These two years have been full intense reflections that have allowed us to make some radical decisions. These choices sometimes seem counter intuitive to the needs of a business: to generate revenue, to meet demand, to be equipped with every possible promotional strategy to sell registrations and fill dance classes.
The biggest decision we made last year was to move to the southwest, to Pointe St. Charles, to a community organization.
This choice was driven by a vision:
- That of serving a more outlying community, one that is less affluent as well.
- To redirect our rent money to the benefit of Montrealers in need.
- And finally, to break down the walls of a dance studio to become part of an environment open to all.
The culture that Cat’s Corner has built over the years – almost 25 years to date – has been one of community, hospitality, inclusion, and collective participation. The school has used many means to allow those who need a financial hand to participate in the school’s activities.
It is therefore time to revisit our pricing and our solidarity economy model to allow more people to feel welcome.
1$ does not cost the same for everyone
The perception of the value of $1 varies considerably depending on our living conditions. Whether you are single, a salaried employed in an IT company, an heir, a single-parent, or a parent of a large family, a student, unemployed, on social assistance… the accessibility to leisure, to time allocated to pleasure, is excessively affected.
We have all experienced the lack of fun in our daily lives in recent years and the cost to our mental health.
Dance nourishes, heals, enriches, creates lasting human relationships, … It is beneficial on a daily basis, in regularity and especially when we feel vulnerable and isolated.
A CIRCULAR ECONOMY: full price in support of solidarity discounts
We are making a bet: to encourage you to dance and discover the richness of jazz dances at Cat’s Corner without discounts and special promotions.
We invite those with a stable and regular income to pay our full rates in order to participate in the financing of solidarity discounts.
In this way, you are participating in a social and circular economy that will allow the school to finance significant discounts for those who cannot afford to take our courses.
SOLIDARITY DISCOUNTS: different scales for different situations
Because this school exists on the basis of mutual trust at many levels of its operation, we have chosen to offer you the possibility of using certain codes according to your own judgment. And to help you situate yourself, here are some examples of situations:
a) Use the code < SlidingScale15 > for a 15% discount if you are a full-time student, on minimum wage, in a temporary uncertainty, need a little help etc.
b) Use the code < SlidingScale50 > for a 50% discount if you’ve found dance classes unaffordable before. You are in a precarious financial situation, have been unemployed for several years, you just can’t pay more.
c) Voluntary contribution model ($20, $10, $1…): whether you are on welfare, in a very precarious situation, if you want to dance, you and your children will not be turned away at our doors. Come take our adult classes, bring your children to our Saturday morning classes.
Volunteering is always possible at Cat’s Corner. A culture that has never ceased to contribute to the vibrancy and engagement of our dance community.
Please contact us if you are interested in this program!