Sept Newsletter
DanceStation News: September 2023
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 (like this week!). 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 2019 and 2021, we sold out in early November, and they had to open their overflow seats in the back to accommodate people that waited until it was too late.
*Tickets: The Hettenhausen box office is open Mon-Thur 12pm-4pm. The number is 618-537-6863 or online at mckendree.edu. Our DanceStation families have a special code SSDC2023 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 15th 6:30pm, Sat Dec 16th 2pm, and Sat Dec 16th 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 9th, 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. 14th. The 3 performances are: 6:30pm on Friday, Dec. 15th, 2pm Saturday, Dec. 16th and 6:30pm on Saturday, Dec. 16th. Purchase tickets through The Hett box office 618-537-6863 or online at McKendree.edu.
On to a few reminders for the month:
Pictures 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. The Construction project on the studio should be finished by 3:30pm daily the first week and will not affect our classes.
Dress Code: Students are expected to follow the dress code (it is posted on our website and was in the last newsletter). 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: Sent home with this newsletter is DanceStation’s yearly calendar. I know many of you plan your vacations around (and hopefully after!!) the recital, so mark your calendars now! RECITAL WEEK IS June 3-8th. 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 be missing 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 week of every month. After the 15th of each month a $10 late fee will be added to your bill. If you have a special circumstance 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, and our front desk staff—Ava, Aileen, Mary, and Callie!
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