The Dance Corner January News

The Dance Corner News: January 2017

A new year is upon us. Welcome 2017! At this time I like to reflect on the past year and what we have accomplished, and make plans and set goals for the new year.

In 2016 we...

February- May- Had a successful, positive competition season!

June - Produced an amazing recital with one of my favorite themes yet, "When I Grow Up"

July - Several of our instructors and I attended The Dance Teacher Summit in NYC where we took classes and attended seminars in everything from marketing to rhythm tap. This was a great professional development experience for all!

August- We updated our dance shop with a computer and barcode system to increase efficiency and organization as well as a much more functional workstation for the staff. Plus, Janice came on board as our Office and Retail coordinator!

September- We welcomed new students and new teachers, Miss Brooke and Miss Kaitlyn!

October- We became a licensed More Than Just Great Dancing studio ( a big honor!). Plus, we added new programs to share dance with more children in our community. Miss Ali's Leaps and Bounds class for special needs children was started and Miss Nicole launched the Crawler's Club for babies and parents!

November- You invited your friends to dance with you during Bring a Friend week and we had so much fun and made new friends! We raised $200 for Shoreline Soup Kitchens and collected a car full of food for them too during our Thankful Giving November fundraiser.

December- Miss Nicole explored, the music, dance and making of the hit Musical Hamilton with students during our first Hamilton:Dance Revolution Mini-mester. We produced our 8th successful Winter Follies performance. Collecting more than 270 toys and $500 for Toys for Tots!

This has been a busy year and I am looking forward to even more this coming year. Here is a look at some of the plans we have for 2017-

- New Imagine That! Mini-camps starting this month

-The Dance Company Showcase performance sponsored by the Dance Company Boosters in February

-Another fantastic competition season! Starting in February our Dance Company will perform in 5 regional competitions.

- Continue to improve our studio, lobby and office spaces for our staff, dancers and their families

- Find more ways for The Dance Corner to give back to the community

- Create a scholarship program for dancers who need a little extra support to reach their dreams

- Produce our best recital yet in June, Turning Pages and the Shining Stars Showcase, recital 2017!

- Grow more programs and opportunities for our students to excel in dance and in life!

Wow! What a year we have had,and looks like the one ahead of us will be busy too. I am so proud of my staff and our students for all they have achieved this past year.

When I take a moment to look back on everything, it is remarkable how many successes we have had this year! I am so thankful to be on this journey with you, and I am looking forward to even bigger and better achievements in 2017.

Happy New Year!

Miss Carrie

Back to Dance!

CLASSES RESUME:

Monday,

January 2, 2017

Save the Dates!

We are so excited to share our recital theme with you. This year's show is all about reading and books! Turning Pages is the name of the show and so far it has been a blast to put together!

The 2017 recital performances are Saturday June 3rd and Sunday June 4th at 2:00pm at the Haddam Killingworth High school in Higganum.

Most classes ages 12 and up will perform in both shows, but not all do. We are working on the schedule this week and hope to have a final schedule of who dances in each performance out to families before the end of the month.

The show assignments will be emailed to everyone as soon as they are done.

The Shining Stars Showcase is for our Twinkle Twos and Pre-Stars dance classes. Students in those classes will perform at 12pm on Sunday, June 4th. The show should last about 40 minutes.

Imagine That! Mini-camps

Come join fun this winter at our Imagine That! mini-camps for ages 4-8

These fun camps are based on some of the hottest movies for kids- Moana, Ballerina, Sing!, Zootopia and everyone's favorite FROZEN!

Camp sizes are limited so sign up today!

Parent Observation Week

During the week of 1/23-1/28, The Dance Corner invites parents into the dance studio to observe their child's class. The end of the year recital gives parents a chance to see the culmination of 9 months of dance classes. This mid-year observation week, will give parents a chance to observe the learning process and witness first hand the hard work that goes on in the classroom each week.

Due to space limitations, we can only allow one guest per student in each class.

Waiting area observation windows will be open as usual, so other guests may watch from outside the studio. Younger brothers and sisters sometimes have trouble sitting quietly and watching for a whole hour, and can be disruptive to the class, so we encourage parents not to bring them. Instructors may ask parents to move to the lobby with younger siblings if they are distracting the class. Seating will be on the floor and in some of the larger classes quite cramped, so observers may want to bring a pillow or pad to sit on. Please be prepared to REMOVE YOUR SHOES before entering the dance studio. No street shoes are allowed in our studios. I encourage you all to take an hour to come and see your child's progress.

Observers are welcome into all classes except the Wednesday 9:30am and Saturday 9:00am Twinkle Twos classes. Our youngest students are very easily distracted and won't be able to have a productive class with observers in the room. The observation window will be available for viewing as always.

Dancewear for Chilly Days

During these cold winter months, we understand that students may need to wear a coverup over their leotard at the start of class.

Please remember that we do not allow any baggy clothing in class. Fitted sweaters or long sleeve shirts are fine for warm-up, as long as they don't fall below the hips. Leg warmers are also allowed in class.

Our dance shop carries ballet sweaters, shrugs, and wrap tops as well as leg warmers to keep your dancer toasty this winter.

Storm Closings

Winter is upon us, and in the event of severe weather, The Dance Corner may have to cancel classes.

Did you know you can sign up for text alerts for TDC closings? Just log into your customer portal account at TheDanceCorner.com , select the My Contacts tab and next to your mobile phone number, check the Receive Text Message Notifications box. We will only send text alerts about weather closings or emergencies.

We send an email blast out to all families if classes are cancelled, but to be sure, please call the studio at 860-663-3738 or visit our website to find out if classes are still being held.

The Dance Corner does not cancel classes based on school system closings. There may still be dance class, even if area schools are closed.

If classes have been cancelled The Dance Corner's voicemail greeting will let you know that we are closed. We will also post closing information on our website, TheDanceCorner.com and at WFSB.com.

Winter Follies Toys for Tots Drive

The Dance Corner's eighth Winter Follies performance and Toys for Tots toy drive in December, was a great success. We collected over 270 toys and $500 to benefit The U.S. Marine Corps Reserves Toys for Tots. A special thanks to all of the families and dancers who donated thoughtful gifts to this wonderful foundation!

Costume Bills

Final costume charges will be posted to your account later this month. Costume payments are due 2/15.

Please pay your balance promptly in order to have your costume in time for pictures.

Costumes will not be sent home until they have been paid for.

Families with dancers in multiple classes or more than one dancer enrolled may have larger costume bills. If you have a problem paying your costume balance by 2/15 and need to workout a payment plan, please contact Miss Carrie.

Families who pay their annual, monthly or semi-annual tuition bills by credit card will have their costume balanced charged to their credit/debit card on 2/15. Please log in to the customer portal before then and update your credit card or bank information if necessary.

Semi-Annual Tuition Payments

If you signed up for our semi-annual payment plan, your second tuition payment is due by Monday, January 2nd. E-bills were sent out in December. If you did not receive your bill or misplaced it, please log into the customer portal to view your balance and pay online.

Semi-annual bills do not include final costume balances. You will receive a separate bill at the end of January for any additional costume charges.

The 5% discount on tuition is only valid if your tuition bill is paid in full by Monday, January 2, 2017.

Monthly Tuition Payments

Monthly Tuition bills are due the first of each month. Make your payments conveniently and securely online by logging into our Customer Portal .

Not sure how the Portal works?

Click here to watch short instructional video . It's an easiy way to manage your account with us anytime from anywhere!

We accept credit and debit card payments online or you can pay directly from your bank account by e-check.

Customers can also opt for auto-pay and avoid the extra step of logging in to pay each month. Notify our office that you would like to be an auto-pay customer, enter your payment method into your account online and your account will be automatically charged on the 1st of each month.

You may also pay by credit/debit card, cash or check in our Dance Shop.

All customers were required to submit a credit/debit card or bank draft information at registration. If your account is not paid in full by the 15th of the month, this payment method will be charged for the balance due on the 16th of the month. If your payment is declined, a $10 late fee will be applied to your account. A $25 service fee will be charged for all returned checks.