Aerial Curriculum and Teaching Resources
Aerial Directors Program
In addition to the numerous in-house teacher trainings Dragonfly Aerial Company has facilitates, we have launched 15 Aerial Directors/Licensee programs nationwide equipping aerial business owners. (We’ve also aided in the launch of another 3 aerial programs, inadvertently, here in Colorado Springs-which is why business ethics is also now covered in our program for our licensees and their coaches). Take a look a the gallery above for a peek at just some of our affiliates and licensees!
With 25 years in the industry, we have seen a lot. If you are a lover of aerial and wanting to launch an aerial studio, staffed with qualified coaches, or you are a high level aerial coach wanting to venture out on your own, Dragonfly is the place to get valuable information that can save you years, dollars and sometimes even a bit of heartache. We’ll talk about LLC’s vs. Corp, employees vs. contractors, renting vs. owning, tenant improvement responsibilities, curriculums, payroll companies, business ethics, insurances, organizational affiliations, competitions, planning performances, revenue adds through special programming, Human Resources, marketing, grant writing, non-profit vs. profit status and the beauty/challenges of write off’s and governing boards, studio culture, reporting responsibilities, taxes and how local competition, non-solicitation, non-competes and always how the free market simply makes us better! We were even there walking our gyms through Covid procedures and while many gyms were closing around the nation, We are grateful to report that Dragonfly grew, by approximately 30%.
We've leased space, rented units, purchased and built facilities. Raised up coaches, hired coaches, copywritten material, dealt with the complexities of studio ethics. We've been on the board of the insurance committee at the American Circus Educators and we've traveled around the world training all different ages and demographics. We've turned out numerous internationally award winning aerial competitors and sent many of our students to professional programs. In 2024, DAC began producing an elite pro-level competition and audition event and have began launching even more careers.
We can help YOU build a successful, safety-focused and significant revenue-generating aerial program.
The DAC Coach Training Program was created by Mistia Fallon in 2004 for teaching professional dancers and aerialists performing in production casts onboard Royal Caribbean and Norwegian cruise lines. In 2015 the program was adapted for gymnastic instructors in facilities where the directors desired to incorporate safety focused, progression based, aerial programs for their gymnasts. Since 2017 we have been the premier nationally recognized, safety focused, aerial program for gymnastic facilities nationwide.
In 2019 Mckell Anderson was brought in to broaden the program by extensively expanding progressions and more thoroughly exploring fabric theory in order to accommodate all demographics of students in our programs. Our program was no longer targeting elite gymnastics and professional dancers, but would easily accommodate recreational youth, mom’s desiring to get their pre-baby bells back and students of all sizes and abilities.
The staff and coaches at the Colorado home base of Dragonfly have contributed to the program’s development providing aerial experience that is geographically diverse. We’ve used the best practices and experiences our staff have encountered from leading industry instructors and educators from around the world as our foundation. Our staff strives for continuous improvement and try to instill the need for long term learning in all our trainees, via our program and many other valuable resources, therefore the program is frequently updated and always growing.
We do not believe you can prepare an aerial coach in 30 hours. What makes Dragonfly different than other coaching programs is that we provide detailed week by week curriculum. We not only teach coaches how to lesson plan, but we send them out with over 4 years of weekly lesson plans and the option for continued on-going monthly curriculum.
In addition, we offer continued education and support on how to expand your aerial program through value add curriculums like camps, parties, parents night out, mixed apparatus classes, bootcamps and creating community based groups like performance companies and competition teams. We are here to direct you to the resources you need to insure your space is structurally sound and we can also consult on business topics such as marketing your programs, insurance and industry. The programs and practices we share have been developed and tested on the floor at our home base. We are sharing with you what works for us...and what hasn't. Lessons that will save you years and countless dollars. Dragonfly boasts and internationally award winning competitive team, a youth and adult performance company, and a robust youth training program. ...and we have a coaching system for all of it.
Pricing on our Directors Program varies on the needs of our clients. Our program is not a one-size fits all program and we can design the perfect program to fit your needs and grow with you. Our Aerial Direcors program is a one year minimum agreement with a monthly fee. Licensees have access to all of our online resources and our mentors. We always encourage programs launch with our foundations program and then let the program pay for it's own expansion. We will walk you through every step!
Call us now, to see how Dragonfly can help you take your athletic program to a whole new elevation.