May 2021 Parent Letter

Dear Parents and Students,

Is it me, or did April just fly by? We have just over a month until our concert, so this letter contains very important information! Please save it for your records.

Attendance. With the concert approaching, attendance is very important! We do not want dancers to come to class if you are sick, but if they have an injury they should still come to class so they can observe rehearsal. As always, please contact us if your child will be absent for any reason.

May tuition is now due if you are paying monthly. I will be posting June tuition (which will be adjusted to account for the shorter month) on May 11 if you want to pay that early. Make sure you have also paid your performance fee and costume fee if you are performing in the concert.

Class pictures! We are planning to take class pictures on Tuesday, May 18 and Thursday, May 20. Please review the following times and let me know ASAP if your dancer will be unable to attend the time listed (and indicate if they could come at an earlier or later time).

Creative Movement: Tuesday, May 18, 4:45-5:20

Elementary 1 Tuesday class: Tuesday, May 18, 4:15-5:00 (regular class time)

Elementary 1 Thursday & Friday classes: 5:00-5:45 (regular class time for Thursday class)

Elementary 2: Thursday, May 20, 5:20-6:00

Ballet A: Thursday, May 20, 4:45-5:20 (if you attend class on Thursday come at the regular time and plan to stay until 5:20)

Ballet B: Tuesday, May 18, 4:00-4:40 (regular class will follow)

Ballet C: Thursday, May 20, 5:45-6:20 (regular class will follow)

Ballet D/E/F, soloists: Tuesday, May 18, 5:00-6:00

I will be sending a pre-order form from our photographer so you can order individual and group prints in advance if you choose. We do want all dancers to be present for photos even if you don’t plan to purchase photos because I would like a group shot of each class.

Last week of regular class schedule. May 22 is our last day of regular classes. Starting the 24th, if your child is not performing, they will be on summer break! For everyone else, please refer to the rehearsal schedule at the end of this email (also sent in the April parent letter). The D/E/F schedule went out last week.

Help needed! We are looking for a few costume items for SYB, specifically a men’s bomber jacket, aviator hat and/or goggles (think Chris Pine’s character in Wonder Woman), and white onesie pajamas or sweatpants and sweatshirt that can fit a child size 8/10. We are also in need of a few backstage volunteers. These can be moms or older sisters who can help younger students get ready and escort them to and from the stage. Backstage volunteers will be able to watch the class they are monitoring from backstage and do not pay admission. If you are interested in helping backstage, please contact Katie Frederick, our SYB Guild president, at kpatfrederick@gmail.com.

Two-Week Rehearsal period. As stated in the April parent letter, on May 24, we will replace our regular class schedule with rehearsals for the concert. You can see that schedule again at the bottom of this email.

Concert update - tickets. We are still planning to hold our concert at the Fox theater; however, due to the pandemic, we can’t sell tickets very far in advance as we won’t know how many seats we can actually fill until May 24. Plan on each family being able to purchase two in-person seats. We will also be selling digital tickets to view a livestream of the performance. I know it’s a bummer to have to do things this way, but at this point I’m just glad we’re able to have a performance at all after the disappointment of canceling last year.

Concert packet. I will be sending home a packet of information for the concert weekend, including arrival times and locateons, makeup information, what to expect, and more. Expect to receive this packet by May 22.

Summer Classes! Can’t wait until the fall to come back to class? We are offering summer workshops for all levels. You can find out more at spokaneacademyofdance.com/summer-programs and go to Dance Studio-Pro to enroll. Unfortunately we don’t have exact times for the Ballet A-F workshops yet, but we should by June 1 (possibly 9-2 or 10-3 for A/B and 9-3 or 10-4 for C-F).

Rehearsal Schedule May 24-June 3

Creative Movement: Monday, 5/24 4:00-6:00; Thursday, 5/27, 4:00-5:30; Tuesday, 6/1, 4:00-5:00; Thursday, 6/3, 5:30-7:00 Elementary 1 and 2: Wednesday, 5/26, 4:00-6:00; Thursday, 5/27, 4:00-5:30; Wednesday, 6/2, 5:00-6:30; Thursday, 6/3, 6:00-7:00 Ballet A & B: Wednesday, 5/26, 4:00-6:00; Thursday, 5/27, 5:30-7:00; Wednesday, 6/2, 5:00-6:30; Thursday, 6/3, 6:00-7:00 Ballet C: Tuesday, 5/25, 4:00-7:00; Thursday, 5/27, 5:30-7:00; Tuesday, 6/1, 5:00-7:00; Thursday, 6/3, 4:00-7:00

The following times are for Ballet D/E/F:

Monday, 5/24

4:00-6:00 Ballet D/E/F including Ally (no Tristan or Tia) (no Ben)

Tuesday, 5/25

Before 4 pm Wheat Dance pas de deux: Ally & Ben

4:00-5:00 Class

5:00-7:00 Village scene: Ballet D/E/F including Ally, Tia, Tristan; Ben, Brooke, Anastacia

Wednesday, 5/26

Before 4 pm Village & Workshop scenes: Ally, Ben, Dr. Coppelius only

4:00-6:00 Wedding scene (partial): Aubrey, Brooke, Bella only

Thursday, 5/27

Before 4 pm Grand pas de deux: Ally & Ben

4:00-5:30 Finale part 1: Aubrey, Brooke, Bella, Anastacia

5:30-7:00 Finale part 2: ALL Ballet D/E/F, Sara, Brooke

Friday, 5/28

4:00-5:30 D/E/F Class

5:30-6:30 Dance of the Hours: Ballet D/E/F, Sara (no Tia, Tristan, or Ally)

6:30-7:30 Pas de Deux: Ben & Ally

Saturday, 5/29

10:00-11:30 D/E/F Class

Monday, 5/31 (Memorial Day)

4:00-6:00 Ben, Ally, Brooke, Tristan (maybe), Bella, Aubrey, Anastacia

Tuesday, 6/1

4:00-5:00 Workshop Scene: Ballet D/E/F (no Tia or Tristan); Ally, Ben, Anastacia

5:00-6:00 D/E/F Class

6:00-7:00 Village Scene: Ballet D/E/F including Tia, Tristan, Ally; Ben, Anastacia

Wednesday, 6/2

4:00-5:00 D/E/F Class

5:00-6:30 Wedding Scene – Ballet D/E/F including Ally (no Tristan or Tia), Sara, Ben

Thursday, 6/3

4:00-5:00 D/E/F Class

5:00-7:00 Coppelia full run-through: FULL CAST

We are getting close to the end of the school year! Let’s finish strong!

Coming Soon: Teen/Adult Classes

We will be holding three ballet classes in December for teens and adults with or without prior experience! We're hoping to launch six-week courses starting in January, so these classes will be a way of testing the waters to see if there's enough interest.

The classes will be Saturdays from 10:00-11:30 am on December 7, 14, and 21, and cost $10 each.

Come in a comfortable clothing you can move in, or a leotard and tights. No ballet shoes? Wear socks!

Call or email the studio if you're interested or have any questions.

November Parent Letter

Dear Parents and Students,

Happy November! Here is the latest news from the Academy of Dance.

Food Focus Month. This month, we are going to focus on developing a healthy attitude toward the food we eat. Many young people struggle with their body image, and in a discipline that requires spending a lot of time in front of a mirror, dancers are especially susceptible to this. At the Academy of Dance, we believe that we should be less concerned about what our bodies look like and more concerned with what they can do. The human body is a miracle of design, and it is capable of incredible feats of athleticism and artistry. Our responsibility is to care for our bodies by fueling them with nutrient-rich foods that will keep us healthy and strong.

Holidays. As noted on class information pages, we will have classes on Monday, November 11 (Veterans Day). If you plan to be absent, you can make up the class by attending one level down from your normal class (Creative Movement can come to Elementary 1 on Tuesday from 4:15-5:00). There are quite a few holidays on Mondays this year, and I don’t think it’s fair to the Monday classes not to give them an equal amount of class time. We will be closed November 27-28 for Thanksgiving, however. Again, students whose classes normally meet those days are welcome to attend one level lower than their regular class either earlier that week, the previous week, or the following week. 

Attendance and making up absences. Attendance was an issue in several classes last month. Please remember to inform the studio by phone or email if your child is going to be absent for any reason. If your child does miss a class, they can always make up their absence. Please contact the office or email me to schedule a make-up.

School closure reminder. Since it’s already snowed three times as of this writing, I thought it would be good to remind everyone that when Central Valley School District cancels school due to inclement weather, the Academy of Dance will also be closed that day. We will not close for two-hour delays. If schools close due to extremely low temperatures but the roads are clear, we will still have class. Since there’s no school on Saturday, I will send an email, robo-text, and robo-call by 8:00 am to students enrolled in Saturday classes if we need to cancel for the day.

Dress code reminder & new policy. Please remember to cover up outside the studio! As the weather gets colder, this is increasingly important; however, it is a good idea to wear clothing over your dance attire year-round. Additionally, beginning in January, we will be asking students not to wear false nails to class. This is a potential safety issue, especially in the upstairs studio which has a low ceiling. For the ballet aesthetic, fingernails should be bare or painted with clear or natural color.

AOD Apparel order! We will be working with Happy Dance in Post Falls to get some Academy of Dance T-shirts and sweatshirts. Unlike last year’s store, the choices of apparel will be much more limited this time around, but the shirts are high quality and relatively low in price. We will have an order form for you to fill out if you would like to make a purchase. I’ll send more information when that’s ready.

Upcoming SYB concert! In case you haven’t heard, our junior company, Spokane Youth Ballet, will be performing in January! We are doing a production of “Peter and the Wolf” followed by some student-choreographed pieces. I highly encourage everyone to come – it’s a great ballet for children! The performance will be January 11 at 2:00 pm at the Bing Crosby Theater.

Conferences. Remember to contact the office if you would like to schedule a parent/teacher conference regarding your child.