Aerial Silks Near Me on West 30th: Aerial Arts NYC Beginner Silks

Aerial Arts NYC runs about a dozen Beginner Silks classes a week from a ground-floor storefront at 150 W. 30th Street, between Sixth and Seventh Avenues, and the studio tells newcomers to look for the big windows with circus mannequins across the street from the DMV. Each class lasts 60 minutes, takes six students at most and costs $45 as a drop-in. If you search aerial silks near me from Penn Station or Herald Square, this studio is a short walk south.

Aerial Arts NYC was founded by working aerialists rather than a gym chain. Co-owner and instructor Josh Dean explained the origin in a 2021 interview: the school started in 2012 out of necessity, after the teachers lost the space they had all been teaching at, so a few of them got together and opened their own circus school. Kristin Geneve Young, who has performed in Cirque du Soleil's LOVE, is also credited as a co-founder.

The studio first operated at 235 E. 49th Street in Midtown East, and a 2016 profile still placed it there. It now occupies the 30th Street storefront, and the contact page warns that ride-hailing apps sometimes still send people to the old 49th Street address, so type the full 150 West 30th Street address before you hail a car. The schedule labels its rigging as Point 1 through Point 9.

Every aerial class here follows the same shape: an aerial warm-up, the main skills block, then conditioning or stretching on the apparatus to finish. Beginner classes add a guided warm-up on the floor first. In Beginner Silks you learn to climb, invert in the air and hang upside down, while later levels add sequences, drops, slides and flips. The studio does not run beginner rope classes, and points new students to silks first.

Before moving up to Pre-Intermediate Silks you need to climb to the top of the fabric, tie figure-8 and dance locks in the air, and invert from the ground. The levels guide asks for at least four beginner classes before that step, while the class description in the booking system says five, so plan on five. Booking a class above your level is costly here: you will not be allowed to take part and the credit is lost.

The rest of the schedule covers rope, lyra, static trapeze, dance trapeze, straps and hammock, plus aerial conditioning, contortion, handstands, stretch and Pilates. One thing you will not find is flying trapeze; the studio sends people who want that to a trapeze school instead. Open workouts are for Pre-Intermediate students and up, so beginners practice only inside scheduled classes.

Brand-new students can buy the New Student Intro Special once: three $45-level classes for $111, good for one month from purchase. The studio stresses that because of the discount there are no extensions and no cancellation concessions on this pack, and anyone who has taken a class before will see it removed from their cart. Use it on three Beginner Silks classes within the same month, ideally a week apart.

Standard pricing puts every aerial class at the $45 rate. A five-class card is $210 and lasts three months, a ten-class card is $400, a fifteen-class card is $570 and a twenty-class card is $720, the larger cards valid for six months. Stretch classes and open workouts cost $30 each. Private lessons are $125 an hour for one person, $180 for two, $220 for three and $250 for four.

The FAQ says many classes fill up a week or more in advance, and there is no way to be added to a full class, so book as soon as your week is clear. Cancel at least 48 hours ahead to get a credit back; inside that window the class is gone. Class cards are non-refundable and non-transferable, and refunds only go to your studio account, never back to your card.

New students should arrive 10 minutes early to fill in paperwork, and anyone not in the room by the 10-minute mark after start cannot join and loses the class. Wear form-fitting clothes that cover the backs of your knees, your stomach and your upper arms, take off jewelry, zippers and buckles, and tie back long hair. The minimum age for adult classes is 16; under-18s need a parent to sign the annual waiver.

There is no phone line. The studio states that all correspondence is handled by email at info@aerialartsnyc.com, so if you are running late there is nobody to call. That is the main downside compared with front-desk studios nearby. The studio's policy is that classes run as long as the MTA is running, so bad weather alone is not a reason to skip.

On ClassPass the studio holds a 4.9 rating from more than 15,000 ratings, and many reviews come from first-timers. One student called it such a good first experience doing silks, and another wrote that a quiet slot turned into a one-on-one class that worked as a great introduction. ClassPass also tags it as woman-owned and LGBTQ-owned. Josh Dean has said that some students take an advanced-beginner class for years.

The practical upshot of a six-student cap is more time on the fabric and more corrections per class than in a crowded room. The catch is the same cap that makes classes feel personal also makes them sell out. If the week's Beginner Silks slots are full, check the Pre-Intermediate schedule only if you already meet its prerequisites.

Two blocks north, Greeley Square Park fills the triangle between 32nd and 33rd Streets where Broadway crosses Sixth Avenue. It has a statue of newspaper editor Horace Greeley, movable chairs and tables, and a food kiosk, which makes it a simple place to sit down and stretch your forearms. Herald Square's pedestrian plazas sit just above it at 34th Street.

West 32nd Street between Fifth Avenue and Broadway is Koreatown's main block, about three blocks from the studio, lined with Korean restaurants and bakeries. After an evening class it is an easy place for dinner before taking the train home from Herald Square.

Address: Aerial Arts NYC, 150 W. 30th Street, ground-floor storefront, New York, NY 10001, between Sixth and Seventh Avenues. Contact: info@aerialartsnyc.com; the studio does not take phone calls. Subway: the 1 train to 28th Street at Seventh Avenue, or B, D, F, M, N, Q, R or W to 34th Street–Herald Square. Studio hours on the contact page are Monday to Thursday 9:30am to 9:30pm, Friday to 8:30pm, Saturday 10:30am to 7pm and Sunday 10:30am to 6pm.

Students may arrive 15 minutes before class and stay 15 minutes after. Bring water and long, fitted layers, and know that only lockers and mats are listed among the amenities, so expect no shower. Youth Circus sessions and private lessons are available for ages 6 to 16 if you want to bring a child along on another day.