DECEMBER NEWSLETTER

Happy Holidays! Wishing you and your family the very best this season. We enjoy the opportunity to work with your family and love teaching your children!

FROZEN FRIENDS CAMP!

Who has a kiddo that loves Frozen? Register to attend our Frozen Friends Camp and we will give you an elegantly wrapped box with an ice blue tutu and special invitation to put under the tree this Christmas!

• When: January 9th

• Where: Expressions Dance, Bountiful location

• To sign up, click here

• Gift boxes will be available for curbside pick-up Dec 9-16 @ Bountiful

• We’ll be following current covid-19 guidelines for businesses and Safer Studio practices for this fun event

Dec 21- Jan 3 | NO CLASSES FOR WINTER BREAK! We hope you all have a wonderful December! Our schedule stays the same when we return on January 4th. The classes you are currently registered for will continue through June 2020.  NOTE: We charge the same amount every month for convenience and consistency to our families. Holidays and studio closures are factored into the season’s tuition amount and is then broken into even monthly payments.

HOLIDAY PARENT PEEK-WEEK PERFORMANCE DETAILS! Stars, Hip Hop, and Preschool dance classes have started working on holiday routines! We will be performing for parents over Zoom the week of Dec 7-11th. We are super excited to give these kids take a chance to show off their hard work! Watch for an email with details for how to join us for the peek-in when it gets closer! If your dancer wants to practice for the big day, head HERE to find music and videos for our Holiday Parent Peek-Week!

RECITAL CONSENTS NEEDED BY DECEMBER 15TH!

Can you believe it, we are already preparing for our next big show! Coming up in June will be our Tumbling Exhibition and our year-end Recital. Recital commitments are due by Dec 15th by filling out the form HERE.

We realize there is so much unknown about events with large groups right now. Last year's Red Carpet Recitals were a wonderful alternative to our big theater performance and might be one of the most memorable experiences we've ever provided for our dancers! No matter what our Recital ends up looking like in 2021, we promise to make it a wonderful event for your family.

Recital costumes must be ordered months in advance, so we're moving forward to continue using the end-of-year performance as a tool to build confidence and provide a sense accomplishment to our students- even if that still has to look a little differently than we would like it to. We hope you'll join us in this celebration of a successful year of hard work!

Not sure if you have registered for the recital? You can see your recital registration by logging into your online account HERE.

1. Click account login

2. Click the dropdown menu (hamburger icon) in the top left corner

3. View all my classes

   • There you will see the enrollment for recital pay in full or 7 installments

   • Company members are automatically enrolled in the show and will not appear here

4. First installment payments for the recital process on December 1st or upon consent if after the 1st.  

Not sure what recital is all about? Watch this highlight video.

New knowledge and skills abound when it comes to preparing for the recital … and we’re not just talking about learning dance steps!  There’s more than meets the eye when it comes to all of the advantages of recital participation.  Check out some of the unique benefits your child will acquire that go beyond the performance itself HERE.

Head over to the online consent form to view the details and fill it out now!

PAJAMAS AND BOOKS are due by Dec 11th

Our annual pajama and book drive is going on now! Our project will help support Utah Foster Care and several other local Utah charities.  We are collecting new pajamas and books at both studios until December 11th. We hope you will join us in this cause!

We are also collecting monetary donations which will go towards more jammies and books! Bring in cash or Venmo donations to @danceforlife and include the dancers name so the amount can go toward their service society recognition!

 What is Service Society? The pajama and book drive is our “Winter Project” and an opportunity for dancers to qualify to become a member of the “Expressions Dance Service Society.”  To meet the qualifications for Service Society, a dancer needs to donate 10 pairs of pajamas, or 20 books, or $50 in cash donations. We will also accept a combination of the three donations (ex. 5 pjs and 10 books).  We want to encourage students to put their hearts into this by asking friends and family to get involved and donate towards our project.  Students who meet the donation requirements will be recognized for their service with a certificate. These credentials will acknowledge their involvement in a good cause and will look amazing on future college scholarship applications and resumes! We are so excited to have a program within our studio to help teach our students the importance of service and community involvement! To get credit for your donations be sure to fill out the form on the clipboard next to the donation box!

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FOR PARENTS OF PRESCHOOL DANCERS- DECEMBER THEME: In December our theme is "From My Heart to Yours."  Each class will be focused around Christmas!  This month we are focusing on:  gallop, moving your head, shoulders, 6th position (feet together), sharing, and toe touches. We hope you can find time to review these elements with your dancer at home.  It is a great way to get EVERYONE moving!!

 FOR PARENTS OF SCHOOL AGED TUMBLING/ACRO STUDENTS

December Stretch of the Month- Straddle  |  Strength Challenge- Superman: We are so excited this year to have a “stretch of the month” and a “strength challenge” in our acro/tumbling classes! Encourage your child to work on these skills at home to help them improve even faster!  Be more involved by printing off the at home practice tracker HERE.

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BOUNTIFUL PARKING LOT REMINDER:  Please don’t wait in the pull through line for students to finish classes. If you’re not pulling through, park in a stall! This will eliminate congestion and backed up traffic.

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HIP HOP CLASSES- SHOE POLICY: With winter weather approaching, we need to remind you that we CANNOT have wet, salty, muddy shoes stepping onto our dance floor. Please carry your hip hop shoes into the studio and change into them before you enter the classroom.  You will be asked to dance with no shoes if you don't have a dry pair! Thank you!

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STUDIO FACEBOOK GROUP: Join our studio Facebook group and be a part of our community HERE!  Stay up to date on current events and connect with us!

Dance Class Etiquette

At Expressions Dance, we love seeing how excited our students are to practice in class!  Their motivation fuels their progress, and as they gain more experience in dance, they have the potential to advance even more quickly.  But this path to progress also requires developing self-control, confidence, and discipline.  Through basic class etiquette, our students are growing these skills and understanding how to use them in all aspects of their lives. 

 In this post, we wanted to share some of the age-appropriate etiquette expectations we have at Expressions Dance for our intermediate and advanced students.  These expectations include:

1. Abiding by the dress code: Our dress code is intended to make the dance classroom a comfortable and safe learning space, so it’s essential for our students to understand its importance!  The dress code reduces distractions and levels the learning playing field.

2. Asking for permission if they’re joining class late: For the experienced dancer, starting class late can be unsafe, depending on how much time is missed and how long the warm-up lasts.  It’s polite for a student to ask the teacher before jumping into class after it has started.

3. Being prepared when taking turns: Some dance class exercises are performed in groups or one-by-one.  It’s considered a sign of respect for a student to be ready to dance with their group or when it’s their turn, so the teacher doesn’t have to give reminders.

4. Remembering corrections: “Corrections” are the feedback students receive from teachers about what to improve.  Retaining corrections from class-to-class shows the teacher that a student is engaged and wants to do better.  Writing corrections down in a notebook after class is one way dancers can remember their corrections (we recommend tracking compliments too!).

5. Raising their hand to ask a question: Expressions Dance teachers love it when their students have questions!  But they love it even more when students ask those questions at the appropriate times and with a raised hand, instead of interrupting the class or talking over their friends.

With all this in mind, there’s one last piece of class etiquette we want our students to learn and practice—and that is to say thank you.  Whether it’s after asking a question, receiving a correction, or at the completion of class, we always encourage saying thank you to your teacher.

 The benefits of these class etiquette expectations extend well beyond dance, and we’re proud to see our students using these skills to become more responsible and respectful human beings!

The Benefits of Recital - Working Toward a Goal

The recital may seem far away right now, but months of preparation are needed to make sure every dancer is as ready as they can be.  Just as football teams must practice for months before the Super Bowl, dancers must practice for months before the recital! 

The time required for recital preparation helps teach our students how to work towards a goal—a goal they can take personal pride in achieving.  Some dancers may also be reaching for individual goals, such as improving on a specific step in the choreography or dancing with more poise and confidence than they did last year.

So, what are some of the ways our students are working toward their goals?

Well, as soon as we begin learning choreography in class, each dancer is beginning to develop their memorization skills, both in their mind and in their muscles!  Our instructors are also continually offering corrections and adjustments for the dancers to apply; these small tweaks help each student fine-tune their individual part in the group’s dance.

Once the full routine has been taught, “cleaning” the choreography begins.  This is a simple way to say that our teachers will be helping the dancers improve their routine by practicing the recital dance many times, making it stronger and more polished with every run-through.  This process makes it possible for the dancers to reach their full confidence with the steps, which in turn makes the goal feel truly achievable!

With the outcome of their recital performance in mind, many dancers also take it upon themselves to practice at home.  Others write down their corrections from class in a journal, so they can remind themselves what to work on between classes.  And still others spend time building up their mindset, using positive self-talk and affirmations to strengthen the belief that they can accomplish the goal they’ve set. 

What’s extra-awesome about working toward the goal of recital is that it’s a long-term goal and can’t be met by immediate gratification.  Through dance, your child is learning what the “compound effect” is, how small efforts over long periods of time contribute to success.  This lesson is going to benefit them time and time again as they set new goals.

Even our youngest dancers are beginning to understand what it means to work toward a goal.  Although they are still developing their sense of time, the seeds are planted for them to know that we are practicing with a special event in mind … one where they’ll get to show off everything they’ve learned!

Performing in the recital, after all of the preparations and hard work in the classroom, is the ultimate example of goal achievement.  Though the months and weeks leading up the show can feel long, your child will experience the incredible thrill of achievement once the performance is complete!

NOVEMBER NEWSLETTER

Nov 25-27: *NO CLASSES FOR THANKSGIVING BREAK!*

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COVID UPDATES

Thank you for continuing to follow the guidelines and helping us to remain a Safer Studio! Parent, thank you for symptom checking, keeping kids home if they are not well, and for your enhanced efforts to practice good hygiene. We appreciate everyone for doing their best to keep everyone healthy!

Davis County is currently in HIGH transmission status. This requires us to continue wearing masks in classes. Kids are doing very well with this and we continue to be impressed with how resilient our students are. We will NOT be requiring students to keep their mask on during high-activity times when we are physically distanced. Please remind your dancer to leave their masks on so we can keep coming to learn in person. We recommend sending dancers with a lanyard to wear around their neck so they can keep their mask clean when they need to remove it for mask breaks and high-activity times when we are physically distanced.

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CLASS REMINDERS

Ö  Potty before class, especially preschoolers!

Ö  No underwear under your leotard. Tights are dancer's underwear!

Ö  LATE! We have had a lot of latecomers and late pick-ups. It is very disruptive to our classes when you walk in late, not to mention unsafe for dancers to miss warming up.  Late pick-ups are preventing our next classes from starting on time. Thanks for your attention to this manner!

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CHRISTMAS PAJAMAS AND BOOKS CHARITY PROJECT

This year’s Christmas Charity Project is going to be even bigger than last year! We are gathering new pajamas and books to donate to those in need locally.  We will be sending out an email that can be forwarded to family and friends about our project.  Start bringing in your donations this month! Look for the donation box in our front lobbies.  Help us beat last year’s total of 1523 pajamas, 1631 books, and $8000!

We are going to open up our Scholastic book program to ALL of our dance families just in time to order books for the benefit concert.  Scholastic is an amazing resource with GREAT books at a GREAT price!!  You can order $1 books for our book drive and they will be shipped right to the studio.  Visit Scholastic Books HERE and take advantage of this convenient way to donate to our book drive.  Online orders are due by Friday November 13th.

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Dec 7-11: PARENT PROGRAMS VIA ZOOM

Dance classes have begun learning their Holiday dance to show off at our first ever virtual parent program! We’re looking forward to showing off what we’ve been working on in class during the last 15 minutes of class time. Watch for more details when this gets closer!

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NUTCRACKER 2020

We are proud to announce Lexi and Kallie on our Company Collective team have been cast as buffoons in Ballet West’s Nutcracker! Congratulations dancers! They will be performing Dec 11-13th and all are invited to go watch them perform!

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FOR PARENTS OF SCHOOL AGED TUMBLING/ACRO STUDENTS
November Stretch of the Month- Back/Bridge  |  Strength Challenge- Wall Sit

We are so excited this year to have a “stretch of the month” and a “strength challenge” in our acro/tumbling classes! Encourage your child to work on these skills at home to help them improve even faster!  Be more involved by printing off the at home practice tracker HERE.

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FOR PARENTS OF PRESCHOOL DANCERS- NOVEMBER THEME

This month our theme in dance is “E-I-E-I-O” We are going to have so much fun moving like horses and dancing with our duck feet.  We hope you are having fun dancing with us at home!   

This month we are focusing on:  kicks, marching, ballet arms (port de bras)

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HIP HOP CLASSES- SHOE POLICY

With winter weather approaching, we need to remind you that we CANNOT have wet, salty, muddy shoes stepping onto our dance floor. Please carry your hip hop shoes into the studio and change into them before you enter the classroom.  You will be asked to dance with no shoes if you don't have a dry pair! Thank you!

ONLINE CALENDAR!

We have a calendar on the website!  Please refer to it for Holiday closures and studio events. If you use Google Calendar you can copy studio events directly into your calendar by clicking on the "add google calendar" in the bottom right corner of the calendar.  https://www.dancetoexpress.com/calendar-newsletter

TEXT REMINDERS

Stay up to date on current events! Reminder texts are sent out for closures and special events.  Please make sure the primary phone number listed on your account is one that can receive texts.

ONLINE PARENT PORTAL

The account you created online can be updated at any time. Log in on the website to update contact and billing information, register for new classes, and make payments. You can also reset your password any time. https://www.dancetoexpress.com/parent-portal

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