A FINE DANCE STUDIO

WELCOME NEWSLETTER 2022-2023

CLASSES BEGAN TODAY

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 9th

Dear AFDS Families,

A very special "hello" to our new families and a heartfelt welcome back to our returning families. AFDS is in it’s 14th season and we are so grateful you are joining our dance community. We hope you had a relaxing summer are getting geared up for all your activities this fall, especially dancing with us at AFDS!! 

This year we are humbled to announce that you have voted us "NEEDHAM'S #1 DANCE STUDIO" again. WOW! That's 13 years in a row. So that means every year we've been in business we've won this special award. THANKS TO PEOPLE LIKE YOU.

While we are happy that COVID is in the past, we are continuing to be cautious as we navigate getting back to “normal”. We will continue to be a “mask choice” program and limiting numbers in our facility.

CIRCULAR DROP OFF PROCEDURE: (CLICK HERE FOR PDF) We will continue to be a drop off program for all dancers attending classes from 3pm - 9:30pm. If a child is struggling to detach we will always be patient and do our best to ease them into the drop off process. We have found that drop off makes things more efficient in the studio and kids detach significantly easier when their favorite person (mom/dad, etc) isn't sitting in the waiting room.

PICK UP: This can be very busy in our parking lot therefore we ask you to be patient and remain outside. A staff member will bring your children outside and make sure they get to you safely. Please wait by the ramp or loading dock and do NOT enter the building as we don’t want there to be congestion in the hallways.

We are forever grateful you have chosen AFDS. Here are a few fun facts about our stunning 6000 square foot facility:

• 5 state-of-the-art studio with professionally sprung dance floors. Our newest studio (Studio E) is being finished over the next few weeks. We can't wait for the kids to see it!
• Upgraded filters in our HVAC system
• Ballet Barres in all studios so each room is equipped for all styles of dance.
• Cubbies for every child and benches for them to sit and wait. 
• 6 restrooms with motion sensor LED lighting.
• 6 private changing rooms with motion LED lights.

ZOOM OPTION: We ask you give us at least a 1 day notice if you'd like to watch on ZOOM so we can have time to set it up and get you the login instructions. It gets very busy making sure kids are taken care of so last minute requests for ZOOM are difficult to honor. 

We really do have the most state of the art and wonderful studio around. We are beyond excited to get this year underway and can't wait to see all the dancers back in action. 

Sincerely,

Miss Abigail Fine 

This year we will be using the BAND app to communicate all important studio related information including holiday closing, inclement weather and special events. We believe this will be helpful for everyone and you will know exactly where to go to find important information as well as being able to communicate directly with our office staff. 

Join our 'AFDS 2022-2023' group on BAND

The app for groups and communities!

https://band.us/n/a3a271ebl9l62

USE OUR GOOGLE CALENDAR TO HELP YOU STAY ORGANIZED - this is where you'll find out holiday closings and special events. https://afdance.com/calendar-2/

RECITAL WEEK 2023: May 23 - 27

(more details in early Spring)

WHAT TO EXPECT:

As with all activities the first few weeks will be full of fun, laughter and of course introductions to the FUNdamentals of each genre your dancers are enrolled in. Our goal in the first month is to make sure everyone is comfortable in their classes and feeling loved. As the fall progresses we will ramp it up a bit and begin to introduce some more challenging combinations. Our younger dancers will focus on self expression, independence, repetition & of course our famous disco dance parties. Our school age and teen dancers will begin to develop their skills in memorization and confidence, learning and performing short combinations of choreography as a group. As with all dance classes and kids activities we ask you to remember that not every second of every class is going to be their favorite and there will be challenges we all face together. The most important thing to remember is that we are on the same team and with this in mind we are confident our nurturing and passionate faculty will foster your childrens love of dance and they will thrive and grow.

WHAT TO WEAR?

Please visit our website www.afdance.com/dress-code for up to date information about dress code and shoe requirements.

Please note that we totally understand that dancers may not have all their dance shoes by the start of classes. We want you to know that's 100% okay. If you have older dance shoes that still fit please wear those. We also have a good size "borrow bin" of ballet, tap and jazz shoes so if you'd like to go through that please try not to mix up the matches. We spend a lot of time matching those so people have the option when they need it.

We also have some smaller size leotards and tights for sale ($10 child & $12 adult) so please feel free to come grab a pair from Miss Robin.