New Students with Experience

For students new to Moody Street Circus, with past or current circus arts experience, interested in joining the studio community.

A private lesson is necessary to check in, start learning the MSC “ropes” (skills and drills of practice) which are required understanding for group classes, and for level/ skill assessment.

We hope students seek out coaching at MSC because there is something in our practice, space or teaching that inspires them to reflect on the ways they move through the air. There is not one coach for every aerialist! Everyone has different goals, interests and focuses when practicing circus arts.

To safely integrate new students into our small and personalized classes, all new students with experience must book a private session.

If you are interested in solely private training with Zoë or Melinda - on a one-off or semi-regular basis - not necessarily group lessons, you can visit our private lesson request page to request an appointment!

These initial lessons allow us to coach new students on the MSC techniques and skills that are emphasized in our group classes. It is important to us that our students enjoy working on the little details: musicality, technique, dance, engagement and so much more learned through both practice, mindfulness and coach feedback. We are not a “trick” based studio, but instead focus on movements and pathways that build body awareness and flow - so that new and familiar skills and seamlessly connect with beautiful and cool transitions!

We encourage you to read about our family studio and teaching philosophy.

  • Classes are released on the 7th of each month for the following month (ex: August classes are released on July 7th).

    The class schedule may shift month-to-month based on performances, student availability, and workshop interest. Your availability is taken into consideration when planning!

    Classes are typically offered Monday-Thursday in the evenings and Saturday/ Sunday mornings/ early afternoons.

    PAST EXAMPLE SCHEDULE:

    Monday: 6pm Beginner Silks, 6pm Lyra Phrases & Flow, 7:30pm Silks Skills N Drills

    Tuesday: 5:45pm Intermediate Silks, 7:15pm Belly Dance

    Wednesday: 5:15pm Silks Combo, 6:45pm Dance Trap/ Lyra Phrases & Flow

    Thursday: 6:30pm Sling Fluidity & Flow

    Saturday: 10am Silks Dance, 12pm Belly Dance

    Sunday: 11:15am Special Workshop

  • We are so lucky to be able to organize our classes based on our students’ interests and strengths. Once a new student joins the program - their abilities and interests influence the schedule!

    Because of this it is difficult to define class “levels.”

    All workshops are listed with pre-requisites skills/strength requirements expected of registered students which relate to the content that will be covered in class material. We currently offer regular classes for silks, sling, dance trapeze and lyra. Pop up workshops in straps (focusing on conditioning and flow), hand balancing, flexibility, corde-lisse, cloudswing, and other apparatuses.

    We currently offer three “levels” of silks classes:

    • “Beginner”: for students who have passed our intro ductory course and/or have taken a private lesson to be placed into the level. Focuses on building strength through flows, skill practice and development of technique for wrap theory, foot-locks, the start of hipkeys.

    • “Silks Combinations”: Our mixed level/ advanced beginner silks classes which focus on flow, strengthening inversions, building strong pathways between wraps, choreography and style development.

    • “Intermediate Silks”: For aerialists with a strong foundational base not only in musculature and body awareness in the air, but also a strong understanding and connection to MSC technique for skills from hipkey, inversions, spin.

    • Special Topic Silks Workshops which dive into specific wraps and/or theories. Pre-requisites are listed as they are relevant to the class material!

    We currently only offer one level of Lyra Sequencing & Combo and Dance Trapeze Flow for students who have placed into our lyra/ trapeze classes. These focus on flow and fluidity as students come in at various levels of strength. We work on spin technique, pathways from below bar to inside hoop - dancing our way around the apparatus.

    MSC Sling Flow classes vary from foundational to choreography for all levels depending on the workshop. All sling classes focus on fluidity and movement quality in understanding how to move on, with, and into the apparatus.

    We also offer special topic workshops on occasion that focus on specific techniques, apparatuses like cloudswing, chains or corde-lisse, or general circus arts (juggling, wire walking, etc). These are also always listed with specific skill pre-requisites.

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    All MSC aerial arts students are expected to meet our foundational strength requirements found HERE.

  • PRICING:

    MSC aerial arts classes range from $35-50 depending on class length, apparatus and topic. Special topic workshops may be longer and cost more.

    REGISTRATION:

    All classes are offered as “one-off” registrations unless listed as a session or choreography project.

Depending on the experience a student comes in with, it is possible there may not be an appropriate group class available immediately after just one private session — Classes are kept very small and levels based on our current student base. We do our best to make the likelihood of appropriate group offerings clarified in our consult communication prior to the lesson!

Our goal in integrating new students is to make sure everyone is comfortable, understands MSC practice expectations/ values, and is enjoying learning new skills, techniques, or choreographies. It is very important to us that these things are safe and appropriate - based both on students strength and ability to dig past the physical movement of what we are working on and to make new connections, discoveries and develop personal artistry!

Students will come away from their lesson knowing more about what to expect from training at Moody Street Circus: the quality of movement and mindfulness we expect from our students, the pace of our guiding practice, and the types of skills and combinations we build. During the lesson students will receive personal feedback and on their foundational skills like climbs, body positioning in base wraps and their technique for the moves we cover — accompanied by fun drills and ideas to grow and improve all of these things!

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To request a new student lesson, please complete the form below in as much detail as possible.

1:1 60 minute Private Lesson for New-to-MSC student ($115)

While this form may seem long and daunting, we take our safety, technique and skills very seriously. Whether you’ve taken a break from aerial, are interested in joining our studio in addition to others, or are moving to the area - please answer to the best of your ability. Your responses will help us assess if we have any potential class options for you!

We’d love to get to know your skills and experiences!

If you would like to schedule a phone consult as well to discuss any questions prior to a private lesson, please indicate that in the form below!

Thank you so much for your interest in our studio, and specifically our studio’s approach to coaching aerial circus arts.