Dress Code
TRIAL CLASSES & PARTIES: Girls may wear leggings that reach the ankle and a leotard or fitted t-shirt / tank top tucked in. Boys may wear sweatpants and a fitted t-shirt tucked in.
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CLASSES:
All Classes unless otherwise specified below: we ask that girls wear a high-backed (covering the bra line) leotard and non-see-through leggings that reach the ankle. Boys may wear a fitted tank top or t-shirt and boys dance tights / leggings that reach the ankle, plus a dance belt.
Long hair MUST be pulled back and secured, no exceptions. Please come to the studio with hair already done, as hair elastics are not available.
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If you need help with finding a dance belt, just email us for recommendations.
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For the showcase performance in the spring- we ask that the leotard and leggings be a solid color. For regular classes they may wear patterns.
Click Here for a Picture.
In addition to the above…
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Cyr Wheel ALL levels: Fitted shirt that covers the torso and does not “fly up” when upside down, and leggings, capris, or sweatpants. NO bra tops, shorts, or giant sloppy clothing.
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Duo Classes: Two piece form-fitted clothing. No loose or baggy clothing.
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Rope Levels 3, 4, & 5: Shorts are permitted in lieu of leggings however, they must be form fitting. No loose or baggy clothing.
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Trapeze: We recommend wearing socks and a form fitting sleeved shirt that can be put on or taken off.
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Aerial Sling: We recommend a form fitting sleeved shirt to be worn over your leotard to help with any armpit burns.
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Cloud Swing- We recommend a form fitting sleeved shirt to be worn over your leotard to help with any armpit burns.
Please note that most circus schools (us included) have a specific dress code in effect for safety reasons, and to remain compliant with our circus insurance company, who have good reason to require what they require.
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When a student comes without the appropriate required clothing, the student will be asked to sit out and watch.
In addition:
- Remove all jewelry. If a piercing cannot be removed, tape it appropriately during the class. Small earrings are fine.
- No Zippers or Buttons or Velcro (these tear the equipment.)
- No long nails are allowed on any aerial equipment. It is a safety issue, plus damage to aerial equipment may occur. Make sure all nails are trimmed and filed.
- Please wear appropriate clothing to and from the studio. This means shoes, jackets / sweatshirts over leotards in the colder months, cover-ups in the warmer months, etc. Muscles don’t like to get all warm and then all of a sudden be exposed to cold temperatures. Also, even though you may feel super warm after class, it is unhealthy to go outside in a leotard top only in colder weather. Healthy students are a priority!
- Pull all hair back and secured out of the face into a ponytail or braids for ALL cirque classes. Hair can easily wrap around the apparatuses and get “stuck”, which is dangerous and quite painful. Please do this before class. We do not provide free hair ties; if student comes without appropriate hair, the student will be asked to sit out and watch.
“When your child comes home with a satisfied smile upon his exhausted face and willingly shares his important moments from cirque classes, you know that he is in the right place.”— Yulia; Yasha & Ven’s mom
What to bring to class
- All students MUST bring a notebook and pen / pencil to ALL cirque classes. It is mandatory that you keep a training notebook. (This is true for most other circus schools as well.)
- For Aerials (especially Advanced Beginner and up), you might choose to bring a fitted shirt (running shirts are good) to cover your armpits as needed.
- In our aerial cirque classes, we ask students to be barefoot. The exception to this is Trapeze, where we ask all students to bring socks (preferably ones that go up past the ankle.)
- Cyr Wheel classes: most students like to wear sneakers or the rubber soled Feiyue shoes ($20-ish at Amazon.com) which are basically an industry standard. You may go barefoot if you choose. (Jen does.) Also, please note that we do not allow street shoes to be used in class…think of them like dance shoes. You would never wear them out into daily life; street wear ruins the bottoms so they are no longer suitable to dance in, and they would get dirty, which would mess up the dance floor. Same thing for your “circus shoes”.
- Bring lots of water, and make sure to drink it in your classes. You might also want to bring a protein-rich treat for after class on your way home, to help build muscles. However, please refrain from eating in the gym.
What to do outside of class
- Anything physical that you can do, including cardio, will help you. Circus work really targets the upper body and core however, so putting more of your focus on those areas will be a boon to your training in the long run. For core work, hollow body holds or leg lifts will help you, and for upper body pull ups are hands down the most helpful training you can do. If you can’t do pull ups, try negatives, or horizontal pullups under your dining room table! It’s really important to make sure that every exercise you do you’re doing with proper form and engagement to prevent injury.
- Stretching at home will help you as well. Simply practice the stretches you do in class while at home.
Things to remember in circus class
- Learning circus arts is incredibly hard. A skilled performer will make everything they do look easy–that’s their job. However that can make it confusing for you, the student, because everything feels hard. That’s just how it is. If circus was easy, it wouldn’t be so cool.
- Circus class is not a contest. Yes, the former gymnast next to you may have a perfect straddle, and you’re just barely hitting 90°, but who cares? Everyone has different strengths, and learns at a different pace. Some people are stronger, some people are bendier, some have the ability to see a trick once and do it. If one person has all those things as a beginner? Lucky them, but it doesn’t reflect on you. If you find you’re just not getting something in class and are feeling frustration, then ask your instructor if you can move on and come back to it later. We have an open gym time which is great for practicing those nemesis tricks.
- The most important thing to get out of a circus class is accomplishing your own goals. It doesn’t matter what those goals are; to just have fun, to get strong, to learn skills for a performance. Just remember why you’re doing what you’re doing.
Akrosphere is a proud member of:
Akrosphere preps students for the top Circus Schools
A note from Jen, “Head Monkey Wrangler” of Akrosphere Aerial & Circus Arts:
He was really nervous. Drew was in London, preparing for the biggest audition of his life…
His biggest fear? Bombing the trapeze routine he had been prepping with us here at Akrosphere and then not getting accepted into the National Centre for Circus Arts in London…currently one of the most prestegious circus schools in the world.
Makes sense. That’s his future.
Our advice to Drew was simple:
Do what we taught you. You’ve worked hard in and out of your classes. You have the technique. You have the artistry. It’s all part of you now. So get up there and do that thing you love.
After just a week Drew texted Coach Michael and me to tell us he already heard back from the National Centre and he had been ACCEPTED!
And he thanked us for everything we taught him over the years and all the help we gave him prepping for his audition.
Yeah – we show our students how to do THAT at Akrosphere.
If you want to go pro and join one of the top circus schools, we got your back. And if you just want a thrilling after school activity that brings you joy, we got you there, too. Either way, join our Akrosphere Family…you’ll love it.