2019 Q4 Scholarship Recipient - Meet Hannah

We missed getting this blog up last quarter, but Hannah is worth the wait!
Here’s what she had to tell us about herself and her time here at Ascendance so far.

“I’m a self-employed digital artist by trade, and in the course of my work I spend a lot of time in my head and on a screen, leaving me feeling very disconnected from my body. I’ve dabbled in dance and performance arts throughout my life, but have always been too shy to perform on my own and largely discouraged from pursuing anything further knowing it wasn’t to be a professional pursuit. I’ve come to realize that I crave physicality and movement as both a complementary release from more static work, and another means of creative expression that informs and reframes my perspective as a professional artist. Being freelance grants me more flexibility with my time, but also often robs me of the opportunity to surround myself with other creatives, so I’ve taken up exploration of dance and aerial arts to both reconnect with my physical self and to be a part of a community of awesome creative people again. When Ascendance opened near my home I was struck by how encouraging and welcoming an atmosphere they had created at the studio, and my experiences in all the classes I’ve taken have been just that. Finding myself improving each and every week has been so encouraging, and having a sense of purpose and direction in my physical training is extremely motivating. Both pole and aerials are challenging and fun in ways I haven’t found since I was a kid - it has been a long time since I explored expressive movement this way without feeling incredibly self-conscious and inhibited. For me, the most challenging thing to learn has been trust in myself, to let go of self-consciousness and immerse myself in playful movement again without the fear of looking silly. This has also been the most rewarding thing to learn, and the one that makes learning everything else so much easier and more fun. If I could give advice to anyone considering dance, pole or aerials, whether for the first time or after a long hiatus, it would be this lesson I learned from my own years’-long hesitation: the time spent debating over whether it’s worth trying is time that could be spent trying it. You’ll never know what you can do until you start.”

Thank you, beautiful Hannah! You are a delight <3

Holding Space: 2020 updates

We have been making plans for some exciting Holding Space events this year. With the new year, we wanted to take a moment to share a brief update to the format, as well as reintroduce the concept to those who aren’t familiar with it yet.

Starting in 2020, we’ll be asking for a $5 registration fee for these events. If you attend the event, you’ll be able to apply that $5 towards the purchase of any service with us. . We want to keep the barriers for attendance low while still ensuring that we can staff these properly and allow the maximum amount of attendees to join.

These Holding Space events have been incredibly popular, and each one has had waitlists of individuals who were not able to secure a spot. When people register for free events and then do not attend, it takes away a spot from someone who had waitlisted and was dying to get in. We hope that by asking for this nominal fee, it will encourage higher attendance from those who register to join. If this fee is a barrier for any one, please email us. We can cover your fee with our scholarship fund.

Here’s what we’ve shared about our Holding Space program in the past.

 "What does it mean to hold space for someone else? It means that we are willing to walk alongside another person in whatever journey they’re on without judging them, making them feel inadequate, trying to fix them, or trying to impact the outcome. When we hold space for other people, we open our hearts, offer unconditional support, and let go of judgment and control." -Heather Plett

As a nonprofit, our mission statement is: “Ascendance Pole and Aerial Arts serves a diverse community, builds self-esteem, and empowers artistic expression in a supportive and safe environment.”  In order to serve a diverse community, we must build one with intention. Just existing in space is not enough to reach the people who might benefit from joining us. We must accept that many people are not ready to jump into a class filled with strangers of different backgrounds, ages, and levels of experience.  In addition, many marginalized groups have reported being made to feel unwelcome in pole studios and are unlikely to expose themselves to another rejection. In order to reach these people and welcome them into our community, it is necessary to create a space that is specifically labelled as just for them. It is not enough to say, “Our studio welcomes everyone.”  We must seek out their participation and show clearly that we would welcome their presence in our studio and our community.  This is where the idea of the beginning of Holding Space came to fruition.

    Holding Space is still a fledgling program that will grow and change over time, but at its core it is simply what it says it is: we are holding space for you.  We will strive to ensure that the events are led by instructors who are members of the community that we are reaching out to, so that they can see that not only do we welcome their group as students, but also as instructors.  From time to time that may not be possible, or we may have to work harder to make it happen, but we recognize that this is important enough to put in the work.  

    We have hosted two events to reach out to the LGBTQ+ community and have an upcoming event (Black Pole Experience with Tinkk Holt) that focuses on welcoming the black community into our studio.  These have been met with an overwhelmingly positive response so far (in fact, our BPE event filled completely within 48 hours) and we look forward to adding more.  

Whereas we hope that the people who attend Holding Space events will join our community and continue to attend classes in the future, we understand that this may not be possible or comfortable for everyone.  In fact, often by coming to our event, the person has stepped so far outside their comfort zone that they may need a while to process the experience and may decide not to return, or may need to attend a few events in order to feel comfortable enough to attend a regular class.  We honor this as a success as well; stepping outside of your comfort zone is an achievement in and of itself. We hope that whether or not attendees decide to join us again in the future, they know that we recognize and celebrate them just for coming through the door. We hope they enjoyed the experience and time we shared with them and thank them for sharing our space and trying something new. 

If you would like to learn more about us, or be notified about future events, please sign up for our newsletter or follow us on social media. We look forward to welcoming you into our studio!

Late Fee and No Show fee changes coming soon

Hello Ascenders! We wanted to give you a head's up on a policy change coming in the new year.

Beginning 1/1/2020 our Late Cancel and No Show fees will change for Unlimited package holders. Late Cancels will be $9 per instance and No Shows will be $12. Currently, both Late Cancel and No Show fees are $10 per instance.

If you are a class pack holder, nothing changes for you. You will just lose the class from your package like you have been, if you cancel within 12 hours of the class or do not show up to the class.

We are instituting this change to encourage clients to update your enrollments when you know you cannot attend to allow for students on the Waitlist to have the opportunity to join a class.

We wanted to give you the head's up now so this wasn't a surprise and so that you have time to get into the habit of using the Late Cancel feature in MB.

Thank you for your understanding and participation in this while we work to make sure more students get to take the classes they love. If you have any questions, please let us know!

- Tara and Team Ascendance

Waitlist Reminders

Hello dear clients!

We wanted to make sure everyone knew how Waitlists worked.

If you enroll in a full class you'll be placed on a waitlist. If a spot in the class opens up anytime up until 2 hours before class, you will receive an email letting you know you've been moved into the class.

If you're moved to the class and can no longer make it, you'll be subject to our 12 hour cancellation policy. For this reason, we recommend treating Waitlists like you would your normal classes and be sure to remove yourself from them 12 hours in advance, if you think you will not be able to attend. This will save you from any potential Late Cancel or No Show penalties in the case where you are added to the class, but do not attend.

We also highly recommend you enable text message notifications to get immediate updates on your waitlist status. We have a neat waitlist feature that will send you a text when a spot opens up and you will have the opportunity to confirm you can come by responding with a Yes. If you do not respond through text and are added to the waitlist, you might see the note "Waitlist - Unconfirmed" next to your name when you check your schedule. This means you are still in the class, but we don't know if you are coming for sure. You don't need to do anything with these notes except come to class. Enabling and confirming by text will get rid of that note.

Text message reminders are only used for Waitlists and for Appointments (private and studio rentals), and are not currently used for any class notifications.

Please let us know if you have any questions about Waitlists, or about anything else!

- Team Ascendance

To enable text messages, you'll need to login into your account from a browser.

1. Login

2. Click on the My Info tab.

3. Click on the Profile from the submenu.

4. Click Edit in the Personal section.

5. Under "What do you want to hear about," they will select the email and text boxes beside which subscription options they want to opt in or out of from the business they're logged into. Note: If they check the “Text” box next to "News and promos," be sure they've added a mobile number and provider to receive these text notifications.

6. While you’re here, take a moment to make sure you’ve enabled Reminders and Schedule Changes - this will send an email when classes are cancelled.

7. Click Save.

Q3 Scholarship Recipients - Meet Erin!

Next up, we’re excited to re-introduce Erin! Erin is genuine, focused, and inspiring. She’s working on a doubles piece for PSO Northwest and we can’t wait to see her own the stage with her doubles partner.

Here’s what Erin has to say about her time as a Scholarship Recipient.

“Ascendance is my "Happy Place!" I came to the studio looking for a new challenge, and a place to explore my passion for dance. And I did! After my first class, I was hooked and couldn't get enough. The studio has given me a new way of expressing myself, confidence and a sense of community and belonging. As a scholarship recipient, I was able to truly immerse myself into pole technique and explore the many styles each teacher had to offer. A goal I had at the start of my pole journey was to perform and compete. With only 9 months under my Pleaser platforms, I will be competing in a doubles routine at PSO (Pole Sports Organization) this November. This was a goal I had months ago in December and it's finally here. Once I finish the competition I'm sure I will be inspired to set a new goal but for now, I'm to grind till November.

If I had to give someone toying with the idea of taking a pole class advice, I would say "DO IT"! Find a studio that fits your personality and go for it. If you hate it it only cost you a few bucks or nothing if your first class was free. But if you love it, the friends, community, and self-empowerment will last a long time.”

Q3 Scholarship Recipient - Meet Cheyanne!

Q3 Scholarship Recipient - Meet Cheyanne!

As we close out Q3, we’re excited to introduce Cheyanne. We love the energy Cheyanne brings to classes and her sweet disposition. Cheyanne recently joined our Front Desk team as a workstudy, so you can see her smiling face greeting you for classes on Tuesday nights.


Here’s what Cheyanne has to say about her time as a Scholarship Recipient.


What drew you to Ascendance?
I have been searching the greater Seattle area for a pole studio that had both a strong sense of community as well as diverse class offerings. Ascendance has a ton of different classes, as well as a diverse group of instructors all with different dance backgrounds. One of my goals is to be a well-rounded dancer and Ascendance definitely honors all "genres" of pole from contemporary, to acrobatic/gymnastic to exotic.

Your decision to apply for scholarship and the outcome of it.
I applied for a scholarship because I haven't been able to afford to take the amount of classes I needed to push my abilities to progress. Previously, I had been taking a few classes a month, but for me, this wasn't enough to see improvement in my skillset. The scholarship program was a great opportunity to become apart of a beautiful new studio without financial barriers hindering my progress.

How was your experience in class?
My very first class at Ascendance was a class full of encouraging, fun and silly people. Each student and instructor has been incredibly welcoming and supportive. Its so fun to cheer each other on and celebrate each other's achievements in class.

What are your pole/aerial goals?
Initially I started pole because I needed a new hobby, and quickly fell in love with the empowerment and strength that comes with it. My goals are to continue to gain confidence in my dance, and work on strength and flexibility to get into those crazy inverted split moves someday.

What has been the most challenging to learn?
In general, engagement. For the longest time, I did not understand how to engage my shoulders, and still am working on keeping my core active during training. It really makes all the difference in the world when your whole body is paying attention, and finally that one elusive move just "clicks".

What would be your advice to students who wants to try pole/aerial/dance?
Absolutely do not be afraid, intimidated or self-conscious. Pole and aerial are such empowering sports and really are for any body/ "ability" level. The pole community, especially at Ascendance is full of people who will always cheer you on and lift you up both figuratively, and sometimes literally.

Click below to find out more about our Scholarship Program or to apply a Scholarship.