Message from Miss Vanessa:
I always set New Year’s Resolutions, and love taking the time to reflect on the year we’re closing out and making plans for the new year. I think it would be fun for us to wrap up our 2016 as a studio and take a look ahead at our plans and goals for 2017!
In 2016, we:
- Had a wonderful competitive season (January through April)
- Restructured our competitive program and expanded from 5 Company groups to 6
- Performed our BEST recital yet in June
- Rebranded Donna’s Dance Place to The Pointe School of Dance
- New website, new monthly newsletter, new blog
- Started our Referral Program (it was SO fun writing out so many dance shop gift certificates – keep them coming!)
- Revamped our preschool and kindergarten dance program – adjusted class lengths and names of classes, added our Hippity Hop class
- Licensed as a More Than Just Great Dancing studio (a huge honor!)
- Revamped our lobby (new furniture!), lounge (check out the senior wall!), and dressing room
- Began our Chance to Dance program for dancers with special needs
- Partnered with the Zach Johnson Kids on Course Foundation (www.kidsoncoursecr.com) to provide FREE after-school dance classes at three elementary schools in the Cedar Rapids Community School district – many of these students would not otherwise have the opportunity to take a dance class
- Became members of YPAD (Youth Protection Advocates in Dance – a non-profit organization dedicated to keeping kids happy, healthy, and safe in dance) – check them out: www.ypad4change.org
- Miss Vanessa joined the Advisory Panel of YPAD – working with leaders in the dance industry to advocate for healthy and safe dance experiences for kids around the world (http://www.ypad4change.org/advisory-panel/)
- Upgraded our office and dance shop – new computer, new software system (yay for online account management!), new counters
- Added iPads to each studio room so teachers can take attendance and record class notes online
- Started (we’ll finish this project early 2017) upgrading the lighting inside and outside the building to LED lights – helping us reduce our environmental impact (and the spaces feel bigger and brighter!)
- Partnered with the Moscow Ballet to be the Host School for their Great Russian Nutcracker performance in Fairfield, IA – we were thrilled to be asked by the Moscow Ballet to perform with them in their Nutcracker, and have been asked to do the same next year!
- Hosted our Holiday Party and Company Preview at Linn-Mar HS – including our very first All-Company Production number
- Are currently working on some more studio renovations (you’ll see what we’ve been up to over break when you come back to class – this one is HUGE)
Looking forward, here are some plans we have for 2017:
- Continue our partnership with Kids On Course to provide more opportunities for students to experience the joy of dance
- Continue improving our studio spaces
- Become a YPAD-Certified Studio – our entire staff will complete intensive training in April this year for our studio to earn YPAD Certification. The Pointe will be the third or fourth studio in the world to earn this certification – we are SO proud to be on the cutting edge of ensuring safe, healthy, and positive dance education.
- Start more outreach programs to reach more families in the Cedar Rapids area with a positive dance experience
- Build on our current fitness classes to create a full fitness program at The Pointe
- Have our best competitive season yet – starting in February, our 6 company groups will compete at regional competitions
- Perform our best recital yet (check out our recital theme reveal here
- Grow more programs and opportunities for our students to excel in dance and in life
WOW. What a year. I hope you all are able to take a little time today and reflect on the achievements and successes you had in 2016. We are so thankful to be on this journey with you! 2016 was pretty great for us, and we think that 2017 will be even better.
Calendar:
January 4: Classes resume
January: Look for our summer schedule – we’ll have classes and summer camps for all ages!
February 1: Summer Registration opens online!
March 11 – 17: Spring Break (no classes)
April 1: Recital Fee Due
April 14 – 16: Easter Weekend (no classes Friday through Sunday)
May 1: 2017-2018 Registration opens online!
May 21 – 25: Studio Dress Rehearsals & Recital Pictures (detailed schedule to come)
June 4: 2017-2018 Company Audition Information Meeting & 2016-2017 Company Banquet
June 6-8: Paramount Theatre Dress Rehearsals
June 11: RECITAL 2017!
June 13: 2017-2018 Company Auditions
Reminders:
We will be starting to work on recital routines – regular attendance is critical for dancers to learn and retain their choreography. Please use the forms on the bottom of our website to let us know of any absences. At www.thepointeschool.com, there is a link that says “PSD Absences”.
Costumes are starting to arrive! We will be receiving costumes through mid-April – when we are ready to hand costumes out, we will send them home with your dancer and email instructions home to you. Most costumes fit great and don’t need any alteration (just hung up nicely in a closet!) – but all costumes need each piece labeled, and some may require very small adjustments. Every costume that requires tights will come with a coupon to pick up your free pair of tights from the dance shop. These tights must be picked up no later than June 3.
December Wrap Up:
