 132 to 145lbs | Medium bungee |
| 146 to 150lbs | Combination medium and hard |
| 152 to 175lbs* | Hard ONLY |
*Bungee cord is NOT recommended for individuals weighing over 175lbs
Bungee Cords: The Mechanics
The best bungee cord to use for aerial acrobatics or bungee dance is made in the USA and has a 1:1 stretch. The bungee stretches evenly out and rebounds back at the same speed. This means it stretches its length; for example, if you have a two foot bungee cord, it will stretch to four feet. Our bungee is made in the USA and has a 1:1 stretch.
In addition, you can order 2:1 but this is only used if you have an arena space of at least 40 to 60 feet. The 2:1 bungee stretches twice its length for every one part; for example, a two-foot cord would stretch to eight feet. This is why it can only be used for very high ceilings. We can obtain this type of stretch, but only if the performers has years of experiences and an arena space to practice and perform in.
All the needed equipment can be found in our Bungee Dance shop section.
Aerial Yoga Fitness Studio AGORA was launched in May 2014 as the first aerial studio in Kansai area Osaka, Japan. The studio is comfortable with fresh breeze coming from a big window. Basic booking is necessary for each class and our experienced instructors are ready to serve you thorough lessons planned for each student.
Aerial Yoga Fitness Studio ＡＧＯＲＡは関西初のエアリアルヨガが楽しめるスタジオとして２０１４年５月にオープン致しました。大きな窓のある、風通しの良いスタジオで、予約優先制、きめ細かい対応のできるスタジオです。経験豊富な講師が丁寧にレッスンさせて頂きます。
Aviana is an international aerial yoga company specializing in aerial yoga teacher training certification programs, workshops, intensives, class series, retreats, and consulting services.
Yoga Bliss is a welcoming studio, offering a variety of yoga classes including; Aerial Yoga. We offer several Aerial and non-Aerial classes weekly. In addition to weekly classes, we offer regular workshops, intensives and a comprehensive Aerial Yoga Teacher Training Program.
Our Aerial Yoga Teacher Training Program is a 50-hour training, geared towards existing yoga teachers and trained fitness instructors. During the course, students will learn over 100 Aerial Yoga poses (training manual included), sequences for both active and more restorative practices, safety and rigging education and an overall deepening of knowledge and education of yoga and of Aerial fitness.
All our trainings (workshops, teacher trainings, etc…) are offered with a dedication to quality, experience and commitment to the highest standards of education in yoga.
Aerial Fun and Fitness offers a range of Aerial classes and Aerial Fitness Teacher Training Certification. They have a style for all using Aerial Yoga Hammocks with added acrobatic elements, or traditional Yoga. Relax and manage your stress, or join their classes just for the fun of it. They also offer Aerial Thai sessions.
Aerial Fitness Teacher Training is offered in Newark, Delaware or Phoenixville, Pensylvania locations, or at your location. Training consists of over 100 hours of training along with Master Instructor Training. Application for training available on the Aerial Fun and Fitness website.
Daily Classes, Workshops, Trainings, Retreats, Hatha Yoga, Vinyasa Flow Yoga, Yoga Therapy, Aerial Yoga
Thessaloniki, Greece
Aerial Yoga Teacher Training by Vita-Prana Yoga is opened to registered yoga teachers with a minimum of 200 hour training.
In this 3 day training we explore how to integrate the hammock as another prop into a traditional yoga mat class. The hammock will support the traditional yoga practice and assist with challenging asanas such as inversions and deep back bends. Instructors will learn what should be included in an aerial yoga class, contraindications of aerial yoga, when to progress students from basic aerial yoga classes to more intermediate classes, how to assist students in and out of the hammocks safely, modifications and information and resources for a complete hammock assembly. This training gives CEU’s through Yoga Alliance towards 200 hr. & 300 hour trainings.
Iluminar Aerial®
2655 Industrial Lane
Broomfield, CO 80234
Ph: 214-334-6798
www.iluminaraerial.com
Frequent Flyers® Aerial Dance
3022 Sterling Circle
Boulder, CO 80301
Ph: 303 245-8272
www.frequentflyers.org
It was a pleasure to attend the Boulder Aerial Dance Festival during the second week of August. It was super to see the showcase featuring such unique acts! One of the aerialists who performed and presented workshops was Tanya Burka. Tanya is a phenomenal aerialist and super aerial instructor. Lynn and Tanya had a wonderful visit catching up on how the aerial community has grown and changed since Tanya was a judge for the Aerial Acrobatic Arts Festival. Over the years since 2011, there are more aerial schools, new aerial festivals, and more performing opportunities for aerialists, choreographers, and producers.
Claudia Lederer — Claudia has several YouTube videos of instruction.
We offered a summer special for all of our newsletter subscribers. Our customer base is world-wide and we are happy to provide quality aerial equipment to over 100 countries. We continue to refine our products and starting in July, we have uploaded one new component of our curriculum everyday. Thanks to the skills of David, we have completed our Level 1 Aerial Instructional Curriculum. We will continue to post daily videos. We have close captions on the videos so our customers who speak other languages can read the instruction in their language.
Since 2003, we have 
enjoyed offering classes and open work-out sessions at the gym! Our program helped thousands of people learn aerial skills. We offered performing opportunities to our advanced students, produced student shows twice a year, and are proud of the aerial silks curriculum we developed, under the program direction of Tatanya Hamermesh. We are thankful to Larry Dardano who allowed us to use his gym as a great place to build a strong program. We offer our full DVD series on our Aerial Instructional page. Our curriculum was developed with the help of Tatanya Hamermesh, Lynn Coleman, Jamey Atchison, Liz Smith, Jennifer Wilcox, Jill Katzenberger, Julie Rattelmeuller, Eric Pung as well as all our Independent Contractor Instructors and Workshop leaders.
Bayard, David, and Lynn packed up the equipment and said goodbye to the gym program at the end of June. As we post our curriculum on our website we continue our strong tradition of offering instruction to the aerial community.
Over the past year we have enjoyed offering trapeze night. It has been a pleasure to watch the antics of Tony and Nicky of the Imperial Flyers develop the nuances of their duo trapeze comedy routine. Their practices brought lots of laughter to everyone! Bayard and Lynn perfected quite a few duo trapeze poses and combinations. David filmed and offered suggestions to help Tony and Nicky’s routine. We all had fun as we developed new trapeze maneuvers!
Our Japanese customer base has been growing over the past couple of years. We were happy to offer an Aerial Yoga workshop for Mr Fumimoto’s instructors in Osaka at Studio Core. With the help of Kaori, a wonderful translator, everyone understood the instruction! While in Osaka, Lynn met Akane who has two Aerial Yoga studios, one in a temple where Sumo wrestlers practice. It was fantastic to meet Kasumi owner of Yoga Fitness Studio and to learn she also is a practicing aerial hoop artist.
Lynn prepares to visit our customers in Australia and Japan. She will be visiting 10 studios and is looking forward to posting photos on Instagram and Facebook!
Lynn visited our Australian customers who have been purchasing aerial silks for Circus Arts and for Aerial Yoga. It was fantastic to meet everyone! First stop was on the Gold Coast to meet Tammy Zarb of Industry Aerial Arts. Tammy has been a customer with AFA for over 10 years. Kylie Ramsden with MyBodyMyTemple offers Aerial Yoga on the balcony of her lovely studio and home. In Adelaide it was a pleasure to visit Craig with Aerial Arts Adelaide and Jane Doyle of Energy Clinic, and visit The Yoga Center Zoe’s Aerial Yoga studio. In Perth Lynn met Sayshie of Rafters Mind Body Air and Rebecca and Sarah of Kinetica.
We celebrated the Bronco football team’s victory at the Super Bowl!
We stress tested our fabrics and will be having an upcoming video showing what happens when the fabric is stressed to breaking point. We also celebrated the surf competition known as the Eddie in Hawaii by putting our Aerial Peacock Blue Tricot on special. It is the closest color we have to ocean blue.
Best wishes to everyone for a super year ahead! We are happy to share photos from our customers located in Israel, Thailand, and in Japan. It is a pleasure to receive photos from our happy customers. Max du Soleil in Chiang Mai Thailand has opened a new studio and sent photos of his classes. We are happy that so many of our customers can share their positive experiences with their Aerial Yoga Hammocks.
It was a pleasure to visit a Parkour and Aerial studio in Baltimore. We were happy to meet our customers needs in time for the holidays! We love that our aerial fabric is in use in performances and studios all over the world and in the US. We are sharing a photo sent by Paige Borowski in performance.
We are happy to work with Kacey Cole a professional photographer who created new photos for the Aerial Fabric web site. Kacey photographed Bayard and Lynn in the Aerial Hammock. We appreciated Kacey’s experience as an aerialist and wish her well with her new photography business: Kacey Cole Photography.
Lynn was honored to meet Elena Mouratidou who has been a loyal customer of AFA for many years. Elena offers Aerial Yoga Teacher Training at her Anahata Yoga Studio
in Thessaloniki, Greece. It was fantastic to experience a Dharma Yoga class with Elena, and an Aerial Yoga class with Xenia. Katerina, one of Elena’s students who recently completed the Anahata Aerial Yoga Teacher Training with Elena showed Lynn around Thessaloniki. It was wonderful!
Lynn took a trip to Europe to visit studios who have purchased aerial fabric from Aerial Fabric Acrobatics recently and for many years. She visited one of our newest studios in Warsaw Poland, Oxygen Family Fitness. It was also a pleasure to meet Claudia Lederer in Munich and take one of Claudia’s Aerial Yoga classes. Claudia offers teacher training through her company Free Floating Aerial Yoga Lynn was very honored to visit Guendalina Stefani’s studio Santhiya Centro Pilates offering Aerial Yoga, Pilates, and Ftiness in Mirandola, Italy. 
It was great to see our Purple and Lavender hammocks at Rossana’s new Aerial Yoga studio in Ferrara, Italy.
Our sister website, Aerial Yoga Hammocks is one year old! We have started exploring the benefits of using the Aerial Yoga Hammock for massage. Some of our customers are purchasing hammocks for their massage business. David, our massage expert 
tries the hammock for a more relaxing foot massage for his client. Barca, Production Manager of the Aerial Acrobatic Arts Festival takes a much needed nap after the Festival.
AFA has been the main sponsor of the Aerial Acrobatic Arts Festival for 5 years. This year it was fantastic to partner with the Millibo Art Theater to produce the Circus of the Night show, and to have the help of many volunteers including Anna from Workaway who helped with the social media campaign.
We are happy to have the addition of Trapeze Open Work-Outs on Monday nights and Thursday nights. Trapeze is super for cross-training and increasing upper body strength. It is also a lot of fun! Featured in photos, Bayard, Nicky, and Tony.
Lynn visited NY and the Caravan Stage Company ship. Paul Kirby and Nans were gracious hosts and showed Lynn and Tatanya around the ship that serves as a stage for their shows. The performances include aerial acrobatics and political satire.
Aerial Fabric is now supplying fabric to a couple of new countries: Poland and Zimbabwae. Our tricot will be used in shows by a YMCA club who is performing in Zimbabwe and the Ukraine.
In the bright spring sun, we tested the tricot, tricot with stretch, and interlock colors to see which ones faded in sunlight. We knew that the Turquoise Tricot with Shine would fade in just one hour of sunlight. The Jade color faded in two hours of sunlight. We found that all the other colors in the different types of fabric did not fade even though we left them in the sun for over 11 hours. This does not mean that aerial fabric should be left in the sun for 11 or more hours, but if you are doing a show in the sun, using a portable rig, your aerial fabric would only fade if it is either turquoise or jade. We also tested the sun faded fabric to see if the tensile strength was impacted by the sun. The stress test showed that the sun does not alter the strength of the fabric.
In other news, artists from across the US and Canada have been invited and have accepted the invitation to perform in the 5th Aerial Acrobatic Arts Festival. Tickets are now on-sale for the shows.
AFA was happy to again offer workshops with aerialist Lisa Natoli. Lisa presented a series of workshops focused on transitions used on aerial silks and corde de lisse.
Lynn met with Holly Johnson of Aviana Yoga and learned more about her Aerial Yoga teacher training. Aviana will be presenting a new book for those wanting to learn more about how to use Aerial Yoga Hammocks. We have formed a positive relationship with Aviana and our sister site: aerialyogahammocks.com
We updated our images for the Tricot with Shine Special Order. We offer a range of colors from Neon Yellow to deep Burgundy.
Happy Holidays are sent to all those who made the Aerial Acrobatic Arts Festival such a success! Aerial Fabric Acrobatics has been a $20,000 level sponsor of the Festival for 4 years. The company has been proud to have helped 80 aerialists in sponsoring an event that has helped aerialists with their careers, and introduced Denver audiences to artists who have come to town from all over the country. Our holiday card featured two artists from Philadelphia who performed an innovation on slings. Nicole Burgio and Kendra Greaves. The photographer: Scott Murphy and graphic artist, Suzie Shapiro.
Aerial Fabric was happy to host Duo Silks workshops with Amy Nash. Amy is a circus performer who has been touring the world with different shows. She was in Denver between gigs and shared her knowledge of basic skills in Duo Aerial Silks and Aerial Hoop. Her workshop participants gained valuable transition moves and a better understanding of both the apparatus. Also in October, Ashley Smith and Daniel Nolasco, winners of the Best Artistic Award on Duo Trapeze in the 2014 Aerial Acrobatic Arts Festival presented a workshop on Duo Trapeze. They shared their fluid style of movement with workshop participants.
Lynn visited Montreal in October and enjoyed Genevieve Bessett’s one woman show on Aerial Hoop, directed by friend and artistic director of the Denver Aerial Acrobatic Arts Festival, Marshall Garfield. The show was an outstanding production, very contemporary and unique. While in Montreal, Lynn was happy to visit with Cynthia St Amand who performed solo trapeze at the 2012 Aerial Acrobatic Arts Festival. She saw Rachel Walker, who was a judge in 2012 at the Denver Festival. It was great to see Anna Vigeland, who served as a judge at the 2014 Festival. Lynn also spent time in NY City. It was great to learn trapeze skills at Circus Warehouse. She was happy to see Tatanya Hamermesh, former director of classes with Aerial Fabric.
September brought workshops presented by Carlos Salazar who performed Straps in the 2014 Aerial Acrobatic Arts Festival. Every Sunday, Carlos presented new skills on straps to Aerial Fabric Acrobatics students and other students from other studios. Everyone made progress and had lots of fun.
Also in September, Rachel Gauthier was in town with the Cavalia Odysseo show. Rachel performed Innovation in the 2012 Aerial Acrobatic Arts Festival. She is a fantastically gifted artist who was performing as an aerialist on aerial hoop and aerial fabric in the Odysseo show and also is one of the trick riders. She generously took everyone back stage, including Lynn’s 85 year old mother and also dropped by the gym to work out with Aerial Fabric. It was great to see Rachel perform in Odysseo. The show combines visual elements of video, outstanding horsemanship, acrobatics, and beautiful music. It was being filmed when in Denver, and Aerial Fabric was able to see the show as guests of one of the film directors who also purchased aerial fabric from the company.
Aerial Fabric Acrobatics hosted the first Workshop of the fall series with former Aerial Acrobatic Arts Festival artists, Duo Rose. Sam and Sylvia of Duo Rose were winners in the First Festival in 2011 of the Best Technical Award. They were in Denver over the Labor Day Weekend with Shanaz King. Sam and Sylvia presented Duo Trapeze technique and Shanaz King presented Straps workshops. Sam and Sylvia were able to explain the basics of Duo Trapeze along with basics for solo trapeze, and some techniques for Duo Silks. They also fixed a trapeze that needed re-furbishing in the kitchen while in the background, via live stream TV, we were able to watch the Man burn at Burning Man in Black Rock City. It was a wonderful weekend filled with lots of learning, laughter, and fun. Amy Nash joined in while back in Denver from her stint in Australia working as an aerialist. We all enjoyed Thai food to celebrate the first in a series of workshops by visiting artists!
We finalized a new Limited Edition Tricot color: Tangerine Orange. This color is not quite the same as the popular Limited Edition Tricot of Electric Coral. It is a wonderful Orange with less pink overtones.
In other news, the event Aerial Fabric underwrites, the Aerial Acrobatic Art Festival has a new poster courtesy of graphic artist Suzie Shapiro.
Lynn Coleman and David Mitchell visited Las Vegas and saw many friends in the Cirque du Soleil shows there. One of our judges, LJ Minz is a flyer in the trapeze act with Mystere, Ginger Griep Ruiz took us back stage of the Mystere show and we were awed by her flawless Aerial Silks act in the show. Lynn Flew trapeze at Terry Cavaretta Trapeze School.
We watched Pierre Luc on straps in the Ka Cirque show. Pierre performed with Aerial Fabric Acrobatics at the Church Nightclub in 2006. He has been on the Ka show for 9 years. We saw the Ka show in the light booth thanks to Yago.
It was a treat to visit with Sara Knaer who won the Best Performance at the 2012 Festival and is now performing in the Beatles Love show.
We also saw the Zarkana show and are happy to have worked with the Assistant Head of Rigging to provide aerial silks for an upcoming act in this show.
It is fantastic to see all the wonderful Cirque shows, including the incredible “O” show. La Reve, Blue Man, Absynth.
We added new Limited Edition Colors and started the research and development for new styles of Aerial Yoga Hammocks. We created a sister site: Aerial Yoga Hammocks
This site was created to better serve our growing base of studios using Aerial Yoga Hammocks.
Aerial Fabric Acrobatics is the main sponsor for the Aerial Acrobatic Arts Festival. We were thrilled to host the 4th Festival at the Rawl’s Theater on the University of Denver campus. We had artists from all across the US. One of our judges is the main silks performer with Cirque du Soleil’ s Mystere show, Ginger Griep Ruiz. The winners of the Artistic Best, from Colorado, Ashley Smith and Daniel Nolasco on Duo Trapeze. Winner of Technical Best, Molly Graves from Nashville of Aerial Fabricators performed on Corde de Lisse. Winner of Innovation, Jackie Ward and Nicolo Kehrwald performed on Duo Straps, Winner of the Audience Choice Award, Eric Michaels on Corde de Lisse from Philadelphia Circus School, Winner of Best Over-All of the Festival, Teo Spencer on Aerial Silks.
The audience was enthralled with the marionette work of Geoff Marsh, and were amazed at the skill level of the aerialists as always. The Festival was filmed by David Mitchell of One-by-One, LLC, and photographic team: Scott Murphy and Brittany Murphy.
Over 20 artists travelled to Denver for the Festival. We had presentations by Nancy Smith of Frequent Flyers in Boulder, by Teresa Tipping, Chelsea O’Brian, Anna Vigeland, and a judges panel discussion that offered lively discussion on how to advance your aerial career. Thank you to everyone who made the Festival another success! All our Sponsors, our volunteers. Tatanya Hamermesh General Director, Lynn Coleman Producer, Marshall Garfield, Artistic Director, Barca Chase Production Manager, Kacey Raye Artist Coordinator, Rob Layne Artist Lodging. Megan Stern, Brian Hassler, Jamey Atchison as our back stage team. 
We welcome all our orders from across the world. We no longer will be carrying our portable rigs, although they are a product we are very proud of. We set up 2 of our rigs at the Rumpus in the park with the Fantastic Hosts party. It was a super cold day, but our aerialists performed all day anyway. Sara on Aerial Hoop, Andrew on Aerial Silks, Krissy Star on Aerial Silks, Chelsea Trinka on Aerial Silks. It is a tradition that Aerial Fabric brings the aerial to the Fantastic Host parties whenever possible, we have been doing this for 10 years.
As a sponsor of the Aerial Acrobatic Arts Festival, we have received many fantastic applications for the Festival in May. Our volunteer team is fantastic and includes many of our aerial silks teachers.
We will have the Festival in May at the University of Colorado Denver Campus. Our Workshop presenters include: Chelsea O’Brian who will bring her Aerial Kite workshop, Anna Vigeland who will have choreography, we will offer rigging workshops.
Marshall Garfield our Artistic Director will again direct the shows. We look forward to a super Festival that will connect the aerial community.
We had our Student show, the History of Rock and Roll. It was great to see all our students’ progress. Thank you to Tatanya Hamermesh, Director of Classes for putting on such a wonderful program.
Also in February we had a fun night of watching Circus Movies as a fund raiser for the Aerial Acrobatic Arts Festival. It brought supporters and we all enjoyed watching old movies like “Trapeze” with Burt Lancaster and Gina Lola Brigida. Along with the cutting edge Fuerza Bruta which played in New York.
We are supplying Aerial Yoga Studios around the World with Aerial Yoga Hammocks. It is exciting to see that Aerial Yoga Hammocks are used in Birthing Centers, also for Autistic Children as therapy. We have many studios in Greece, Italy, Thailand, Germany, Switzerland, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Finland, Ireland, and of course the US.
The application window opened for artists to apply to the Aerial Acrobatic Arts Festival. We also were happy to host a Workaway volunteer who volunteered to call all the aerial schools in the US. There are more and more aerial programs which is great to see. The art form of Aerial Silks has grown and now there are new competitions in the US featuring Aerial as a championship opportunity. We are happy to supply the many aerial studios around the country and around the world.
Our new open work-out for Trapeze has been quite a success. We have duo trapeze teams hard at work on new skills and new acts. It is a lot of fun on Monday nights!