Active Living

Aerial conditioning: Because you've always dreamt of being in the circus

The studio at Blue Lapis
Photo by Veronica Castelo
Blue Lapis Light dance instructor Alicia Carlin (l) shows student Tolly Moseleya new move to try.
Photo by Veronica Castelo
Balancing on the silks
Photo by Veronica Castelo
Eventually you just have to let go of your fears and have fun.
Photo by Veronica Castelo
Stretching before class at Sky Candy.
Stretching for optimal flexibility at Sky Candy.

My fingers have almost recovered from a bout of what I can only assume arthritis feels like. I was told to expect this after my first attempt at aerial conditioning which involves clenching silk fabric for dear life.

I didn’t enter the Blue Lapis Light studio expecting an easy workout. I know enough to know that core-focused workouts are a bitch. But as someone with a few marathons and triathlons under my belt, I thought I at least stood a chance.

That was a silly thought.

If you’ve ever been to a Blue Lapis Light performance or any other aerial show involving silks you’ve probably noticed the muscles of those swinging, twisting, and flying through the suspended fabric, are bulging out of their tights. Aerial conditioning is hard-core.

“The only way you can fall and hurt yourself is if you just let go”

“Everything you do targets your entire body and not just your big muscles,” said Alicia Carlin.

Carlin is an instructor at Blue Lapis Light and she can climb a silk with the ease of a monkey and the grace of gazelle. She won my respect after doing an upside down split several feet off the ground while tangled in the cloth.

“It’s just so fun,” she said. “It’s one of few exercises that requires your entire body and mind to connect.”

It certainly took my entire body and mind to climb a few inches up the silk while doing some twisty wrap thing with my foot – a beginners move.

“It’s not easy, but if you have a positive attitude you will get off the ground,” Carlin said.

My positive attitude took a nosedive the second Carlin started shouting out instructions that involved a flip in mid-air. I’m always up for a challenge but not when it involves setting myself up for a face plant. She quelled my fears, sort of.

“The only way you can fall and hurt yourself is if you just let go,” she said. “That won’t happen because when you are in the air your brain goes into survival mode and you hang on for dear life.”

Not exactly the best pep talk.

Truth be told, aerial conditioning is safe when guided by professionals like Carlin. My experience was pain free. In fact, I managed to avoid the number one injury – silk burn.

The idea of one day being strong enough to dance in the air with such finesse does leave me itching for another class. I can certainly see why silks and other acrobatic conditioning courses are growing in popularity – enough to sustain two organizations in Austin.

Blue Lapis Light and Sky Candy in East Austin both offer aerial conditioning courses for about the same price - $20 a class.

The major difference? Sky Candy offers you the opportunity to get down-right crazy and experiment with all sorts of apparatus including trapeze and rope. Winnie Hsia is one of the founders.

“We are more circus and theatre-centic than Blue Lapis Light,” Hsia said. “ We have the utmost respect for Blue Lapis as performers and teachers and love that Austin has multiple aerial communities.”

Once my fingers stop hurting I think I'll make my way east for an attempt at the trapeze. I’m not usually this adventurous but I have a newfound desire to see what I’m capable of doing.

I think Hsia said it best.

“We love those “ah-ha” moments when we find we can do something we previously thought impossible for our own bodies.”

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High Score

Austin named the nation's pickleball capital in industry report

Photo by Henry Selis Photo

Other Racquet Social Club is back after city woes.

It's no secret that Austinites love pickleball. A new study proves just how much by ranking Austin the No. 1 city for pickleball in the whole country. Dallas and Houston also made the top 10 at Nos. 3 and 8, respectively.

The report was published by TeachMe.To, an online marketplace for learning sports (and sometimes music) from private instructors. It used data from its own platform, USA Pickleball, Places2Play, local pickleball associations, and more. It also referred to the Sports and Fitness Industry Association (SFIA), which named pickleball the fastest-growing sport in America, with a growth rate of 223.5 percent over three years.

Similarly, TeachMe.To ranked Austin as the fastest-growing city for pickleball, and citing this as the main reason for the overall title of "the nation's pickleball capital."

It name-checked the Austin Metro Pickleball Association (AMPA) — with approximately 3,000-3,500 members — and the Austin Pickleball League (APL), estimating that overall, "15,000-20,000 people play pickleball at least occasionally in the greater Austin area." About half of those players — about 8,000-10,000 people — play at least twice a month.

The report did not include gender data on Austin, specifically, but it did note that not only are two-thirds of pickleball players female; women's involvement in the sport is also growing 50 percent faster than men's.

New courts everywhere
This probably isn't a surprise to people who have noticed the number of courts opened around Austin in recent years. By 2024, TeachMe.To's data shows 32 dedicated courts in Austin, and thanks to with a utility rate of 92 percent it doesn't look like that'll be slowing down.

In the summer of 2023, the online booking platform Swimply noticed how many pickleball courts there were in Austin compared to such great demand, and added courts to its service. In fall 2023 and summer 2024, at least two important developments expanded that availability: Other Racquet Social Club opened as a friendly, country club-like neighborhood option, and national chain The Picklr announced it's bringing five locations to Austin and Round Rock.

Perhaps because Austin is such a food-obsessed city, there seems to be some growing opportunity for food and beverage hospitality around pickleball, too. Other Racquet recently started hosting the Bill's Dips food truck, a spinoff of the popular downtown restaurant Bill's Oyster; and a pair of bars with pickleball courts, Drifters Social Coffee & Cocktails and The Pickle Pub, also opened in South Austin this year, with strong online ratings already.

The trend has even reached into real estate (see this cute house with its own pickleball court) and inspired athletes to introduce similar sports to the local market, as in the case of the padel club Paddle39. TeachMe.To's report also mentioned tech companies adding pickleball to their campuses.

Aside from growth, the study also considered lesson activity (including information about teacher availability and diversity of clinic offerings), infrastructure, community vitality, the tournament scene.

Austin had the highest concentration of all the cities of players under 40 (65 percent), as well as the highest share of national lesson bookings. At 16.90 percent, that means about one in six of the pickleball lessons contracted through this platform were in Austin. Lesson demand, the report says, is growing 125 percent year-over-year.

Elsewhere in Texas
Dallas was No. 3 thanks in part to its "central location" according to the report.

"The city's 45 dedicated courts and 85 [percent] public accessibility rate have fostered one of the most active competitive scenes in the country, with 8,500 registered league players," it says. "The combination of strong tournament presence, extensive infrastructure, and a 112% growth in lesson bookings solidifies Dallas as a powerhouse in the national pickleball landscape."

Houston made No. 8 with an emphasis on integrating pickleball with other sports.

"The city's 22 dedicated courts have seen a 92% increase in lesson bookings, driven by innovative programming that includes the nation's first corporate league system," it says. "Houston's success in integrating pickleball into existing sports infrastructure while maintaining 72% year-round utilization demonstrates a sustainable model for rapid growth."

Overall predictions
After laying out data about the top cities in pickleball, the report made some predictions. As the Austin newcomer mentioned above believes, the report also thinks padel is the next big thing. It also guesses more cities will act like Houston by focusing on hybrid facilities.

It also expects to see an expanded professional circuit and mainstream coverage, more technology used on the court, a rise in the prevalence of young players, and more opportunities in corporate wellness and real estate. "Dedicated pickleball facilities will become as common as swimming pools in luxury developments," it says. Texans will be the judge of that one.

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