DG PARENT CORNER
JANUARY/FEBRUARY UPDATES
No DG Summer in 2019
Dancing Grounds has committed to offering youth programming year-round since we started five years ago. As we move in to our eighth year of operation, we will be making some significant programmatic and infrastructure changes to ensure we are providing the best dance education to our community, in the most effective and financially sustainable way possible.
Considering the time, planning, and intentionality needed to implement changes at this level, we need to carve out more time during the summer for our staff to plan and prepare. Unfortunately, that means for the first summer in five years, we will not be offering our Dancing Grounds Summer program in 2019. This was not a difficult decision to make. As you all know, we LOVE summer camp and cherish being able to spend all day dancing with your children. On the bright side, we are using summer 2019 to plan for new summer camps in 2020 that will expand to include teenagers so your children can grow with DG until they graduate from high school.
We are working with the dance community to promote other dance camps located around the New Orleans-area. This will be a great time for you children to train under new instructors, as well as fulfill Dancing Grounds' mission of lifting up our community partners. This change will not affect the start of Youth Companies in Fall 2019, which will start back up in September of 2019 as usual!
Also, to ensure that DG can continue to have a place in our students' lives over the summer, we are considering offer smaller workshops or intensives on weekends. We will be asking for your feedback at the upcoming parent meetings so we can come up with a strategy that makes sense for all of us.
Individual Program Family Meetings
Dancing Grounds Junior Company - Saturday, January 19th, 12pm @ NORDC Stallings Studio
Dancing Grounds Senior Company - Saturday, January 26th, 12:30pm @ Dancing Grounds (Lakeside Studio)
We are having short meetings led by program leadership with the families of program attendees going into the Spring semester. We ask that one parent/guardian representative is present to get important information for the rest of the year!
Save the Date! Upcoming Performances and Announcements:
Saturday, January 19th - DG Junior Company Family Meeting
Saturday, January 26th - DG Senior Company Family Meeting
Saturday, February 16th - 504k Performance [Elite Feet / DG Senior Company]- No Company Class
Saturday, February 23rd and March 2nd - No Youth Programming (Mardi Gras Break)
General Program Information
ALL - PROGRAM FAMILY EXPECTATIONS:
1. PUNCTUALITY AND ATTENDENCE – Students are asked to be in the building for the start of classes. We try our best to fill every moment of programming – being on time ensures that no one will miss a thing!
Regular attendance is expected, but conflicts come up! Please get in contact with your program lead if you students is going to be tardy/late.
COMPANY CLASS BEFORE REHEARSALS ARE ALWAYS MANDATORY, students who do not attend class will not be allowed to perform the following week.
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Families are given TWO late pick-ups; additional late pick-ups are subjected to a $5 fee!
2. ATTIRE AND WEEKLY NEEDS– Students need to come to class in athletic dance wear.
This includes sweatpants, leggings, joggers, t-shirts, tank tops. ALL STUDENTS should bring a pair of sneakers to every class. Students should also bring a water bottle with them to classes and performances.
Future Parent Engagement - WE NEED YOUR HELP!
We have an amazing year planned out with not only performance planned, but family and community events for all! We ask for parent and volunteer support to make these events the best we can for youth and the DG community as a whole. Please download, complete the form, and email/bring the form to the studio if there are ways you are willing to help and a member of our parent committee will reach out to you!