During the spring semester, I am going to try to blog about each class each week.  I want these blogs to be personal to the class.  I will let you know what needs to be worked on and how the class is behaving.  Also we will keep you updated on the Studio News blog about recital plans and deadlines.  This years recital is my 25th anniversary show and I am planning many speical things. 

Please review the dress code.  Dancers who do not have their hair pulled back will be asked to go out to the waiting room and pull their hair back with the supplies provided.  We are working hard on improving our turns and having their hair out of their eyes is essential. 

During the Spring semester, we are working on quite a few difficult steps.  Please encourage your child to practic at home.  It can be discouraging not to feel like you have really mastered a step.  With only a once a week class many children have to put in more practice to really excel.

Parents, Please check your childs dance shoes and make sure they have their name in them and that they are a matched set.  We have several dancers in different classes missing shoes.  Please clean out your childs bag and make sure they do no have any extra items in their bags.  As spring approaches the children tend to get a little forgetful of the rules.  There should be no toys, animals, dolls, costume jewelrey, costumes etc,,,, at dance. These things are a distraction.  Please make sure your child does not bring them to dance class.  Also, the children cannot wear coats, sweaters, jackets, scarves etc... to class.  We keep the heat on 70 during the winter so the children should not be cold if they are participating in the class.  If they must have something put a long sleeve tight fitting shirt under their regular leotard.  We are starting to work with practice umbrellas during class in preparation for recital.  I have very specific rules regarding the behavior of the dancers while holding an umbrella.  If your child comes home upset about not being able to use an umbrella it is because she/he was not following the rules and therefore had the umbrella taken away.  Please understand this is for everyones safety. 

Last week February 7th was the first class day since August that all of the dancers in this class were present at the same time.  It is impossible to get ready for a recital in May if not all dancers are in attendance.  Please keep in mind that improvement in dance is directly correlated with actually taking class.  We are attempting a rather difficult jazz dance for the recital so everyone needs to be in class to learn it. 

The Level II class is needing a little more focus.  The students have made quite a bit of progress this fall but they need to continue to work harder.  Please encourage your child to practice at home and utilize the step videos on line to practice.  I am going to really focus on pushing this group from now until the end of the year.  Be aware I may have to be harder on the girls than I have been in the past.  Hopefully, you will be able to see the improve at the recital. 

Parents,  Please check your children's dance bags and remove any non-dance related items.  The things that have been brought to dance lately are a distraction.  Please double check that your dancer has their name in their shoes.  IF they have extra clothes these items should be in the bottom of the bag under the shoes.  It's a problem for the children to have to completely take everything out of their bag to get to their shoes. 

In addition, we are working with several props during the spring semester.  Props are a special treat for those dancers who are following directions and minding the teacher.  We have been in dance class for 5 months, all the children should know how to behave and what the rules are. Please encourage your dancer to be a good listener and stand on their own spot. 

Dear Parents,  We had a silent dance class today  I have had two complaints of bullying in this class. So we talked about how hurtful it is to call names and be mean to another student.  We had a silent class so they could think about how we WANT to treat each other.  I told them that the next time I have a problem with bullying I will make the parent identify the student and we will have a parent meeting.  Thank you. 

 Stacia's School of Dance will be starting another session of ballroom dance classes next Sunday the 15th. We did a 6 week session in the Fall that consisted of an introduction to 5 different styles of ballroom. We had a great time and are excited that the instructor, Shannon Walsh has asked to come back and do some more classes. The first session will begin on Sunday, January 15th and will be focusing on Cha-Cha Cha. The cost is $35 for singles and $50 for couples. Here is a summary of the details:

Miss Stacia took a group of dancers to Oklahoma City University for the OCU Christmas Concert. Lauren Johnson, a graduate of Stacia's School of Dance, is in the senior dance company there and had several featured roles in the concert. We are all very proud of Lauren and know she will accomplish great things as she completes her Senior year and prepares for a professional dance career!