A SPECIAL INVITATION

Dear friends,

I hope this message finds each of you and your loved ones healthy and safe, and that today is a good day. I am excited to be reaching out with an invitation to be part of something special: a virtual performance, led by members of our SF Youth Circus troupe, to celebrate, in their words, “the community we have created through our collective passion for circus arts.”

Not long ago, Rachel Ostrow, Mia Raneri, and Ayden Wisney-Leonard approached me offering to play a leadership role in organizing a virtual circus show as a fundraiser for Circus Center. I was moved by their generosity, and it’s been so inspiring to watch them develop their idea. 

Circus Center is slowly reopening right now, and we are keeping our eyes on the horizon. We will continue to bring the joy of circus to all – especially to children and those who can’t afford it. We can and will make it through this, setbacks and all, because our extraordinary community has come together and will keep coming together to make it happen. If you would like to be part of this effort to lift Circus Center up, I encourage you to read their message and attend the first organizing meeting next Sunday night. I’ll be there! Read on...

Onwards and upwards,

Barry Kendall

Executive Director

******

Hello Circus Center Community!

We are very pleased to introduce Circus Center’s 2021 Virtual Winter Fundraiser! Though so much has changed since last year, we hope to continue our tradition of a winter production that will bring the Circus Center community together, though virtually, to celebrate the season. With this year’s Winter Fundraiser, we hope to replicate the authenticity of in-person performances to the greatest of our abilities by hosting a live-view compilation of pre-recorded acts from a variety of members of the Circus Center community. 

We want this production to celebrate the community we have created through our collective passion for circus arts, and are hoping to fundraise in order to give back to Circus Center. In order to reach our goals and make this winter production the best it can be, we need your help! 

If you are interested in participating, have any questions, or would like to know more, please email wintershow@circuscenter.org and we will get back to you ASAP. We are excited to work with everyone who wants to contribute: performers, costume, makeup, filming, editing, you name it. If you would like to perform, you do not immediately need a fully formed idea or act, we are happy to hear your initial thoughts and collaborate with you in the process.

We are hoping to premiere in late January or early February, but we know that we are not entirely in control of our timeline these days, so we’ll be flexible if necessary. Still, we’re excited to get to work, and we invite you to join us for a first organizing/production meeting on Sunday, November 8, at 5:30pm: ZOOM LINK.  We’ll introduce some of our initial ideas, and we can talk together about ideas and the production process. If you plan to come, please RSVP to wintershow@circuscenter.org. 

Thanks to everyone willing to go through this unique process with us!

Rachel, Mia, and Ayden

NOW through 10pm on Wednesday, October 21

All class packs are on sale, with our new 3-month expirations! 

 60 & 90 MINUTE CLASSES

Online 3-Pack $54 ($18/class)
Online 5-Pack $85 ($17/class)
Online 8-Pack $128 ($16/class)
Online 10-Pack $150 ($15/class)
Online 15-Pack $210 ($14/class)

ALL 6O-90 MIN CLASS PACKS

 
2 HOUR CLASSES

Online 3-Pack: $81 ($27/class)
Online 5-Pack: $125 ($25/class)
Online 8-Pack: $176 ($22/class)
Online 10-Pack: $200 ($20/class)

ALL 2-HOUR CLASS PACKS

Buy now, register and save!

Dear Circus Center community,

San Francisco has allowed gyms to open for indoor services on extremely limited terms. The current health order allows for students ages 18 and up to train in gyms at 10% capacity or less in either private lessons or solo training. Circus Center will start offering private lessons on October 5. Soon, we will also roll out a plan for students to do supervised solo training. 

Whether for private lessons or solo training, some fundamentals will be true:

• Everyone will undergo a health screening upon arrival.
• Everyone will be required to wear a mask the entire time they are in the building.
• Everyone must remain at least 6ft from everyone in the building and at least 12ft from anyone breathing heavily (i.e. there can be no hands-on spotting).
• Per the health order, we are only able to use equipment that can be easily cleaned or allowed to "rest" for 3 days between individual uses. This means that, for now, there can be no access to trampoline or flying trapeze.
• Students and Instructors will be permitted to bring their own equipment

At this time, we will only be offering 60-minute solo private lessons for students ages 18 and up. If a student wants a 2-hour lesson, they can book two lessons back to back, with the instructor's consent.

For more information about private lessons, please keep an eye on our private lesson page, which is currently being updated on a daily basis with new information from instructors as we receive it. We will be coming out with more information about our hours of operation and more in the coming days, and we will begin processing booking requests on Wednesday, September 30.

Meanwhile, we are very grateful for everyone's support, and we ask your patience as we all work together to adapt, get your questions answered, and do everything we can to serve our community and stay safe during these tough times. We are very excited to be able to welcome students back to the building, but we are also sober and serious about the need to keep everyone safe. As a community we are lucky in so many ways, but we have certainly not escaped the terrible toll the current crisis has exacted on the entire world. The current team running Circus Center is lean and working our butts off. The next couple weeks may be a slow or rocky start, but we can and will come together to learn, adapt, and thrive once again. 

Thank you,

Barry, Tracey, and the Circus Center Team

Starts today!

Ends September 22
 
You can purchase these packs yourself on MindBody so make sure you have an updated method of payment on file. The October Class Schedule will be available for enrollment and purchase at 12:01am on Sept 22 so stock up now!

60 & 90 MINUTE CLASSES

$20 single credit, and during pack sale, it's:
Online 3-Pack $54 ($18/class)
Online 5-Pack $85 ($17/class)
Online 8-Pack $128 ($16/class)
Online 10-Pack $150 ($15/class)
Online 15-Pack $210 ($14/class)

ALL 6O-90 MIN CLASS PACKS

 
2 HOUR CLASSES

Online 3-Pack: $81 ($27/class)
Online 5-Pack: $125 ($25/class)
Online 8-Pack: $176 ($22/class)
Online 10-Pack: $200 ($20/class)

ALL 2-HOUR CLASS PACKS

All class credits expire 30 days after purchase, but during pack sales the expiration date of the credit is a bit longer. These packs will expire October 31 regardless of your date of purchase!

When we first released online classes, we had hoped to exist in the “Zoom world” for a few weeks or a month. We were working quickly to bring Circus Center to your living room and figuring out entirely new platforms and financial models in the meantime. As you know, we are now working towards the slow process of getting back to in-person training, but we certainly will be in a livestreaming class world for the foreseeable future as well. 

With that in mind, we would like to let you know about two upcoming changes. First, we will likely be changing our method of streaming classes to you in the next month. There will be more details about that coming when we know them. We don't anticipate this will be a very noticeable change on your end. 

Second, on October 1, our 2 hour online classes will have a price change to $30. There has long been some frustration that our 1 hour and 2 hour classes cost the same and this came entirely out of the initial rush to get online classes up and running, but now that we know we will be in this world for some time, we need to make this change to properly reflect the cost of running classes. If you take 2 hour classes and wonder how this might affect your existing class credits or have other questions, please read more here....(jump to a link on our website with instructions about exchanging existing credits, copy below).

And to make that price change for 2 hour classes a little easier, and to help all of our Circus Center family during what has been an especially tough couple weeks, we will have a PACK SALE coming from Sept 18-22 so get ready! You will be able to purchase these packs yourself on MindBody so make sure you have an updated method of payment on file.  The October Class Schedule will be available for enrollment and purchase at 12:01am on Sept 22 so stock up now.  

60 and 90 minute Classes

$20 single credit, and during pack sale, it's:
Online 3-Pack $54 ($18/class)
Online 5-Pack $85 ($17/class)
Online 8-Pack $128 ($16/class)
Online 10-Pack $150 ($15/class)
Online 15-Pack $210 ($14/class)

2 hour Classes

Online 3-Pack: $81 ($27/class)
Online 5-Pack: $125 ($25/class)
Online 8-Pack: $176 ($22/class)
Online 10-Pack: $200 ($20/class)

ALL CLASS CREDITS EXPIRE 30 DAYS AFTER PURCHASE, BUT DURING PACK SALES THE EXPIRATION DATE OF THE CREDIT IS A BIT LONGER- THESE PACKS WILL EXPIRE OCT 31 REGARDLESS OF YOUR DATE OF PURCHASE!

If you have existing online class credits on your account that you purchased prior to this eblast being sent (Sept 15, 2020) that you would like to have turned into 2 hour class credits, please email info@circuscenter.org with a request specifying which credits you would like changed over, and we will handle this within 48hours of your request.  Your credits will retain their original expiration dates. The final day to process changes is Oct 1. If you don’t opt to change your credits to 2 hour class credits, they will still be eligible for use on our other offerings until their expiration date.  

If you have other questions about the change in price for 2 hour classes, please contact info@circuscenter.org.

In the last week, both the state and city have issued new health orders, guidance, and directives that impact the possibilities for reopening Circus Center.

Last Friday, Governor Newsom announced a new 4-tier framework for classifying each county's progress in combatting COVID-19, and what activities would be permitted at each tier. An important part of the plan is a mandatory 2-month waiting period between each tier, which means in the best case scenario, each county will spend two months at each tier before being permitted to move to the next tier.

San Francisco County currently is NOT in the worst category, "Widespread," but instead is in the 3rd tier, "Substantial." At this tier, the state permits counties to allow gyms to reopen at 10% capacity. It's not clear right now how "capacity" would be calculated.

With these statewide parameters in place, it is up to each county to decide how to proceed. Counties cannot be more aggressive than the state rules, but they can be more conservative, and this is what is happening so far in San Francisco. On Tuesday, Mayor Breed announced her plan for reopening businesses and activities, and the Department of Public Health issued several new orders and directives. Two categories are most relevant to Circus Center:

1. Gyms: Gyms are currently only allowed to operate outdoors (or online, of course). The city is planning to permit gyms to reopen for private lessons and solo training by the end of September, pending continued progress in getting the virus under control.
2. After-School Programs: After-school programs are permitted to operate indoors now, with stable cohorts of no more than 14 children each, wearing masks and maintaining social distancing at all times. An important exception is sports and other athletic activities (including the more physically strenuous forms of circus training), which are still required to operate outdoors only.

Executive Director Barry Kendall and the Board of Directors reviewed this information in detail last night (Thursday, September 3), and agreed on the following directions:

• Barry will work with Texas Holly and the rest of the staff to develop an after-school program that focuses on the less strenuous circus skills, including juggling, balance, clowning, and stilts. We aim to start such a program in the next 2-4 weeks.
• Barry and the staff will begin to prepare the space and the staff for potential reopening for private lessons and solo training by the end of the month.

With all of these things, there's a lot we don't know – how it will work, how much it will cost, etc. – and there's a lot we can't control. But we remain committed to two things: serving our community, and keeping our community safe. We look forward to the next step in reopening, and we look forward to working with each of you to achieve both of these goals.

Dear Circus Center Community,

The news in recent weeks brought both moments of hope and continued horror. We honor two Bay Area residents who lost their lives this month at the hands of the police: Sean Monterrosa, age 22, and Erik Salgado, age 23. And just this weekend, another police killing, this time in Atlanta, took a life: Rayshard Brooks. Our hearts break for their families, friends, loved ones, and communities. We cannot silently wait and hope that justice will be served. We must demand justice for Sean, Erik, Rayshard, and the countless others whom we’ve lost at the hands of state-sanctioned violence.

We are proud to see so many students, teachers, and staff attend or support Black Lives Matter protests. We stand with you. Circus Center wants to encourage all students to engage as activists in this historic moment. 

We understand that many are facing unemployment and financial hardship due to the COVID-19 crisis. At the same time, we see that taking classes at Circus Center has become an important part of your self-care during this difficult time. We believe that fighting for justice is not optional, and we don't want you to have to choose.

So, in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement, Circus Center is offering students who donate to a movement-affiliated organization a matching dollar amount (up to $100) discount off of Online Classes or Summer Camp enrollments. This promotion is valid for any donations made from May 25 through June 19 (Juneteenth). Please forward your donation receipt to blm@circuscenter.org and let us know what services you’d like your discount to be applied to. 

EMAIL US YOUR DONATION RECEIPT
 

OPTIONS FOR DONATIONS 

Systemic oppression must be dismantled on all levels - this is why we recommend students make donations to initiatives of any scale, from national organizations to local operations. We request students opt to donate to efforts that provide services related to:

• Food, water, and medical supplies for protestors 
• COVID-19 relief supplies for the unhoused
• Mental health resources for Black people
• Support for Trans or Queer Black people
• Education and scholarship programs for Black students
• Rebuilding Black-owned businesses
• Registering voters
• Bail/bond funds
• Legal defense funds
• Memorial funds

Some examples include, but are not limited to: 

National
NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund
Black Lives Matter
The Loveland Foundation
National Bail Out
Innocence Project
Know Your Rights Camp
Committee to Protect Journalists

Bay Area
People's Breakfast Oakland
Bay Area Anti-Repression Committee Bail Fund
Black Earth Farms
Rebuilding Oakland Black Businesses
City of Dreams
Roots Community Health Center

LGBTQ+
Trans Cultural District COVID Relief 
LGBTQ Freedom Fund
Trans Justice Funding Project
The Okra Project
Black Trans Travel Fund

Fine Arts/Performance
Black Visions
BTFA Collective
East Bay/Oakland Relief Fund for Individuals in the Arts
The Uncle Junior Project (our very own Veronica Blair's project!)

OTHER WAYS TO HELP

We acknowledge that not everyone can be on the frontline protesting or afford to make a donation. There are still so many more ways of advocating for the end of police brutality and fighting anti-blackness. You can: 

• Provide food, water, and medical supplies
• Be the eyes and ears online for protestors on the front
• Share protest safety information
• Provide translations or closed captions
• Sign petitions 
• Text/Email/Call for justice
• Vote
• Support Black-owned businesses - see list below
• Amplify Black voices
• Confront anti-blackness in your workplace, community, and family
• Educate your children
• Educate yourself 

Support Black-Owned Businesses:

• Banks & Credit Unions
• Bay Area Restaurants 
• Coffee Companies
• Health/Wellness/Fitness/Style/Beauty Brands
• Etsy Shops
• Independent Bookstores
• Theater Companies
• Yoga Studios
• Kids Clothing & Toys
• Pet Supply Stores 

This is just the beginning. Although we’ve seen some meaningful changes in several U.S. cities as a result of protests over the past two weeks, the road ahead to sweeping federal, state, and local policy change is long.

The Birmingham movement lasted 37 days. 

The Greensboro sit-ins lasted six months.

The Freedom Rides lasted seven months.

The Montgomery Bus Boycott lasted 382 days.

Circus Center commits to supporting the Black Lives Matter movement until there is justice, equity, and liberation for Black people.  

Finally, I want to thank Ali McNeill, who devoted her time, intelligence, and deep care to gathering all of these resources and opportunities, and to developing this message with me. She'll be on the receiving end of your emails to blm@circuscenter.org, so please share your gratitude with her, too.

Solidarity and courage, 

Barry Kendall
Executive Director

Hello Circus Center family!

I hope that this message finds you healthy, safe, and coping okay today with this unprecedented situation.

It’s been a hard, uncertain road since we closed our doors on March 13, but Circus Center has a lot of reasons to be grateful – and hopeful. Thanks to your incredible generosity, we were able to keep our entire staff on payroll for two full weeks after the closure. 

Thanks to our incredible Board of Directors, we successfully applied for a federal Paycheck Protection Program loan. This has empowered us to begin rehiring staff to do two crucial things: 1) create a comprehensive, first-class plan for reopening, and 2) continue serving our community with online classes. We’re thrilled that so many of you have already taken the leap into online at-home circus training with us.

Our amazing teachers and staff are here to serve you – and we want to hear from you! Our online classes have been popular, and we’re adding more all the time. As we look to an uncertain future together, we want to learn as much as we can about what works, what could be better, and how Circus Center can support you on this phase of your journey.

To that end, we’ve created a survey for our Adult Students. The survey is only 10 questions and should take no more than 5-10 minutes. We will be collecting responses until Wednesday, May 20th, 9 PM PST.

As a thank you for your time, we will be offering everyone who completes the survey a pass for 3 special classes – add a little conditioning, flexibility, and technique to your training routine, or try us out for the first time! Everyone will also be entered to win a 5-pack of online classes.

TAKE THE SURVEY
 

We hope you’ll continue to support us by completing this survey. It’s what we need to help Circus Center move forward with greater clarity during these harrowing times.

Onwards and upwards,

 
Barry Kendall

During the COVID-19 closure, Circus Center is offering a selection of adult classes online with some of our most popular instructors. Registration is currently available only to spring session enrollees; drop-in registration will open in a few days.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW OUR ONLINE CLASS SCHEDULE

Unfortunately, Circus Center has not been able to retain all of our marvelous teaching staff during this unprecedented time. Many instructors are now offering their own independent options for online training, including classes, private lessons, and more. Please find below information about their offerings, and support your favorites!

Alex BaEsen 

My At Home Training/Conditioning Programs are customized five-day programs delivered via .doc format including links to exercise examples and descriptions. Each student can choose a program focused on handstand conditioning, flexibility conditioning, aerial conditioning, or a mix of all three. Before receiving their program, I’ll have students fill out a questionnaire so I can take into account the student’s current level, goals, and also the equipment/space they have at home to create a completely unique program that can be done safely at home.

Prices are on a sliding scale from $50 to $100.

Students experiencing financial hardship can email me to request a discounted or waived fee.

Contact: alex.baesen@gmail.com or by Instagram direct message @abrakahalex

Jim Donak

Included in my offerings are movement/injury assessment, home exercise instruction, anatomy/biomechanics lessons etc. These can be 1-on-1 or group sessions. Any on-line non-live classes will be posted on my website, FB page as they become available.

Contact:

jim@divingbudah.com, http://www.divingbuddha.com, facebook.com/Diving-Buddah

Hannah Gaff 

Handstands, Act Creation and Coaching.

Clown, Circus, Dance, Theatre. 

Also available for private sessions in the above areas.

Contact:

hannahgaff@gmail.com, 616.389.9748

Ashe Giovanni

Available for Private Sessions

Contact ashe@circuscenter.org

Also:

FREE in home WORKOUT OF THE DAY

On Instagram at @jbbutterbuns

Dwoira Galilea Scheffer

Stretching, advanced stretching, stretch and condition for aerialists, aerial conditioning

Contact: Dwoiragalilea@gmail.com for classes go to https://www.lubbdubb.io/user/dwoira-galilea

Reilly Gurl

Home studio and private online sessions.

Contact: reilly@circuscenter.org

Nicholas Karsant

Prop Manipulation and Cyr Wheel (personal props REQUIRED)

Available for Private Sessions

Contact: 415-713-1130 (text preferred), or at nkarsant@gmail.com

Christine Lee

Classes Available: Stretching (beginner, advanced, Intro to Contortion); Aerial/Acro Conditioning; Handstands (only for students that have taken classes previously).

Available for Private Sessions

Contact: www.stretchwithclee.com or CirqueDuClee on Instagram.

Abigail Munn

Group Pilates Classes

Sign up at https://www.bodychemistrystudio.com

Amy Olson

Online Classes:

• 45-minute live-streaming classes at 1pm, from Monday to Friday at Instagram @bohemeflight

• Floor Aerial Conditioning with Handstands: 1pm. Mondays, Wednesdays, & Fridays 

• Flexibility: 1pm. Tuesdays, Thursdays 

 Private sessions:

• 1hr. private or semi-private lessons in handstands, aerial conditioning, and flexibility.

• Sliding scale: $30- $ 60/person. Payable to @amyolson4 via PayPal or Venmo.

 Contact: amyolson4@gmail.com or Instagram @bohemeflight

Elena Panova

Privates are available upon request (elenapanova@comcast.net)

Karen Quest 

Available for private sessions in juggling and object manipulation.

Contact: questaroni@gmail.com, 415.487.0787 

Ash Rexford

Circus • Breath • Stretch

Join Zoom Meeting:

https://zoom.us/j/462905733

Meeting ID: 462 905 733

Be sure you have enough space to move, it's ok to arrive late or leave early, just do so quietly please.

All are welcome and we will be using the same link every day. At the end of quarantine we'll decide as a community where to donate the funds from this class, either to an institution or person in our community.

Donations can be made via

Venmo: @Ash-Rexford or 

Pay-Pal: ash.rexford@gmail.com

Available for Private Sessions!

Contact: ash.rexford@gmail.com, ashrexcircus.com, Instagram- Ash Rex Circus 

Dominik Wyss 

Teaching group classes and private lessons

Contact: https://dominikw.simplybook.me/  

Circus Center will now be closed through April 7, in compliance with the Bay Area Shelter-In-Place order announced yesterday.

This extended closure increases the urgency of our Emergency Staff Fund campaign. We need your help to ensure that we can fully pay our teachers while closed AND have enough funds reserved for reopening. Please give to help support the people who keep Circus Center running:

DONATE

So far, 85 donors have given over $19,000 to our fund, and many students have emailed us (at info@circuscenter.org) to donate their unused class credits, too. Your generosity has lifted our spirits, and so have your comments:

• I know I am not alone when I say that so many of us count Circus Center as our home and the health, safety, and security of staff is paramount.
• I fully support Circus Center and the wonderful athletic arts they teach, therefore would like to support the instructors during this difficult time. I wish you all many blessings and donations!
• So thankful for everything Circus Center is and does. Hope everyone is staying healthy and safe.
• Thanks for setting a great example for gyms everywhere by aiming to pay staff fully during this time!
• I only moved to SF 4 months ago and absolutely randomly stumbled upon CC online. It was love at first sight! What a great place, amazing vibes, good energy, professional instructors! We are all in this together, please stay strong and keep up the good spirits! Can't wait to go back to Acrobatics, Handstand, and Stretching classes once this ordeal is over! And believe me, it will be over, and we'll all come out of it stronger and wiser
• Thank you for being an absolute treasure of the Bay Area. I haven't trained with you for many years but I cherish my memories in Circus Center and I hope to keep it around for many years to come!

If you are able, please make a tax-deductible donation today. Help us reach our goal of $60,000, so we can keep our teacher pay 100% through this closure:

DONATE