September 2017
Welcome back dancers and hello to new students!
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 the 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 cues that will make our show quite spectacular and professional. It also means that our shows are open to the public and the purchasing of tickets goes through The Hett. Why is this important? 1. Because tickets are already going fast! So, 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, unlike how I do open seating at our recitals. So if you want a group of people to sit together, you need to call the box office or log in to the Hett website soon. I cannot stress enough that if you wait until November or December to buy tickets there may only be single seats available.
At the top of this newsletter is your child’s performance night and casting. If your child cannot attend the Dec 15-16th performance – please tell your child’s teacher immediately as we are already measuring for costumes these first two weeks. Each child will have a $40 costume rental to participate in the show. It is going to be an amazing weekend for our dancers 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 the Dress Rehearsal evening for all dancers is Thur Dec. 14th. We will have 3 performances: 7:30pm Friday, Dec. 15, 2pm Saturday, Dec. 16th and 7:30pm Saturday, Dec. 16th. All ¾ yr old classes will be in the 2pm show. Pre/K 5/6 yr, Combo Ballet/Jazz/Tap, Ballet 2 – 5 classes will be in one show. Ballet 6 – Adv Ballet will be in all three shows. 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 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. For the most part the schedule is set now, but some rearranging may be necessary. Thank you in advance for your patience.
Parking: please make sure to park in our lot or use street parking. The ice cream lot is small and is reserved for their costumers only.
Dress Code: Students are expected to follow the dress code (it is posted on our website). Older students please set a good example in this respect. All students in ballet classes (Ballet 2 and up) are asked to wear their hair in a bun or secured neatly to the head. Students must wear pink tights to all ballet, Cecchetti, and pointe classes. Jazz and modern classes– Students must wear a leotard to all classes. You may wear black jazz pants, capris, or tights and dance shorts with the leotard. Tight t-shirts or tank tops are acceptable over the leotard, but all students should be prepared to remove them if their teacher asks (and I usually do). Dancers may wear dance shorts to jazz/tap and modern class, but please wear tights underneath your shorter dance shorts. Longer length black yoga shorts may be worn without tights. Ladies, no gym shorts please. Boys wear black athletic shorts or pants, and white t-shirt, black ballet shoes, and black tap shoes. Hip Hop boys wear athletic shorts/pants, any solid color t-shirt, and clean tennis shoes or street shoes.
Dancers in Ballet 2 and up: Hair – last year we went through hundreds of hair-ties and hairnets and thousands of bobby pins. My emergency stash behind the desk is meant for emergencies, not for everyday use. 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. My advice is to keep a baggy in their dance bag with lots of extras in case they come straight from school.
We are running a Tuesday evening Adult Tap class this year from 7:30-8:30pm – beginners and experienced welcome! Boys Hip Hop is a big class this year, so if you have a brother that wants to try – this is the year. Tues 7-8pm ages 7 and up. (2nd family member is 20% off tuition, and 3rd is 50% off!!!)
Calendar: View the DanceStation’s yearly calendar here. I know many of you plan your vacations around (and hopefully after!!) the recital, so mark your calendars now! June 8 is dress rehearsal and June 9 is the recital at McKendree University. 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.
DanceStation has a Facebook page. For easy access to reach many of you at once, please ‘like’ the page to see updates throughout the year. We will post weather cancellations or make-up classes as well as reminders about different events throughout the year. You can also check the actual website for updates.
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.
I know the weather is still nice, but please have your children wait inside for you to come and pick them up. Evening class times will be getting darker soon, and we just want everyone to be safe. Students: remember to wear street clothes when walking over to get ice cream next door. J
Front Desk Hours: Mon-Thur 3:30-5:30pm
Have a great year!!! Thank you from all of our teachers—Elizabeth Conway, Lisbeth Brown, Sonya Doerr, Jennifer Fischer, Jenny Battenberg, and our front desk staff—Hayden, Natalie, and both Sydney’s.
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