Get to Know Us Before Getting Ready for Fall! Answering Your Most Frequently Asked Questions

We can’t believe we’re already approaching the end of July! Before we know it, it will be September, and the new season will officially begin! We wanted to take a minute and review some of our frequently asked questions and provide a resource as you start planning for the fall. Below you will find information on our NEW classes (and NEW Tuesday afternoon classes), the descriptions of all of our classes, appropriate attire, and information on our recital costume process. To view the 2022-2023 fall schedule, click here.

NEW Classes!

We are so excited to announce that for the 2022-2023 season, we will be offering Tippy Toe Ballet and Primary Hip Hop! Tippy Toe Ballet is a Ballet ONLY Class for our teeny tiny dancers, ages 2.5 -3 years, to encourage movement & imagination. Primary Hip Hop accommodates young dances ages 3-5 to start getting those hip hop foundations and learn rhythm! Tippy Toe Ballet will be offered from 1:30-2:00 pm on Tuesdays and from 6:30-7:00 pm on Wednesdays. Primary Hip Hop is scheduled from 4:45-5:15.

NEW Tuesday Afternoon Classes!

We love nurturing our youngest dancers, and because our Intro to Dance and Tumble and Bounce classes are getting popular, we wanted to add more! The Tuesday afternoon schedule is:

1:30 – 2:00 pm: Tippy Toe Ballet (2.5 – 3 year-olds)
2:15 – 3:00 pm: Intro to Dance (3 – 4 year-olds)
3:15 – 3:45 pm: Tumble and Bounce (3 -4 year-olds)

Helpful Class Descriptions & Level Breakdown

  • Contemporary: A fusion of Modern, Jazz, and Classical dance. Pre-Requisite: Ballet Class
  • Lyrical: Encourages dancers to use their emotions & moods to design steps and routines that are choreographed to lyrics. Only offered to ages 7 and up. Dancers must be enrolled in Ballet.
  • Modern Dance: A broad genre of dance encapsulating the whole body in the movement of shapes through abstract ideas and imagery
  • Hip Hop: Dance choreographed to Hip Hop/Pop/R & B music influenced by pop culture, including steps such as breaking, popping, up rock, down rock, floor tricks, and isolations. Offered to ages 6 and up
  • Acro Dance: Floor tumbling from beginner to advance, focusing on artistry and technique. Skills ranging from basic rolls, handstands, handsprings & aerial skills to varied balance positions chest, elbow, & handstands.
  • Tumble & Bounce: Tumbling class focused on fun & fitness while increasing strength & flexibility for those ages 3 and 4. Non-recital class
  • Tippy Toe Ballet: Fore ages 2.5 -3, this is a Ballet Class for our teeny tiny dancers to encourage movement & imagination
  • Intro To Dance: Fore ages 3 – 4, this class utilizes Ballet, Tap, & Creative Movement. Students follow along with continued development of motor skills, balance, & coordination that are necessary to grow, develop & lay the foundations for future dance studies.
  • Pre-Dance: For ages 5 – 6, this is a combination class featuring Ballet, Tap, and Jazz
  • Level 1 Combo: For ages 7 & up and requires previous dance experience: Ballet, Tap, & Jazz combination class for our Advanced Beginner dancers
  • Level 2-7: DEAC dance levels ranging from Beginner to Advanced levels and in conjunction with prerequisite learning & educational/competitive tracks.

Please ask the staff for the best recommendation! For older students, staff will do an evaluation class to make sure your dancer(s) is(are) placed at the appropriate level. We always want to ensure our students are set up for success and safety. We as a staff take note of each dancer’s progression and want to create an encouraging and positive environment rather than a discouraging and negative one. We would much rather see your dancer(s) excel in a class and need to be bumped up a level than put them in one that is unnecessarily challenging and is a detriment to their self-esteem.

Appropriate Attire

Uniformed dancers allow for a better structured & disciplined classroom. Solid color leotards & tights are required for all classes. Sports bras, bike shorts, dance shorts, or biketards are acceptable for all classes except for ballet. Leg warmers and fitted cover-ups are permitted during winter months. Any outfit, within reason, is acceptable for tap & hip hop provided it does not interfere with movement and provides adequate coverage. Hair MUST be pulled back for ALL CLASSES. A bun for ballet is a must, and other hairstyles such as a ponytail or braids are acceptable for other classes.

Intro to Dance, Pre Dance, & Level One Combo: Leather Ballet shoes, Tap Buckle Shoes, Leotard & Tights. Please make sure your dancer’s name is on the outside of their bag, and each item has their name or initials inside.

Ballet 2 & Up: All ballet classes level 2 and up must wear a black leotard with pink tights and pink ballet shoes and hair secured in a bun. Boys must wear a white t-shirt and black pants and black ballet shoes. When signing your child up for ballet, you are signing them up for lessons in discipline & hard work. With that comes the ballet dress code. Although it may seem unnecessary to parents or people unfamiliar with the dance world, the ballet dress code has been around for centuries. Why??? Focus & Structure Mindset of learning. Students are less likely to be distracted by adjusting their clothing, and hair that’s pulled back securely won’t be played with or pushed out of their face. Black leotards and pink tights allow the teacher to see and correct lines, posture, & placement.

Shoe Recommendations

Tap: Uni-Sex Black Oxford. For our more serious, advanced tap dancers who’s feet have stopped growing and focus primarily on tap, we suggest the Bloch Dance Jason Samuels Smith Professional Tap Shoe
Jazz/Contemporary/Lyrical: Foot paws
Acro Dance: Barefeet
Hip Hop: CLEAN bottom (inside only) shoes
Please visit www.DiscountDance.com & enter teacher code TP44059 for dress code suggestions and shoe recommendations. Tuition Payments are NOT all-inclusive.

Recital Costumes

Costume handout day is one of our favorite days! We love seeing our students’ bright smiling faces “oohing” and “ahhing” over the sequins and rhinestones. We love it, even more when they come in and tell us the next class they tried it on and felt so special in it! But to make such a happy moment possible, we have to do our due diligence all year to prepare. Before the pandemic, the team used to use a combined method of going to costume events each November to pick our costumes in person and choose other costumes via catalog in December/January. Post pandemic and facing supply chain issues, we’re now needing to start ordering ALL of our costumes in that September-November window.

Why is this important? We mention this because, per our payment schedule, we divide your costume fee into 2 installments. The first is to be paid in October, the second in February. The cost (which is based upon costume cost) can be roughly estimated at $65- $85 per costume/per class TOTAL, with tights & accessories included). It’s necessary to pay the October fee to help offset the Studio covering the entirety of costume purchases for every single student basically at once. The same is to be said for the fee due in February. We appreciate your cooperation.

Please note that recital participation is optional but encouraged. Should you choose not to participate, your child will not receive a costume nor be eligible for our picture day with talented Jessica from Strawberry Snails. There is a recital Fee of $60 per student ($17 per each additional dancer per family). This fee covers the show participation fee, t-shirt, & video production download. This fee will be due in May.

Please also note that solo/duet lessons, company participation, company costumes (which range a bit higher normally/have the option for custom-made costumes), competition fees, purchase of photographs, & merchandise are all additional costs. Required shoes or dance apparel are also additional costs.

Additional Questions?

We hope this helped to answer any of your questions as you start to prep for fall. For any further questions, please don’t hesitate to email us at [email protected].

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