It is a CRAZY week here at STC as we prep for an awesome summer of holiday camps, workshops and events....AND as we unpack and move out of our fabulous home. :(
We have been in STC HQ since Jan 2021, I signed the lease in October 2020 and the very next day we went into tier 4 lockdown. With the help of our amazing STC family, we pulled through COVID closures and were FINALLY able to open in April to welcome some INCREDIBLE children into our crazy Showtime Circus family. It has been AMAZING to see what was a plain, white, boring warehouse be transformed into our home, buzzing with happy, smiley faces and noisy with the fun, giggles and huge cheers of encouragement.
I've not wanted to write this post for a long time, (I like to ostrich) and this will not be the best, most poetic piece of writing ever, but the time has come to let you all know that we will be changing venues for our classes in MK and why. We are moving to an amazing space not far from where we are now and I am SUPER excited about the possibilities it will bring us as a family in MK.
In an effort of transparency, and as I know we are a huge caring family, I would like to be open and honest with you. The cost of living crisis is VERY real, especially for small businesses. Our energy bill rose by over 10x the amount it was for the space in MK, I received it on April 1st and messaged back saying "funny April fool" but it wasn't - that energy hike was REAL....WHAT? I tentatively put prices up by 50p per class and hardly anyone even batted an eyelid (thank you wonderful parents) but when I finally had a moment to sit down and work out just how much I would have to increase prices to stay afloat, I felt exceptionally uneasy. For circus, class sizes simple HAVE to stay small, with a ratio of 1:10 teacher:students, and our team is amazing, and so I think they deserve to be rewarded financially for the incredible skills they have and pass on to your children...It didn't and doesn't sit right with me to increase the prices of classes to cover MY energy bill, when YOUR energy bills have gone up too, as have our teachers and yet their wage remains the same.....all whilst I'm happily floating around on a boat powered by free solar.
Yes - there are MANY things we could add to the timetable and MUCH more potential in the space, and I think I will eventually regret not at least trying these things but, realistically, the time needed to maintain this building I simply didn't have. I suffer from (yes, positive Jolly Jess is saying suffer....) endometriosis and EVERY month without fail, just as I was getting into another awesome plan for the space or arranging something amazing, I would be hit with ANOTHER bout of sickness and days in bed to recover. There's only so long you can do this for before your confidence takes a bit of a beating and you decide that health comes first. I've had surgery and I'm waiting for more so all good - but if I'm being honest, I'm going to go the whole way! (Thank you to those parents who've reached out, I'm slowly working through all of your recommendations!) All of this whilst still also managing a separate entertainment company AND being a self employed performer too. I'm good at spinning plates - evidently haha!
Don't get me wrong, the team at STC are the most AMAZING group of people and I feel insanely grateful EVERY day for them. Razzle Dazzle will CONTINUE to be her amazing self in our new venue and make everyone feel superbly welcome as always, I genuinely could not get through without her and we send her ALL of the love and positivity, Azteca Adela will continue to be her absolutely fabulous whirlwind in Harpenden and Hitchin, Candy Floss Kate, Awesome Olivia and Glitter Gumdrop will all be there too, and I've a feeling you'll be seeing a lot more of Krazy Kristy, eek!
The timetable for MK will change quite dramatically, as will Hitchin as we move to an AWESOME newly rigged venue there. But PLEASE HOLD TIGHT!!! Harpenden, I've figured you guys out now haha...Keep an eye out for new classes on the timetable. EVERYONE will go to Direct Debit, and this is the reason for the delay in adding classes, and this is purely to make everything easier for everyone involved, more info on this to come too. My priority right now is to move everything out of the MK space by the 30th July so once this has done I can concentrate on timetabling for Sept.
I feel better for sharing this and cannot wait to welcome our MK children into our new space our Hitchin children will experience classes from a rigged venue and Harpenden lot will learnt even more AMAZING drops in their 6m clearance! We hope that you will stick with us as we navigavimus our way into a new term (do you see what I did there?)
From the bottom of my heart, THANK YOU for believing in Showtime Circus, and for trusting us with your children. We adore them dearly and their giggles and smiles are what we do this for!
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