ayco%board%position%andpremise:% the%nitty%gritty:% … · 2020. 12. 17. · ! 2!...
TRANSCRIPT
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AYCO Board position and premise: -‐ The youth circus sector market is growing far
more rapidly that it did in its first 17 years of life
-‐ A generation of youth (aged 2 – 21) have aged-‐out of being youth.
-‐ What is next for them? -‐ Circus in America is on the ropes, even with
the Renaissance it is experiencing with youth circus.
-‐ Where does a 21-‐year old go after their youth experience with circus? Turn pro? Train and teach? Choreograph? Study?
-‐ How do we change the perception of circus as being ‘low’ art?
-‐ How do we advocate at the highest levels of funding to expand the financial resources for youth circus and circus arts?
-‐ Traditional circus is not thriving. -‐ Older organizations such as CFA will soon lose
enough members as to make it almost obsolete. Even they know the future of circus is youth.
-‐ How do we engage youth, young adults, professionals, and continue this growth?
-‐ There is no corporate funding (that we have been able to secure) for AYCO on its own; nor for ACE; nor for CN.
-‐ Making a united organization creates an attractive organization to funders/donors.
-‐ AYCO/ACE/CN each (and together) need full time employees to move forward: executive director, development director, grantwriter.
-‐ AYCO, on its own, cannot generate enough money from Festivals to grow into better serving the youth it was created to serve.
-‐ If all stays the same as it is now, AYCO will not grow; it will get smaller.
-‐ We scaled up in 2010 to meet the needs of the whole youth circus community; now, AYCO finds itself in the unique position of needing to scale up to meet the needs of the entire circus arts industry.
-‐ Circus and youth circus and circus arts are life tools and an art form.
THE NITTY GRITTY: -‐ All programs of each organization will
remain intact -‐ A legal merger with Circus Now will reduce
redundancy of message and members; it will also not dilute funding streams. It will enhance advocacy.
-‐ Circus Now supports the category of emerging artists, has one committee (the artistic advisory committee) and has a strong social media following.
-‐ AYCO supports emerging artists insomuch as it trains youth to become artists. It does not necessarily advocate for them after they are done being youth.
-‐ ACE was formed because a large sector of circus artists and young adults did not identify as ‘youth’. They did not come through a ‘youth circus school’. They entered the ring from a different place, but still wanted a place to be and grow.
-‐ CN was formed in the same breath, in the same way. A segment of our industry did not have a place to be. The emerging artist now found a place to at least orient themselves in their newfound profession.
-‐ The AYCO Board’s proposed vision does not eliminate any youth services or programs – it only adds to them.
-‐ If this new idea does not bear fruit, then AYCO will need to seriously revise what is possible within its capacity and things will still shift over the next year. It will need to assess which members of its leadership (both staff and board) will stay on with an understanding that there is not a trajectory of growth.
-‐ If the plan goes through, we expect our circle and networks will grow and bring with them opportunity.
-‐ The circus education community has different needs than it did when AYCO was founded
-‐ Think of this idea as a Venn Diagram: part of AYCO overlaps into ACE which overlaps into CN and will overlap into other organizations, each retaining their own identity but simply housed in a united organization.
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OPENING REMARKS: Kevin Maile O’Keefe (Founder of AYCO, past AYCO Board President, Founder/Director, Circus Minimus, One-‐Man Circus In-‐A-‐Suitcase, Co-‐Founder, CircusYoga) At every critical juncture in our organizations’ existence we have been faced with decisions and directions. These might be summarized with the choice: grow or die. Change is the nature of all things. What I hear from this report is that the staff and current board are already at capacity and if we wish to continue to grow we must change. One fear is that our community might splinter over even just the discussing these choices. We are strong enough to question our direction and growth. These are good questions and situations for any thriving organization and community to have. Every voice must be heard, even those that come with fear. This current board has my full confidence and I wholly support this discussion. My first take is that this board has thoughtfully and carefully laid out one direction. A simple "No" is not a direction. If there are other directives from the community for growth let's hear them. What does Circus want from us? IN SUPPORT: RUTH SCHULTZ (A Circus Youth, seventeen years old, has been participating in various youth circuses in New Jersey since 2009. She is part of the Youth Advisory Committee for AYCO):
I would like to express my conditional support of AYCO’s proposed growth. The proposed changes address all of the expressed “threats” and “weaknesses” of the organization in the strategic update document, so from that perspective, creating the umbrella is a logical move.
I’ve heard concerns that AYCO’s focus will fall from youth, and instead turn to serving older/professional people. Though it is explicitly expressed in the documents that AYCO intends on maintaining its current youth programming while
also adding on, I would like to see the plan for doing this before giving my full support.
Additionally, if AYCO expands to the degree the documents envision, I would expect it to simultaneously scale up its youth programming.
Some of the visions elements seem lofty or vague — specifically 10 (universal access), 11 (circus in PE), and 20 (scholarly journals). All three of those would be wonderful things, but they seem to be on a different level from the rest of them.
Personally, I think having an umbrella organization is very much in line with the needs of youth, especially those of my age group who are aging out of youth circus and have few options for continuing the pursuit of circus arts as an adult without going abroad to circus school or giving up the prospect of getting a college degree right after high school.
Additionally, I think merging the organizations will give more credibility to AYCO and American circus, simultaneously. It’ll make the creation of high-‐level/professional companies, schools, etc., seem more viable and beneficial, to people outside the circus world/potential funders.
Elements 1 (pathways), 4 (resources for emerging groups), 6 (quality of work), 7 (fair compensation), 18 (pathways), and 19 (safety culture) of the strategic update’s vision are most exciting to me. If those things had been in place as I was growing up in circus, I am fairly sure I would currently be prepping to apply for circus schools, instead of traditional colleges.
When I imagine American circus twenty years, I can’t imagine it without some sort of central organization to provide resources and a common backbone. AYCO seems like it’s in line to become that organization.
I look forward to seeing a viable, realistic, long-‐term, and specific plan so I can fully support the expansion into an umbrella organization. I anticipate seeing what will come out of the
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meeting in Trenton, and also how American circus will move forward in conjunction with AYCO. TARA JACOB (SHOW Circus Studio Instructor, AYCO Accounts Manager, AYCO Board Member 2016-‐2017): I love this idea! I think that one big circus organization would be able to get more funding, more publicity, more support, and better serve youth, adults, and older youth as they transition into adult circus roles. Right now AYCO works with youth & youth-‐serving organizations, but ACE serves circus educators who work with youth, youth and adults, adults only, professional-‐track folks, recreational folks... AYCO/ACE is already such a diverse community! I work at SHOW Circus Studio (a Partner member of AYCO) where kids, teens, and adults learn the skills and joy of circus arts. I think an expanded AYCO would better serve our school and many others like it. CHRIS OAKLEY (Executive Director, SHOW Circus Studio): I’m writing on behalf of myself and my business, SHOW Circus Studio in Easthampton, MA, regarding the recent inquiry to the circus community about the growth of AYCO. I am very excited to see AYCO expanding and becoming a larger organization that serves not just youth, but also adults and teens. I feel that this transition will be a great step forward in the national recognition of circus arts in the United States by showing that we are united and ready to move forward as an industry towards bigger and better things. This union under AYCO will also give a place for transitional teens who are moving from youth into adult circus, a large group that I feel is under represented with the idea of Youth VS Adults. With this restructuring, AYCO will be able to focus on all ages, which will mean a more inclusive plan for the future of circus in the United States. I am very much in support of this change and I don’t feel that including other groups under the AYCO umbrella will take away from the current Youth focus of the organization. If anything, it will make it stronger by showing students that they can
continue on a circus path beyond their youth, which is the best way to ensure circus keeps on growing and being supported throughout the years and generations to come. If you have any questions or if I can help in any other way, please don’t hesitate to reach out. Thanks so much and best of luck! TIM ROBERTS (Higher Education Program Director at l’Ecole de Cirque de Quebec, former president of FEDEC): “I have been following all your developments with a lot of interest. The latest one is very good news. Pulling all the aspects together into one organisation is a smart move and shows that the different aspects of the sector are willing to work together.” IGGY PARKER (AYCO Youth Advisory Committee, Circus Maine): I think in this time of transition in circus arts, with the closing of Ringling and the (very exciting!) growth of accessibility to circus, it is entirely appropriate for AYCO to be expanding their vision and mission alongside that. It doesn't seem like there will be all that much change, besides in branding, which might get a little confusing in the beginning (speaking from experience, having to always refer to the school I began my training with as "the company that would become Circus Maine"), but I think it will all work out fine. I'm happy to see the inclusion of the goal of promoting "lifelong engagement with circus", since it is something that everyone, at every age, can be a part of and find an important place in. I think there is a tendency to think that it is only a young person's art, but that simply isn't true. There's also the implicit support in this statement for people like us [the YAC] —those who are navigating transitions like youth to adult circus, adult to senior circus, from performing to coaching, from coaching to performing, from basic to intermediate/advanced coaching and/or training. These transitions can be kind of overwhelming, and I am excited to have and be a part of an organisation who helps guide people through those
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transitions smoothly and naturally, aiding the learning process inherent in those transitions. TERRY VOLTAGGIO (Parent of Hup Squad teen Allie Voltaggio): I think it's great that AYCO/ACE is expanding to be more inclusive. I also hope AYCO's youth mission is strengthened by the incorporation of adult programming, rather than diluted.
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NOT IN SUPPORT: SELECT SOCIAL CIRCUS NETWORK MEMBERS (NOTE: the network as a unified whole has not issued a statement against the proposed growth at this time; this is a summary of statements made by members on a specific conference call):
• Members are disturbed at the idea that we are changing AYCO’s focus away from youth. Many point to this focus as the reason for our strength and historic success.
• Members are concerned that a small group of people is making decisions for AYCO without sufficient consultation with stakeholders.
• Members are concerned that if AYCO embraces a wider mission beyond serving youth that our members’ power to raise funds will be diminished.
• Members are concerned that funds they pay for AYCO membership should be used to further the interests of youth, and not for any wider cause.
• Members are concerned that the current constitution of the Board is not sufficiently representative of the sector it wishes to serve.
• Members would like the AYCO Board to reconsider plans to combine operations with Circus Now, and to delay any final decision until after wider stakeholder consultation is possible.
ANONYMOUS: I am grateful for the work you put into the strategic report and it has helped me a great deal in seeing why you are considering the changes you are suggesting -‐ and I share many of these concerns. However, I do still feel strongly that it is not the best path to merge the organizations. Multiple organizations collaborating and aligning their services for maximum impact and minimum redundancy is a better path -‐ allowing for each
organization to keep its core goals while working in alliance to make the larger community stronger. I see collaboration as the model most funders are interested in currently and believe merging will actually lessen the funds within our reach. I have very specific reasons for not renewing my membership with Circus Now that I feel might go unheard in the climate of this large-‐scale organization. I have lots of logistical questions and concerns on how merging will be helpful and not just spread us all thinner -‐ creating more work for our already taxed board. DAVID HUNT (Executive/Artistic Director, Prescott Circus Theatre): I do want to state that I want AYCO to stay youth-‐centric. Youth and youth serving programs have unique needs, challenges, and interests that deserve concentrated attention. Setting youth out of the center, thinking we can serve youth by serving professionals, is so brilliantly in line with our Trump-‐era practices and trickle-‐down theories. Bigger isn't always better. AMY CHRISTIAN (Artistic Director, Wise Fool New Mexico): Yes, I think it's important to create clear pathways for youth as they grow into adult circus artists or circus lovers BUT why does one organization have to do it all? Can't we create collaborations and networks that can work together on a larger picture of needs and services? I do not believe "merging" is the best way to go -‐ I think it will water everything down and burn people out by scattering the focus. Our local education board has convinced everyone in our city that we need "community schools" that are big and "serve" youth from pre K thru middle school -‐ but guess what -‐ every family in town is desperately trying to get their kid transferred the few small schools left.
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Anyway -‐ that is just one example -‐ there are many -‐ growing something bigger does not necessarily mean it is better in my view -‐ it just means certain types of people get lost in the shuffle... ELENA BROCADE (Aerial Coach and Safety Consultant for ACE): I also don't see the benefits of having one organization. I like an umbrella organization to bring different groups to the table but putting all groups under one organization could lead to a one shoe fits all situation. CARRIE HELLER (Founder/Director, Circus Arts Institute): I’m not in favor for a name change. I actually feel that we have been growing quite nicely and did not think that major changes needed to be made. I love the focus of AYCO on youth, and I love the new ACE for educators; honestly, I feel like things are pretty awesome lately for AYCO & ACE in terms of our growth. BETTY BUTLER (Co-‐Founder, Artistic Director, Circus Juventas): I just read a post from Jessica Hentoff about a potential shift of focus from the strictly youth circus art mission to an all-‐encompassing umbrella of ‘everything circus’. I think this is a particularly bad idea as it really muddles the mission of an organization founded over 17 years ago whose sole purpose was to advocate for youth circus arts, primarily recreational and social. This veering away of the original mission could unravel consciously or unconsciously into advocacies of tangential ideas and concepts having nothing to do with where the focus of AYCO has always been and should be.
While the circus arts are clearly experiencing a rebirth in our country we also don’t want to stretch the focus of such a valuable organization as AYCO into a vast canvas of positions and mindsets that we end up weakening the core values and heart of what AYCO represents to our youth in America. I would encourage a separate identity and organization for emerging artists, technicians and even professional schools, personally. Thank-‐you for allowing me to express my concern and please note that if the board is discussing this on the agenda, there should be transparency to all of AYCOS funders, supporters and participants. YASKO ENDO (Researcher; Mom to Issac Endo age 22, first student in the post-‐undergraduate Creation/Director Program at National Circus School Montreal, and Yoshi Endo, age 19, Junior in the National Circus School Montreal baccalaureate program (who lost his battle with the brain disease Bipolar 1 on October 25, 2016) I am writing as an educator and a parent to oppose the plans to change AYCO from a youth and children focused organization into a 'for-‐all-‐ages' organization. I am a research faculty member at the University of Colorado Boulder, working both with undergraduate and graduate students, on projects that involve students in the preschool -‐ 12th grade public and private school education system. I have program managed three major National Science Foundation grant projects, and four corporate Google grant projects in my tenure at the university. I can tell you without a doubt, that working with, promoting, recruiting, and meeting the needs of students/families in the P-‐12 population is vastly different from that of the higher education/adult population. Much research has been conducted in these differences, which is why government and
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corporate funding for research specifically asks for reasonable and sensible division of target-‐population groups based on desired outcomes. Given this known body of knowledge about providing education, information, support to children vs. adults, I wonder why you are planning to take a growing organization, AYCO and instead of continuing to invest in the assets of the group, you are changing tracks to try to serve vastly different population groups? I run a research program that receives the highest dollars of public support in its field. Many other projects try to make impact through too many deliverables to too-‐diluted a population group, in the hopes that the project will group faster by throwing a wider net. It doesn't work that way -‐ these folks don't get funding. The only times we have received 'scale-‐up' and 'expansion' funding is when we have capitalized on every aspect of research and educational impact to the population to which we began working with, in a variety of ways, and helped create a self-‐sustaining, self-‐growing foundation in that population group. At that point, corporate and government funding allows us to extend the impact work to different population groups. From my professional experience, AYCO has not nearly exhausted or even approached middling impact on the current population of parents and their children who are 1. already heavily involved in circus, 2. dabbling in circus, 3. creating the demand and market to start circus, and 4. creating a Community of Practice to support the continuum. The other piece here is that you can talk to the best circus coaches and they will tell you that serious training in circus to get to a world class level has to begin in childhood. The same will be the case in other sports/arts worlds. So long term growth for the industry is dependent on early introduction of and more available access to circus as children. To have a strong and viable circus industry in the USA and beyond, the unique and special world of childhood and youth circus must remain a focus of
the industry. Also, for the Social Circus discipline, the earlier a child is exposed to structure, challenge, diversity, community, the more likely they will adopt these positive aspects into their character. And as a parent, even though my boys were already in the professional circus world when AYCO was gaining some ground, I would have really valued having the parent and professional community that is in the infancy of developing. I do not disagree that a national American circus organization should exist. But taking something that is working, that is niche, that has so much more to grow and impact, and taking that away and diluting the efforts to grow the industry from the ground up -‐ children -‐ makes no sense to me. JOE REICHLIN: Youth circus in the US is an entirely different proposition than adult training. I just finished a 2-‐week camp with mostly elementary-‐aged beginners, probably none of whom will go on to circus careers, but *all* of whom left the camp with a positive experience of Circus and the circus arts (including a brief discussion about performing animals, which I did not initiate, but I did enjoy). This is absolutely as important a constituency as those who will eventually be on the circus "travel teams", and needs an organization that is exclusively focused on the challenges and opportunities of working with children. I joined AYCO in order to learn and grow as a teacher and mentor of all the kids who could love Circus with the right experience -‐ NOT to train future circus artists as they age up, much as I love to see that happen. But the rest of these kids will grow up to be the supporters of the circus arts in this country!
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MATTHEW ‘PHINEAS’ LISH (AYCO Twitter Correspondent, Former Hup Squad member, White Tops writer, former Ringling Bros. Clown): I don't believe that the circus umbrella represents a universal standard that practitioners can rely upon. I have met circus professionals who believed PETA propaganda, and I have met people who don't consider Cirque to be circus. Instead of trying to create one giant umbrella that satisfies everyone's definition of "circus" and what should(n't) be included, it would probably be much more effective and efficient to decide what we want AYCO's umbrella to be, and create a support system for those ideals. Identifying circus as an art form is really just a PR thing. The recent Smithsonian celebration is a good indication that people will accept circus as art, now it's just time to push the message. Press releases, websites, and promotional materials for shows should include the word "art," in addition to being used in conversation between professionals. Removing the word "youth" from AYCO is just a bad idea. We are an organization built upon circus arts in YOUTH. We do encompass other aspects of circus, but those are all just smaller branches off the youth tree. Removing youth waters down the organization and weakens the correlation between the mission and the identifier. I've always had mixed feelings about circus as a degree in higher education, probably because I don't know people who have such degrees. It has not been made clear to me the benefits someone with a degree in circus would have in terms of getting hired for gigs over someone who didn't. My circus and performing friends are pretty much split down the middle between those that have degrees in drama or dance, and those that have degrees in completely unrelated fields. I'm extremely ignorant of the situation (and would LOVE for someone to educate me on the topic), but I don't know if the demand for having a BA in circus is there yet. I am all in favor of emphasizing the importance of circus history. With my time on Ringling, I have
discovered for many Americans that the American circus was defined by Ringling, and with its closure I get asked all the time about the circus being dead in America. A push explaining that American circus is bigger than Ringling and is still alive and well, in addition to the role that the circus has played in the history of this country, is nothing but a positive. An increase in scholarly articles will be a result of all of the other initiatives. You need changes and effects to report before you write an article. JEAN ST. JOHN (Co-‐Founder, My Nose Turns Red; grant manager, Kentucky Arts Council): I strongly oppose the change and, as a paying member of a support organization, I expect the name and the mission to stay the same. I have no problem with extending the age range and supporting emerging circus forms. From my point of view, having a youth development organization that promotes circus arts is significant. It gives the youth circus sector clout. None of the proposed changes will replace the significance and clout that the American Youth Circus Organization gives to the field. [The Editors of this document decided to put in David Hunt’s and Jessica Hentoff’s emails and AYCO responses to their points because their points seemed to echo many people’s feelings. The responses in red are from Carlo Pellegrini, AYCO Board member designated to answer emails to ‘planning’] DAVID HUNT (Executive/Artistic Director, Prescott Youth Circus; former AYCO Board President): Dear "[email protected]" I've shared my thoughts and feelings about AYCO's proposed changes with both Amy, Zoe, and briefly with Jen Agan. And I know Zoe clearly heard the nearly unanimous discomfort and disagreement
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with theses changes from the members of the Social Circus Network at the last call. But it's my understanding that the lack of emails received to this particular email address is viewed as an overall acceptance of these changes from the AYCO community. David, emails have been coming into this Inbox. I am designated to answer them as best I can. I usually look at 'planning' after camp and before teaching at night. The Board is in no way considering the volume of emails to this Inbox to be indicative of a percentage of members supporting or not supporting the issues in discussion. So, I am sending this to ensure the inbox is getting some action. Without a lot of time, I'm laying my thoughts out in a disjointed and perhaps conceptually repetitive email. First I want to stress that I think the Board, Amy, the social media managers have a responsibility to use your Facebook page(s) to more fully share what's on the table, what's at stake, AND formally invite dialog, thoughts, feelings, etc. And to announce the meeting at the festival. Email is phasing out for a lot of people. Fewer and fewer people read emails and we all get so many e newsletters that we tend to gloss over the information that lies within. I think (I honestly think) we have been doing a good job of sending out emails and posting to Fb requesting comments: supportive, non-‐supportive, et al. We are having a lot of dialogue with members and non-‐members who have opinions based on different input from different sources. Some of our time is being spent re-‐framing the misinformation, and restating intentions. The rest of our time is spent listening and attempting to make this an open and respectful dialogue. Here are a few of my feelings and thoughts: -‐ using a youth centered organization's membership funds and revenue to do anything but
serve youth and youth serving organizations is unethical. I realize ACE has been created and I pay dues into that with an understanding of its purpose. But I am not a paying member of Circus Now nor do I want my money going to Circus Now nor do I want my money supporting time and energy planning to merge with Circus Now. That's not what I personally signed up for nor why I choose to have Prescott Circus Theatre as an organizational member. David, I will restate here for you, as I have for others, that in no way are your dues or the dues of any AYCO/ACE participant being used to do anything other than operate AYCO/ACE. Your money in no way supports time and energy on this process of possible merger with Circus Now or the exploration of a different way to support youth circus. As you well know, every Board member volunteers their time to AYCO/ACE. All discussions for this process of discernment have been, and continue to be, SEPARATE from AYCO/ACE business. That being said, AYCO/ACE Board members have a fiduciary responsibility to explore whether this idea makes sense. We are charged with doing everything we can in the best interests of AYCO/ACE to keep it healthy and fulfill its mission and expand its ability to do this in a healthy way. In this particular case, the AYCO/ACE Board recognized an area to explore that we deemed important and we followed the path toward this with everyone's best interests at the heart of this exploration. Your money was not used to do this. -‐ How many hours have already been used to develop this plan that could have been used to: raise money for more scholarships and subsidize youth to participate in this summer's festival? Create marketing materials and national publicity efforts to bring more attention / highlight the achievements of youth circus programs in their towns, regions, state? Time is money and I know you all know this. you all put a LOT of time and vision into this. It feels like you put a concept of "circus" at the center of all of this. I can't even fathom what could have been achieved if youth
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and youth programs were placed at the center of the planning. Thank you for your opinion, David. We have actually spent more time responding to everyone during this 'paused' time, on this email string, on phone calls to make sure everyone is heard and on follow-‐up board conference calls, than we put into exploring this idea. It wasn't hard to do. It all started making sense when we realized we could raise some serious money for this idea from serious donors. To allay your fears, we have spent the rest of our usually allocated time this board spends fundraising for scholarships and publicity for the good of youth and educators everywhere. -‐ The vision of the new plan appears to be based on some kind of "trickle down" theory -‐ that trying to reshape the public image of circus (however or why-‐ever one can or will do that outside of just creating good, quality circus) and promoting and supporting professional training programs will, in fact, "promote the participation of youth in circus." leaves a lot of pieces out of the puzzle. Please expand: what pieces of the puzzle do you feel are left out? -‐ The attitude of the board "Now, we need to scale up in order to meet the needs of the whole circus sector, with the addition of artists, circus companies, venues, adults who participate in circus arts, and a myriad of other stakeholders" is one in which I strongly disagree. I don't believe it is the job of the American Youth Circus Organization nor the American Circus Educators Assoc. to "meet the needs of the whole circus sector." Circus is amorphous. It will grow and shape on it's own just fine without much intervention and guidance. Youth-‐centric associations and organizations are critical right now as we see continued cuts to education on a local and national level, there is an expansion of DIY circus programs that do engage in unsafe practices with young learners, and there are more youth circus programs / opportunities in the US than ever before -‐ for this reason there should remain an organization exclusively dedicated to supporting coaches and organizations working with
young people. I'm not talking about circus educators / coaches. I'm talking the field of working with youth. It is not the same thing. They simply do not have the same needs, issues, and challenges. This is an opinion some share with you, and some do not. Some other thoughts. When I read the following in American Youth Circus Organization / American Circus Educators Strategic Update for our Community June 2017: “Issues of access and equity aside, I believe that seeing professional circus (live or recorded) is key to promoting the participation of youth in circus arts -‐ whether or not youth want to become performers when they grow up..." I got very nervous. I cannot put access and equity aside when we talk about "promoting the participation of youth in circus." The writer intended this to be a positional, not a political statement. This statement is not intended to say 'issues of access and equity' are not important. They are relative issues in segments of our industry, singly and together, across various demographics and geographic regions. Thus, instead of delving into the psychographics of that particular issue, the writer chose to focus on the concept that a youth can be in circus for their whole lives and not have to turn professional. And "I’m left with the question of what is more true to our mission-‐ a smaller organization that serves only youth and educators but really doesn’t have the strength or capacity to grow as the sector grows around us, or a more comprehensive organization that serves multiple demographics, and can provide more services to promote youth participation in circus arts.” 1) there is absolutely nothing wrong with a small organization that focuses on youth and educators. Yes, that is the mission of AYCO. It always has been.
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2) There is nothing to stop an organization that serves youth and educators from growing "as the sector grows" while still keeping youth at the center. There are hundreds of large youth-‐focused organizations that represent the educational side of a larger disciplinary landscape. I have to ask: who are the hundreds of large youth-‐focused organizations you refer to? Are you referring to the youth circus sector? I don't know how that is possible. If you are referring to organizations outside of the youth circus sector, I would be interested to know more of your thoughts around this comment. There may be a nugget here we can plumb to examine their model of growth. We used several organizational models to make our explorations. Others would be good to know about. And YES, exactly! There is nothing to stop an organization that serves youth and educators from growing as the sector grows...AND keeping youth at the center. That is what the Board is trying to say, but you said it best. If the current board of directors and operations team is passionate about the future of "circus now" and the new PR circus movement, growing professional programs and promoting theaters to book new circus companies, etc. -‐ then it may be time that they do move to do this work. It is exciting and relevant. Maybe that's where their personal sensibilities are going. But don't cast aside youth purposefulness because there's an exciting tide happening in the circus world. AYCO's work for youth and youth serving organizations, its possibilities to grow within this arena are FAR from over. Thank you, David. This is a thought that has crossed the mind of this Board many times...and has been a recurring theme in other responses to this email address. Generally speaking (very generally speaking), responses to this email address are a bit split: leave AYCO alone but do form a national organization that includes youth, educators and performance and advocacy. It's quite interesting.
'Casting aside youth' is not what we are attempting to do. Enhancing youth programs, increasing capacity to increase youth participation, increasing youth funding and scholarships which will come from capacity-‐building, is exactly what we are attempting to explain that an organization can do that grows all sectors. It's like a Venn diagram. All the overlapping areas support all the other areas and everyone gets stronger for it. You feel that the possibilities to grow within the youth sector are FAR from over. The Board feels the same way. I've stated the same things in multiple ways above. I ask that the Board and operations team reconsiders and, instead, recommits the organization to supporting organizations and coaches working with youth in circus arts training, education, and performance. And promoting the participation of youth in circus arts. The Board is considering all opinions, concerns, thoughts, new thoughts, and old thoughts. We are looking forward to the Festival where we will all be together to have face-‐to-‐face discussions. We are committed to listening to all thoughts, all feelings, all beliefs. Thank you for your time. With Gratitude, David Hunt Executive / Artistic Director Prescott Circus Theatre David, it is with great gratitude and respect from me/us, as well, to you for your service, your respect, your good thinking.
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JESSICA HENTOFF (Artistic/Executive Director and Founder, Circus Harmony; circus performer; former Board member AYCO): I AM COMPLETELY OPPOSED TO THIS IDEA. I believe it is important and impactful to have a totally youth-‐centric circus organization! I think it beyond best to have a separate organization that focuses on those other aspects of circus arts in this country and then the two organizations can powerfully partner to promote circus arts in America. ….. Everything you are doing makes me feel that you are totally determined to push through what you have already decided and are not willing to give anyone else a chance to communicate with other AYCO members. Any strategic planning should have included talking to numerous stakeholders around the country and very obviously did not. It may be that people agree with your vision. I live in a country where Trump is President even though I did not vote for him. But you have not been forthright in any aspect of this proposed merger since you first sent out a letter to a few people asking they not talk about it. If you have faith in your vision, you should allow for free, fair discussion that presents all sides. I am asking you to allow that web page and anything you send out or post to include other people’s points of view. To change the entire scope and mission of an organization should not be done by a handful of people who do not truly represent all stakeholders. ……. My opinion: Bad decision. Bad process. The 'bad decision' you mention is a subjective matter. It seems like a bad decision to you and others who share your viewpoint. It doesn't seem like a bad decision to others who support the move. We will have a forum for discussion at the Festival in NJ and see how it all shakes out. On top of that, when I send in dues from my organization to AYCO-‐ which I just had to do to register for the festival-‐ I expect the money to go to
youth circus and you have already said that, for at least a year, it will go to helping to cover running Circus Now-‐ which I am totally against. Kind of feels like my government and my taxes and like Trump's inner circle. Please register me as angry, upset and feeling unrepresented. Regarding where you expect your money to go to when you pay your dues: -‐ When you pay your dues to AYCO/ACE, those monies go to operating the organizations (plural) that serve youth AND educators: AYCO and ACE. The educators served by ACE are not, as far as I can tell, designated as 'youth'. Of course, if you want to get into how one defines the word 'youth' by age, we can do that. There is the government's definition, the military's definition (which more concerns who is an 'adult'), the social services definition and the United Nations definition...all different. Let's agree to something: your dues are used to operate both organizations called AYCO & ACE and your monies are used to support youth in general. -‐ The specific monies (i.e., your dues) that may go to programs operated by Circus Now are negligible. I was going to use the word 'minimal', but that could mean anything comparatively. 'Negligible' means almost nothing...and that is exactly what I mean. I trust that gives you some comfort. -‐ Since you did sit on this Board at one point, you had, as each of us on the Board currently have, fiduciary responsibility for the financial health and well-‐being of the organizations we represent. You saw our budgets and saw how the dues monies were collected and allocated. Pretty much nothing has changed since then...except for the fact that we are serving our members and this industry twice as well on a similar amount of dues. We expanded the Hup Squad, we have more volunteers working for and with us and we continue to expand offerings to the vital sectors of our industry: youth, educators and youth who have 'aged out' of being circus youth who now perform and young adults who perform or simply take classes in the circus arts.
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The point I would like you to consider is this: our industry is growing, and not necessarily only at the 'entry level' of youth. These days, people (meaning anyone at any age) interested in 'circus arts' enter our 'circus arts ring' from all different points in their life, interests and career. PS I don't know what you are going to name the new organization but American Circus anything seems like a misnomer to me! Regarding your PS...I don't understand your point. We currently have the words American and Circus in our AYCO name, and American and Circus in our ACE name. Would you care to elaborate? -‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐ Dear All, I have been involved in Circus Arts for over 43 years. Being at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival was like being at a Family Reunion for me. I pretty much knew or had worked with everyone there! Pedro and I had performed our aerial acts on the same show and had rigged in a horrible ceiling together. Joe Bauer, on the wheel of death, had announced Hentoff and Hoyer in the 80s. I had stood on Sacha Pavlata’s back on giraffe unicycles and on horses and the list goes on. The head of the World Circus Federation is a friend of mine. Gypsy Snider and I go back 25 years. The Wallendas and I go back even further. I think I was actually one of the few in attendance at both the Folklife Festival and the NEA who had a personal relationship with so any of the participants. Part of all that is just because I’m 61 and have been in many aspects of this industry for so long. I AGREE WITH YOU, there is a need for a national circus organization that includes everyone as Michael Orlove noted in his report on the Town Hall (https://www.arts.gov/article/celebrating-‐art-‐circus*). It needs to include representatives from all aspects of circus in America, including groups like circus historians (who I also have known for years) and
Circus Fans (I just spoke at their national convention). ALL I’m saying is that it should be a separate organization and AYCO should stand on its own. I believe there are more than enough passionate, dedicated smart people to develop a new organization and ALSO keep AYCO/ACE growing. I believe you can achieve all the goals stated in your vision BETTER if you are separate but working together. If there were a National Circus Organization, I would not only support it, I would be a great asset to it because I already have connections to so many people in so many areas of the circus world in America and beyond. Do this. Create this organization. I will help you win over the people in the circus community who do not know you and are offended (at best) that you want to do this (if you were not aware of this, you should be). Ask my kids, biological and otherwise, my main loves are circus, coffee and my kids (again, biological and otherwise). I served as a judge at the International Circus Festival of Monte Carlo. I want circus to be as respected here as an art form as it is there. I’ve dedicated my life to performing and now teaching circus arts. Do this. Start a NEW organization. Let AYCO represent circus in youth. Let this new organization represent your grand vision. I would rather work with you than against you. For Circus, Jessica Thank you, Jessica, for your email, your dedication to circus arts as we know and love it today. You have made so many major contributions to this art form, to this life-‐form, that it is hard to separate the two from you. You inspire, inform, educate and then inspire all over again. You work harder than 10 people I know. Your love of coffee is legend, as is your love of teaching circus arts/life arts to
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children and teens. You know people, who know people, who know people. Thank you for all that. Each of the directors of many circus arts organizations, both large and small, have a story about a life being saved because of this art form we all love and serve. I can tell you about five kids that I have personally saved in 30 years that acknowledged this to funders of AGC. David can tell you his stories, Kate can, Leah can, Zoe, Amy, Ed...heck, all of us are in the business to save lives. We, the Board, are not trying to take that away. If all this discernment, deliberation, consternation, insight, inspiration leads to a wholly different and separate national organization that focuses on circus in all its permutations and forms, then all this back and forth has contributed to the greater good of circus arts for everyone. None of us know what the outcome of this discernment will be...not yet...that is to come. What I would like is your vast source of energy to be directed to facilitating solutions. In this last bastion of democracy (the idea and concept of a Board of Directors who are charged with the responsibility of running an organization that has no voting members), this Board is charged with the fiduciary responsibility of exploring all options for its constituency to make life better for everyone. We can hold a vote of 10 people (who actually do represent the world of AYCO very well), and these 10 people can absolutely without question (according to the current by-‐laws of AYCO) make decisions for this organization without consulting its constituency based on how we represent the constituency. You should know that as a former Board member of AYCO. You lived and ruled by these same by-‐laws. You want to change the by-‐laws? Be a Board member again. Or suggest to the current Board that they should consider changing the by-‐laws. And then suggest some changes. This Board is listening; the Board is doing everything it can to make this a worthwhile discernment process that will yield a welcomed
and satisfying outcome for the majority of the constituency of AYCO, ACE and CN. No decision will be made before the Festival on any subject or topic. We are too far down this path of gathering constituent opinions and best-‐thinking...which is actually the path we were on prior to June. I personally believe this upset with a new path has been the best thing that has happened to AYCO in a very long time. People are awake and thinking seriously about where we are right now, right now, in this world we all know and love. Did the Board approach this concept that absolute best way it could have? Nope. And we have admitted that, and here we are. Again: you disagree with our approach. That is your right. We are now into the discernment of best-‐thinking process. You have a problem with our idea? Come to the Festival with a solution. A National Circus Organization? Great. Flesh it out, think it through, come up with a model for it. Bring it to the small meetings we are setting up. Present it at the Large Meeting. Find some money for it. Give us all an insight and a blueprint for it. We are all ears. Respectfully, Carlo -------------------------------------------- In response to your detailed and well-thought out letter. I still keep coming back to this: “Our primary purpose is to promote the participation of youth in circus and support circus educators.” I am continually floored that you think it is OK to totally change this. We are not changing it. You say you have total legal rights do to do so but that does not mean it is right to do so. I trusted the AYCO board to represent the interests of YOUTH.
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You say you just ‘skipped a step’. It is much larger than that, in my opinion. Note: Your board does [not] represent a diverse cross-section of the youth circus community. I am surprised you think so. …… Jessica If I may respond to just Jessica's email: -‐ the BOARD proposal in its current form continues to support the participation of youth and support circus educators. Actually, it will enhance the participation of youth in circus. That is how it reads. That is the intent. -‐ the AYCO Board represents the interests of all youth: always has, always will. It is your opinion, Jessica, that we have deviated from this focus. May I suggest you re-‐read the documents Jesse attached and the Strategic and Vision documents we have supplied. -‐ Jessica, ….If you meant to say that our Board DOES NOT represent the youth circus community, please explain to me how our Board DOES NOT represent a cross-‐section of our youth circus community. I look around our Board table and I see two social circus representatives, four circus school representatives, one of the three largest youth circuses in the country represented at the table, one of the smallest youth circuses in the country represented at the table, a youth advisory committee, and one performer. What am I missing? …… Carlo
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CONCERNS/QUESTIONS/MIXED FEELINGS: VICTORIA QUINE: I would just like to start out by saying that I am a huge supporter of AYCO and ACE. I think it's incredibly important that we have a national circus community and it offers the closest thing to a cohesive group that we have. I recently saw the plans that AYCO/ACE might expand to include "emerging artists, professionals, creatives, technicians, and recreational circus students of all ages?” and change the name and remove the youth-‐centric mission. I'm opposed to this idea. Frankly, I do agree that we could use an organization to support emerging artists, professionals, creatives, technicians, and rec students across the board, but I don't think it needs to be AYCO 2.0. AYCO is youth-‐centric, and I feel that's where the value is. Kids have a community of peers and adults who actively support them, and that's an incredible thing. I would love an organization that is focused on adults or the broader spectrum, and it would be a perfect ally for AYCO. Perhaps it becomes a larger umbrella organization, under which AYCO falls. Perhaps it becomes a partner organization alongside AYCO. But AYCO's mission is important: to promote the participation of youth in circus arts and support circus educators. Please don't lose sight of that. By getting broader, you'll be supporting other circus communities, but it's not worth dissolving AYCO and its mission. Developing a new partner organization alongside AYCO is a brilliant idea; it'll smooth the transition for college kids into the broader world, support professional performing youth who work in adult professional circles as well as youth circles, and it'll draw a hub of circus people who can refer each other to both organizations. But I believe that AYCO should stay youth-‐centric. Among other things, it'll mean we can continue to
offer more to youth without them getting swept under the rug. ALTHEA YOUNG: I love AYCO, they are family and I think they always genuinely have their hearts in the right place... but... I also will say I am disappointed that the focus on youth is being redistributed. Maybe not disappointed, but concerned. I've done circus for 15 years, I started at age 3, by age 11 I was internationally recognized and performing for pay in high level troupes and shows. I can say from personal experience, it is very frustrating being a high level performer at a young age. Your voice is cut out from the community, your art is taken less seriously, and your skill is the subject of a lot of resentment from older people. AYCO was a place for me to be taken seriously and have my voice heard, as a youth. Organization and festival wise, AYCO was the only place where I felt didn't have to hold back. I could throw any trick, share my art and say how I feel, with out being condescended or having my opinions devalidated. Does American circus as a whole need improvement? Yes. But I think that more and more these days, circus is shaped by what we teach youth. How can we keep young people in circus when they graduate? How do we educate youth performers at a high enough level that they do not need to go out of country for school? How to we convince high school student to get degrees that support the circus art community in the US? There is nothing wrong with change. But I really hope that the voice of youth will continue to serve a role in this organization. We need a festival in the US that showcases youth. I take an organization seriously, if they take me seriously. Growing the mission is great, but don't forget about us AYCO. I love you all, AYCO has changed my life and I will always support the organization ©©©
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TIM GAULT (Clown, Membership Chair of CFA): Recently, the proposed expansion of mission for AYCO, along with a potential merger of the organization with Circus Now has been brought to my attention. As someone involved with the larger circus community, and a supporter of advancement in the growth of circus arts in American culture, especially, my initial impression was that this could be a very good thing. However, I have also taken note of the sincere reservations expressed about this endeavor by numerous AYCO members, some of with whom I am personally acquainted and highly respect. From what I understand, they have reservations about whether such an expansion of mission may actually undermine the necessary support system to youth involved with circus (and the organizations which foster their education) that AYCO presently provides. I'm not, especially, a direct stake holder here (as I'm not involved with any AYCO affiliated organization), though I do engage in a bit of informal circus arts education of youth, I suppose, just in gigging as a performing clown/juggler/family entertainer. However, I have been seriously involved with other circus related organizations which face struggles and challenges of their own, especially in areas of growth, mission, resources, and future direction. I often enough hear similar discussions about mergers between these traditional, long standing, circus related membership groups, such as Circus Fans Association of America; Circus Historical Society; Circus Model Builders; Windjammers. The idea there is intriguing, as the groups tend to have crossover in membership. So, the concept is one of combined resources and efforts being stronger together. The challenge, however, involves issues such as an imbalance of finances, waning public popularity and attention in certain interest areas, leadership and management which may be better or worse from one group to the next, and the importance of distinct focuses which presently exist for each organization. Who, then, would take
the lead in a combined endeavor? Does one aspect of emphasis fall to the wayside in favor of another? Would a merged organization lead to a greater diversity in mission or a confusion of focus? Having served as the membership chairperson of the Circus Fans Association of America (CFA), for a time in recent years, one of my most significant efforts was outreach and relationship building with younger people involved in circus endeavors (recognizing a serious need for renewal and expansion into these areas for my own aging organization.) This led me to dedicated networking with leaders of various endeavors from youth circus, to contemporary circus, to circus schools. It also involved more serious dialogue with leaders of AYCO and Circus Now. Certainly, there is an essential element of identity for every organization. Who are we? What are we really about? How does such an understanding help direct our efforts of development? I, also, see some of the same challenges in areas of needed growth, and lack of sufficient access to resources which must be made available in order to foster organizational building and professionalization that is required in order for such growth to be reasonably assured. Moreover, I do think that there is greater room for collaboration between like-‐minded groups towards this end. But, perhaps, I wonder whether we sometimes look to the wrong places. And, again, this gets us back to issues of identity and core mission. So, a fan group, while it may benefit from history or illustrative models, really would be better off looking to other organizations involved with arts advocacy and audience development, even if that is not circus related, for collaboration and growth in their development efforts of contemporary times. A history oriented group, though they could properly partner, say, with circus schools and youth endeavors in their mission of education (something I heartily endorse and encourage), ought not limit
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themselves to circus interests. Circus model builders can shed light upon the historical subjects that they often favor, as a form of education, but in practice will often find the greatest camaraderie with others who enjoy modeling, even if the topic isn't circus. And an organization, like Windjammers, dedicated to the preservation and passing on of circus band music, should certainly reach out to others who share an interest in music. To apply these connective tissues towards the current discussion and discernment, then, one might speculate as to how a collaborative effort between, say, CFA and Circus Now (who, ultimately, are dealing in the same sort of essential stuff, even if they are approaching it from different angles) might look like or take shape. Could it better enable a greater focus and effective collaborative than the worried potential splintering or stretching too far of an expanded AYCO endeavor, over which some are concerned? Or, what sort of expanded role could, say, Circus4Youth, of CFA, play in a scenario such as the current discussions create the opportunity to explore, to complement the work of AYCO in reaching the board's expressed goals? Not to mention what sort of role could the Circus Historical Society play in developing an expanded academic curriculum, as part of larger goals and endeavors? All this, just from the circus side of relationships. However, a genuine inquiry can (be) posed as to whether the sort of connective collaborations which would best benefit an organization dedicated to the education of youth in circus skills and artistry is primarily or solely with other circus oriented endeavors (though that should certainly be an essential part of the equation) or if it ought to, instead, focus first upon partnerships with similar groups seeking to support the involvement of arts in schools and those endeavors designed to promote the value of physical education. Ultimately, are collaborations or consolidations the better approach to all of our challenges? (And,
moreover, with whom?) What roles can each sort of circus interest group (or other non-‐circus, but related, interest groups with similar missions) play, in the bigger picture of achieving the desired end? I'll admit I have no easy answers, and perhaps just more questions. But, perhaps, that's the point: the discussion needs to continue and be widened a bit. In conclusion, I readily recognize the need and opportunity which leaders of AYCO and Circus Now, especially, are attempting to meet in the situation at hand. I appreciate and applaud the desire to respond to these overarching and growing needs in our contemporary time, particularly as concerns cultural (and marketplace) appreciation and understanding of the circus arts, and in more completely fulfilling the needs of young people. Whether the proposed plan is the right route of response, or if there might be something better while respecting the need for specific focal points that ought not be lost, is an issue that I think deserves greater discussion. Indeed, it's an important dialogue to have. KELLY KNOWLES: (PARENT) I lifted my head out of my work fog long enough to read the post on the AYCO FB page about the future of AYCO. The Strategic Update addresses many of the things our family is thinking about as Lila (all too quickly) approaches adulthood. Thanks for the great research and report! I am a bit concerned about the combining of the two organizations, based on my understanding of how funders tend to view their particular funding stream, in that trying to do too many things in one organization can discourage funders who are generally looking to give money to organizations who focus on more specific missions. I do feel quite adamantly that there needs to be an organization that helps kids involved with youth
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circus, who plan on keeping circus in their lives, transition into young adult/adult circus, and wonder if a "sister" organization, with its own board and mission, modeled on the structure of AYCO rather than built on top of it, wouldn't be a stronger way to go forward? Pardon me if you've been inundated with questions already. This is a very big change, and making the first steps strong and wise ones will be important to the health of this youth organization that we (and everyone I know who is involved) have come to love so much. I'm sure there are many in the community, way more invested and involved than I, who have questions/comments. Is there a forum anywhere for people to post questions, and for AYCO to address them, that we can access prior to the meeting at the Festival? I'd like to be as informed as possible prior to the Festival :-‐) Also, I'm not sure how the meeting is being structured-‐from the announcement, it sounds like it is an open meeting, which would be fantastic for those of us with an interest in how circus grows in America. KATE MAGRAM (Circus instructor) and LEAH ABEL (Founder, Executive Director, Circus Up!, Circus performer and coach) (Note: the first five paragraphs are from a group email that was sent to the board from Leah Abel, Kate Magram, and Jessica Hentoff; following those paragraphs, we include another section from our group email – a selection of questions that we sent to the board along with their replies (in red). The questions below that section were added later and are from Kate and Leah specifically.) Dear Zoe and other members of the AYCO Board: We want to start by saying how much we appreciate your latest email (June 11), your honesty, and the acknowledgement of our concerns and objections. We look forward to continuing to work with the board on transparency, communication, and improving the organization.
We appreciate the incredibly hard work that has been done by the staff and board of AYCO, and we recognize and are so thankful that it has contributed to countless positive changes in the organization. We acknowledge the extraordinary contributions of time, energy, and passion that have transformed AYCO from a volunteer collective to the more structured model it is today, with annual national festivals, smaller regional festivals, a committed board of directors, paid staff, teams of dedicated volunteers who enthusiastically work each festival, a dedicated paying membership, a safety program, the Hup Squad, and the continuation of excellent volunteer-‐led workshops and stellar student showcases, as well as countless other unseen contributions. We continue to be proud of belonging to such a dedicated and hard-‐working organization and are so happy to be connected to this amazing community of people who are passionate about educating and supporting youth in circus. We hope you are able to hear that our concern about this change and our desire for improvement is rooted in our love for the youth that we serve, and in our pride for the wonderful work that you and our community have done over the years. We would like to see the wonderful work continue, so that we may in turn continue to support our youth as they pursue their endeavors in circus in a variety of settings. We are excited about finding new systems and structures that will ultimately serve AYCO, its membership, the youth the membership serves, and this community better. ALL of us circus folk strongly believe in the power of circus and in a strong, resilient circus family that can endure grit of any sort. Our objecting to certain processes and decisions is not a “fight”, rather an opportunity for growth for all of us. We agree that "our organization is strong when we pull together," and are looking forward to ways AYCO will include the members more and focus on transparency, building on the different strengths we all bring to the ring to make AYCO even stronger.
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-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐ We wanted to share just a few of the questions that we sent to the board 7/20, along with the replies you sent 7/27. We thought that these would be helpful for other community members to read. Answers from the board are in red and italics. QUESTION 3: In order to help put many circulating rumors to rest, we are requesting some clarification about the intended merger: A detailed, written explanation or why this MAJOR decision has been made by the AYCO leadership without consultation or communication with AYCO stakeholders. We recognize that not every decision can be made with everyone’s input – but a decision this large made by so few people without consulting the general stakeholders is problematic, from our perspective. ANSWER: Legally, the AYCO board has the power to make decisions about the future of the organization without consulting its full membership (bylaws are attached). This process has happened organically over the course of many years. Our board represents enough diverse viewpoints that we felt our inner workings would represent the whole. As soon as we found out this wasn't so, we halted the process to include others. QUESTION 3a): A session was held in October 2016 at the ACE EdCon to address what members want from AYCO. This would have been an excellent time for the board to share their vision for the future direction of the organization AND solicit feedback from the membership. ANSWER: Had we had a more comprehensive, thought-‐out idea of how this might all play out, we would have brought it up at that time. QUESTION 4a): Depending on the type of nonprofit, sometimes mergers may not happen in a nonprofit without the approval of the majority of its membership. That may not be the case here, but we would like to see if the current bylaws state the precedent either way.
ANSWER: Our by-‐laws state clearly that there are 'no members' of this corporation. Therefore, "the approval of a majority of 'membership' ' does not exist. The word 'merger' is mentioned in the second to last paragraph of the by-‐laws referencing how officers are to be treated in the event of a merger...meaning, they are accorded the same status as officers of the organization they are being merged into. Simply put, our bylaws are in support of the way AYCO is managing this. QUESTION 4b): We also think it would help us understand if you gave us a clear statement as to whether AYCO is board-‐driven (where the board makes all decisions) or member-‐driven (where the members have some say in decisions). ANSWER: AYCO's decision making power lies with its board exclusively (see bylaws). This is due to the specific type of non-‐profit organization that we created so many years ago. Because the current board are circus owners, circus arts educators, circus trainers, circus arts employees, circus arts everything -‐-‐ just like you -‐-‐ we take our role and actions very seriously. We think deeply about this stuff and argue with each other, and argued against every aspect of this idea to get us to this point. And then we skipped a step: we didn't come to everyone first and say: "Hey, what do you think about this? We are pretty sure we have to do this. Are you on board? Yes, there are kinks to work out, but it feels like the right direction." So, as humans, we made a mistake in judgement. And here we are saying to our 'stakeholders': we really believe this is in everyone's best interests...give us a listen." -‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐ Some further questions (specifically from Kate and Leah, added later (board has not yet had an opportunity to respond)):
1. Is the board willing and able to consider the possibility that while it may be a good and appealing idea to form a national circus organization at this time, and it may be what appeals to the various board members of AYCO/ACE/Circus Now as individuals, and it may be the easiest thing to make
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AYCO/ACE/CN become that national organization in terms of time, money, staffing, and infrastructure, it may actually not be the best choice for AYCO as an organization?
2. Regardless of what happens going forward,
assuming that AYCO as an organization does continue in some capacity, would the board be willing to open up some venues with stakeholders to discuss ways in which we all might improve two-‐way communication going forward? We understand that from your perspective, communication has been very successful. And we appreciate all the ways in which you have received and tried to respond to the wide range of feedback that you receive from AYCO members. What we have tried to communicate is that – to some of us -‐ there currently does not appear to be a truly effective or accurate way for AYCO members* to assess community needs as a group and communicate them to the board. Or for the board to accurately take the temperature of the group and make decisions for AYCO as an organization that reflect the needs of the community.
*(whom we are told are not actual “members” because “there are ‘no members’ of this corporation” per the bylaws (email from the board, 7/27/17))
3. What I (Kate) continue to have trouble
understanding is how the existence or non-‐existence of a national circus organization is going to help young people do any of the following in a way that they can’t currently do using the resources at their disposal (Google, their coaches, social media, their own elbow grease): find training programs in the U.S. and beyond, evaluate the quality and appropriateness of said training programs for themselves, find circus schools in the U.S. and beyond, apply to circus schools and training programs, get into circus schools and training programs,
and/or have greater success as performers. I understand that many people in our circus community (which – it must be clarified – is not THE circus community, because we have very few (if any) members from the traditional circus world) are frustrated by lack of opportunity and lack of sufficient income to be able to pursue a performing career. I understand that. Performing artists have been facing this challenge for hundreds of years in America, in every discipline. America is not a country that values performing arts. America is also a country – especially now – where we believe that everyone can and should be able to follow their dreams. So it’s a challenging dichotomy. It is also a country of mass inequity, and the majority of the people who are able to pursue circus at a recreational or professional level are people who come from backgrounds of privilege. I truly struggle to comprehend how forming a national circus organization will solve what is, to me, a cultural and structural issue. If we look to the people we know who have created successful lives as performers, teachers, designers, directors, and artists – how did they do it? There was not an organization to guide them. So what did they do? Perhaps it would be useful to ask them questions and learn from those who have gone before. But perhaps someone could explain to me – in minute and exacting detail – exactly what this national organization would do. Create a page on a website that lists all the professional circus programs? Find the funding to create more professional circus programs? Evaluate the professional circus programs? What, exactly?
4. While I appreciated the information in the
AYCO Strategic Update (email sent 6/28), for me, it is lacking far more information than it provides. It appears to me more of a vision than a business plan. If you want to convince your stakeholders that your plan is a good investment and has been thoroughly
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invested and thought out, it would be helpful to see a business plan.
5. For example, where you say: "We (the
Board of AYCO/ACE) used many models of national organizations that consolidated resources over time to make their industry sector stronger for multiple years into their future. Funding for their larger organizations seemed to have flowed better after their umbrella organizations were formed. This informed our explorations." I would be very curious to see the research that led you to this conclusion. Because I have heard conflicting evidence, and information that would indicate that the opposite is true. And it may also depend on the situation. If you are merging two organizations that both serve cello players, for example, that would make sense. But youth circus is one group, and The Entire Circus Community is actually a very, very different group. So. What organizations in particular? What financials were you able to review? Etc.
6. Is there a possibility that Circus Now could
become the "next phase" organization for where "youth" can turn after they age out of AYCO, if they don't end up being educators?
7. While we appreciate the response you gave
to our 7/20 email regarding the conflict of interest policy, we continue to have concerns due to there previously being members on the board of both AYCO and Circus Now, and then three CN board members joining AYCO just prior to this merger being announced. It is difficult for us to articulate and to assess whether or not this violates AYCO’s conflict of interest policy. However, it makes the lines extremely blurry. And makes it difficult to assess whether people were able to truly objectively make decisions about what was best for AYCO rather than what was also best for Circus Now.
We thank the board for taking the time to thoughtfully continue to engage in dialogue with us. We appreciate that this has been a challenging process for all involved.