Lucid Aerial Arts — Local services in Tulum

TLDR: Colleen locked us out of training on final day of retreat, holding training time hostage while claiming additional payment was needed in order to train which then later found to be due to her miscalculation. I would highly recommend steering clear of any retreats run through Colleen Dixon /Lucid Aerial Arts in Tulum due to poor business practices.

I gave Colleen an opportunity to explain what happened, and also to make things right. My last email to her was over a month ago, so I do feel an obligation to the aerial community to proceed with caution in these retreats she is marketing.

My primary issue is that my payment of $2300 for the retreat was paid as requested to Colleen Dixon/ Lucid Aerial Arts. Irrespective of the issues she may have had with the other party, all payments requested were made to Colleen or Lucid Aerial Arts as a business, in a timely manner by me.  As any business would expect me, the consumer, to provide full payment.  I expect full delivery of services/ product sold to me (including aerial training time, as part of the aerial retreat that this trip was marketed as).

I fully acknowledge accounting errors are human and it happens. Colleen is not the first, nor last to make this mistake as a business owner. However, there is no reason that I, the consumer, should be penalized for an accounting error that Colleen as the business owner miscalculated. I came specifically to train and learn specific techniques, in which was significantly inhibited by her decision to withhold access to training space on our final day. We wasted the time getting to the studio, changing and getting ready to practice, sat around awkwardly while the guest instructors had to “chat” with her about the situation. Then had awkward completely unprofessional interactions with Colleen yelling down from the studio to the space below where we were congregating and telling us about how “she provided plenty of opportunity for this to be resolved, and plenty of discounts to us”.

Because I didn’t want to just jump to conclusions, following the retreat we actually reached out to her to share her side of the story. In a long winded explanation, Colleen described how this experience left her emotionally distraught from the situation with her “mental and physical health taking a nose dive”. What really makes me really upset is that we later found out that all of this seemed to be over a $300 miscalculation which Colleen acknowledged that she originally miscalculated.

I instead felt like there was a lot of wasted time and negative emotions wasted on what could have been an otherwise memorable amazing experience.

There are sooo many other retreats around that are of better quality and experience! I’m happy to share recommendations if...

After much contemplation I feel it is important to leave this review for my fellow aerial retreat community to take into considering when booking onto a Lucid Aerial retreat run by Colleen. I attended one of her aerial retreats earlier this year in June 2023 and for the most part everything was wonderful. There were various concerning incidents and interactions from the get go - but the main issue I wish to highlight is when Colleen suddenly withheld access to the aerial studio on our last training day of the retreat. There was no real explanation for what was going on- simply a very unprofessional and confrontational scene - including her withholding a retreat guest’s Lyra / private property! When asked to provide an explanation - Colleen admitted she made a $300USD accounting error on her part (prior to the retreat start date) and was experiencing challenging work relationships with the retreat coaches. It was disappointing to hear that although the owners of Lucid studio (Ahau hotel management) waived the hire fee so Colleen would not be out of pocket- she still decided to withhold our aerial training session, meaning we completely lost out on the final training and skills we specifically came to learn. Without offer of refund or compensation for this paid service.

Unfortunately accounting errors and challenging work relationships are a reality when running a business. Regardless of this and whatever happened behind-the-scenes between Colleen and her business associates - she has a responsibility to remain professional and fulfil this obligation to her paying clients. If accounting mistakes are made it is common practice and expected - that as the business - she should shoulder the responsibility by absorbing the costs, whilst still providing the full advertised and paid for service.

I paid $2550 for this retreat to specifically train aerial. As it stands - my request for a minimal refund for this portion of the retreat has not even been acknowledged by Colleen. For this reason I would not recommend attending a retreat run by Colleen or Lucid...

I love working with and at Lucid Aerial Arts. Colleen is such a joy and is incredibly helpful. In April 2023, she helped me logistically run my first ever retreat step by step - helping me arrange excursions, finding an amazing personal chef for our group, and being our personal driver and guide around town! My second retreat was also with Lucid just last week. This time, i opted to do things more on my own, but Colleen was quick to answer any and all of my students and/or my questions. She also was available to help our excursions be more flexible on the few days the weather wasn't in our favor. (Rainy nights do not permit clear underwater photoshoots the next day!)

Lucid Aerial Arts Tulum Location is an intimate beach front studio. Perfect for beginners, as well as for those who want to plug in training time while in paradise.

As for rigging: both the certified rigger and the person who constructed the building do rigging checks on a regular basis.

The mats are not huge, as the ceilings are low and very minimal dynamic work is taught here. We stack them when needed, or work many other things that can be...