Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) UPDATE PAGE

****** Classes to Return *****  Update 01.09.20

Hello to all our fantastic students, parents and class curious amongst you.  We hope you are all well and that lockdown and post lockdown have not been too harsh on you and your families.  We know that you have all been waiting patiently to find out when classes can resume again and although nothing is yet set in stone we do now have some plans.  

 

We are still ironing out details and discussing plans with our venues, but we are hoping to start getting most of our classes up and running from 16^th September.  Covid safe classes will resume on a trial basis and will evolve towards ‘normal’ as guidelines are updated and we learn what works best.  We have already begun trialling classes with 2 of our Aerial Dance classes at Electra Star Dance in Horam, which have been successfully up and running for a few weeks now.  There are of course a number of changes and conditions to ensure our services are Covid safe and classes may look and feel rather different from before:

• Most classes will be shorter as per government guidelines, 45 minutes in most cases.
• We will only be offering hoop for aerial classes which will be wiped down with appropriate strength alcohol between each user.
• Social distancing must be maintained between all students, unless from the same household / social bubble (we recognise this will be a challenge for some of our younger students and we will support as best we can).
• Social distancing will be maintained with instructors where possible, and where this is not possible appropriate PPE and sanitising methods will be used by instructors.
• A temperature gun will be used upon entry to some of our classes and you will be asked each time for your details in order to support test and trace.
• Each class is being assessed on a case by case basis and will only resume when we feel it is as safe as we can make it.
• Our ‘Drop In’ spaces will be temporarily suspended and we will be asking for a termly commitment from students in order to establish and maintain training ‘bubbles’. If there are spaces available new students will be permitted to book a trial class.  
• Aerial equipment will be situated as close to the floor as is practical to complete the moves. The curriculum will change to focus on technique, strength and conditioning, students will be encouraged to work within the level they can achieve independently rather than progressing beyond what they can safely achieve on their own.  Classes will be offered on a non-spotting or minimal spotting basis (parental spotting is also available on private lessons).
• All students (or parents) will need to complete a new series of consent forms.

 We cannot eliminate the risk of transmission of Covid – 19, but we will take all practical mitigations to reduce the risk.

Classes at St. Elizabeth’s Church:  Our Wednesday classes at St. Elizabeth’s have always been very busy and whilst there is plenty of space to accommodate larger numbers we are unable to provide social distancing on our rig for the time being.  Therefore, there will be limited spaces in each class, plus shorter quicker ‘goes’ on the aerial apparatus.  To cope with this we plan to split each class into two smaller classes. 

Strings and Balls due to equipment sharing not being safe and the difficulty of people moving about in a shared space this session remains suspended for now.  Hopefully we can find a way to get this running by the end of the Autumn.

 

Classes at the Yoga-Life Studio:  The Yoga-Life studio is the smallest of our venues.  Our risk assessment has identified that it will not be suitable for group ground skills practise due to its size.  In addition, non-spotted aerial is not possible due to the proximity of the rig points to the walls.

Mixed Aerial & 14 – 19s class will be replaced with a strength, conditioning and active flexibility for aerial class in place of the 5pm Friday class.  Priority for these spaces will be given to our 11+ students who want to train twice a week and we will be using the small amount of youth funding left to subsidise the class to £5.  As there are only 6 spaces available we ask you to please let us know if you want to be allocated a space on this class as soon as possible.

Sweet Cir-ed We are not quite there yet with a solution for this class.  We have funding ready to launch a circus and literacy programme for the 8+ group and we want to continue to provide for our younger students also.  Our best option at the moment will be to move the classes to a larger venue such as St. Elizabeth’s on a Wednesday or Thursday afternoon or to Electra Star Dance in Horam on a Wednesday morning.   

Active Cherubs: Classes at the fabulous Active Cherry Fitness will not be returning for the time-being,  We will however, endeavour to find a space for you either on Tuesdays at Electra Star Dance or Wednesdays at St.Elizabeth’s.  If you would like to book onto one of our other sessions please do get in touch and we will find a space for you if we can.

Classes at Electra Star Dance: The new term beging Tues 1st September, we have a 6+ class, intermediate and advanced for children, plus a Young person & parent and adults only class availble on a Tuesday evening.  Contact Electra Star Dance Direct to find out more / book -  electrastardance@outlook.com

50+ Social Circus & Learn to Juggle: We have had great fun delivering these groups online throughout lock down and have every intention of bringing them back once funding can be secured.  In the short term however, we are going to be focusing on getting our children’s and youth classes running again.

 1 – 2 – 1’s and private sessions - For the next few weeks we are hoping to continue providing 1 – 2 – 1’s in the open air, however by the end of September we will need to move back indoors.  We have a few slots available at Electra Star Dance in Horam, The Yoga Life Studio in South Street, and at Active Cherry Fitness in Westham.  Obviously, we will have to pay hire charges to each of the venues so the cost of private sessions will reflect this and will vary depending on venue fees.  We will in the most part continue to offer the shorter 45 minute sessions as per government advice.  Please do get in touch if you would like to book.

We are expecting classes to be over subscribed! Please remember to drop us a line back and indicate if you are intending to return to class in September as well as any preferences you might have.  We will do our best to be accommodating but there will be limited spaces for the time being.  If we are unable to find a space for you in these classes we will maintain a waitlist and try to get other opportunities up and running quickly.

 

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**** Classes update - open air classes start next week***update 12/ 06 / 20

Have you been missing your Sweet Circus time?  Do you want to play Circus with us in person rather than through a screen?  Us too ….. And now we can 😊

 

Lockdown classes update:

Lockdown has been a difficult time for many of us and like you Sweet Circus have tried to adapt.  Now that restrictions are easing it is time for us to adapt again, and keep adapting as the situation continues to evolve.  Sweet Circus will start offering in person classes starting next week.  Learn to juggle session and our youth group are the first to get running and we will add to the timetable as the weeks go on.  It is also now possible to book private sessions for all ages & abilities.  We will be continuing some zoom classes but you’ll probably see less of us on YouTube for a bit while we focus on our face to face and interactive sessions.

 

Sweet Circus at home - Online sessions:

Learn to Juggle on Zoom:  Learn to Juggle lunchbreak will now be on a Tuesday at midday and on a Thursday we are adding an evening session at 6pm.  Everyone is welcome to these sessions, you can do just one or both and all zoom sessions will remain Free.  In addition to our Zoom sessions we are going to start offering juggling sessions in the Park (see below).

50+ Social Circus: Numbers have fallen in recent weeks so rather than having separate sessions we will be inviting you all to join our weekly learn to juggle sessions on Zoom.  Once we have trialled our initial sessions in the park we will be looking to offer a 50+ session too, but this might take us a few weeks to get organised.

Youth Group:  Our intention is to move this group to face to face sessions, although we may still use Zoom when the weather is poor.  Please see below.

 

Sweet Circus in the park – Small group sessions:

We are desperately keen to work with you all in person again.  As I am sure you can imagine it is going to be a challenge with social distancing, sanitation, and indeed the weather to work around which is why we are going to be starting slowly and cautiously.  As things are tried and tested we will add more and more sessions. 

 

	AM	PM	Evening
Mon		Private Sessions Available
Tue	Private Sessions Available	Learn to Juggle Lunch Break on Zoom	Private Sessions Available
Wed	Private Sessions Available	2.30 – 4 Seaside Rec SC Youth Group	Learn to Juggle Jam 6pm Longland Rec
Thur		Private Sessions Available	Learn to Juggle on Zoom 6pm
Fri	Coming Soon: Seaside Rec Learn to Juggle Jam & Circus Fit

 

Learn to Juggle: We will be running our first sessions on Wednesday evenings at Longland Road Rec in old town starting Weds 17^th June. We plan to add a Friday morning session at Seaside Rec from the following week.

 

Sweet Circus Youth Group: We will be running these at Seaside rec on a Wednesday afternoon starting Weds 17^th June. Once you have booked, we will divide you into groups and let you know your time. And Yes!  You can request to be in the same group as your friends 😊

 

All group classes will cost £3.50 per person.  Equipment can be borrowed for £1.50, but if you are struggling financially, let us know and we will supply your equipment!

 

How it will work:

Classes will have a minimum of 3 and a maximum of 5 participants and will last approximately 45mins. Due to the number restrictions ‘drop-ins’ will not be possible and you will have to book in advance by text / messenger / email.  If a session is full, a second session will be made available either before or after.  All classes will cost £3.50 per person, payment can be made in advance via our website / paypal or you can bring the correct cash on the day (no change is available).  If your class is cancelled due to bad weather, you will receive a class credit for the next class.  As the numbers are so limited, we ask that you do attend any classes you book.

Equipment sharing is no longer allowed so we are encouraging you to purchase and bring your own equipment.  We do have a LIMITED amount of equipment you can borrow at a cost of £1.50 per session due to the sanitising required between uses, however, if you are experiencing financial hardship as a result of corona virus do get in touch, we will make equipment available to you without charge.

Initially we will be working with equipment from our learn to juggle kits and we are developing a circus essentials kit.  Anything outside of these kits we will supply and sanitise.

Please be aware that the toilets are not yet open in most public green spaces!!

 

Aerial Classes & Children’s Classes

For the time being both aerial classes and children / family classes will only be available as a private booking. Up to 5 persons can be in a private session (this includes parents and any siblings) and will cost £10 for approximately 45 minutes.

 

Aerial - We can currently only offer Aerial Hoop lessons in our garden on a portable rig.  Instructors will have to remain socially distant, meaning that parents will be required to spot younger children under the supervision and instruction of Miz our lead instructor.  These sessions will be quite different from normal classes, we will focus on conditioning, strength and perfecting the foundations of aerial technique.  Some ground skills can be included for students who desire this.  Some of our studios are planning to start opening in July at which point private aerial sessions will move back into the studio.

 

Circus Play – Circus play makes a great family session but is also available to small groups of friends (with social distancing observed) is also available as a private session for up to 5 people, and is great as a family session.  These sessions can take place either in your garden (Eastbourne aera) or in an Eastbourne park.

 

If you chose to ‘roll over’ your termly classes, you are welcome to use these as credit towards private sessions or group classes.  All participants (and / or parents) will need to complete a new health questionnaire and waiver regarding the Covid 19 rules!

 

To book any of the above please contact us directly as we do not have an appropriate booking system set up on the website yet.  You will need to complete a health questionnaire and waiver before attending your first class.

 

Phone: 07718 996 853

Email: info@sweetcircus.net

Facebook: www.facebook.com/sweetcircus

Instagram: @sweetcircusnet

 

We just can’t wait to get started 😊

 

Seaside Recreation Ground is here: Eastbourne BN22 8NW

Longland Road Recreation Ground is here: Eastbourne BN20 8JJ

 

 

Sweet Circus Party in a Box now available for hire!

Now that you can meet up with small numbers of friends or family, perhaps your having a mini birthday party or a family barbecue.  This kit is sure to bring fun and active play to your gathering whilst remaining socially distanced and Covid safe.

We have redesigned our workshop box hire with Covid 19 restrictions and safety in mind and can now offer you a Circus Party in a Box.

The kit is designed for up to 6 people and is only available in Eastbourne, or very close by.  If you live further afield and are know to us, get in touch I am sure we can arrange something!

The kit costs £35 for the day.  ***£5 cash back*** is available if you are able to provide us with photos or video clips of you having a great time with our kit as obviously we can't be there to take them!

So what do you get?

We will deliver the kit to you in the morning and collect again either in the evening or following day.  Kit contains:

• 9 Juggling Balls
• 9 Tri-it Juggling beanbags
• 3 Juggling Rings
• 6 Spinning Plates
• 6 Diabolo
• 6 Flower Sticks
• 3 sets of Poi
• 2 Twirling Ribbons
• 2 Cup & Ball
• 2 Kendama
• 1 Pindaloo
• 1 set of basic instructions for use

What precautions are being taken?

The kit will be quarantined and / or alcohol cleaned between bookings as appropriate, delivery and collection will take place at a social distance and gloves will be worn.

You are advised not to share equipment with guests who are not members of your household without appropriate protection ie gloves and hand washing procedures.

In addition, you will be responsible for supervising use of the kit.  Be aware that there are small parts and choking hazards such as the nibs of plate sticks and flower sticks as well as ligature risk from stings and ribbons etc.  Therefore children are not to be left unattended with special supervision given to younger children.  A waiver will need to be completed to show that you assume responsibility for such risk.

How do I book?

In the first instance please get in touch with us to check availability of the date, we will then supply you with the booking forms etc and you can go ahead and pay here: https://www.sweetcircus.net/collections/isolation-survival-kits/products/sweet-circus-party-in-a-box

Then we will confirm your booking and deliver the kit as agreed, ready for you to have a full day of circussy fun.

 

 

TUNE IN:

This Saturday, 30th May.  Our Lead instructor Miz will be interviewed on BBC Radio Sussex about our learn to juggle initiative and lock down activities.  Tune in at 12.15pm 104.5, 104.8 & 95.0–95.3 FM DAB: NOW Sussex Coast Freeview: 720

 

NEWS FLASH:

Sweet Circus in the Park - Coming Soon!

With the government announcement that we can socially distanced meet up with 6 people Sweet Circus plan to bring a range of small group, 1 - 2- 1 and family classes to Eastbourne parks and gardens.  Bare with us while we work out the best and safest way to provide this.  More information should be available in the next week or two.  Can't wait that long?  Drop us a line and book a face to face circus meet up now: info@sweetcircus.net

We are now able to offer private / family lessons click here to find out more: https://www.sweetcircus.net/pages/private-lessons

Keep informed, sign up at the bottom of the page or drop us a line to be added to our mailing list.  

 

Update 28.05.20

Due to the Covid 19 situation, all normal group classes have been suspended for the time being, however there are plenty of opportunities to get your circus on with us .... Read on:

It is so important that we all remain active and keep our brains challenged during these unusual circumstances to maintain good physical and mental health.  We at sweet circus have a range of Covid safe resources for you all as well as classes to keep you social through all of this.

Free Group Classes on Zoom:

Learn to Juggle Lunch Break is continuing via Zoom, Thursdays at midday.  This class is for all ages and abilities (children included) and is based around the equipment and activities in our 'Learn to Juggle Kits' although we also provide instructions on how to make your own.                      (https://www.sweetcircus.net/collections/isolation-survival-kits)

The log in details are released weekly on the Facebook event page found here: https://www.facebook.com/events/738500743624529/ or you can email us and asked to be added to the Learn to Juggle emailing list: info@sweetcircus.net

50+ Social Circus has become 50+ Virtual Circus and for the time being also centres around our Learn to Juggle kits but the activities are designed especially for our fantastic 50+ participants.

The log in details are released weekly on the Facebook event page found here: https://www.facebook.com/events/2954616384621826/

SC Youth Group Meet Up & Whatsapp

A fortnightly Zoom meet up is available for our existing Circus Monkeys seniors and Youth Group.  We do some conditioning exercises, and circus with owned equipment or objects from around the house.  Students are able to keep in touch via the whatsapp group where challenges are sometimes set and the occasional meme is circulated, but mostly this is a social opportunity for our teens.  If you would like to be added to the group please email us: info@sweetcircus.net

Free tutorials on YouTube

Through out lock down we have been filming several tutorials and follow along videos and publishing them on YouTube.  For many of them you don't need any equipment and those that do use equipment provide you with information on how to make your own at home.  Pop over to our channel and take a look, it really helps us out if you can subscribe to the channel too, you'll need a YouTube account to do this but it is quick and free to set that up!

View / Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCumXttGUw5-klHslB4gayVQ?view_as=subscriber

 

 

 

Update 01.04.20

We currently have equipment in quarantine ready to distribute next week as 'Learn to juggle kits'!

To help us all survive the current situation funders such at the Devonshire West Big Local have supported us to develop these learn to juggle kits to provide activities which will help keep our bodies and brains active and engaged. 

The kits cost £12 (£32 family kit) but we are talking to various funders who will enable us to offer discounts to various groups.  All Sweet Circus students will receive a small discount, get in touch to get the code.

What you get:
3 Juggling Balls
3 Juggling Scarves 
1 Juggling Ring 
(Family Kit: with 6 balls, 6 scarves, 6 bean bags and 3 rings) 

Activity booklet: This is still being developed and will be a text based document initially, however we will email you updated versions as and when they are completed.  A printed version is also available if required.

Already Available: Don't forget our Youtube channel has new releases every Monday, Wednesday and Friday of activities you can do at home .. Subscribe to the channel if you can (you need an account to do this but there is no charge for a you tube account) : https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCumXttGUw5-klHslB4gayVQ?view_as=subscriber

Coming Soon: 
Free Online Learn to Juggle Lunch Breaks: These are nearly ready to go live via Zoom, we will email you instructions and access codes as they become available. 
Free Online Course: This is currently under development but may take some time, again we will email you as soon as it is available. 

How does it work? 
Once you place your order we will email you your activity booklet within 3 days.  Please do check your spam folders regularly as we often disappear in there!  Please contact us as soon as possible if you require a printed version and we will print a copy to include this with your kit. 
We will retain your email address and send you information about online interactive sessions and the free online course as soon as it is available (please set your spam filters to allow emails from info@sweetcircus.net).  Such updates will continue until classes are up and running again.

Why learn to juggle? 
Learning to juggle might not be the first thing that comes to mind when you consider improving your overall health, however, the benefits reach far beyond having a good party trick. 
In these unusual times it is important to remain active not only for our physical health but also for our mental health.  When learning to juggle, or generally being active, hormones are released which reduce stress and promote positivity.  When learning to juggle you engage both the right and left side of the brain, this is great exercise for the brain and will keep it engaged and alert throughout our Covid isolation.  There are many more benefits that result from learning this unique skill. please refer to our learn to juggle lunch breaks page: https://www.sweetcircus.net/pages/why-learn-to-juggle

Discount Codes:

Devonshire West Residents: If you live in the Devonshire West area of Eastbourne, the Devonshire West Big Local have provided funds to supply your learn to juggle kits free of charge.  Please enter 'devonshire' in the discount code box.

If you live in Eastbourne, please put 'eastbourne' in the discount box to receive free shipping.

 

 

 

Update *** Private lessons have now also been temporarily suspended :( *** We will be in touch with everyone who had one booked to discuss options.

Most recent advice has been to implement social distancing and avoid all non essential social contact.  There is a helpful graphic below from the World Health Organisation below which explains what this means.

While the current situation is an unfamiliar and difficult time for many of us, we at Sweet Circus feel it is important to find and cherish the positives.  For many of us there will be more family time, for those in our community who are isolated, neighbours will be more aware and able to lend a hand, perhaps even establish new friendships.  It is also the perfect time to take up a new hobby or learn something new.  Clearly we're going to tell you all to learn to juggle and start playing kendama!! But there are plenty of other things: knitting, crochet, singing, playing an instrument, writing, designing board games and so on.