Group Agreements

Cirque Célestial strives to create a safe and fun learning environment for students and as such we have created the following group agreements, by registering for class you agree to the following agreements. Coaches and students may gently remind others of these expectations if they're not being followed.

Cirque Célestial - Grey Hills Studio photo

You're responsible for respecting and honoring your own body which means:

Telling coaches if you're injured and what moves don't feel safe for your body
Listening to your body if it needs a break, hydration, a snack, ect.
If you're late for class warming up the muscle groups the coach tells you to is your responsibility
Not demeaning your body
Appreciating what your body can do

Respecting student and coach boundaries:

We're a tight knit community and students and coaches may be friends but it is important to respect the role of the coach in class as well as other students learning. When other students are asking for corrections, let the coach provide the feedback unless the question is specifically asked to you.

If another student has consented to receiving feedback from you, be kind with your phrasing, saying things like “that’s wrong” can be hurtful and demotivating. Try using a sandwich approach of giving an aspect they did right, what to improve, and another thing they did well. On the occasion students are spotting each other, make sure that there is consent from both the coach and students involved, that the spotting of the move is fully understood by both students, and that everyone feels comfortable to say no. We value listening to ourselves and respecting boundaries thus there's always the option to opt out of anything you're not comfortable with during class while respecting the learning environment for other students.

This is a recreational environment and as such we are not aiming for perfection or competition but rather self development. We all learn at different paces and it's important to accept that and not push yourself past your own limits. We aim to learn in a safe and fun way.

Some topics of conversation are not appropriate for class and may make people uncomfortable, use discretion when talking about sensitive subjects and notice how the people around you react, if it seems like someone is uncomfortable with a topic and it’s not necessary or productive to discuss change topics.

Anti Oppression

At Cirque Célestial, we aim to create an anti-oppressive atmosphere. This means respecting others, in their gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, ethnic and cultural background, etc.

We strive to respect each others in our interactions and when we make a mistake we correct ourselves as quickly as possible or we graciously accept corrections (ie. “Thank you, I'll do better next time,” “Sorry, *repeat sentence with proper pronouns or without oppressive or harmful content”)

When correcting people, be mindful of language barriers and don't presume bad intentions.

In the spirit of coming from a place of care our studio values respecting identities and being kind while leaving space for error - there will be errors but what matters is striving to do better.

You're responsible for respecting other people's bodies which means:

All bodies are different and that's normal and ok, some people will have difficulty with certain moves due to body proportions, the speed at which they build muscle, or flexibility. Everyone will learn at a different pace and we respect that and will be encouraging no matter where people are in their journey.
Appropriate things to comment on could include: new hair, new outfit, glasses, vibe and attitude (ie. “You look happy,” “you look motivated,” “I like your new haircut”)
Inappropriate things to comment on include: weight, gender presentation (ie. “you don’t look like a boy,” ”you’ve gained/ lost weight,” ”you’re doing that move wrong”)
All comments should come from a place of support and care

We do not shame ourselves or others for:

Body image
Athletic capacity
Needs
Identity
Learning pace
Cultural differences

Think our group agreement is missing something? Feel free to bring it up in class or send us an email to cirquecelestial@gmail.com, this is a collaborative document open to changes to help create the safest environment we can and we'd love to hear your feedback!