Please read all policies to help create a safe and healthy environment for everyone.
Payment
Please book your classes via calendar by clicking on the class of your choosing and filling out the registration form that follows. This allows you to reserve a spot for your chosen class. You can pay for your class at the time you register using PayPal. If you want to pay in cash or with a check, please select the check option when registering. We take cash, checks, and credit cards at the school. Make checks payable to The Last Carnival or Sihka Ann Destroy. All new students must pay in advance to have their class spot reserved!
Liability Waiver
When you sign up for a session you must read and agree to our “terms and conditions”. All students must have a signed liability waiver on file. If you are signing up a student under the age of eighteen you must confirm you are the parent/guardian of that student, and as so have the ability to sign on their behalf.
Prior to participation in any of The Last Carnival activities, you must have read and agreed to our terms and conditions. If you have not signed a waiver you cannot participate.
Age Guidelines
The ages suggested for a class is to be used as a guide, it is not set in stone. If you or your child is not in the age range suggested, you must email Sihka before signing up for the session. We may have to do a trial run class to make sure the class is a good fit.
Kids Classes are for ages 5-11
Teen Classes are for ages 12-19
People ages 15 and up may participate in our adult classes when there is not a specific teen class offered for the circus art they want to train in.
Refunds, Cancellations, and Make-up Classes
We do not issue refunds unless a class is canceled by an instructor or the studio. However we will have a monthly “make-up” day that people can participate in if they have missed a class. If you miss more than one class a session, those class credits will be forfeited. You must do all make up classes within a session, or they will be forfeited. If you are missing too many classes you might consider signing up for drop ins, which are a few dollars more per class.
The Last Carnival reserves the right to cancel any session of classes that does not have 3 or more students registered. Students who are registered in a class that gets canceled will be allowed to transfer into a different class or receive a refund.
Skill Requirements
The Last Carnival offers many classes for beginners that have no prerequisites. In these classes instructors will work with you to help you attain your own personal goals. You will never be asked to perform a set of skills that is unsafe for you or that you are not ready for, but we will help you to reach past your former personal best. Some intermediate and advanced classes have specific prerequisites (i.e. other classes that we offer, shown mastery of a set of skills, or studio owner or instructor approval) that are in place to ensure everyone’s safety. Check out our class description for prerequisites and details or ask Sihka if unsure if a certain class is right for you.
What to Wear and Not to Wear
If you are taking an aerial fabrics class you will want to wear fitted pants that go to your mid-calf or longer, as your knees will be wrapping around the apparatuses. Wear a shirt that can be tucked in or is fitted for upside down moves. Leotards and footless dance tights will also work. Men may want to wear a dance belt, but it is not necessary. Everyone will be barefoot. We ask that no shoes be worn on the dance floor. This does not mean show up barefoot; we expect that you will have clean feet. We also ask that you don’t wear anything that has buttons, buckles, snaps, grommets, zippers, studs, or anything that can snag our equipment, this includes jewelry (rings, large or dangly body jewelry ,etc.). Long hair should be tied up to avoid being tangled in the equipment. Do NOT wear any kind of lotion, cream, or oil of any sort on any part of your body the day of or the night before class. Chemicals and oils in these lotions damage and ruin the equipment and cause it to be unsafe to use. Please cover all cuts, scrapes or any open wounds with a band-aid and with athletic tape before class time to prevent the wound from reopening and getting blood on any equipment. Athletic tape is required as a band-aid will come right off after a few minutes of climbing on the equipment. We ask this for your own safety and that of our equipment. Thank you for respecting this.
For bar work classes you can wear any clothing that is comfortable to move in. Sometimes having some extra padding is nice so jeans or other pants you can easily move in are appropriate for these classes. You can wear dance shoes in trapeze and lyra classes as long as they have only been used in dance studios and never outdoors. Trapeze ropes cannot be washed and no one wants outside funk where our hands and faces go, think about it and please be respectful of this. Another option for foot covers is trapeze boots, also known as gators. One of our troupe members costume makes these, just ask in class for more information.
Open Gym Time
Open Gym does not include instruction, but for safety reasons will be supervised. Students should only practice skills they have learned to do safely from their instructor in a Last Carnival class or under other professional instruction. This time is intended to practice skills you have been taught, not to attempt new ones. Never try a move you saw in a photo or on you-tube or instagram. This is a great opportunity to condition, stretch, tumble or work on perfecting moves you learned in class.
Skill sharing between students is not allowed, as students are not qualified instructors. Students may not give instructions on any movement, pose, sequence, skill, or technique. If you violate safety rules you may have your privilege to open gym revoked.
Drop in Classes
While some drop in classes are available, we encourage you to sign up for a session. This helps you commit to a routine that will help you progress with more ease, and guess what – it saves you money too! Drop ins will cost you a few extra dollars. It also helps us to offer a bigger variety of classes as class spots fill up. Speaking of spots, we maintain limited class sizes to assure each student is getting proper instruction and pre-registration guarantees a spot.
If you do decide to drop in, you will be asked to sign in and pay before class. You will also need to have signed a waiver to participate.
Studio Rules
First failure to follow the rules will result in a meeting and verbal warning. Second failure to follow studio rules will result in performance privileges from student shows being taken away. Third failure to follow studio rules will result in expulsion from the circus school. Circus Arts can be dangerous if rules are not followed, even for professionals. As such we expect all students, regardless of age, to follow these rules.
1. Strictly adhere to the level progression. Levels are designed to build on each other, incorporating progressively more strength, endurance, stability, and understanding intensive movements. Students may not learn or practice skills above their level.
2. Must be able to execute a pose or sequence with strength, control and proper positioning before progressing to a more difficult skill.
3. Strictly adhere to the working heights specified in the program. The program starts low to the ground while students’ bodies and minds adapt to the new movements. Students will only be allowed to work at greater heights when they can safely execute the skill (with control) many times low to the ground first.
4. Absolutely no teaching other students or anyone else, any movement, pose, sequence, or skills. This is also known as skill-trading or skill-sharing, and is strictly prohibited.
5. No practicing skills that were not taught to them by The Last Carnival without instructor approval. If students have trained at other locations, they must get permission from their instructor before practicing each skill.
6. No practicing anything off of YouTube or Instagram. If students want to learn a skill that they saw on YouTube, Instagram, or elsewhere on the internet, they should send the link to their instructor and ask their instructor to teach it during class. The instructor will evaluate whether the skill is appropriate for the student’s level, and will teach it accordingly.
7. Respect the teacher and other students at all times.
8. No participating under the influence of alcohol, any illegal drugs, or any prescription or over-the-counter drugs that might affect focus and/or concentration.
9. Don’t push your body past safe working limits.
10. Warm-up properly to avoid pulling or straining muscles.
11. Do not engage in activities on the apparatus unless instructed by an instructor to do so.
