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Van Dance Studios

Welcome to VanDance Studios. With studio locations all over Southern Alberta, we are excited to help provide a high quality recreational/exam based dance program. We offer classes for all age categories and skill levels, and with our qualified instructors can help you and your children get the most out of their efforts in this beautiful art form. Please take some time to browse our website and blog. We have information available to help you with registration, scheduling, staff bios and qualifications, as well as a few select pictures featuring some of our memories over the last few years. If any questions arise, please use the contact form to let us know, and we will be sure to respond as quickly as possible.

Updates and Events

 

Attached are Updates for Both Ballet and Tap Exams…Please read through

February updates:
No regular classes Family Week (Monday Feb 16-23 inclusive)
Sadly, we still have had some missing items gone from the dressing room. I urge all students not to take any valuable items to dance. If you need to bring things into class you may do so but know that our dance space is limited.
Parents, please speak to your children about cleaning up after themselves if they stay at the studio for dinners and breaks. We have seen in the past month or so the mess after break days has increased. Everyone tidy up after themselves so we can share the space happily!
There are Tap_Dance_Shoesstill accounts for regular classes still not looked after. Please do so immediately.

Important Dates to Remember:

  • Feb 4 Festival private lesson deposits were due. Not many accounts have been brought up to date. The studio will no longer carry these accounts and private lessons will cease for those whose accounts are not being kept up to date. Festival solos and duos are an extracurricular activity and are YOUR responsibility to keep up to date.
  • Family Week/Teachers Convention Week No regular classes Feb. 15-22 inclusive
  • Parent Viewing will take place Feb 23-28 Due to the change of teachers.
  • Ballet Exam Mock Exam Feb 28. All students need to attend in proper exam attire. Schedule for the Mock exam is attached.
  • Ballet Exams to take place March 10, 11
  • Yates Rehearsal Week for Festival Classes April 1 and 2 (still trying to get a date for our senior students!)
  • Easter Break Week No classes from Friday April 3-12 inclusive
  • Festival of Friends in Medicine Hat April 12 (still accepting Entries)
  • Dance Power starts April 14
  • Peak Festival Calgary starts April 22 or 23
  • Moose Jaw Festival of Dance April 29-May 3
  • We have received a draft schedule for GCDC in Kelowna May 13
  • Picture Days May 6 and 7
  • Yates Rehearsals for Year End Show May 19, 20
  • Year End Show May 21(7:30), 22(7:30), 23(1:30 possible) (7:30)
  • Tap Exams May 25
  • Jazz Exams approximately May 30

Festival/Exam Students:

  • Still accepting Tap and Jazz entries for exams, however, since the deadlines have passed, there is a 20% increase in fees levied by the exam company. Please bring in to the office immediately if your child is still wanting to participate
  • CD’s for Practice for Both Tap, Jazz and Ballet are available at the office. A regular practice schedule should be taking place at home! $10 from the office.
  • Miss Renee asked me to add??PLEASE USE THE CD?s?!!!
  • Group Music cd’s are slowly becoming available from the teachers. $5 from the office.
  • Please watch the solo/duo company schedule and check it Friday Morning for any updates. The schedule changes weekly…sometimes nightly!
  • The schedule for family week will be set up by individual teachers. Please contact your instructor directly to confirm times.
  • Please be sure that your private lesson accounts are kept up to date. I know that billing is done for up to the end of Jan and we are working on Feb.
  • Tap exam dances were recorded and put on face book to help the students practice. Scroll back through our video
  • Practice:

 

I was asked by several of the instructors to put in a blurb about home practice. It is the time of year that we as teachers can only do our job of cleaning and correcting if the students come to class knowing their work and corrections from week to week. It is most important that we work together as a team to get our best results. It is frustrating for the instructors and very discouraging to the students if they do not remember from week to week. Please practice!

The blurb below is copied and pasted from the solo private lesson info that went out in October.

Pertaining to festival private lessons for solos, duos (and company groups), a base fee of $20 per dance will be placed on the bill. This base fee will go directly to the teacher who is choreographing your dance.

  • This fee is to go towards the teachers extra time and effort before and after your class.
  • Finding and cutting music as well as burning you a cd at their expense (this can take hours) If you choose to find your own, that is fine too. The teacher then spends the time working on it.
  • Private lesson preparation. Some teachers pre choreograph, some just pre-plan or block.
  • Time spent backstage at festival. Teachers do not usually bill for this time. Hours can be long and this is part of the job. We are lucky that we have so many instructors at our studio and we always have teachers backstage. It may not always be your own teacher but the teachers will work this out between them.
  • Travel expense and hotel costs to various festivals. This fee will help to cover their expense.
  • Time spent costume hunting or brain storming ideas.

Most students receive between 8-12 private lessons per dance within the year (depending on how much your child practices). The studio will not carry this balance as teacher’s bill weekly for lessons. We ask that deposits of $75 per dance are into the studio on the following dates: Nov.5 and February 4. Please mark on your cheque studio private lesson deposit. Our book keeper needs to know where to allocate all payments!
Some have not paid the first deposit. Please do both!
BILLING/Payment: The private lesson accounts can be viewed at any time in the festival private lesson billing binder by the parents. They will not be billed out by the studio until after the final festival. It is the responsibility of the parent, not the bookkeeper, to watch this account throughout the year and if another payment needs to be made, you can do so at any time. These accounts are not entered into our accounts until our year end as it can become a book keeping nightmare. These accounts are a separate entity. They will not be combined or put onto regular accounts throughout the year. Please be responsible for your own account. It is an extracurricular activity and your responsibility to keep it up to date. There are still accounts owing from last season which need to be cleared up before this year?s lessons will be given.

 

Types of Dance

We often get questions about what the various types of dance are. To help with some of the inquiries we have prepared a guide which describes the various types of dance. You can access the document by clicking here or by contacting the studio for more information.