Brass ring offers great classes with knowledgeable instructors and good vibes! Nothing but good…read moreexperiences with Winnie!

I really enjoy Brass Ring's classes and instructors. There are so many classes to choose from and…read moreeveryone is supportive of exactly where you are at. You may have to share a pole depending on how full the class is but it's a friendly and diverse community. I feel very gender affirmed at Brass always.

Creative teachers, fun classes. Great workout. The teachers are fantastic artists in their own…read moreright. Be ready to share a pole at this location.

I love Pole Icons. The vibe and space is unique to the other studios in town. Great ambiance,…read morelighting, and small classes. The location is super accessible and I feel like it more dancers should know about this local option!

I came to Catalyst Movement Arts after having already trained over four years of pole at another…read morestudio. I started training with David and noticed a difference in how he taught flexibility right away. Flexibility has always been the most difficult part of pole for me. I made more progress in my back flexibility in the first 9 months at Catalyst than I made the first 4 years of pole. For four years, every time I traveled, I'd try a new flexibility teacher hoping something be different and would help me. Apparently, I just needed David to move here. Not only that, after a year of training with David, I understand how to train myself better when I can't make it to class. The thing that stands out to me at Catalyst is that every single instructor teaching on the regular schedule has studied pole for over five years. Several instructors have backgrounds in other fitness areas. Additionally, because they began teaching in 4 completely different areas of the country, they are bringing skills they learned for even more people. Teaching something and being good at something yourself are not the same thing and these people have very clearly put thought into how to teach different bodies and how to break down moves into small pieces. Both David Owen and Rachele Ribera travel and sell workshops that sell out. At Catalyst, we get that expertise multiple times a week for just the price of a monthly pass. Catalyst has a heavy focus on developing correct and safe technique for pole and flexibility. Flexibility classes are capped at 10 and pole classes are capped at 8 people so that there's always enough space for people to move and the instructor has plenty of time to get to every student to make corrections and provide a spot. Classes very in length so there is always plenty of time to warm up and stretch everything correctly. Though Catalyst appears more expensive than some other studios initially, I've found that it actually costs me less. For students with a monthly pass who don't mind sharing the small space with one other person, (there are two poles in the small room), it is no extra cost at all to reserve that room during the hours someone is already in the studio for another purpose. So I can practice very often without paying extra. There's so much time available, that I often have the whole room to myself and when I don't, I have fun training with someone I can throw ideas off of.

Great classes! Amazing teachers and fun ! The workshop…read morehelped me understand the physiology of shoulderstands .

Sonia is an amazing instructor. Not only is she patient, but she also has an amazing personality. I…read morefeel extremely comfortable whenever I enter her studio. I have taken classes with people of various skillsets and ages and it has always been a great experience. I am not very flexible or active but I have learned so much and see a lot of improvement in such a short amount of time. I highly recommend LOAPT and will continue to take classes there.

Fantastic patient and kind teacher! Safety and cleanliness is a priority. Good warm up, excellent…read moreinstruction. Fun lesson tailored to your personal fitness and strength. Highly recommend LOAPT.

I have taken two different types of classes at Position Red - "Red Dance" and pilates. The studio…read moreis conveniently located in the west loop, so it is easy to get to before or after work, or even for a break at lunch. The fourth floor of the studio is dedicated to Red Dance--a dance class that mixes elements of pilates, relaxation, and pole dancing. I have to admit, I wasn't sure if Red Dance was the class for me, but after trying it, I had so much fun! I went on Saturday mornings and took from Patrice, one of the instructors. I learned how to do pole tricks, but more importantly, I learned how to look at my body in a completely new way. It sounds strange, but from someone who has always been very critical of myself, this class was amazing! I felt so refreshed and ready to start my weekend. Along the way, I also got a great upper body workout. I have also taken extensive pilates classes from Margarette Raymond, Position Red's owner and visionary. I have taken pilates at a gym before and at other studios--there is no comparison. The studio is beautiful. The third floor has about ten sets of equipment, perfect for group classes (reformers, cadillacs, wunda chairs). The space is open and peaceful. I have taken both private sessions and group sessions on the equipment, in addition to mat classes. All are excellent; Margarette has a way with words. She says things that force you to think about what you are doing with each exercise. I learn something new each time. Position Red's pilates classes have even influenced how I workout at the gym--I try to get that same feeling where it seems that I have somehow worked through each joint and every muscle in my body. Margarette also offers teacher training at her studio, which says something about her own expertise. She is certified to train others to become pilates teachers through the core dynamics program. More importantly, though, she is very personable and offers all her students a new way to look at themselves and their lives. My time at Position Red is always the highlight of my week and I encourage you to try it for yourself!

Nice teachers, welcoming environment clean space i've gone several times for different classes all…read moreof them good.

Super posh dance center. Came for a 90's/00's dance class with Dre. It was a high energy but low…read morepressure class. I really enjoyed the class and the studio that the class was held in. Our class was in studio #5. The sound system was good. Unsure if I loved the floors, but they worked good for this class. Ample spacing for our class which had nearly 2 dozen participants. The space it self is really comprehensive. I saw multiple bathrooms and a gender-neutral bathroom. There is at least 5 separate dance spaces. Each space was arranged depending on dance style. I saw a room with several barre. The general area also boosted several areas to just chill while waiting on a loved to finish a class. On this day...all the kiddos were taking classes. So many little one excited to take their dance classes. It was cute because this little girl kep staring at our class through the window. Highly recommend seeing all the offerings at this dance center. I was surprised by the many offerings they have. I want to try a beginner hip-hop but we will see. Tip: Parking is located around the building on street. Mostly free but get there with time to look. I found it easier to just park off Belmont and walk.

Finally got to visit this magical place! I was in Chicago for work and had one day available to…read moretake a few pole classes with Patty. It was easy to sign up for drop-in classes through Mindbody, though street parking can be a challenge to find in this area, especially after 9-5 work hours. The space itself is super cute (very purple!) and serene. Patty is an incredibly strong and inspiring instructor. She's great at guiding students of all levels, and I learned so much from her as both a student and pole teacher myself. Loved seeing the regulars interact with each other, challenge themselves, and learn new techniques. I'll have to buy a Pole Appeal jacket next time and bring a friend to class with me.

Really enjoyed pattis beginner class! It was a lot of fun, empowering and patti made me feel super…read morecomfortable

I have been a student at Aloft since 2017. I have had some incredible teachers during my time…read morethere. I've only left because I relocated to California. I will really miss the community and incredible instructors here. This truly is a space for everyone. You don't need to have previous experience or strength to come here. They will support you in developing your strength and skills on your own timeline. During COVID-19 they switched quickly to an online platform that was helpful to maintain strength and created great policies to keep students even when we can't "fly". I am incredibly sad to have left before getting to return to the air, but I will definitely be coming to visit if I can. In addition, I HIGHLY recommend any of their shows. They put on incredibly fun and dynamic shows for the community, so if learning circus isn't for you. Please support them by buying a ticket to Sanctuary or a company show. Finally, we cannot forget how cool this facility is since its in a rad old church!

Giving 2 stars instead of 1 because I actually enjoyed the class I was taking there (stretching…read morewith Linnea) and would have kept going had the administrative staff not treated me like crap. Aloft uses an online platform called VAMP for students to sign up for classes, manage payments, and more. I used to email them to let them know when I would be absent but then noticed on the dashboard that there is a "Manage Absences" button on the online account dashboard. In an effort to be respectful of their time I began using it to log my planned absences instead. I felt bad for having wasted the administrative staff's time before I had made this discovery of a seemingly more streamlined way to record my absences. But after a few months of using the "Manage Absences" button on my account dashboard, I noticed I hadn't received any makeup credits. This amounted to about ~$120 in class credits I should have received, but didn't. I emailed Sarah Tapper, the person who handles this stuff, and she responded with the lifeless and cold bedside manner of an animated machine, not offering any help whatsoever and instead just recited company policies to me without offering any solutions or even partial credit. (I've included all of the emails with this review but Yelp puts them out of order which makes it hard to follow, so I've numbered them to try to make it easier.) She basically told me that despite my efforts to be respectful of her time, Aloft was keeping my ~$120. Any other business would see that what I did by using a button that was clearly labeled "Manage Absences" to *MANAGE* my *ABSENCES* is an easy mistake to make and would have credited me back for the absences I logged but also informed me that going forward I was to do things following their weird old-fashioned protocol that makes you feel like you're back in the dial-up days of the internet, which I'll outline below: At Aloft, you are not to log planned absences in the streamlined account dashboard. That would be too simple and modern. INSTEAD, you have to email back and forth with Sarah Tapper about any planned absences AND log them into the account dashboard. (According to Sarah, logging absences in the account dashboard helps instructors know who will show up and emailing Sarah ahead of time is what gets you the credits, which seems like it just creates a lot more unnecessary work for everyone). It's like this place is run by the same people running the DMV or something. Like they've been doing things the same way since they first opened over a decade ago and are holding their own customers at fault for daring to assume they would be utilizing the very platform they have for literally everything else (registering for classes, managing payments, you name it) to also be able to manage absences and get credit for makeups. Why do things the hard way when you can just cut out all this extra work and make things simple for everyone? And why was I treated with the same understanding and compassion as a protagonist in a Kafka story? I was literally just trying to be respectful of Sarah's time and was instead met with zero compassion. In initial emails with her I was very respectful and understanding and offered to do things in Aloft's weird roundabout way going forward, but would like my previous planned absences credited back to me. She just responded with company policies and not lifting a single finger to help me with my ~$120 that was now just spinning down the drain. So then I got upset and informed her that I would be writing reviews about this experience to warn others as well as reporting them to the BBB because they had taken my money and weren't giving it back despite my logging my absences (albeit not in *exactly* the way they wanted them to be logged). I never called anyone names -- but I did express my frustration about the complete lack of understanding and absolute unwillingness to bend even a little bit for a good customer who had referred others to their business and had been going there for half a year and intended to keep going. It's not like there's an elaborate enigmatic code that Sarah would have to crack that absolutely prevents them from helping me--they just didn't WANT to help me, despite the fact that I only got into this situation because *I* was trying to help *them* out! Finally, the owner decided to get involved and did in fact refund most of my ~$120 back to me but said that it was best if I didn't attend classes there going forward and I agree. I don't appreciate how I was treated--punished for the crime of mistakenly trying to do something nice for someone.

I've been going here for a few months and really like it…read more All the basics have been covered in other reviews. Yes its rather small, no there are no classes, juices bars, and other things like that. Its a gym. Its got weights, machines, and a variety of cardio equipment. The locker rooms are always clean in my experiences and I can always find a locker. They have most of the equipment you could possibly need however like any gym it can get a little hectic around 5 o clock. Despite what another reviewer said curling does happen in the squat rack here though less often than at the more commercial gyms. Generally I like the crowd here more than the average gym. Pretty much everyone picks up after themselves and does there best to respect others as well as the gym. The only things I'd change is maybe fewer bicep machines (do we REALLY need 4 different curl machines), more squat racks, trap bar, shrug machine, seated hamstring curl, and DBs that go above 100 lbs. I know that sounds like a long list but this is nitpicking, you can EASILY get the job done with what they have. My membership ends in May but I will definitely be rejoining after that point.

I fell in love with this gym during a recent Chicago visit (I am from LA), and almost can't believe…read moreI stumbled upon it. It was like walking back into the 90's, true authentic old school gym. I loved it so much I bought a t-shirt!

I stopped by the Gilt Bar on a Sunday night, hoping to get into The Library (their speakeasy)…read moredownstairs. There was a bit of a wait, but I sat at the main bar, and decided to stick it out. Overall great experience. I loved the aesthetics of the bar, and the people working behind it helped make my visit exceptional. I felt like everyone went above and beyond for me- which is honestly rare nowadays. The drinks were well mixed, and the general vibes were positive. I would recommend Gilt Bar/The Library to anyone in Chicago wanting a positive, upscale evening out. I didn't order any food, so I can't speak to that, but it smelled delicious! Special mention to both the female bartender upstairs (didn't catch her name), who went above and beyond for me, and Cruz downstairs, who was a master multitasker, and still managed to make me feel welcome.

It's been years since I've been to Gilt Bar. Family style is the way to go way - order a variety…read moreand share! We had a mix of apps and entrees. The carbonara was good, not great. I look forward to trying more of the menu next time. The chocolate silk cream pie is a solid choice for dessert. Service was solid and I definitely will come back - but not wait years to do so!