Took my first areal class here and loved it! The studio is super cute and Insta worthy. The workout…read morewas fun and I loved doing the tricks in the end. Will come back!

I've been coming to Lisa Spring Studio for a year now and it's my favorite studio in Chicago. They…read moreoffer a variety of classes- aerial tricks, aerial fitness, stretching, dance classes and aerial yoga. All of the instructors are amazing and cater to all levels from beginner level, intermediate to advanced. The instructors are all very kind and motivating during the classes always encouraging/supporting us to do our best. The studio is also very cute on the inside and always well kept by Lisa the owner. I highly recommend Lisa Spring Studio for anyone in the chicago area looking to support a small business with instructors that truly care about their students!

Wonderful experience! Amazing professionals that are great teachers, fun and encouraging. I was…read moreabout scared but they were so patient and were really good at getting me to try it. I felt very safe with their equipment and instructions. I can't wait to try it again!

From the owner: With over 20 years experience, Get a Grip trapeze offers Flying trapeze classes, trampoline,…read moreaerial silks, aerial hammock, static trapeze, and more!! Come by yourself, with a friend, or book a group. In the summer we are right by Foster beach, and in the colder months we are inside the Broadway armory so you never have to go without your favorite activities! Check out our website to learn more: getagriptrapeze.com. Ages 6 and up recommended.

Angela is AWESOME! She has such a unique way of connecting with all her students at one time that…read moreit feels like it's just you and her, even if there are others with your class. She is very professional and gives you the freedom to be as creative and sexy as you want. She doesn't make you feel pressured to be a certain way, so if you wanted to, you could be goofy, sexy, graceful, etc. How you interpret pole is exactly that, your interpretation. She's on time, organized, and really friendly. This isn't just a regular aerobics class. The moves you do are more suggestive and require more athletic ability than you think. It would be really nerve racking for anyone who's just starting out or not comfortable enough with themselves to just strut their stuff on the pole right away, but Angela helps ease that tension. She's got a really cute little studio in her living room with 5 poles. They are all perfectly spaced and she's got sexy lighting and mirrors in their too. Seriously, it's just this awesome girl room where you can just let your freak flag fly! I'll rave about Pole Velocity all day. Had my first class week and was feeling hesitant about how it would go, but Angela is great. She's got credibility, experience, and a nice little set up that makes you feel comfortable there. Plus, she's got these cute fluffy cats that chill out and watch you dance which is hilarious. Love the class, love the prices, love the environment. Great!!! UPDATE 5/30/2014 A year and a half later and I am still going here. Angela is wonderful. She is an excellent teacher and I have learned so much. I have my own pole now and I still take classes because I can always use a little instruction. Her aerial fit class is so much fun. She hosts little "open house" parties for her students so we can all hang out and dance, see each others progress. it's so much fun here! a nice little family.

This place is okay. It's a home studio with decent prices. You learn a lot of spins and the…read moreinstructor gives you one on one attention. It isn't a place to learn sexy moves but it is a good workout. Street parking is decent. This place would get a five if the instructor didn't talk negatively about her students. She's not professional but if you want to learn the basics come here and branch off to something different.

I have gone to several classes with Tracy, and she's the best. She learned my name right away and…read morealways makes me feel welcome in her studio. Her classes are the best way to start my weekend, because I feel very happy and serene when I leave. This studio has an amazing community. Everyone you meet here is kind, caring, and is never competitive with one another.

I just started at Yoga Experience and I am loving it so far! Tracy is so kind, informed, and…read moreenergizing. The studio space is beautiful, intimate, and peaceful-- a great place to start or end your day. She offers a variety of classes, even aerial yoga, which is perfect for whatever your needs and desires are. It is a very welcoming and nonjudgmental energy, too. I've already learned a lot about the poses themselves and how to do them correctly because of Tracy's personal attention to each student. I'm also excited to try one of the many workshops and events that are offered!

CircEsteem was once a wonderful organization and has great potential, but that is unfortunately…read morecompletely wasted now due to terrible mismanagement. The teaching staff is amazing, talented, kind and knowledgable. However, those at the top of the administration have demonstrated a complete disregard for the working conditions of the entire staff, and pay themselves a very generous salary but constantly ask their employees to make sacrifices. As a result, the staff is constantly overworked, underpaid and underappreciated for their dedication. The turn-over rate of employees over the past several years has grown incredibly high and is a clear indication of the lack of professionalism and respect shown by upper management. Directors have frequently disregarded safety standards and repeatedly ignored the very reasonable concerns brought forward by staff and students. They also actively discourage whistleblowers from raising awareness on safety issues. This naturally creates a dangerous environment for students. For an organization who's core mission statement is to build self-Esteem, they do an incredible job of destroying the esteem of staff, and blatantly demand silence and compliance, and aggressively bully employees rather than making any effort to find understanding or compromise. This type of upper management class division, discrimination and subjugation has happened before with other nonprofit organizations, which inevitably resulted in strikes and petitions that were widely reported on the news. It is a shame that they would choose to risk this and strongarm employees into submission and lay off those who try to stand up for their rights, rather than have civil discourse. When more than half of the staff is extremely unhappy, and those that attempt to raise awareness of any concerns are fired or pushed out, that is a problem that requires consideration on how to restructure and they have taken zero steps to do so and have shown no accountability. I strongly encourage CircEsteem teachers to strike and unionize as soon as possible, or this trend of exploitation will only continue to worsen. The Executive Director also needs to resign, as it is blatantly evident that he is not qualified for the position and is clearly not upholding CircEsteem's mission of mutual respect, humility, patience, love and self-reflection. Bottomline - do not work for CircEsteem, and consider other options for circus arts.

I gave my daughter several options for her 10th birthday party venues and luckily she chose…read moreCircEsteem. I have to say that they certainly made a bunch of kids, and especially my daughter / hero, very happy. The CircEsteem staff totally rocked, from Scott's quick and continued communication leading up to the event to the engaged, happy, and involved staff during the event, and kind communication afterwards to ensure our happiness. Everyone was upbeat, fun, helpful, and excellent. We knew it would be good when one of the kids walked in, looked around and said, "I can tell this is going to be a great party!" She was right. I also have to give a shout out to the face painter and balloon guy. They were tremendous! I've never seen a balloon artist that talented. And one of the kids said re the face painter: "she's a professional make-up artist! Well it's all downhill for me from now on." I wish I were more fluent in 10-year-old, but clearly she somehow meant that as an "epic" compliment. It was great getting the kids together to actually learn some new fun skills, be active, and have fun, even while wearing masks. Where else can kids get on a trapeze, aerial silks, walk on stilts, and act like a clown, all while getting their faces painted and having incredible whimsical balloons twisted for them? I could go on and on about how excellent this was, but let's just say that it was certainly a party that my daughter and her friends will remember. Thanks CircEsteem!!

Great gym. Very gay, but welcoming to all. Steamroom and sauna…read more Good price for Chicago. Great energy: busy, but never overful or cramped. LOTS of open space. All solid, new equipment, friendly staff and clientele. 2 very large adjoining workout areas: 1 for free weights and cables; the other for machines, more dumbbells and benches, big turf area, etc. Separate stretching room (with walls and door), with mats, rollers, etc, and 1- to 8-pound weights for light stuff. The deck is 2 feet away, and stretching out there is encouraged, including bringing out ot the matts, etc. Many people take advantage when it's nice, leaving unlimited space. Not much waiting: the usual few choke points: barbell benches and (to a lesser extent) the cablec rossovers (where you need both.) Way more dumbbell benches than most gyms this size, all adjustable to incline/flat. 12-15 cable stations, always a few open. Group classes included, with large spin room and vert big class studio. Pool. Roof deck. Everything included: towels in 3 sizes, including shower size, soap, shampoo, conditioner, hairdryer, etc. Built in combo lockers, so you never bring a lock. I was very happy using trainer Troy Myree. (See below on great offer.) All the other trainers seem excellent (watching them with clients.) Very cleaning including spotless locker room. I'm satisfied enough to commute 1.5 miles with no car. (Bike except very cold winter or wet, then bus.) --- WHEN JOINING OR CONSIDERING: They officially give you 1 free workout, but I asked my sales rep for more to try it at different times, and she happily gave me 3. (I let her know I was definitely joining LVAC or FCC, and wanted to try them both a few times. That was true, and LVAC was an easy call. (About half the price, much better energy and clientele. FCC is over a mile closer to me, but I still picked LVAC.). Take advantage of the 1-time joining offer of 3 personal trainer sessions very cheap. (They offered to anyone for a short window 9 months later.)

much warmer than i'd like for a gym, especially on higher floors. i joined when forest fires were…read moreburning and i needed to workout inside, and it was doable but similar to being outside in summer heat, except with no fans/breeze. also, it opens at 7am on weekends, which i wish i had noticed before signing up. that's way too late for me.

This is a great place to learn Hapkido. Hapkido is a korean martial art that uses fun stuff like…read morekicks, strikes, and joint locks to immobilize your opponet. Hapkido is easier to pick up and use than some other martial arts and they aren't above teaching you some quick and dirty ways to ruin someone's day (which I will leave to your imagination). Master Kevin is the main guy and he is really down-to-earth and patient with total rookies like myself. The hours are great - they have classes seven days a week and evenings. The first class is free and if they see someone new they'll teach some quick, easy-to-learn self-defense stuff along with the regular class. Even if you don't sign up, you will have a new trick or two up your sleeve in case you ever need it. Try it out!

Truly awesome martial arts!!! This is Hapkido as intended without crazy aerials designed to woo…read morecrowds of S. Koreans or writers from Black Belt Magazine... a good indication that a Hapkido school is actually teaching something else. Here the emphasis is placed on learning the techniques correctly intertwined with basic street knowledge and a good dose of common sense which is refreshing. Master Kevin has been teaching Hapkido since he was in his teens, holds his BS in Education, has years of experience bouncing Chicago nightclubs and performing security/bodyguard work for major names in the Hip Hop world, and is now the premier instructor for the Jung Ki Kwan Hapkido in the Midwest. This is a man who understands fighting, self-defense, and the psychology of what happens in a confrontation and is able to teach why the techniques work based on his experiences rather than just teaching material without ever having tested its practicality. Now that I have been training here for the last 6 months, I can't imagine studying Hapkido under anyone else. Also available are classes in Kuhapdo which is a Korean sword style as well as women-only classes in Self-Defense and the new female instructed FitCut class that focuses heavily on core strength through the use of the sword, cardio, and coordinated movement. As Mark noted, Hapkido is a Korean martial art and is commonly translated as "the way of coordinated energy/power". It is also frequently described using words like "dynamic" and "eclectic" because it combines so many different types of response that are all based on redirecting your opponent's energy and returning it in a circular motion, typically along with a final strike or series of strikes intended to end the fight. In addition to basic strikes and low kicks, you learn joint locks, pressure points, throws, and some weapons at more advanced levels. Finally, Hapkido is not a Korean version of the Japanese Aikido whose techniques typically end short before leaving the realm of defensive measures. Simply put, Hapkido is street fighting which also helps distinguish it from competitive arts like Karate, Tae Kwan Do, Kickboxing, Judo, or BJJ. I have nothing but respect for other arts but competitive martial arts generally consider our final strikes "dirty" or "illegal" because they focus on how to score points in a match. In my eyes, if you're in a real fight, I'll skip over anything designed for competitive back-and-forth point scoring and do whatever I need to in order to walk away in 1 piece. Realistically, that may simply mean running but if my back is against a wall, this is a martial art that just may save my neck. This is a great school. Pricing is fair and Master Kevin will never try to get you to sign a lengthy contract. To my knowledge, he doesn't even have contracts other than asking that you let him know 30 days before leaving. Also worth noting, the entire syllabus is available on DVD in English being performed by the current Grandmaster in Korea (http://jkkmedia.com) and is a great way to supplement the material you get in class and reinforce your understanding so that you can train at a more accelerated pace. Check out the International Hapkido USA website (http://jungkifamily.com) for class times and any additional information.