Convergence, A Lyra & Sling Retreat
June 6-13, 2026
Casa Chango Mexico, Puerto Escondido
Instructors: Sofia Rodriguez and Anastasia Timina
Partial Scholarships for Mexican and BIPOC students available.
Apply here by March 1.
Spend a WEEK in PARADISE with new friends, the beach, delicious & fresh, local food, and learn loads and loads of new aerial skills!
Do you want to improve your dynamics on lyra and/or sling? Lyra and sling are excellent apparatuses for cross-training because they allow many skills to converge. Let us take you through a curated week in which we learn the technique of a given skill on the easier apparatus to help you find the brain-body connection. Often, the key to unlocking a skill on one is to train its progressions on the other!
We have joined forces to take you through a creative and technical journey designed to improve your skills on both apparatus. With Sofia’s expertise on lyra and Anastasia’s expertise on sling, you will be in the best hands as you are guided through the week. We will cover dynamic skills such as beats, back-catches, hipkey rollups, lyra rolls, elbow circles, Russian rolls to the ankles, knee drops, pop-outs, around-the-worlds, saltos (forward drops), star drops, as well as sequencing and flowy shapes. The sequences are original creations tailored just for this retreat, and there will be a photoshoot to showcase your new poses!
Enjoy 2 classes each day on this retreat.
The morning class will start with a warm-up, followed by sling or hoop technique and a flow. Then we will switch to the second apparatus to transfer the given technique and the unique flow.
For example, on BEAT day, we will start with sling to introduce beat theory and the day’s flow. Then we will transfer the theory to lyra (single-point) and adapt the flow.
The afternoon classes include theory, foam rolling and stretching, poses for our photoshoot, and artistic exploration for transitions and sequencing.
The rest of our time can be spent eating amazing & healthy food, swimming in the warm ocean, reading in hammocks, and breathing the tropical air. There will be time to explore local markets and beaches, as well as the local nightlife.
Advance your Skills!
This Aerial Hoop & Sling Retreat is for intermediate to advanced level aerial students with at least 2 years of ongoing practice. It is great for aerialists who want to advance their skills on the hoop and sling and have loads of fun doing it! Students must be able to do a full straddle up in the air (straight arm straddle up not required), hollow body, and some familiarity with drops and beats is recommended.
Sling Prerequisites:
- Seated straddle
- Back straddle/hip-hang
- Single knee hang
- Crossback straddle
- Hipkey
- Supported single knee hang
- Familiarity with some sling sequences, such as cat’s cradle (aka rebeccah splits)
Lyra Prerequisites:
- Double/single knee hang
- Front/back balance
- Straddle invert under-the-bar
- Pull-over
- Basic shapes such as gazelle, straddle-back, and lion-in-a-tree.
- Some familiarity with rolls and top-bar shapes is recommended.
Please feel free to email us with any questions about our prerequisites.
Daily Schedule Sample: Everything is optional!
- 7:30-9:30 am: Coffee, Tea and Breakfast
- 10am-12:30pm: Warm up & Hoop/Sling Skills
- 1pm: Lunch
- 2-5pm: Pool-time, siesta, relaxing
- 3:30pm: Afternoon Treat
- 4:30-6pm: Afternoon Class
- 7pm Dinner
- 8-10pm Evening activities
We will take you to our favorite beaches for swimming, surfing, snorkeling, and releasing baby turtles into the sea. There will be evening adventures to a bioluminescent lagoon and local night market.
Bring your partner, parents, or best buddy! See our significant other and +1 policy here.
About your Teachers
Anastasia Timina was born in Kharkiv, Ukraine and always had dreams of being an artist. After moving to the US, she discovered circus in 2011 as a physical outlet, but quickly fell in love with its creative possibilities. She committed to becoming an aerialist as a career in 2013 and has since performed in shows and has taught in studios and at aerial festivals across the country.
Anastasia’s performance style is a mixture of sneaky theory-driven transitions and fast dynamic sequences. Her emphasis is on fascinating shapes and clean lines all while upholding the illusion of defying gravity. She approaches teaching skills through incremental progressions informed by her study of kinesthetics and anatomy. Anastasia enjoys, teaches, and performs all forms of aerial, but specializes in vertical apparatuses. She completed the Aerial Teacher Training Program in January of 2016 and since has been working as a coach to help others discover their potential to fly.
After teaching 4th grade in Austin, TX for 5 years, Sofia ran away to the circus and currently lives in Colorado where she teaches aerial arts and flexibility to various skill levels and ages. As an instructor for over 8 years, single point lyra is her passion but she is adept at teaching dance trapeze, sling, and fabric. She emphasizes form and theory to build skill with not just movement mastery, but with creativity and sequence development as well. Aside from working full-time as an aerial instructor, she has instructed immersions at the Aerial Dance Festival, retreats at Sweet Retreats, and travels to bring her unique workshops to studios across the nation. You can view her work on Instagram under the handle @cirquedancer.
I loved Sofia’s workshop so much! I found her brain map super useful. Naming the entries and the actions helped me clarify what it is that I am doing in that space between the lyra and the spanset. The thousand ways to get into lion and snake and ways out of it… how to finally conquer (some) of the rolls and directions, and how to interrupt them and take them in a different direction.
This was a truly delicious week spent learning from her. It is such a gift to have someone hand you the info instead of having to wander. Her work is so scalable and portable. I am using it in my classes (with a shoutout to her, of course) with every level.
Your workshop is lyra gold. Thank you!
Daniela (danithedanimal) -Testimonial from the Aerial Dance Festival
“Anastasia is truly one of the most amazing aerial silks teachers I’ve ever worked with. She has an incredible understanding of aerial theory and technique, and she makes you feel confident and safe in the air. In her classes, I was always learning new things and having so much fun. I’ve trained with many aerial coaches, including some who have worked in Cirque du Soleil, and Anastasia still stands out as one of the best. I can’t recommend her classes or workshops enough.”
-Paige (_elisabit)
The way Sofia broke things down was phenomenal! It’s so neat she had skills that we kept building upon EVERY SINGLE DAY that had components from the day before. Can’t wait for this again next year!
-Testimonial from the Aerial Dance Festival
Eré (Eremd23) -Testimonial from the Aerial Dance Festival
“Anastasia teaches with an unparalleled blend of theory mastery, flowing style, and encouragement. She will push you to succeed and explore in ways you never thought you could, all with an infectiously positive attitude born from a deep love of the art. There is no skill for which she does not have a progression to get you on the right path. If you want to experiment and unwind the creative aerial web, there is no one better. “
– Josie (@josie_g_310)
“If you are looking to elevate your aerial practice and expand your knowledge of theory than you have found your teacher! Anastasia is full of aerial puzzles! I always have the best time in her class and value her vast expertise. Not only is she a killer teacher but a truly lovely human. I can’t recommend her class enough. Whether you’re a beginner or an advanced aerialist she has something for everyone. “
-Ella (tinkerella111)
What’s included:
- Ground transportation from the Puerto Escondido Airport (PXM) to Casa Chango if participants arrive to PXM on the specific arrival/departure dates listed.
- Arrive on June 6. Depart on June 13, 2026.
- Private or shared accommodations at Casa Chango eco-chic resort. Click here to take a look at your options.
- Daily cleaning service.
- 3 nourishing meals a day in our beautiful open-air kitchen. Click here to learn more about meals.
- Breakfast: 7:30-9:30am
- Lunch: 1-1:45pm
- Afternoon treat & ice coffee: 3:30pm
- Dinner & Dessert: 7-7:45pm
- Communal space for personal food storage in our kitchen.
- Use of all community areas:
- Swimming pool & hot tub
- Lounge with couches, books & a movie projector
- Kitchen & dining area
- Amazing 2000 square foot open-air Circus Gym
- Dance studio
- Hammocks for lounging
- Private hiking trail down to the Colotepec River
- 2 Daily Classes:
- Aerial photo shoot (w access to up to 15 photos)
- High Speed Starlink Internet
- Access to our network of Spanish teachers who provide private or group classes on-site.
- Access to our on-site massage space and network of body-work practitioners for hire who come on-site.
- Recommendations and guidance to enjoy all that Puerto Escondido has to offer. Beaches, nature excursions, tours, surf lessons, networking events, dance classes, and so much more. Click here for an idea of what you have to look forward to.
Retreat Pricing in USD
| Room | Early Bird Price | Full Price |
| Shared Dorm (mixed gender) | $2000 | $2300 |
| Shared Private Room (2 friends sharing a room) 1 king size bed or 2 individual beds | $2200 | $2500 |
| Private Room w Shared Bathroom | $2500 | $2800 |
| Private Room w Private Bathroom | $2800 | $3100 |
| Private Room w Private Bathroom & Air Conditioner | $3100 | $3400 |
$500 Deposit is required to secure your spot.
Early bird prices end 3 months before arrival date.
Full tuition is due by one month before the first day of the retreat.
Rates refer to cost of one person’s tuition.
Couples must sign up together.
Significant others and friends who are not taking classes are welcome at a special price.
Dorms are mixed gender.
Click here for room descriptions.
inks for more information:
- Accommodations – room descriptions
- Meals and Food
- How to get here. Info and advice on booking your travel
- Weather in Puerto Escondido
- Testimonials
- Excursions
Discounts
- Sign up early to get the Early Bird Discount
- Sign up with a friend and get a $100 referral discount. (You get $100 discount for each person you refer to any of our focused retreats.)
- Sign up on our mailing list to find out about more discounts.
ECO RETREAT CENTER
Casa Chango is an Eco Retreat Center. We do our best to live in harmony with the natural world. We are off grid, and use 100% solar power. We have dry composting toilets and use the humanure and food waste to create soil to feed the amazing plants and trees all around the property. We ask all of our staff and guests to come with the mindset of learning about and respecting nature. The gray water from our sinks and showers filter out to water the plants. Therefore we ask you to bring natural shampoos, conditioners, and toothpaste to your retreat. All of our buildings were designed and built to be cool and comfortable, and we hope you enjoy your stay with us.
Casa Chango is an animal friendly place. There are several friendly animals on site including dogs and cats. They will not enter your rooms, but they will be on property and in common areas during your retreat. Animal lovers will be in their happy place.
Native insects live in this area of Mexico. We fumigate regularly to keep insects away and out of your rooms. We also acknowledge that the insects are an important part of keeping nature in balance. Most of the community spaces at Casa Chango, including the gym, dining area, pool, lounge are open air which means there are no walls. You can expect to see a variety of native insects, birds, and lizards during your visit. We hope you enjoy the experience of living more connected to nature.
Questions? Email us at SweetRetreatsMexico@gmail.com
*Food service begins with a snack and dinner on arrival day, and ends with breakfast on departure day. All meals are provided. The food is amazing! ** Your taxi to/from the PXM airport is included if you arrive/depart on designated days. Click here for info about getting to Puerto Escondido.