Studio Policies and Etiquette

At Brass Butterflies, we appreciate your patronage and want to continue to offer the high quality and variety of services that have become the standard for our studio. The following policies, guidelines, terms and conditions will help us to maintain consistency and quality for our students, instructors, and staff.

Code of Conduct:

We are a diverse, inclusive, welcoming community where each individual is treated with dignity and respect.  Our code of conduct is simple and applies to ALL students and staff.  Everyone is welcome at our studio regardless of gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, physical appearance or ability.  Disrespectful, exclusionary, hateful, or discriminatory behaviour will not be tolerated in our studio by ANY person towards any other. Anyone displaying such behaviour through their words or actions will be asked to leave without a refund or other compensation for uncompleted services.  Disruptive or unsafe behaviour may also result in warnings, being asked to sit out or leave a class or cancellation of memberships or pricing options without refund.

Safety First Partnership Agreement

To ensure the continued safety of our studio community as well as the broader community that we belong to, we need every individual to take on the responsibility of managing their own personal risk each time they visit the studio. To succeed in this new world of risk we need to build a community of trust, where everyone follows Public Health guidelines and posted studio health and safety policies and procedures at all times.

Though we wish we could, Brass Butterflies can not 100% guarantee the health and safety of every individual who enters our studio. In order to mitigate risk to the best of our abilities, we have implemented comprehensive policies and procedures throughout all layers of our business, informed by local Public Health and municipal, provincial, and federal government guidelines and regulations, as well as the best information currently available from medical experts. We frequently review and update these policies based on emerging information from safety and medical experts. In an abundance of care and caution, our policies and procedures in some areas of our business exceed the minimum required standards. We ask everyone to read our policies and procedures before deciding to register for classes, and require all patrons to agree to follow them before visiting the studio.

Health and Safety Policies

The following special policies and procedures pertain to communicable illness generally and COVID-19 specifically

Please Note: We reserve the right to change our health and safety policies at any time, without notice, based on new guidance from Public Health authorities and our own assessment of the risk to the health and safety of our staff and students, including resuming the requirement to wear a mask at all times while in the studio and limiting class capacity. The following policies are informed by Publich Health and industry guidelines, but may exceed the recommended guidelines in places, so please review our studio specific policies carefully.

    • We require that each person entering the studio performs a self assessment for COVID-19 specifically, as well as symptoms of any other potentially transmissible illness, each time they visit the studio. We ask that you perform this self assessment before departing for the studio, as failure to pass the screening would result in us asking you not to attend the studio that day.

    • If you do not pass the self-assessment, please do not come to the studio. Instead please contact the studio by email or phone to cancel out of your scheduled classes or appointments as early as possible. The more notice you are able to give, the better the probability we will be able to make an exception to the late cancel policy and accommodate a make-up credit, based on availability and at management’s discretion.

    • It is VERY important that you understand our self screening and attendance policy. We ask that students experiencing ANY (not just COVID-19 specific) new/unexplained symptoms of illness err on the side of caution and do not attend the studio.

    • If you are not 100% sure of the cause of your symptoms, please wait at least 24 hours (48 for gastrointestinal symptoms), until you are sure; maybe it is just allergies or food poisoning, but unless you have a medical confirmation of this, please err on the side of caution and assume you are contagious

    Click here to view the Self Screening criteria

  • You should stay home until all of the following apply to you:

    • your symptoms have been improving for at least 24 hours (or 48 hours if you had nausea, vomiting and/or diarrhea)

    • you do not have a fever

    • you do not develop any additional symptoms

    When your symptoms are improving and you are no longer isolating at home, doing the following can provide extra protection against the spread of COVID-19 and other respiratory viruses circulating in the community.

    For 10 days after your symptoms started or you tested positive or your household member became symptomatic or tested positive we require that you wear a well-fitted mask at all times while in the studio, including while participating in class.

  • Please wait for 48 hours and self-monitor for symptoms before attending the studio. If you develop symptoms, please follow the guidance above. If you do not develop symptoms, you may return to the studio but please follow the extra precautions listed above under “Procedure for returning to the studio” (wear a mask at all times in the studio for 10 days from exposure).

  • Effective November 1, 2022 until further notice

    • Wearing of masks in the studio is now entirely optional, EXCEPT if you are within the 10 day period for taking extra precautions when returning to the studio after being ill or being exposed to someone who is ill (see “Self Screening” and “Procedure for returning to the studio” sections, above

    • We are a mask friendly studio and no student or staff will harass or make judgmental comments to any other person in the studio about their choice to wear or not wear a mask

    • We highly recommended that you wear a well fitted medical grade mask while in the studio if you are at risk for serious outcomes from respiratory illness.

    • Physical/hands-on spotting will once again be offered by instructors. Students and instructors always have the option to decline physical spotting.

    • Please sanitize your hands upon entry and at certain other times, as instructed by staff, signage, and policy while you are in the facility.

    • Staff will be following a regimen of cleaning in the studio which will include frequent sanitization of high-touch surfaces.

    • Students will be expected to perform basic cleaning and sanitization tasks for some of the equipment they use. They will be instructed on how to do this by staff in the studio.

    • As of May 30, 2022, the upstairs change room and toilet have reopened to students. Showers remain closed/off limits at this time.

    • Equipment sharing resumed in the July/August 2022 term. It is important when sharing equipment to follow appropriate hand and apparatus hygiene protocols.

    • Students will be expected to perform cleaning and sanitization of their equipment, as directed, during and at the end of their classes.

    • Students may bring their own yoga mat or other props such as yoga blocks and straps if thy desire. The studio is not responsible for props you bring from home and you may not store them at the studio between classes.

    • Only pre-registered students may enter the classrooms during their designated class times. Observers are not permitted.

    • Visitors or friends of students who wish to wait in the studio until the student is finished with classes may do so in the reception area.

    • Though there will usually be staff at the front desk during classes in order to facilitate check-in, facility maintenance, and policy enforcement, ideally registrations and administrative inquiries should be handled online, over email, or by phone to reduce crowding in the reception area.

    • To prevent crowding in the common areas of the studio, students are asked to arrive on time, no more than 10 minutes before their scheduled class time, and leave immediately after their class.

    • Make-up policy - please see make-up policies in regular policies, below.

Regular Studio Policies

+ Refund Policy:

Refunds will not be offered for class passes, individual credits, packages, membership payments or pre-paid appointments (i.e. private or semi-private lessons, parties, rentals, etc.). Extension of purchase option expiry dates may be granted, at management’s discretion, in cases of a serious medical condition or injury that prevents you from using your credits before the expiry date. It is the student’s responsibility to be aware of the purchase option expiry date when purchasing and to book and attend classes before they expire. Credits are not transferable.

+ Pre-Registration, Late Cancel, No-Show Policy:

Pre-registration and payment is required for all classes, workshops and appointments (appointments include private and semi-private lessons, studio rentals, parties and private workshops).

Online registration for Non-curriculum and online classes will close 2 hours before the start of the class. Less than two hours before the start of a class you should contact the studio to find out if registration is still possible.

The late cancellation window is the minimum amount of time before the scheduled start of a class, workshop, or appointment that is required to give adequate notice to the studio that you will not be attending. Different types of classes have different late cancellation windows. This is important to aid the studio in scheduling and staffing and also to allow students who may be on the waiting list for a class to have the opportunity to attend. The late cancel window for individual Curriculum Classes, Non-Curriculum Classes, Practices/Open Gyms, Private and Semi-Private Lessons, is currently 24 hours. Workshops (Special Guest and Signature Brass Butterflies), Parties, Private Events and Rentals have different cancellation policies. Please see below in the Parties, Private Events, Rentals, and Workshops section.

It is the student’s responsibility to cancel their registration in the class using our online registration system or app prior to the start of the late cancel window. If this is not possible, cancellation via e-mail or phone may be acceptable but this should be arranged in advance with the studio management as these modes of communication are not necessarily monitored outside posted reception hours.

+ Make-up Policy

If the student cancels before the late cancellation window begins, this is considered “Early Cancelling”. In the case of Curriculum Session classes, when a student Early Cancels, they may request to use their individual class credit to register for a different curriculum class at the appropriate level, a Curriculum Enrichment Class, a Pole or Aerial Open Practice, or a Non-curriculum class before the end of the term or purchase option expiry date, and dependent upon space and availability. This is not guaranteed but we will do our best to accommodate. Priority in classes will always be given to students booking with the primary payment option rather than as a makeup and students who are booked into a class or practice in advance as a make-up may be bumped to the wait list for that class up to 24 hours before the class.

For Non-curriculum classes and other register-as-you-go services, upon Early Cancellation, your credit will return to your account and you will be able to use it to register for another appropriate service before the purchase option expiry date, depending upon availability. It is the student’s responsibility to be aware of the purchase option expiry date.

If you cancel after the late-cancel window has begun, or no-show for that class, no refunds or credits will be provided and your class will be considered used.

Habitual late cancellation and no-showing for classes may result in you losing your privilege of priority for reserving spots in classes and your registration will be bumped to the waiting list for full classes. Studio Management will contact you to give you the opportunity to remedy the situation before this measure is put in place (warning). Last minute illness and emergencies will be taken into consideration. Contact the studio in these cases and management may be able to grant you an Early Cancellation, at their discretion.

Exceptions to this policy may be made solely at the discretion of the studio management.

+ Class Cancellation by the Studio

Brass Butterflies reserves the right to cancel a class due to low registration, inclement weather, instructor illness, or any other reason. If the studio cancels a class and you have pre-registered and pre-paid for that class, your credit will revert to your account. In the event of cancelling a class near the end of your pass’s expiry date, extensions to the expiry date may be made at management’s discretion. Inquire with studio management in these cases.

In the case of Curriculum Classes cancelled by the studio, occasionally the studio may schedule a make-up class sometime during the term or in the break between terms.

It will be the practice of studio management to check class registration numbers the day before a class. Any Non-Curriculum class with less than 4 people registered might be cancelled. The studio may choose to run a class with fewer people registered, at management’s discretion. If the studio cancels a class that you are registered for, your class pass will revert to your account, even if the cancellation occurs within the late cancel window. To avoid disappointment, PLEASE TRY NOT TO WAIT UNTIL THE DAY OF A CLASS TO REGISTER FOR NON-CURRICULUM CLASSES.

+ Waitlist Policy

Some classes that book up to capacity will have waitlists. Waitlist capacity will vary depending on the class. After adding yourself to the waitlist for a class, if another student who is registered in the class early or late cancels up to 4 hours before the class start time, you will automatically be added to the class. You will be notified that you’ve been added to a class from the waitlist by e-mail, text, or through a push notification from the Wellness Living Achieve app. If you are on a waitlist, please be sure to check these platforms regularly leading up to the date/time of the class. Please check your notification settings in Wellness Living to ensure that at least one of these notification methods is enabled.

Wait lists will lock 4 hours before the start of a class and students on the waitlist will no longer automatically be added to the class upon a spot opening after that time. If space becomes available in a class after the waitlist locks due to a late cancellation, the studio will endeavour to contact anybody still on the waitlist by phone or text to ask if they would still like to join. There will be no penalties for no longer wishing to join after the wait list has locked. However, if you are on the waitlist and get added to the class after the late cancel window has started but before the waitlist locks (between 24 and 4 hours before the class), you WILL be subject to the late cancel/no-show policies, so please manage your waitlists by assuming that you will be added to the class. If you know you will no longer be able to attend a class that you are on the waitlist for, please try to cancel yourself off the waitlist before the late cancel window begins.

+ Late Arrivals

Students should be in the studio and prepared to begin by the designated start time of their class. Students who arrive more than 10 minutes after the start of class will be denied participation in the class and considered a late-cancel/no-show. This is due to safety concerns arising from the student missing the warm-up and also due to the disruption of the class for the other students.

Please be respectful of your instructor and fellow students and try to arrive on time. Exceptions might be made to this policy at the sole discretion of the instructor if, after a quick assessment, they feel it would be safe to allow late entry into the class. However we ask that you are respectful of their decision in the moment and understand that if they say no, it is not for punitive reasons, but to ensure the safety and enjoyment of all students, including your own.

In the case of curriculum classes, students who arrive too late to physically participate might, at the sole discretion of the instructro, be invited to sit and observe the class without participating, as long as they are respectful and not disruptive. This is due to the progressive nature of curriculum classes. This will not be allowed in Non-curriculum classes because there would be no benefit to the student to observe a class without participating.

+ Mobile Devices and Photography

Please silence your mobile phones and devices during class. If you absolutely have to take/make a call or text during class, please let your instructor know what you are doing as unobtrusively as possible and then step outside the studio. Please be respectful of your instructor and fellow students. We encourage you to take notes, progress photos, and videos to help you along your pole or aerial journey. You may take photos and video at the end of class or at other times during class only when the instructor invites it, however please keep these guidelines in mind:

1) Please be safe. Please do not attempt moves that you cannot complete safely without instruction or spotting.

2) Please be respectful of other people in the studio who may not wish to be photographed or appear in your videos. If another student is in the background of your photo or video, ask them if it’s okay, or take it at a different angle.

3) You should never video the instructor unless they expressly invite you to. When invited to take video of instructors while providing instruction, these are for your own personal reference and should never be posted to social media.

4) Social Media etiquette: We encourage you to share photographs of yourself taken in our studio on social media.a)Please keep the messaging positive.b) Please tag the studio’s social media accounts, if possible. c) If there are other people in your photograph, even if they consented to being photographed, please do not tag them without their express permission.

When videoing yourself at the end of class or in practice/open gym, please be aware of conversations going on around you when videoing with sound. Listen to the audio of your videos before posting on social media and post without sound if there is conversation or instruction audible in the background.

+ Video Surveillance

Please note that there are clearly visible and signed cameras in each of the studio classrooms and the reception area that record video and audio 24/7. These are in place for the safety and security of the staff, students, visitors, property, and premises. Footage may be shared and viewed for educational purposes amongst authorised staff of Brass Butterflies. In the case of an incident that requires further investigation, video footage may be shared with the appropriate authorities or insurance companies, however it will never be shared publicly or used for promotional purposes.

+ Etiquette for Before/Between/After Class

If you arrive early and lessons are in progress, please wait in the reception area. If you will be crossing through any of the classrooms to get to another area of the studio, please be careful, stay to the side walls and out of the path of students executing moves, and try not to disrupt the class. If you are waiting in one of the areas that are adjacent or open to an instructional area, please try to keep conversations quiet so that you are not distracting or disrupting the class in progress.

Instructors will often need the time before and between classes to prepare the classroom, change out apparatuses and/or to inspect the poles or aerial rigging for safety. Please do not use the poles or aerial equipment outside class time. If you would like time to practice on the equipment outside your scheduled class, you can register for Pole Practices or Aerial Open Gyms or book a private or semi-private lesson or studio rental.

+Pole Practice and Aerial Open Gym Rules and Etiquette

Open Practice is time in the studio when students can practice moves they've learned to date in their group classes or private/semi private lessons. Sessions are supervised by an instructor for safety, but no instruction is provided. The following rules are in place, not to prevent students from advancing or enjoying their practice time, but to keep all our students and instructors safe and injury free. Thank you for understanding.

Warm-up: Warm-up before and stretch after you practice. This helps prevent injury. Need ideas on how to perform a safe and effective warm-up? Please ask your instructor and we will be happy to share some ideas with you. If you have access to the Video On Demand Library, there are also lots of great warm-up ideas in there.

Supervision vs. Instruction: There will be an instructor present in the studio to supervise you for safety, however they are not there to teach you new skills. Instructors may choose to give you tips or corrections, at their discretion, but they are not expected to instruct during open practice.

Spotting: While supervising instructors are always trained in appropriate safety and first aid, they might not be familiar with what you are working on and reserve the right to decline a spotting request if they are unfamiliar with the move you’re practicing or how to properly spot it. If you can not yet execute a move safely without spotting and the supervising instructor is unable to spot you, please do not practice that move.

New moves: Please only practice moves you have already been taught by a qualified instructor. Practice is not the time to try the latest move you saw on Instagram. If you're interested in learning a specific new move, please speak to your regular instructor and they will give you guidance about when you will learn that move, or if it’s not a regular part of our curriculum, they might be able to work it into your regular classes if it is level appropriate. Please respect your instructors judgment on this as they have your safety at heart. You might be able to book private lessons for very specialized or advanced skills. An instructor may ask you not to practice a move if they observe you executing it in such a way that could result in injury. We want to keep you safe and injury free.

Mats: Mats are to be used at all times in the aerial studio unless approved by an instructor for practicing low dance or floor work skills (one part of the body connected to the floor at all times). Mats should be used in the pole studio for any moves being executed in the air above shoulder height, and any inverted skill unless your skill level for that move has been assessed by an instructor and you’ve been cleared to practice without.

Teaching each other: Please do not teach each other. It's okay to show off your mad pole or aerial skills with your friends at practice, but please do not attempt to teach them new moves. If you're working on the same things and wish to share your own experiences, for example "I found that move you're working on easier when I moved my hand a bit higher", that's okay, but 1) never provide your opinion unsolicited and 2) please understand that if you are not a trained and/or certified instructor who has been engaged by the studio to teach, you should refrain from giving advice as you are not covered by our insurance for liability should an injury result and we know you would feel awful if your friend was injured as a direct or indirect result of your teaching. Please leave it to the professionals.

Copy-catting: Similar to teaching each other, it’s okay to be inspired by your fellow students, but do not attempt to copy what they are doing if you haven’t been taught that skill by an instructor.

Music: Please share the space and the stereo. Take turns putting your own music on the studio stereo if you wish, using the provided aux cords. If you’re working on choreography, it’s a great idea to invest in wireless earbuds, if possible, so that you can play the same track over and over without driving everyone else insane. The instructor will put music on the stereo for everyone to enjoy if you request it.

Equipment: Ideally aerial students should request their apparatus of choice in advance of Aerial Open Practices. Their equipment will be laid out or rigged for them at their designated spot. Students might be asked to attach their apparatus to their rig point, however all raising and lowering of points and any other adjustments above the apparatus connection will be performed by the supervising instructor. Students will not usually be able to swap equipment during the same Open Practice unless approved and arranged in advance. Students may also apply to bring their own equipment to practice on. Please see the Outside Equipment page on our website for more information.

Photography, Videos and Social Media: Please see the Mobile Devices and Photography policy on the Studio Policies page on our website.

+ Special Policies for Parties, Private Events, Rentals, and Workshops

Updated April 1, 2022

Parties must be paid for in full upon booking unless alternative payment arrangements are made. Party fees are non-refundable, however up to 14 days before your party you can reschedule your party to a later date or request a credit to your account which could be used to book another party or other services at Brass Butterflies.

If you cancel between 14 and 7 days before your party, you will receive half of the party payment as a credit to use toward booking another party or another service in the studio. Cancellation 7 days or less before your booked party date will result in no refund or credit.

We will attempt to accommodate requests to reschedule the time of your party within the same day it is booked, depending on studio and instructor availability, and given at least 48 hours notice, with no penalty. However, this is not guaranteed.

Exceptions to this policy might be made due to extenuating circumstances at the sole discretion of the studio management.

+ Severe Weather Cancellation Policy

At any time, the studio may choose to cancel classes in the case of dangerous travel conditions caused by weather. Should the weather forecast be calling for potentially hazardous conditions, the studio will send out an e-mail and/or text, and post on social media as early as possible to alert students to the possibility of a cancellation. Once alerted, we will endeavour to make the decision and communicate cancellations via e-mail a minimum of 2 hours before the posted start time of the class.

If the studio cancels classes due to weather, all registrations will be early-cancelled and credits will be returned to the students’ accounts. If the studio chooses to run classes and keep the studio open but a student chooses not to travel to the studio and cancels within the late-cancel window at their own discretion, the student should notify the studio and the studio management might choose to early cancel the student’s registration, at their discretion. No refunds will be provided for class cancellations due to inclement weather, though purchase option expiry dates may be extended at management’s discretion if the closure happens near the end of a term or purchase option expiry date. For Workshops and Parties, exceptions to the no-refund policy may be made at the discretion of management.

These policies supersede any previously posted policies and any previously dated policies on written documents including those outlined in paper membership contracts and may be changed at any time at the discretion of Brass Butterflies management.

Privacy Policy

Brass Butterflies is sensitive to privacy issues on the Internet. We believe it is important you know how we treat the information we receive on the Internet about you.

Gathering InformationThe personal information we collect is used only by us to respond to your inquiry. This increases our level of customer service and allows us to provide the information you requested in an efficient manner. No other organization other than Brass Butterflies will receive information about you.

LinksBrass Butterflies website may contain links to other sites. While we try to link only to sites that share our high standards and respect for privacy, Brass Butterflies is not responsible for the content or the privacy practices employed by other sites.

CookiesA cookie is a tiny element of data that a Web site can send to your browser, which may then be stored on your hard drive for future recognition. You may set your browser to notify you when you receive a cookie. At this time the Brass Butterflies site does not employ the use of cookies.

Copyright PolicyThe contents of the Brass Butterflies website are protected by applicable copyright laws. No permission is granted to copy, distribute, modify, post, or frame any text, graphics, video, audio, software code or user interface design or logos. Unauthorized use or exploitation of such marks and names is strictly prohibited.Unauthorized downloading, retransmission, storage in any medium, copying, redistribution, reproduction, or republication for any purpose is strictly prohibited.

Internet E-mailE-mail over the Internet is not a secure medium and privacy cannot be assured. Brass Butterflies cannot assume any responsibility for any harm or damage you may experience or incur by sending personal or confidential information to Brass Butterflies over the Internet by E-mail, or if we send such information at your request.

Disclaimer of LiabilityBrass Butterflies is not responsible in any way for any damages (direct, indirect, special, economic, or consequential) in respect of use of this Web site, any of its content or any Web browser.