Bway jr starts today, Reminder for costume balances and April newsletter
Happy April 1st! Reminder that Bway Jr starts today at 4pm and that auto-pay for the April monthy tuition installment went through today. All families, even auto-pay families, will need to log in to their parent portal account to see their child’s remaining costume balance. You can pay through the portal or with check or cash at the studio. The April newsletter is being sent home as a paper copy this month due to all of the important information it contains. It walks you through how to look up your costume balances and gives you important times and dates for the recital week extra rehearsals and dress rehearsals. Remember we are sharing the Hett with the McKendree band camp that week, so that is why our schedule is more spread out and why we shifted to Sat and Sun recitals, just for this year.
The April news is found below. Thanks!
DanceStation: April 2023 Newsletter
Attendance. Now that recital time is here, it is very important to have excellent attendance. Please try your best to attend every class these next 9 weeks. As stated earlier in the year, the week before the recital has several mandatory rehearsals that need to be attended, so mark your calendars now to be around the week before the performances!!!!
April is Broadway month! Broadway for ballet 5/6 will start Thur, April 3rd from 8-8:45pm. Broadway Junior will start on Tues. April 1st from 4-5pm.
Spring Break is Tues April 15th – Sun April 20th. We DO have classes on Easter Monday, April 21st to make up for the Monday we cancelled for storm damage. The studio yearly calendar is located on the app if you ever need to check the dates.
A Costume deposit of $55 was due in February, and the remaining balance owed was just added to the parent portal last night, as well as April tuition and Broadway fees for April. To view your costume balances, just access your account through the Parent Portal on our DanceStation App. If you forgot your password, you can email me at edancestation@yahoo.com and I will re-send you the link to view your account. Even if you always pay by check or cash, it is important to log in to view your account. Once you are in your Parent Portal account, just click on payment history or Balance. It will show you what you owe for each costume. We try very hard to be creative and keep costume prices down, especially for the students involved in multiple classes. Many of these classes will show a costume rental fee to avoid having to pay full price for multiple costumes, or a combined tap/jazz costume they can wear for both dances. We will be selling recital tights again in May at the studio (pink, black, and tan) – I can usually get them cheaper than the local dance supply stores. All ballet costumes will need pink tights, and all tap and jazz classes will need tan or skin toned tights. If you owe for missed tuition, please pay as soon as possible – recital costumes are not sent home if there is a significant balance due. If your records indicate differently, please contact us ASAP.
Recital Picture Day is always the Sunday before the recital. This year that is Sunday, June 1st . Times for each class will be posted in early May, so please tell us of any huge conflicts before then (after the times are posted the schedule cannot change).
The week leading up to the performance (Mon. June 2nd – Fri June 6th) will have extra rehearsals/dress rehearsals here at the studio. There are no regular classes that week, just the larger full-cast rehearsals in the evenings in the big studio and at the Hett. Because we put together 2 different story ballets, we require a larger rehearsal in the big studio to put them in order before we head to the Hett (the auditorium we are performing in). It makes things much easier once we get to the Dress Rehearsals on stage. The schedule is more complicated this year because we are splitting the week at the Hett with the McKendree band camp. I’m giving everyone the schedule in April this year so you can plan ahead accordingly.
Mandatory Rehearsals at Dancestation and the Hettenhausen Center for the Arts are:
Monday June 2nd at DanceStation– 4:30-8:30pm Coppelia Sat evening cast Dress Rehearsal (yes costumes!) for all ballet classes ballet 2 and up and 8:30-9:30pm SSDC rehearsal
Tues June 3rd 5:30 -9pm Dress Rehearsal at the Hett for Jazz/Tap 2-4, modern 1 and 2, Bway jr, Boys Hip Hop
Wed evening June 4th 5:30-10pm Dress Rehearsal at the Hett for Jazz and Tap levels 5 and up, Bway Int/Adv, Bway 5/6, Modern Int and Adv
Thur June 5th back at the studio (no costumes) for all 3-4 yr, 5-6 yr, and combination Ballet/Jazz/Tap Ugly Duckling classes
Cast of Sat afternoon performance of Ugly Duckling 4:30-6:15pm Mon 3/4yr Ducklings, Mon 5/6yr Cows, Mon Combo Farmgirls, Tues 5/6yr Little Swans, Wed 3/4yr Piggies
Cast of Sun afternoon performance of Ugly Duckling 6:30-8:15pm Thur 3/4yr Ducklings, Thur 5/6yr Cows, Thur combo Farm kids, Wed combo little swans, Wed 5/6yr Frogs
Friday June 6th 9:30am-1pm Dress Rehearsal (yes costumes) at the Hett for all 3-4 yr, 5-6 yr, and combination Ballet/Jazz/Tap for Sweet Emotions/The Ugly Duckling classes for both performances
Friday June 6th 2-5:30pm Dress Rehearsal at the Hett, Coppelia – all ballet levels 2 and up
Friday June 6th 6:30-8:30pm Dress Rehearsal at the Hett, Coppelia – all ballet levels 5 and up
Recitals:
Sat. June 7th 1pm Sweet Emotions/The Ugly Duckling – classes Mon Ducklings 3-4yrs, Mon Cows 5-6yrs, Monday Farmgirls Ballet/Jazz/Tap, Tues Little Swans 5-6yrs, Wed Piggies 3-4yrs
Sat June 7th 5:30pm Coppelia/Lights, Camera, Action! (all ballet levels through Adv then after intermission is jazz/tap levels 2-4, Modern 1-2, Boys Hip Hop, and Bway Jr)
Sun. June 8th 1pm Sweet Emotions/The Ugly Duckling – classes Thur Ducklings 3-4yrs, Thur Cows 5-6yrs, Thur Farm kids Ballet/Jazz/Tap, Wed Little Swans Ballet/Jazz/Tap, Wed Frogs 5-6yrs
Sun. June 8th 5:30pm Coppelia (Ballet levels 5 and up only)/All That Glitters
(Ballet 5 and up, Jazz/Tap 5-Adv, Modern Int and Adv, Bway 5/6, Bway Int and Adv)
Because this year’s dress rehearsal week is more complicated, I wanted to get the mandatory times and dates out ASAP. Ugly Duckling classes only have rehearsals on Thur and Fri of that week before recitals on Sat and Sun. Ask your child’s teacher for more clarification if needed.
The May newsletter will contain more detailed information about picture day, ordering tights, tickets, flowers, DVD’s, costumes, makeup, etc. It’s a lot of info!!!
State Street Dance Company auditions. The 2025-26 SSDC auditions will be on Friday, May
30th, from 5-6:30pm. Students in Ballet 5 and up are eligible, or with permission from Elizabeth. Please wear a black leotard, pink tights, pink ballet shoes, hair in a bun, and be prepared to do a ballet barre, ballet center, and contemporary floor combinations. SSDC members meet on Wednesday evenings and Saturday afternoons from August – December, until next year’s Nutcracker performance. If you would like more information about our student pre-professional company, please ask Elizabeth or any of the current SSDC members. It is hard work, but so much fun! We have many SSDC alumni dancers that go on to have successful professional careers in dancing! It is truly a wonderful pre-professional group to be a part of.
Parent Volunteers: I will need many parent volunteers to make the recitals run smoothly. We have a lot of dancers, and we are always in need of extra hands on recital day!!! I will have a sign-up sheet available closer to the recital asking for help with sewing/adjusting costumes, concessions/bake sale (yay!), tickets, ushers, gathering rental costumes after the shows, etc. It takes a village, and we will definitely need help!
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