As we spend the next two weeks constructing our 6,000 sf sprung dance floor at Acro Enso, we’re eager to share with you how excited we are to welcome the growing dance community of Reno into our new space! We believe dance is a primal essence of movement, and as such, a fundamental part of our vision at Acro Enso. As our dance floor comes to life, we thought it might be fun to share with you some of the interesting science and history we’ve learned around why we dance in this week’s blog.

When you ask dancers why they dance most will probably say it’s because they enjoy it. Scientists believe this is because coordinated movement is one of the many things that stimulates our reward centers in our brains. Even if you don’t enjoy dancing yourself, scientists have theorized that you are likely to experience great pleasure just by watching a dancer because of how your brain is wired to mirror what it sees. Basically, when you watch a performer dancing parts of your brain, that control your own body’s movement, light up like a light bulb as if you were dancing yourself. By simply observing dancers you may experience innate pleasure that is comparable to the internal rewards you feel from eating delicious food or sleeping! We don’t need current science to tell us how rewarding dance is though, because we’ve been enjoying it for over 9,000 years.

Many historians believe that dance performance was evolved to pass on religious and mythical stories from one generation to the next before written language had arrived. This makes dance one of the original human entertainments and an essential factor to the formation of early human civilizations! Today, with all its different styles, dance is a universal practice that the entire world shares. So, it doesn’t matter who you are or where you come from, whether you have two left feet¸ or an extensive background, dance is a beautiful and timeless activity for everyone to enjoy! At Acro Enso, we’re extremely grateful to be working with so many talented dance instructors to offer a variety of dance styles for you to experience and enjoy. We hope that you will join us to move and groove together once we’ve opened our doors. Thanks for reading and have a great week!

~ Namastizzle


Acro Enso.

Your decision to move with another human being recognizes you as one half of a partnership. At Acro Enso, we like to share this statement with everyone who is interested in sharing a movement practice with another person. No matter which partner activity your heart fancies, whether it be dance, acrobatics, juggling or something you see on America’s got talent like partner roller skating, we believe it is important for you to understand from the very beginning the equal responsibility involved in movement partnerships.

When you and your partner choose to create a life of movement together you form an intimate and dynamic relationship that both of you have a role in nurturing and maintaining. Not only must you both work physically together to achieve a common goal you must work mentally with each others’ needs, fears, frustrations, and insecurities. We’ve learned that if you devote the same amount of energy into addressing the interpersonal issues that arise from working closely with another person as you put into the movement itself, you’ll be able to build a strong partnership with a foundation based on trust and communication.

At Acro Enso we hope to share more than just movement with you. We aim to be a center for education in our community by providing resources, like communication and mindfulness workshops, for you to join and learn helpful tools to support your movement relationships. We believe in building our minds just as much as we build our bodies so that we are able to be our best selves for our partners and the movement we share. To learn more about movement partnerships join us at Acro Enso once we open our doors. Thank you for reading and have a wonderful week.

Namastizzle ~

Acro Enso.

“What the teacher is, is more important than what he teaches.” ― Karl A. Menninger

Over the last year, we have interviewed and spoken with many amazing teachers interested in joining us here at Acro Enso. After listening to the valuable insights of each of these community leaders, we’ve learned that a true teacher is defined by much more than what he or she is able to teach. A true teacher is defined by the ethical model he or she represents and cultivates within our community.

The Ethical Teacher understands the responsibility of shaping and growing our community from the ground up. This responsibility requires these teachers to invest daily in themselves and in their students in order to create and maintain a safe container and thriving learning environment. They must set the example by leading the conversation around respect, communication, and proper conduct within our community. A commitment like this is undertaken by passionate teachers who care about what they’re teaching and how their teaching is received. These teachers will utilize all of the tools available to them to support the healthy growth of their community.

At Acro Enso we require all of our teachers to read and sign the Ethical Teacher Agreement which illustrates a standard code of conduct for all teachers. Simply agreeing to this document will not be enough, however. We expect all of our teachers to lead by example and to take action by upholding the principles of the Ethical Teacher. Here at Acro Enso, we aim to set the standard for quality and excellence in everything we do.

The Acro Enso Ethical Teacher Agreement

As a teacher at Acro Enso, I ______________________ accept that I am a respected leader of my community and that my role is to establish and maintain a safe and nurturing container in which all students may grow and learn. To rise to the role expected of me, I will abide, to the best of my ability, by the ethical teacher agreement as follows:
 
I...
     - Am passionate about what I do
     - Am responsible for myself, for my class, and for my students
     - Accommodate and respect the needs and boundaries of every student
     - Lead by example for healthy and honest communication
     - Invest in my studentship and in my practice to provide quality instruction
     - Maintain my integrity by treating all people equal
     - Practice and teach consent at every opportunity
     - Am responsible for resolving any inappropriate or dangerous misconduct in my class
     - Uphold a professional relationship with my students
     - Am accountable for my mistakes
     - Adhere to my sobriety leading up to and during my class
     - Practice gender neutral, non-sexual, and non-violent communication 
     - Respect power differentials and the vulnerability of the student teacher relationship
     - Give credit to my lineage and strive to foster my own ingenuity in my practice
     - Strive to speak positively of others
     - Motivate and encourage every student, especially the shy and timid
     - Provide constructive and concise feedback to all my students
     - Take care of my physical and mental presentation during class

Acro Enso.

Happy Tuesday everyone!! We hope the first few weeks of this new year have been treating you well and have brought you many new insights. If you’ve made a resolution this year to add more movement into your life, then this blog is made just for you! If not, keep reading anyways to learn how we celebrate and cherish the movement (a.k.a exercise) in our life here at Acro Enso. Too often in our culture we overshadow the glory of exercise, when we think we need to do it just to burn off last night’s dessert or because we have to for the sake of our health. If exercise is viewed as something we must endure, like a shot at the doctor’s office, it easily morphs into this burden of necessity; when in reality it could be quite the opposite. If approached in a genuine way, movement has the potential of being a desirable and celebrated part of your life.

At Acro Enso, we follow and encourage one simple rule that allows us to embrace and enjoy the glory of movement: If you’re not having fun doing what you’re doing, then do something different that is worth celebrating! If you wish to fully utilize the amazing tool of exercise to support your physical and mental well-being in the best way possible, then we suggest you seek out the kinds of movement that speak to your heart and unique individuality. If your motivation to exercise comes from a place of genuine passion it will no longer seem like a burden that you must endure; instead you will crave and celebrate the movement in your life because it makes you happy, and the health you gain from it will become a wonderful bonus.

At Acro Enso we’ll be offering a diverse range of fun disciplines for you to choose from to help you find your passion in movement. Join us this year to discover more ways that move you by trying classes like cyr wheel, juggling, acrobatics, dance, yoga, conditioning, martial arts, and more. Come and find your play at Acro Enso once we open our doors! For more information or if you have any questions please feel free to contact us at our website or visit our social media anytime. We hope you enjoyed this blog and we’re excited to play with you soon!

Namastizzle ~

Acro Enso.

Happy Monday!!! This week we’d like to share with you why cross pollination across diverse movement forms is so important to Acro Enso. In case you don’t already know, Acro Enso is a new movement arts studio coming to Reno which will offer a variety of disciplines ranging from partner acrobatics to dance, cyr wheel, yoga, martial arts, and much more. You might be wondering, why are we offering so many different kinds of movement? Our answer is a simple one. We believe that movement informs all other movement!! As movement lovers ourselves, we desire to build a home that will bring together the unique talents in our community so that we can inspire and learn from one another.

At Acro Enso, you will have immediate access to a variety of offerings, each of which will greatly benefit your practice, whatever your practice might be. The aspiring acrobat who wishes to learn how to move gracefully in between skills will be able to join our weekly ballet classes. The dancer who wants to improve his or her flexibility will be able to attend our daily yoga classes; and the new cyr enthusiast who dreams of going upside down in a wheel will be able to train in our handstand classes. We believe that you, as a movement artist, shouldn’t be restricted to a singular focus, and that you shouldn’t have to search high and low in order to diversify your practice. Instead, you should be encouraged to easily intermingle from one form to the next to allow your movement to evolve and grow in the best way possible.

Even if you are new to the wonderful world of movement, there will be great opportunity for you to explore and dip your toe into whatever you may fancy here at Acro Enso. We aim to create a melting pot of movement that caters to all people, interests, and ability levels. We are thrilled to see how the movement community will grow and develop over time at Acro Enso, and are so grateful for the support we’ve received from all of you. Stay tuned and feel free to reach out to us with any questions or suggestions you may have via our website or social media. Thank you for reading!!

Namastizzle ~

Acro Enso.

As the countdown begins for 2019, Acro Enso would like to take the time to reflect on this past year and to share our resolutions for the new year to come. This year has been difficult, exciting, fun, and a lot of hard work; and it has taught us many valuable lessons. One in particular, is that no matter how much we may plan and organize, life has a peculiar knack for stirring up a beautiful and terrifying chaos. As a great mentor once advised, we are embracing the pandemonium with a wink and a nod, and a heartful exuberance that is driven from a deep passion for the dream we are ushering into this world.

At the beginning of this year, we were deep in the middle of a search for a home for this idea we were calling Acro Enso. What had once been a simple concept for a small Cyr Wheel studio had grown in scope and magnitude to become a large-scale multi-disciplinary movement arts studio that would need a building to match. This building came in the form of the old Anchor Auction building on East 4th St. The soul in this building was undeniable, and before we knew it, we were signing a 7 year lease. Of course, the vision of Acro Enso would have to adapt to what this building is able to offer, but we knew deep in our hearts that this building would be a wonderful platform to support our dream.

What we did not anticipate is that we would be trying to open our doors in the middle of one of the largest construction booms Reno has ever seen. Even simple jobs, such as building a bathroom, had become daunting tasks, even just to find a person to quote the work. It became clear that this would be a lesson in patience. This would be the mud from which will bloom our lotus.

East 4th St. now has power lines that have been buried under the ground; better street lights; wider sidewalks; and more parking. Our building now has a new roof, and we have just received word that we will be able to pick up permits from the city to continue work on the inside of the building!! We are so excited for everything to come in 2019, and we are committed to walking the path that has been laid out in front of us. We are learning our lessons and we are embracing the pandemonium. Our resolution for 2019 is to be able to open our doors and share this vision with all of you. Thank you for your patience, warm thoughts, and positive energy. It keeps us going every single day. Have a Happy New Year!!!

Namastizzle ~

Acro Enso.

“If you want to go fast you go alone; but if you want to go far you go together.”

In the spirit of the holidays, a time for friends and family to come close and appreciate one another, this week’s blog is inspired by our love and gratitude for our community. One of our primary motivations for creating Acro Enso is to provide a home in which our community may lay down its roots, grow, and thrive. We believe that one of the greatest rewards in life is to sincerely connect with those whom we love. This is why we have signed a seven year lease which will allow us to build a community hub where all shades of people are welcome to play, learn, and connect with each other.

Without our community, Acro Enso would not be as close to becoming a reality as it is today. We are so grateful for the genuine support from all of the people who have been with us from the very beginning. Each person, from the wonderful teachers with whom we’ve had the pleasure of speaking and working to the excited movers who are ready for us to open our doors, has given us nothing but encouragement for the hope and potential of this project. With the love of this community Acro Enso is becoming a living, breathing dream molded by the people it serves. Just as the community evolves and grows, so will Acro Enso, because its life depends on the people who believe in it.

Thank you, to each and every one of you who have shared your support, as well as to all of the people we hope to meet and grow with from here on. You are the true heart of Acro Enso. Your vision for this community hub is important to us because this project is all about you. So please reach out to us through our website, or social media to learn more, and to let us know your desires and wishes for Acro Enso. Thank you for reading and happy holidays!!

Namastizzle ~

Acro Enso.

How do you support the value of your art form? Whether you are a performer, teacher, or student, how you support the value of your art will determine the type of relationship it has with the community you share it with. As movement artists we are all responsible for fostering healthy, universal standards in order to cultivate a thriving community. This week Acro Enso would like to share how we support the value of movement art within our own community.

The Performer
If you have the goal of pursuing a career as a movement artist or are already in the business of entertaining, then you most likely understand the physical, emotional, and time commitments necessary to create a genuine act. You mind your health; you set a training program; you hire coaches; you work through difficult mental blocks; all in order to provide your audience a unique experience. After all of this, the success of your career depends, to a large extent, on the bar you set for the value of your effort and your art. To support this value, Acro Enso strives to respect and meet the bar set by the performers we hire. Furthermore, as movement artists ourselves, we maintain a consistent rate for our work based on our experience, knowledge, and standing with respect to our peers and teachers. We do this so that we may help to maintain a known standard in our community.

The Teacher
Teachers are the pillars of our community. A teacher supports the value of their art form by devoting their time, energy, and personal resources to learning, bettering themselves, and sharing their knowledge. A teacher is responsible for providing a safe container in which all people may grow and learn. Too often, we hear of the disservice that happens to our teachers when they are not compensated properly and in a timely fashion. When we decrease the teacher’s value in our community, we make it difficult for that teacher to continue to grow and share their art form. In this way, we are holding our community back by not allowing its fullest form of expression. At Acro Enso we hold the firm belief that a teacher who feels valued will express this value in their own work, and in so doing, will pass this value on to their students and the community at large.

The Student
As students, we are all supporting the value of our art forms by seeking out, supporting, and learning from the teachers who inspire us. If the instruction you receive is tailored to you as a person, and with your growth and well-being in mind, a deeper understanding and appreciation for the art form is nurtured. At Acro Enso, we aim to provide high quality instruction from teachers with experience and extensive training so that every student who comes through our doors may enjoy a safe container in which they can play, grow, and express themselves to the fullest extent.

In short, at Acro Enso, we work to support the value of our movement arts from each facet of which we are a part. We hope to share this message so that we may help to foster a healthy and vibrant community for all movement artists.

Thank you for reading. Stay connected to learn more about Acro Enso.

Namastizzle~

Acro Enso.

Hello friends! This week, Acro Enso would like to share an important topic that is central to the heart of our vision: the reason behind our decision to focus on collaboration instead of competition. Unlike many gymnastic/dance studios, Acro Enso will not be offering or hosting competitive teams or events. We believe that removing the competitive element from our program will allow you, the individual, to practice a more connected form of movement motivated by genuine intention and interpretive creativity, rather than the desire to win.

What is Your Intention?
Why do you do the things that move you? Is it to prove something to somebody? Is it to win? Is it to be the best? Of course not! You do the things you love because they are fun, and they connect you to yourself and to the world around you. This is the message we aim to share with every person who walks through our doors; and specifically, to the youth who join our program. Our intention is to show what movement looks like when it comes from a place of passion. Instead of competitive teams, Acro Enso will be offering performance groups for both children and adults in which individuals can come together, collaborate, and enjoy a shared passion. Instead of competitions, Acro Enso will be offering events such as festivals, jams, and open stage nights for any and all artists who feel inspired to share their work. At Acro Enso our focus is to connect and collaborate instead of compete.

Freedom From the Box.
In order to liberate movement for the art form that it is, we aim to remove the box that competition implicitly places on interpretive creativity. Our good friend, Jason Craig, is an amazing movement artist in his own right. His paint brush is his kayak, and he has participated successfully in competitive freestyle play-boating for a large part of his life. Jason has shared with us how he developed a new, unique, and incredibly cool trick in his play-boat, but was unable to score points during competition with his signature maneuver because it was not a ‘recognized skill’. In essence, he was prohibited from fully exploring his art form due to arbitrary competitive restrictions. At Acro Enso, we believe that shifting the focus from competition to collaboration will provide freedom from the competitive box and allow people to explore their passion with confidence and support.

We hope this blog helps provide you with a better understanding of our values here at Acro Enso. If you’d like to learn more, check out our website and visit our other blogs. Have great a great week!

Namastizzle ~


Acro Enso.

What is a Sacred Spotter?
Let’s start by leading you through the colorful streets of Portland, Oregon to the largest convention center in the Pacific Northwest. Inside the main room you’re greeted by a warm breeze of try hard b.o. from hundreds of determined acrobats. Here at the Divine Play Festival - a three day long training event - is where Cyrus and I (Keisha) met up with Emily Montesinos (a Lift Certified Teacher). During the time we spent here with Emily, I learned about her project - The Sacred Spotter Movement - and now we’d like share this movement with you. For those who don’t know, a Sacred Spotter is a trusted person who is trained on the methods of beneficial spotting for individual or partner acrobatics.

Why Do We Need Sacred Spotters?
Emily shared her concerns with us that Sacred Spotters aren’t used or talked about enough in the growing acro community. It’s easy to see how this leads to unnecessary injuries, and gives our tribe a poor reputation of being unsafe. Cyrus and I experienced this issue  first hand at one of the advanced workshops of the festival. I’d fallen unexpectedly from a dynamic standing skill straight on to the knee of an unaware spotter. I was too injured from the hard fall to finish the workshop and after some recovery I was very hesitant of who my spot would be for the rest of the festival. It seemed that even some of the advanced acrobats lacked proper spotting experience.

Support Your Sacred Spotter
Fortunately, Sacred Spotter education is spreading with the help of instructors like Emily and the rest of the teachers at the Lift School of Acrobatics lead by Aaron Lind, Christine Moonbeam and Eric Asay. We attended one of their immersions in Colorado this year and had great success not only because of their excellent teaching but also because of their comprehensive spotting instruction. At Acro Enso, conditioning classes will be available to anyone who would like to expand their experience in proper training in acrobatics. It is an honor to earn the title of a Sacred Spotter! Follow Emily on Instagram, @sacredspotter and use the hashtag #sacredspotter in your social media to support the movement of quality spotting in acrobatics. We’d like to thank the Lift School of Acrobatics for inspiring this post and their continued education in our community. Check them out at their website to learn more.

Thanks for reading and as we say in Reno, Namastizzle!

Acro Enso.