Sept News/Nutcracker casting/permission slip
DanceStation News: September 2025
Welcome back dancers and hello to new students!
Nutcracker: As many of you know we are presenting a full-length Nutcracker this year at the Hettenhausen Center for the Arts. It’s very exciting for our dancers to be part of this professional show that is co-presented by DanceStation (through our State Street Dance Company) and The Hettenhausen Center for the Arts. This means that we will have access to huge, beautiful backdrops and professional lighting that will make our show quite spectacular and professional. It also means that tickets are purchased through the Hett, not the studio, and our shows are open to the public. Why is this important? 1. Because tickets are already going fast! Therefore, everyone needs to buy their important tickets ASAP. I want to make sure that all of my DanceStation families can come see their own kids perform before the shows sell out to other people in the community. 2. It is assigned seating. So when you order online you can choose your seats, or you can call the box office and they will choose the best available for you. I cannot stress enough that if you wait until November or December to buy tickets, they will be gone. In both 2021 and 2023, the shows were sold out by early November.
*Tickets: The Hettenhausen box office is open Mon-Fri 12pm-4pm. The number is 618-537-6863 or online at mckendree.edu/the_hett/. Our DanceStation families have a special code Dancestation25 that we can use for a discount. It is for our DanceStation families only; please do not give it to the general public.
Attached to this newsletter is your child’s performance day or night and casting. We have 3 shows: Fri Dec 12th 6:30pm, Sat Dec 13th 2pm, and Sat Dec 13th 6:30pm. All dancers are cast in one performance. Older students, Ballet 4 and up, are in all 3 shows. If you opt out of the Nutcracker performance, please tell your child’s teacher immediately as we are already measuring for costumes these first two weeks. Each child will have a $45 participation fee/costume rental to perform in the show. It is going to be an amazing weekend for our children and for the community to come out and view a holiday classic. I’m so excited for our dancers! We will begin rehearsing their specific dances in November and there are two mandatory Dress Rehearsals. On Saturday, Dec 6th, we will have a dress rehearsal and group pictures taken here at the studio. The Dress Rehearsal at the Hett is on the evening of Thur Dec. 11th. The 3 performances are: 6:30pm on Friday, Dec. 12th, 2pm Saturday, Dec. 13th and 6:30pm on Saturday, Dec. 13th. Purchase tickets through The Hett box office 618-537-6863 or online at McKendree.edu/the_hett/
On to a few reminders for the month:
Pictures, flash drives, and DVD’s from last year’s recital are in! You may pick them up in the office/waiting room.
September is evaluation time. We will be making sure every student has been placed in the best class for her/his abilities.
Parking: Make sure to park in our lot or use the abundant street parking. The ice cream lot is small and is reserved for their customers only. Also, when dropping children off, please pull into a parking space so you aren’t idling in the middle of the parking lot blocking others. Please come inside, or stand outside right by the door, to pick up younger dancers. Our teachers go straight from one class to the next, and we don’t release your child outside without a parent waiting in the lobby or right by the door.
Dress Code: Students are expected to follow the dress code (it is posted on our website and was in the email I sent everyone on Sunday). Older students, please set a good example in this respect.
Dancers in Ballet 2 and up: Hair – Your child’s hair is part of the studio’s dress code. Just like pink tights and ballet shoes are required, so is providing your own hair-ties, bobby pins, hairnets, and putting their hair in a bun. My advice is to keep a baggy in their dance bag with lots of extras in case they come straight from school. One of the front desk girls can help with buns if you arrive with enough time before class begins and before they leave at 5:30 every day.
Calendar: DanceStation’s yearly calendar is sent home with this Newsletter. I know many of you plan your vacations around (and hopefully after!!) the recital, so mark your calendar now! RECITAL WEEK IS June 1-7th. There are mandatory rehearsals at the studio and dress rehearsals at the Hett this week, all leading up to our recitals. If you end up taking a vacation before the show, please realize that this will affect not only your own child, but also those students that dance around them. Missing an entire week of classes before recital weekend is highly, highly discouraged and your child may not be able to participate fully. Missing a mandatory dress rehearsal will mean they cannot participate in the recital at all.
DanceStation has an App and a Facebook page. For easy access to reach many of you at once, please download the app and allow notifications to see newsletters and updates throughout the year. For iphone users, go into your app settings and make sure your DanceStation app has the ‘banner’ changed from temporary to persistent. I will post weather cancellations or make-up classes, as well as reminders about different events throughout the year, including reminders about Nutcracker rehearsals and events. If you don’t have the app, you will miss very important information. Plus, it’s free to download! Facebook is more for pictures, videos, and bun tutorials, etc. But I do post on there occasionally. The newsletters, after this important month of paper forms, will only be posted online on the app and also emailed to everyone at the beginning of each month. We only do paper Newsletters for the beginning of the year and recital packets.
Tuition: Tuition is due the first class of every month. After the 15th of each month a $10 late fee will be automatically added to your bill and will increase to a $25 late fee every month thereafter. If you have special circumstances and need to pay after the 15th every month, just come talk to me or email me. If the last name on your check differs from your child’s last name – please indicate the child’s name on the memo of the check.
Front Desk Hours: Mon-Thur 3:30-5:30pm
Have a great year!!! Thank you from all of our teachers—Elizabeth Conway, Jenny Fischer, Sonya Doerr, Jenny Battenberg, Claire Rineberg, and our front desk staff – Clara, Evelyn, Taryn, and Lily!
Nutcracker Casting 2025: DanceStation classes
I know many of you may have children in different shows. There was no way around this, as I have soooo many siblings at this studio. The studio needs to have 3 different casts to spread out our numbers of dancers in each show, and even doing that, the performances still sell out every year. Once you sign the permission slip and commit to the Nutcracker rehearsals, please get your important tickets ASAP through the Hett box office, not through DanceStation. The promo code for our families is Dancestation25 to get a discount on tickets. The promo code is only for DanceStation families, not the general public.
If you wait until December to get tickets, it will be sold out. In 2023, all three shows sold out by the beginning of November. It truly is a beautiful performance and a very popular holiday activity in our community, and not just for our DanceStation parents!
Class day/time casting Performance day/time
Pre/K A 3-4 yr olds Mon 5-5:45pm Bubble Gum Fri. Dec 12th 6:30pm
Pre/K B 3-4 yr olds Wed 4:30-5:15pm Bubble Gum Sat. Dec 13th 2pm
Pre/K C 3-4 yr olds Thur 5:15-6pm Bubble Gum Sat. Dec 13th 6:30pm
Pre-ballet/tap A 5-6 yr olds Mon 5:45-6:45pm Gingerbread Fri. Dec 12th 6:30pm
Preballet/tap B 5-6 yr olds Tues 5-6pm Lemon Drops Sat. Dec 13th 2pm
Preballet/tap C 5-6 yr olds Wed 6:30-7:30pm Gingerbread Sat. Dec 13th 2pm
Preballet/tap D 5-6 yr olds Thur 6-7pm Gingerbread Sat. Dec 13th 6:30pm
Combo Ballet/Jazz/Tap 1 A Mon 6:45-8pm Mice Fri. Dec. 12th 6:30pm
Combo Ballet/Jazz/Tap 1 B Wed 5:15-6:30pm Mice Sat. Dec 13th 2pm
Combo Ballet/Jazz/Tap 1 C Thur 7-8:15pm Mice Sat. Dec. 13th 6:30pm
Ballet 3 Wed 5:30-6:30pm Angels Fri. Dec 12th 6:30pm
Mon and Wed Ballet 2 Mon 5:15-6:15/Wed 6:30-7:30 Angels Sat. Dec 13th 2pm
Ballet 3 Wed 5:30-6:30pm Angels Sat. Dec 13th 6:30pm
Ballet 4 Tues 5-6pm Arabian all three shows
Ballet 5 Mon 5:15-6:30pm Candy Canes all three shows
Ballet 6/7 Tues 6-7:15 Mother Ginger all three shows
Int Ballet Mon 6:30-8pm Snow all three shows
Adv Ballet Mon 8-9:30pm Flowers all three shows
DanceStation Nutcracker Costume Rental and Participation Form
please sign and return, with the rental fee, to the studio.
There is a $45 participation fee/costume rental due (per student) with this permission slip to participate in our December Nutcracker. It is due with the October monthly installment on the first class of October. The fee is non-refundable once the contract has been signed. Please mark your calendar with these dates now as they are 100% mandatory if you choose to have your child participate. If you have a conflict on one of these dates, you will have to choose between the two events. There are no exceptions. We hope you can participate!
I __________________________________ parent or guardian of _______________________________
understand that this $45 fee is non-refundable and that there are two dress rehearsals that I know my child must attend in order to participate in the show.
- Dress Rehearsal and group pictures at DanceStation on Saturday, Dec 6th
- Dress Rehearsal at the Hett on Thursday afternoon/evening, Dec 11th
These are both mandatory in order to participate in the Nutcracker shows on Dec. 12th and/or 13th
I understand that I must purchase tickets through the Hettenhausen Center for the Arts Box office – 618-537-6863 (hours Mon- Fri 12pm -4pm) or online at mckendree.edu/the_hett/
Tickets sell quickly in the fall and always sell out by November every year. DanceStation does not sell tickets to this event at the studio.
In addition, I understand that attendance in their ballet class (or combination ballet/tap class for younger students) is crucial in November and December. Starting in November, we have 5 classes to get their Nutcracker dance taught, rehearsed, spaced, and performance ready.
1 absence due to illness or a graded school event – we can absolutely work with – but please try and avoid if possible
2 absences – may affect your child’s stage placement in the dance
3 or more absences – your dancer will not be able to participate due to missing over half of the rehearsals. Please make every effort to have good attendance for those 5 weeks!!!!
This form goes back to the studio in the orange bin in the lobby, due by the first class in October. Fees are due with the form and can be paid by check, cash, or online on the Dancestation Parent Portal.
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