A letter from Erica Rubinstein, Education Director
It’s hard for me to wrap my head around the fact that the studio has been closed for over three weeks. I oscillate between a broad range of feelings including loneliness, hope, anxiousness, enjoyment of the little things and fear of not knowing when we’ll know more. I’m trying to keep a few daily habits like a morning cup of coffee, going for a daily walk or two and not looking at any news sites or social media after 8pm.
What also keeps me going is inspiration from continuing to work with such an amazing team. I appreciate that the Circus Project is a culture and community that embraces change and growth, and now that’s being highlighted more than ever. I see that demonstrated through our coaches diving headfirst into online classes, trying out a new online platform each week, being willing to teach an aerial class without any aerial equipment, and in generosity whether that’s holding space to listen, or bringing someone food.
I realize things have been moving very fast, and I appreciate how the team has been willing to pivot and experiment. Now that our online programming is established, this seems like a good moment to take a breath and check in. I want to stay connected with everyone, and keep you updated with news from behind-the-scenes. Here’s some more information about where the Circus Project is now, and where I think we may be headed next.
What has happened so far:
We canceled Living Room Circus, and then closed our doors to students starting Sunday, March 15th. Immediately upon closing, we moved as much training company programming online (Voice Project, Brio and Elements) and experimented with keeping some classes online before Spring Break. On March 23rd, Gov. Kate Brown announced the “stay at home” mandate which led us to close the gym to staff training on March 24th. We were glad that Spring Break was already scheduled as a week off, so we had a brief buffer before having to make more choices about Early Spring Classes. We are also lucky that Circus Project is in a financial position where there is some cushion and we did not have to shut down our organization immediately.
However, all signs pointed to not being able to reopen in April, so we shifted attention to moving as many Early Spring classes online as possible. We hoped to support students and staff by providing opportunities for connection, consistency and time to move in our bodies together.
Here are our current online offerings:
Instagram livestream M-F 5:30pm! Free for all on our Instagram @thecircusproject
Many Early Spring classes have moved online via Zoom through May 3rd.
Voice Project, Brio and Elements have all moved online.
Private lesson requests are being rerouted directly to coaches.
We just opened up registrations for a few new online classes for April (See our classes here)
We’re receiving such warm feedback including this wonderful quote "The Circus Project is not just a place, it's a group of people, a culture, it’s a collective movement. And it can be accessed anywhere. My healing can, and will, continue online until I can return." And “Thank you so much for quickly moving online with your work. Huge gratitude to you and your coaches!”
We offered all students an opportunity for a refund for their Early Spring classes and Training Company tuition in April. We are blown away by how many students have donated their tuition. That students choose to donate their tuition is another testament to how much the Circus Project community means to our students.
While there is some cushion, we also want to make sure Circus Project maintains a financially sound position such that doors can reopen to in-person classes and shows, whenever that time may be. Even with donations, we are losing money every month and our initial budget and plans for 2020 have been scrapped. We’re all working together to shift the budget and sustain the organization.
We’ve applied for a small business loan through the CARES act, the Coronavirus relief bill passed by Congress. It’s still unclear if and when any money would arrive.
We’re pursuing Oregon WorkShare (which allows employees to collect unemployment for a 20 - 40% reduction in hours, even if they’re not completely laid off) and are supporting staff in the process of receiving unemployment benefits.
The Circus Project board now meets weekly to stay up-to-date on changes and be in the best position to make any decisions on a quicker timeline.
Where we’re going next?:
Looking forward, we’re making programming plans for May anticipating that we will not return to business as usual. We anticipate canceling the original Late Spring session schedule - this decision will likely happen around April 17th. If Late Spring is canceled, we will replace it with a new, online-only, four-week mini-series for May with registration on MindBody. Pricing will be sliding scale. We’re focusing on smaller classes with capped attendance (8 - 10 max) where coaches can interact directly with students. The majority of classes will be four-week sessions, as well as some drop-in class offerings. We will also continue Instagram livestream classes.
We will reevaluate summer programming plans, including summer camps and SPI, in the beginning of May.
Whew, I think that’s it for now! Please let me know if you have any questions.
With gratitude from the whole team,
Erica