Aerial Silks Near Me in North Miami Beach: Cirque Art Studio

Cirque Art Studio does not split its aerial students by level or apparatus. Its adult Mixed Aerial class, Tuesday and Friday from 8pm to 9pm, puts complete beginners and advanced students in the same hour on silks, hammock, lyra and trapeze, and most newcomers start on silks or hammock. The studio is in Keystone Plaza at 13651 Biscayne Boulevard in North Miami Beach, and a single adult class costs $40. For aerial silks near me in northeast Miami-Dade, it is the closest dedicated circus school.

The studio is owned by two performers. Byambatsetseg Jigdengombo, known as Byamba, has more than 20 years on stage in hand balancing, flying trapeze, contortion, aerial lyra, juggling, duo straps, duo trapeze and the perch act, and in 2016 the government of Mongolia awarded her the Medal of Honorary Performing Artist. Her co-owner, Konstantin Serov, is a gymnast and circus juggler with a similar 20 years of experience.

Byamba teaches nearly every aerial and flexibility class on the adult timetable, including both Mixed Aerial nights, so the person who corrects your first foot lock is the studio's lead artist rather than a junior coach. Serov runs the acro and tumbling classes and the after-school circus program. The studio says its current students range from three to 75 years old.

Class starts with a short flexibility warm-up of splits and backbends. Students then go to an apparatus and work at their own pace while instructors move from person to person, demonstrating moves and spotting by hand. The hour finishes with an abs cool-down. It is scheduled for 60 minutes, but the studio warns that it often runs over when someone is close to landing a move.

Beginners start low on silks or hammock with direct guidance. Because coaches physically hold and guide new students, the studio says beginners reach drops and moves other schools would treat as intermediate fairly early. You can also bring a goal: show the coaches a move you want, and they will assess your strength and flexibility and plan a route to it within the group class.

The studio's dress advice is specific. Wear clothes that do not restrict your range of motion, such as yoga pants, tank tops or a fitness jumpsuit, and bring layers. Do not wear socks, because they make climbing the silks harder, and do not wear shoes on the black carpet area. Leave dangling earrings and other jewelry at home, since they catch on the fabric.

For trapeze and lyra, the hard apparatus, the studio suggests trapeze boots or ankle supports, and it recommends back warmers to keep you warm between turns. If you only plan to stay on silks your first night, leggings that cover the backs of your knees will save you from fabric burns while you learn to wrap.

Adult group classes, for ages 16 and up, cost $40 for one, $180 for a five-class package ($36 each) and $310 for ten ($31 each). Every adult class is 60 minutes. The five-pack is the sensible start: it covers about three weeks of Tuesday and Friday sessions, enough to learn the basic climb and a first inversion before you decide whether to commit to ten.

Private classes are by appointment only: $100 for one person, $140 for two and $180 for three, rising to $282 for six. A semi-private session with a friend at $70 each is a better deal than two group drop-ins if you have a specific trick to work on. The studio also teaches virtual sessions for flexibility and conditioning, but aerial work itself needs the rigging in the room.

Silks is only taught inside Mixed Aerial, so Tuesday and Friday at 8pm are your two chances. Other evenings suit cross-training: Flexibility for Adults runs Tuesday and Friday at 7pm, directly before Mixed Aerial, doing both back to back gives you a two-hour evening and a looser back before your first climb. Aerial Lyra for Adults runs Wednesday at 8pm, and contortion meets Thursday at 7pm.

Weekends are limited for adults. Sunday has flexibility at 11am and beginner and intermediate hand balancing at 12:15pm, but there is no Saturday or Sunday aerial class, and Saturday belongs to the youth circus program. If you can only train on weekend mornings, LADD Miami Circus Arts Center in Allapattah has an adult silks class on Saturday at 10am and charges $15 for a first class.

Weekday afternoons belong to children. The circus after-school program for ages 6 to 15 runs Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from 4pm to 6pm, and youth aerial and contortion classes follow at 5pm and 6pm. A Wednesday class called Little Circus Stars takes ages 4 to 6. By 8pm the room has turned over to adults, but you may pass parents picking up kids on your way in.

The studio also books its performers out for events through Milanus Circus, which supplies clowns, jugglers, acrobats and fire breathers for parties and corporate events. Adults who want a stage can become student performers in the studio's own shows; the studio asks performers to train at least three times a week and to have their choreography ready six to eight weeks before the show.

Keystone Plaza sits on Biscayne Boulevard, also US 1, close to the Keystone Islands neighborhood. For daylight before an evening class, Arch Creek Park, at 1855 NE 135th Street in North Miami, protects a natural limestone bridge over Arch Creek and a short shaded nature trail. Oleta River State Park, Florida's largest urban park, is a few minutes north on NE 163rd Street for kayaking and mountain biking.

The studio says it serves students within about ten miles, naming Aventura, Sunny Isles Beach, Miami Shores, Surfside and North Miami among others. If you are coming from Miami Beach or downtown, an 8pm class lets the evening rush on Biscayne Boulevard ease before you set off, and the plaza sits on the east side of the boulevard between NE 135th and NE 163rd Streets.

Address: Cirque Art Studio, Keystone Plaza, 13651 Biscayne Boulevard, North Miami Beach, FL 33181. Adult Mixed Aerial (silks, hammock, lyra, trapeze) runs Tuesday and Friday, 8pm to 9pm, for ages 16 and up.

One class $40, five classes $180, ten classes $310; private class $100. No socks, no shoes on the black carpet, no dangling jewelry. Book through the studio website or call ahead to reserve your first class.