American Circus Educators Magazine Spring 2014 (Issue 1, Vol 1) | Page 2

welcome
FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
TO ACE
M A G A Z I N E
2014 has been a year of profound clarity and action for us as an organization.
At our board retreat in January we decided to found the American Circus
Educators Association (ACE), a branch of AYCO that specifically serves circus
educators. We founded this based on the belief that we are in the position
to support the diversity of circus educators and educating organizations
in this country.
Soon ACE will have its own website and become the official umbrella over our
safety programs, the Circus Educators Conference, a magazine, a newsletter,
and a unique social media for circus educators. Much of the communication
that was previously under the AYCO name will be shifting to the ACE identity,
with new modes of communication emerging for AYCO. We will still be functioning
with the same Board of Directors, and the same leadership structure, since in
reality we've always been serving the diversity of circus educators through our
programs—now we're just ready to come out and say it.
AYCO is shifting to be truly for youth and those people that support them,
namely parents and youth circus enthusiasts. We are seeking to expand
our youth membership by the hundreds (please spread the word) and modify-
ing our youth membership offering by premiering a special circus swag
box— a tri-yearly set of custom circus swag designed in collaboration with
Isometric Studio. (Don't worry educators; if you'd like to receive the swag
box in addition to our magazine you'll be able to—I know I do!)
We’re also hoping to spark youth-to-youth engagement through the new Hup
Squad Youth Action Team. The squad is comprised of 11 circus-obsessed
teens that co-author our new “Circus is my Life” blog, filling it with interviews,
reviews, history, and more. With the support of coordinator Tara Jacob,
they’ve been meeting via phone conference, seeing shows, and interviewing
artists for the past month. They’ve also been helping us design the swag
box in collaboration with Isometric Studio. And it's going really well!
Since our founding we have aspired to promote the participation of youth in
circus arts and serve the diversity of US circus educators. Creating this distinc-
tion between youth and circus educators enables us to serve each population
more directly, and with increased service and commitment. Please share this
news with your colleagues, collaborators, and students and encourage them
to join us as members. The more members we have for ACE and AYCO, the
greater service we can provide, and the more cohesive our community becomes.
Sincerely,
Amy Cohen
Executive Director
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