Important things
- Students may NOT teach other students while at Open Gym, for insurance reasons. Akrosphere reserves the right to ask students attempting to teach others to leave.
- Instructors do not teach skills at open gym. It is a time for our awesome students to practice the skills they know and improve their technique so they can progress faster in class.
- Instructors have the right to ask a student to NOT perform a specific skill if the student is demonstrating poor form, technique, or the like.
- Guest Instructors or Choreographers may not instruct or choreograph during open gym. Please contact us to set up a studio rental for this type of work.
- Instructors have the right to ask a student to sit out from open gym if the student is demonstrating dangerous behavior or if the student repeatedly ignores the rules of Open Gym.
- Akrosphere, it’s staff, and it’s partners are not liable for injuries that occur during Open Gym
“Jen MacQueen and her team are the best in the business. The kids, teens and adults they train are not only incredibly talented but have a respect for their art form and love to share the beauty of their talents. I have been blown away by every performance I have seen by them. My daughter is counting down the days until she is old enough to attend a class!” — Michelle; professional acting coach
Akrosphere: Aerial Silks Atlanta, Alpharetta, Johns Creek, Cumming, Roswell, Milton
A note from Jen, “Head Monkey Wrangler” of Akrosphere Aerial & Circus Arts:
Open gym is a time for your child to come work on their own. I know that could seem a little intimidating, especially if you’re new to Akrosphere. Working on their own means that there won’t be a coach instructing open gym, but there will always be a supervisor making sure that everyone is safe.
If you haven’t participated in open gym before, I know this question pops up: “Without a teacher, what am I even supposed to do?” Lucky for you, I have compiled a few tips for a successful open gym experience.
Warm-up:
First, always begin your training with a warm up. Start with about 5 minutes of cardio, then 5 minutes of strength, and finish with 5 minutes of stretching. It’s not that scary if you break up the time. If you’re still confused, there’s a big banner on the wall to help you!
Training:
Now, make sure you bring your class notebook to help you remember what you’ve been working on. Firstly, start by practicing that new skill you learned that week. Then, you should also work on skills you already know. This is the time to clean up form and technique. Think about the things your teacher tells you in class a lot, like “point your foot” or “make your legs straight” and take the time to perfect that skill.
Sequencing:
That’s just a fancy word for putting skills together without coming off the apparatus. Start with two skills. Do that a few times. Then try three. To clarify, you don’t always have to do the same skills, you can switch it up and see what things work in a sequence. Remember that you should always have enough strength to come down safely! Again, open gym is all about working hard, but most especially working smart.
Teaching:
Additionally, one big thing about open gym is that there is NO TEACHING happening. In short, that doesn’t just refer to the coaches, but it also means, that no student should be teaching another student anything. If you’re at open gym and you look over and see Susie doing a cool trick, you shouldn’t ask her to teach you. After all, Susie is not a teacher, and while she looks very cool doing something, she does not know how to explain in detail every single step that makes that skill successful and safe.
Also, Susie may have been taking circus classes for 4 years, so her body is strong and ready for that skill. As coaches, we are only teaching things that we know your body is ready for. Open gym is the time to work on those things, not to try new things. Likewise, that also applies to that cool trick you saw on instagram. With this in mind, if you really want to try something you saw in a video, bring it to your coach first so that we can deconstruct it so that you are safe.
Join us for the best Aerial Silks Atlanta, Milton, Alpharetta, Johns Creek, Cumming, Roswell, and the surrounding areas!