Unveiling the New Chapter of Our Aerial Arts and Pole Studio!
Hey everyone, owner of the studio Yvette here! The studio has seen some changes over the years it has been open, and something that has become increasingly transparent is that FM Aerial & Movement Arts is a delicate ecosystem made up of individuals who all make the studio a loved and special space.
I try my hardest to ensure that I’m able to meet the needs of the teachers, students, keep the lights on, and also be involved in the greater FM community. I feel like Fargo/Moorhead is ready for a creative, aerial community where people feel safe to explore different styles of movement and who know that here they will find a place where they feel respected and seen. FM Aerial & Movement Arts is more than just a pole and aerial studio. To me, it is my livelihood. It’s the last thing I think about at night and what wakes me up (mostly from stress nightmares, but maybe they’ll go away one day). Every single person who has walked through the doors matters, and I try my darndest to make sure you feel that way. Every time someone moves away, it tears a little piece of me away, and I hope that you know you are loved and missed.
But! This post is about changes. In 2022, I made the decision to introduce memberships and to employ all of the current teachers as W2 employees. After over a year of making the change and listening to students and teachers these are the latest changes:
1. Introducing our new and improved Memberships:
Student Starter: This membership is for people who are beginners and want to introduce movement into their weekly routine. It is 4 classes a month and $80.
Powerhouse Protege: For students past the beginner stage who want to continue to build endurance, strength, and apparatus mastery, we see the most improvement from people who attend a class in their chosen apparatus twice a week. This membership includes 8 classes a month (or two classes a week, however you want to spin it), includes open training time, and additional classes after the 8 can be taken at a discounted rate of $10/class.
By introducing these memberships, we are going to simplify the process of “where should I start?” We are doing away with Class Packages, the old memberships, AND the 4-Week Intro Series. If you have a membership or a link to the class packages, nothing will change. Old memberships and packages will no longer be available to view or book.
We realized that having so many options was getting really confusing for people, and we kept getting asked the question of when we are going to have an intermediate 4 week session. However, it takes the average person at least a year of classes to get to the intermediate level. The issue with having 4 week sessions is that life happens and people drop off, but there gets to a point when there aren’t enough people to be able to have a continuing 4 week session. And, on the back end, it takes a lot of time to create and market new 4 week sessions. It’s a really big headache. So goodbye to it! And hello to:
1. Intro Workshops
The 4-week model has been with us for a long time. However, we’ve noticed that 4 weeks is a lot of time to commit to (especially in the summer) and 4 classes at once is a lot of classes for people to commit to at one time, and we were not able to be flexible on the dates because each class was based on the class before it.
Instead, we will have monthly Intro Workshops for Pole, Lyra, and Silks. These will be 90 min classes that will cover the basic class structure that will be taught in our other regular classes. This way students are familiar with our warm-ups, general class content and cool down. These 90 min workshops will also be a prerequisite for joining our other classes, and can be taken more than once.
Intro to Pole Workshop: or Pole Prerequisites for our other classes:
This 90min Pole Workshop will cover: Pole ups, Knee-ups, Pole Squats, Pole Roll-ups, Headstand. Climbs, Thigh Rest Hold, Sits, Pirouette, Basic Spins, Different Grips. Pole Shorts will be required.
Intro to Lyra Workshop: Or Lyra Prerequisites for our other lyra classes:
This 90min Lyra Workshop will Cover: Hollow Body, Shoulder Shrugs, Knee Tucks, Knee Hang, How to get into the hoop, Basic Shapes, Different Grips, Basic Spin Technique.
Intro to Silks Workshop: Or Silks Prerequisites:
This 90min Silks Workshop will cover: Hollow Body, Shoulder circles, Shrugs, Knee Tucks, Climb technique, footlocks, hip keys, straddle in the knot, basic shapes in the fabric and knot.
3. We will no longer have “Beginners Welcome Classes.”
To be able to take any of our classes, we will need students to have completed an Intro Workshop, or have similar experience. This is to ensure that everyone is on the same page when it comes to knowing what the fundamental skills should look like and how to enter and exit those skills.
4. One spot to book parties.
We now have a space to reserve your party online. The $132 is a deposit that will go towards the overall cost of your party. Pricing is $33/person.
5. Designated Event Performer booking page.
If you are looking for an event performer in Fargo, ND we now have a place for you to book a free consultation to talk about your event and how we can work together. We have a designated troupe that is performance ready at all times, whether you are looking for daytime, nighttime or weekend entertainment.
6. We are adding more youth classes!
We are excited to be able to offer both Big/Little (parent/guardian-child classes) over the summer months and coming Fall of 2023 we will also be adding Youth Aerial Hoop to our class list along with Level 1 Aerial Silks and Level 2 Aerial Silks (an invitation only class that is for students who have been with us long enough to master their climbs (Classic and Russian), double footlocks, hip keys, and easily straddle in the knot. After some research and talking to other studio owners, we have decided to increase the minimum age to 9 years to ensure that we continue to keep kids safe in the air.
Phew. And that’s all! These changes will be rolled out soon!