January 2018 Newsletter

Message from Miss Vanessa:

Happy New Year!  Wow, 2017 just FLEW by!  We have some big goals and plans for 2018, and can’t wait to work hard in the studios with our students to help them reach their dance goals for the year.

We’re back in classes starting today after the holiday break, and will start working hard on recital routines and choreography as soon as we get back in to class.  Some recital costumes have already arrived – and we’ll work in the office to get all of these labeled and organized and ready to distribute.  We have a few new systems in place (plus will be hosting an AWESOME costume day in May!) to help the costuming process go as smoothly as possible with distribution and trying the costumes on in class.  Recital costumes have scattered arrival times between over the holiday break and through the end of April – if your class doesn’t have costumes yet, they are coming and all of our ship dates leave plenty of time before recital pictures in May.

This month, we’re buckling down to work on detailed recital schedules – picture week schedule, dress rehearsal schedule, etc – and will email that information home to you as soon as we have it ready.  We work hard to ensure dancers in multiple dances have enough time to change costumes in between numbers, build an exciting show order with lots of variety, and help our backstage processes run smoothly.  If you’re a first-time dance parent and anything seems confusing, please don’t hesitate to reach out – we are here to help!  Recital in June 2018 is something we’ve been working on since January 2017 – and all of the hard work and rehearsal time pays off amazingly when we see our dancers perform and show what they’ve learned all year.  We’re also working on summer schedules – we are brainstorming how to build the best summer of dance ever!

In this newsletter, you’ll see important dates for the rest of the school year (these are also on the schedule) and a few policy reminders – please make the time to read this thoroughly and mark your calendars.  I have a feeling that the rest of our 2017-2018 school year season will fly by!

We’re so excited to make 2018 the best year yet with you.

Miss Vanessa  


Calendar:

January 3: Classes resume

Friday, January 19Company Preview Show

Thursday, February 1: February Tuition Auto-Paid

February 19 – 24: Parent Participation Week

Thursday, March 1: March Tuition Auto-Paid

March 10 – 16: Spring Break – No Classes (classes resume Saturday, 3/17)

March 30 – April 1: Easter Weekend – No Classes

Sunday, April 1: April Tuition & Recital Fee Auto-Paid

May 20 – 24: Recital Pictures & Studio Dress Rehearsals (schedule coming soon)

May 26 – 28: Memorial Day Weekend, no classes Sat – Mon

Week of June 4-8: Dress Rehearsals at the Paramount (schedule coming soon)

Sunday, June 3: 2017-2018 Company Banquet

Sunday, June 10: RECITAL 2018!

Tuesday, June 12: 2018-2019 Company Auditions

View all of the important dates for the school year including Recital 2018 on our schedule, here.


Introducing… The Pointe Foundation!

Our new foundation is a 501(c)3 charitable organization seeking to provide dance education opportunities for students with financial need.  We have big goals to provide scholarships and outreach programs to bring the joy and power of dance to as many Cedar Rapids area students as possible in 2018.  We are currently seeking business and individual partnerships to help make this possible.

Learn more at: www.thepointefoundation.org


 

NEW Once Monthly Mini-Dance Camps – Polar Bear Party in January!

 

Our summer dance camps have been SO fun and popular – we decided to keep that going all year long with a once-a-month mini dance camp!  These camps run from 1:30 PM – 3:00 PM each month for anyone ages 3 – 7 (no dance experience required) and include dancing, a craft, and campers will give a short performance at the end of the day!

January 27 is our Mini-Camp this month – Polar Bear Party!

Learn more about these mini-camps and register online here.


Did you see our December Dancers of the Month?  Read more about these amazing dancers here.

We always publish our Newsletter around the 1st of the month and Dancers of the Month around the 15th.


Reminder – Winter Weather Policy

In general, we follow the Cedar Rapids Community School District for cancellations and delays when schools are closed or delayed due to road conditions.  If we need to cancel classes due to inclement weather, we will send an email and post on our Facebook page before 2pm. Any cancelled class may be made up by attending a similar level class any time within two weeks of the missed class.  We do not cancel classes due to cold temperatures, regardless of the school cancellations.


Reminder – Illness & Class Makeup Policy

Please do not bring sick children to dance class – if your dancer has a fever, please do not bring them to class until they have been fever-free for at least 24 hours.  Dancers can make up any missed class due to illness by attending a similar level class any time within two weeks of their missed class.


Wrap-Up – 2017

WOW – we had a FULL year in 2017!  Here is a list of highlights from the studio last year…

  • We returned to classes in January 2017 with brand new marley dance floors (Miss Vanessa and her husband laid the floors on New Year’s Eve 2016!)
  • The Pointe’s Company dancers had our most successful competition season to date!
  • Every member of The Pointe’s staff went through intensive training and our studio became the first and only YPAD Certified studio in Iowa!
  • We applied for and were awarded a charter to form a chapter of the National Honors Society for Dance Arts at the studio – and we are the only studio in Iowa to offer this program for our high school students!
  • Recital 2017 was amazing – three sold out shows, an almost-full Paramount Theatre, and amazing performances from all of our students made Recital 2017 special.
  • Our new Mini-Company program launched – providing more performance and competitive opportunities for students as young as age 6 (come see them and the rest of our competitive program at the Company Preview Show in January!  Details here: https://www.facebook.com/events/1973834735977090/)
  • Miss Josie helped us host an Acrobatic Arts Certification Course at the studio, and became Acrobatic Arts Certified too!
  • Miss Laura attended More Than Just Great Dancing’s Teacher Training in LaCrosse, Wisconsin!
  • Several dancers from company attended More Than Just Great Dancing’s student festival, One Family, and took classes from professional dancers and instructors in Chicago, IL! (There’s another opportunity for a More Than Just Great Dancing student festival this summer in Minneapolis – stay tuned for more details!)
  • Several soloists performed at a National dance competition over the summer – a first time participating in Nationals for the studio!
  • Miss Vanessa taught a seminar about YPAD at a Dance Teacher Network convention in Chicago over the summer.  Being asked to teach other teachers was an amazing honor.
  • Dancers from Company performed an anti-bullying performance piece and helped create an anti-bullying flash mob at Bloomsbury Farms for Bullying Prevention Month in October.
  • About 40 students from age 3-18 joined us for The Pointe’s first parade performance at the new Cedar Rapids Halloween Parade!  Some of our high school company dancers organized the choreography and float.
  • Dancers from The Pointe performed in the Moscow Ballet’s Great Russian Nutcracker for the second year in a row – we are honored to be Moscow Ballet’s partner school for their Eastern Iowa performances of the Nutcracker!  Ballerinas from the ballet visited the studio, directed the auditions, selected the cast, and taught the choreography.  Miss Josie, Miss Laura, and Mr. Aaron directed rehearsals preparing for the professional performance in November!
  • We held our first ever parent observation week – inviting parents in to view total classes in November to see their dancer’s progress.
  • We partnered with CLI Studios in Los Angeles to bring LIVE virtual master classes with the world’s top choreographers and teachers to our studios, so our competitive dancers have regular master classes throughout the season from the best guest teachers in the industry.
  • We continue to keep investing in and improving our facility – we swapped out our 20-year-old bulletin board for a big-screen TV with digital announcements, had our lobby/office/bathroom ceilings painted, and continue to do what we can to make our building the best it can be for our dancers and families.
  • The Pointe Foundation was approved as a 501(c)3 non-profit organization and launched with the Holiday Show – thanks to proceeds from the show and generous donations, we have raised our first $1000 to provide scholarships and outreach opportunities to bring the power of positive dance education to as many local students as possible!
  • We produced our most inclusive Holiday Show to date – involving over 135 dancers from the studio.

What’s Coming Up in 2018:

  • In January, we will hold our first ever Company Preview Show – every single dance that will perform at competitions will perform at this show to help prepare for the competitive season.
  • In February, we will host our first ever Parent Participation Week – a step up from observation week in November, we’ll give parents a chance to really dive in and participate in classes with their dancers!
  • In March and April, our Company dancers will compete at 4 regional competitions!
  • In May, we will induct our first members into the National Honors Society for Dance Arts!
  • In June, we will take our first big studio trip to New York City – where we’ll take master classes, see a Broadway show, and explore one of the country’s top destinations for dance.
  • The Pointe Foundation will start to award scholarships and build outreach opportunities to bring the joy of dance to as many people in our area as possible.
  • We’re planning on more community performances and performing opportunities for students!
  • With everything we do, our goal is to bring the positive power of dance to each and every student that walks through our doors through safe, healthy, and positive dance education.

Happy New Year!  We have so much to celebrate and look forward to.  Thank you for being a part of our community at The Pointe.