Costume Distribution

Week 1: Apr. 9-14, 2012
Week 2: Apr. 16-21, 2012

Class times may be different!!!

Costume distribution now spans two weeks. Check the Costume Distribution Days schedule at the bottom of this page for class times. A Parent (or other responsible adult) Must Attend!

Special Group Costume Day

Saturday, April 21th (12:30-4:30)
For families who have students taking multiple classes at our level 6 and above.

If you’d like to attend our group costume day, instead of the regular costume days for each class, please call us to let us know when you can be at the studio, so we can be prepared. Click here for details.

A parent must come to class during Costume Distribution Week.
Instead of holding normal classes, on Costume Distribution Days we will give out costumes, describe any necessary costume alterations and other costume details (tights, shoes, make-up and hair), go over information about the Dress Rehearsal and Performance, and have information posted on the walls that you must confirm. You must come to the studio this week and confirm that you understand the posted information and that it is correct (or have someone attend in your place who can do this for you). Students should be dressed in their tights and leotards; they will try on their costumes over their dance clothes.

Costume Week Now Spans 2 Weeks
Because we are concerned about our crowded parking lot and the inconvenience this potentially causes you, we have divided our classes into two groups. Some classes will receive their costumes during Week 1, other classes will receive their costumes during Week 2. Please refer to our class chart below. This chart will tell you which week each class is receiving its costume. Some of our classes have had their times changed so we can coordinate with other classes. If these changes cause you any difficulty whatsoever; please call us, and we will work it out with you.

Some classes will be held at different times this week!!!
Some of our classes during Costume Distribution Week have had their times changed so we can coordinate with other classes. Please see the Costume Distribution Week schedule to determine your class time during this week. If any time change makes it impossible for you to attend, please call the studio.

Make Sure the Person Picking up the Costume is Responsible.
If you cannot attend your child’s class, please make sure you send an adult in your place who is responsible. Ask another parent in the class. Whomever you send, make sure they have the ability to explain the costume instructions to you. Do not send a sibling or spouse who is not able to relay information to you. We cannot hand out costumes to students without a responsible person present.

Please be on Time!
It is not possible in the time available to go back over material or to re-do it at the end of class. If parents miss the beginning of the material given that day, they will have to ask another parent in the class what they have missed or come to the studio at another time when announcements are being given.

Dancers: Wear a Leotard and Tights or Something Similar to Costume Week!
The students will be trying on their costumes in the classroom, and we want them to put their costume on directly over their leotard. There is not enough time to have fifteen girls attempt to run to our two bathrooms to undress and put their costumes on. Please have them wear a leotard and tights or something tight-fitting to our costume week.

Note to Hip Hop Students
Since our dress code is less strict in our Hip Hop classes, most students come to class in attire that will not let them slip a costume on top. Some of our Hip Hop classes are large; there is most likely not enough time for each student to privately go into the bathrooms to get out of their class clothes and get into their costumes. Since we do not want the students to feel immodest, please have the students wear something (a leotard is fine) that they will feel comfortable wearing, but still be able to slip their costumes over in the classroom.

Special Group Costume Day – Saturday, April 21th (12:30-4:30)

For families who have students taking multiple classes at our level 6 and above, we will have a special group costume day on Saturday, April 21, between 12:30 and 4:30pm. If you’d like to attend, please call us to let us know when you can be at the studio, so we can be prepared. See here for details. We will go over a range of costumes within this period. Families may choose to come to this one session and get all of their costumes, instead of coming to the studio several times over the course of the week to do the same. The only down side is that we will not have the students show their dances during this session. If you wish to see your children dance, you will need to attend their regular costume day. If you plan to attend this session, please still send your child to class during their costume-week class time; even if you are not collecting their costume then, the rest of the students are still practicing and performing their dance.

If you cannot attend your class on the designated Costume Distribution Day.

• Please send someone responsible in your place.
• Ask another parent if they can cover for you.
• If your student is level 6 or above, can you come to our group session?
• Please do not send someone who is going to fail to pass information on to you. Some families in the past have sent spouses, friends, teenagers, etc. who said to us after an hour long informational meeting, “I didn’t understand any of this, just call her mother and tell her what she needs to know”. We have close to 1000 possible student/costume combinations that we are going over. It would help us greatly if we did not need to call everyone.
• We cannot hand out costumes to students without a responsible person present.

If your Child is Not in the Recital
Sometimes it is better if your child does not attend class during our Costume Week if they are not participating in the Recital and are not getting a costume. Please call us if your child is not in the Recital to discuss what is best.

Volunteers
We will have a significant amount of information posted at the studio during costume week concerninghelpers for the Dress Rehearsal and Volunteers for the Performance. We will list the names and responses of those people who contacted us about helping. We need everyone to reconfirm what they can or cannot do to make sure these lists are accurate. If we end up with more volunteers than we need, we will call and apologize to the people whom we do not have a task for.

5,10, and 15 Year Awards & High School Graduates
At the end of each show, we present awards to students who have been at our school or other schools for five, ten, and fifteen years, and acknowledge our High School graduates. We have listed on the Recital Permission Letter and the March Recital Letter those students who our computer thinks are eligible for 5, 10, and 15-year awards at the Recital (they have either a 5, 10 or a 15 after their name). Our computers are not always able to accurately track these awards, so we need you to double-check this. On the Recital Permission Form, we asked you to indicate whether your child is eligible for an award, and, if she is performing in more than one show, in which show you would like your child’s award presented. Please check the list posted during Costume Distribution Week to make sure that we have not left anyone out and that we have the award presented in the proper show.

Note to High School Graduates: Our computers do not track this at all. You have to let us know (on the Recital Permission Form) that you are graduating for us to recognize you.

Students who have trained at other schools: We will count the years that students have studied at other dance schools as well as our own. Students will, however, have to let us know what their total number of years is.

Attendance
It is very important that your children attend their remaining classes and be on time. All students need to practice dances with their fellow classmates. It is difficult for a child to practice if he or she has been partnered with a student who is not there. It is not enough that a child mentally knows his/her dance or that he/she can do it in the living room. The students need to practice with the entire group. Please bring your child to every class. If they must miss, please call the studio to let us know.

Caring for your Costume:
Do not iron your costume. Most costumes arrive very wrinkled; hanging them in a steamy bathroom will remove most of the wrinkles.

Do not wear your costume. Please do not let your children wear their costumes until after the performance. We cannot get replacements.

Label all costume parts (tights, shoes, costumes, and headpieces) with your child’s name. Since there will be a number of children backstage with the same costume, costumes can easily get mixed-up or lost. We suggest you keep all your costume parts together – accessories can be placed in a plastic bag and hung on the same hangar as the costume