AerialCLT — Local services in Charlotte

I was so excited when I read their website and it said you didn’t need experience! I thought I was going to have a new weekly hobby. This is just not true. You need to at the very least have good upper body strength. I thought it would be a bit more introductory. In beginners classes I’ve went to in the past everything was explained step by step. This was more so the instructor doing a move and then telling you to do it. The instructor tried to (unsuccessfully) adjust me when I struggled but it felt nearly impossible. I am in my 20s, I play tennis, do Pilates 4 times a week, so I don’t think I’m in the worst shape. It was just very hard and the expectations were unreasonable in my opinion. The other 3 girls in my group (the Lyra Hoop) had done it before; I think they should start doing one-time intro classes for ppl like me who are completely new and then beginners classes separately for ppl who have been before and just need work until they’re ready to level up. Also when I walked in, there were 2 employees at the front desk and then 1 at the desk behind it. The 2 employees in the front looked at me standing there and then looked away like I wasn’t supposed to be there? I mean the least they could’ve said was Hi? Be with you shortly? Just nothing lol. I read another review that said the same thing happened to her so it seems this is a pattern which is sad. The employee at the desk behind them saw me standing there and greeted me so I just went to her — she happened to be my instructor and she was extremely kind which is why I gave a second star. But it wasn’t introductory at all. It would’ve been nice to learn about the Lyra hoop, little exercises to get familiar with it ya know. Instead it was just like ok this is what man on the moon is, now do it. For a person who’s never done anything like that, it’s hard. Also my sister was initially going to come with me, she is plus-sized and would not have fit into the hoop in some of the moves she wanted us to do, it would have been very embarrassing for her… the website gives the impression that it’s open to all and extremely beginner-friendly and it’s just not. I had to leave early because I felt super uncomfortable not being able to do anything and in pain on my posterior thighs...

Today, was my first time attending AerialCLT and will be my last time ever coming back. I am also going to advise all my friends and family to never support this business with Kristen still working there. I came to celebrate my birthday with a group of friends and it was extremely disappointing. We signed up for the Silk Fundamentals beginner class and the instructors name was Kristen. Please never attend this class with this instructor because she's highly unprofessional. She wasn't attentive to the "new beginners" that were there, but more to the "advanced students",which I'm confused as to why they were in our class to begin with because it took away the focus from us "the new beginners". Kristen wasn't helpful at all. She would literally stand there and not be of any assistance. I never heard her say "let me help you" or "good job ladies". She only told the advanced group these things while we had to wait until she was done with them, which took a while as well. This was such a horrible experience and I'm trying to keep it brief. Then Kristen had the audacity to put her hands on me, while speaking to me as if I were a child to give me an instruction. I immediately left because she invaded my space and I didn't want there to be any confrontation. My friends and I decided to leave 30-40 mins earlier then our scheduled class ending time because we were all offended by her behavior. We left the premises and she didn't say a word to us to try to keep us there. I would like to be compensated for my troubles and my terrible experience because I wasn't able to get my money's worth due to leaving...

Update: owner responded and offered a credit to try at a higher level. Reflected review.

I will second the review I saw here stating that this a great place for true beginners but doesn’t seem like it caters much to people who have prior aerial experience and who want to experiment or flow. AerialCLT location is really big and there’s a lot of different apparatuses. But the fundamentals class had us 3 to a hoop though, which is pretty crazy for $30 drop in. The two beginners I was with left early because we stood around most of the time waiting for instruction. As someone with prior aerial experience, the fundamentals class was far too easy and I was given no further challenge or modification. That’s really frustrating when you pay for a class and you’re bored and standing around. I read in the other review that they will meet you where you’re at and let you take leveled classes, but I was not told this when I asked if we could test out to a more advanced class. It sounded like a no to me, and you are required to fill up a sheet of checked off single tricks before moving up. This was really off putting. I’m disappointed as there’s hardly any Lyra around here. Maybe just selling open Lyra spaces would be nice for those who want to play around on their own. Would be open to trying again if this...