Monday Jazz class

We were open for business this past Monday! 

Although my photography skills aren't so great, I thought I would share a couple photos of the 5th and 6th grade Jazz dancers in action! 

Meeting Misty Copeland

Earlier in the year, I posted a video of Misty Copeland's Under Armour ad and spoke of her incredible influence on the dance community.  Well, Misty Copeland was in town yesterday for a breakfast and book signing at the Pratt library followed by a photo opportunity event at Under Armour Harbor East. I stood in line for my turn to meet this incredible role model! Here's my photo:

Winter/Spring 2015 - General Information and Important Dates

Start Date: 

Classes begin Monday, January 5, 2015! 

Families of girls in grades 5 and 6 taking our Monday evening classes were emailed separately- please let me know if your daughter is in that class but you did not receive my email. 

No dance classes will be held on the following dates:

Generally, we follow the Bryn Mawr school calendar.  While I will send out reminders regarding days off, please make note of these dates for your planning purposes.

Monday, January 19th-  Martin Luther King Day- no dance classes 

Friday, February 13th- No dance class due to Professional Day (students are off school)

Monday, February 16th- President's Day- no dance classes

March 16th- 20th- Spring Break

Monday, March 23rd- Class is ON despite this being the last day of Spring Break.

Friday April 3rd- Good Friday- no dance classes

Performance/ end date:  

Our performance is on Sunday April 19th at 3pm. I will provide you with rehearsal times as soon as I have all of the necessary information regarding stage availability and technical assistance.

Uniform: 

All dancers are expected to wear a plain black, tank style leotard.  Ballet dancers wear pink tights, a black ballet skirt and pink ballet slippers.  Jazz dancers wear plain black jazz pants and black jazz shoes. Hair should be pulled back off the dancers face in a ponytail. Please see the website for specific examples: (http://www.brynmawrschool.org/danceschool#uniform)

You may purchase required clothing from various stores/websites- some options are Discount Dance Supply: (http://www.discountdance.com/), Target, Payless for shoes, and Dancewear Solutions (http://www.dancewearsolutions.com/).

If your daughter has outgrown her shoes and you would like to donate them to our shoe exchange, please send them in with your daughter.  If you need shoes, let me know and I can check to see if we have her size. 

Labeling: 

In order to avoid missing school uniform pieces and/or dance clothing, please label ALL clothing and shoes (both school uniform and dance attire).  Please have your daughter bring her dance clothes to school in a small, separate bag.  

Getting to and from class: 

Students in grades k-1: Students in k-1 will go to Extended Day until it is time for their dance class.  They will either be walked to class by their teacher or by an Extended Day staff member.  

Students in grades 2-5:  

On Wednesday afternoons, I will pick the Ballet students up in the Lower School and walk them to class where they will change. Jazz students will go to Extended Day for 45 minutes and then they will be walked to class by an Extended Day staff member.  

On Friday afternoons, Renuka will meet her class in the Elementary Center and then proceed to class. 

-We have several Upper School students assisting in our classes and they may be helping with these transitions as well. 

-Backpacks will be left at the Lower School and retrieved once dancers return from class.

Pick Up:

Grades k-4:All students will be walked back to the Lower school at the conclusion of their class(es).  Please note that students will be back at the Lower School approximately 10 minutes after their class ends.  Please park in the LS spots instead of waiting in the carpool line. 

Please note:  If your daughter is not a regular Extended Day student, you must pick up promptly at the end of class.

Monday evening classes for grades 5-8: 5th graders who are in the 5pm Ballet class AND are enrolled in Extended Day will be walked to dance class from Extended Day.  Any 6th graders enrolled in Ballet that attend after care at BMS, will be allowed to sign out of after care and walk to the dance studio.  All other students should be dropped off at the main dance studio which is off of the Northern Parkway Circle. At the conclusion of class you may also pick up your daughter at the Northern Parkway traffic circle or wait for her outside of the studio. 

Enrollment update:

Just a couple of days ago we enrolled our 100th student for this semester- I'm truly amazed! While most classes are now closed, there is still a little room in the Monday afternoon and evening classes:

3:45-4:30- Jazz for grades 2-5

5- 6pm- Beg/Adv Beg Ballet for grades 5-8

6-7pm Beg/Adv Beg Jazz for grades 5-8  

Snack: 

If your daughter is a regularly enrolled Extended Day student (meaning she is on contract for the day she has dance class), her snack is provided. However, if she is only attending Extended Day for the purpose of dance classes, we would appreciate it if you could pack a small snack for her to eat quickly before dance class. 

Observation: 

There is no in-class observation allowed as it can be distracting to the dancers to have family in the dance studio with them.  We look forward to sharing all of the wonderful work your dancers have accomplished at our December performance.

Blog: 

 I will be updating the blog weekly. Here is the link:  http://bmsdanceschool.blogspot.com/. You can also access our blog directly from our website: 

http://www.brynmawrschool.org/danceschool

Payment: 

You will be billed to your BMS account after the first week of classes. After this time, there are no refunds. 

I think (and hope!) that I covered everything but please feel free to email me if you have any questions.  If you have another email address where you would like information sent, just let me know and I can add it to my distribution list. Additionally, if you speak to someone that you know is enrolled in dance but they, for some reason, did not receive this email, please let me know so that I can be sure to add them. 

Misty Copeland making history!

Earlier in the year, I posted Misty Copeland's I Will What I Want ad campaign for Under Armour.  Today, I am sharing Misty Copeland as Clara in The Nutcracker as she makes history as the first African American to dance the role of Clara.

Enjoy!

http://ac360.blogs.cnn.com/2014/12/18/ballerina-misty-copeland-makes-history/?hpt=ac_mid

I love the time before dancers arrive....

But I love a full stage even more!

Thank you for a wonderful performance!

December 7th Rehearsal/ Performance Info.

Dear parents,

Below you will find the rehearsal schedule for our performance on Sunday, December 7th, 2014. Please note that we are asking 4 classes to arrive at the same time and will be asking those four classes to stay in Centennial Hall the entire allotted time slot so that we have some flexibility as to which classes are on stage at any given time. 

It is very important that all dancers attend and are on time for this rehearsal so that they are comfortable on stage- this rehearsal provides the dancers with a chance to practice their dance(s) without the use of the mirror which is quite important.  Missing dancers can also cause confusion for our young dancers. 

Schedule:

11:30 Gandhi's Wednesday Jazz for grades 2-5 

           Gandhi's Friday Jazz for grades 2-5 

           Tankersley's Thursday Jazz for grades 5-8 

           Tankersley's Thursday Ballet for grades 5-8 

12:45: Tankersley's Wednesday Ballet for grades 1-4

            Gandhi's Wednesday Ballet for grades k-p1

            Tankersley's Wednesday Jazz for grades k-1

            Tankersley's Friday Jazz for grades k-1

2:30-  All students will change into full costumes.  We will be using the cafeteria as a changing area.  

3:00- Show time! This is a free, informal performance.  Please keep in mind that we have close to 85 dancers and space is limited.

Upon arrival, dancers should come to the main entrance of Centennial Hall where we will check them in.  They should wear their regular dance class attire as costumes will be handed out during rehearsal. 

Hair: Ballet students should wear their hair in a bun while Jazz students may wear their hair in a neat ponytail with bangs pinned back off of their face. Lots of bobby pins and hairspray will be helpful for the buns!  If your daughter is in both Ballet and Jazz, she may keep her hair in a bun the entire time.  

Makeup: Because we are on the stage with bright lights, a little bit of makeup is helpful so that we can see the dancers faces. A little bit of bright pink or red lipstick, blush, and mascara should suffice.  

Performance: Doors will open at 2:45 for the performance.  There are no reserved seats and, while there is plenty of room in Centennial Hall, we do have close to 90 dancers so we are asking that you please limit attendance to 4 per family.

                     Volunteers:

I do have some Upper School students who will be helping us keep the dancers organized but we will also need some parent volunteers as well. Here is a link to the Sign-up genius asking for assistance with the following:

http://www.signupgenius.com/go/8050a44aaa92c7-dance1

*Chaperones during rehearsal times (4-5 for each time slot)

*Backstage help (6-8 you will be able to go into the theatre to watch your daughter's dance)

*Video recording (1):  I will provide the video camera.

*Reception organization: (one or two people would need to take the lead on this)

Food:

Please pack lunch/ snacks for your daughter. I will have some snacks available, however, it will not be enough to last the entire day.  Additionally, please have your daughter bring a refillable water bottle. 

Should you have any questions at this time, please feel free to ask!

Dance with meaning

The following video has been floating around the internet for a week or so and I just got around to watching it last night.  I won't say too much about it as it really speaks for itself.  What I will say is that teaching dance, in my opinion, goes beyond plies, leaps and pretty costumes- we can use our art for so much more.  This video demonstrates wonderful choreography and dancing along with a very important message.  I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

http://www.upworthy.com/since-when-does-being-popular-mean-having-to-put-up-with-this-kind-of-bullying?g=2&c=ufb1