The Five Pointe’s Bulletin Recital Edition Please read this newsletter carefully, so you can be organized & prepared for the weeks ahead! Our 9th Annual Recital will be held at Seneca East High School Saturday June 8th at 6pm, & Sunday June 9th at 2 pm. Dress Rehearsal is at the school on Friday June 7th. GENERAL HOUSEKEEPING  A $25 per dancer recital fee is due no later than June 1st  If you have late fees, outstanding tuition, or costume payments, your child may not participate in the recital. Please see Miss Rebecca to make payment arrangements immediately. DANCIN DADS & MOVING MAMAS!  At this year’s recital we will once again feature a “Dancin Dad’s & Movin Mama’s” routine. This tradition has become a crowd favorite, and we need volunteers like you to make it a continued success!  There is absolutely no experience required! Just a good attitude and a willingness to entertain.  If you are interested in being a part of either of these groups please sign up on the announcement board.  Rehearsals will be held on Tuesday May 21. 28 & June 4 nights from 6:457:30 pm SHOES, TIGHTS, HAIR, & MAKE-UP  All students must have the proper color shoes, and tights to participate in the recital. Students will not be permitted on stage without the correct items.  Kindercombo students need just tights, they are $12 per pair- to be safe I would order two pairs. All other students need a bodytight, which is a full body tight/undergarment, these are $22 Please fill out the attached form if you need to order tights. YOU MUST ORDER FROM US SO EVERYONE’S COLOR MATCHES - WE CAN TELL THE DIFFERENCE! 1  Please do not allow your child to wear underwear with their costume. I understand that this seems odd, however dance tights are designed to take the place of undies. (Underwear lines and/or the underwear itself will show on stage and it looks tacky!)  All students (UNLESS YOU ARE OTHERWISE TOLD) must wear the parted on the left and pulled into a pony tail then rolled into a sock bun. If you are not familiar with how to do a sock bun I will be happy to show you. Please be sure to pin it well so it will not come loose while dancing.  Make-up is REQUIRED! I know that putting make-up on a small child seems odd, but please understand that without make-up they will look ghostly under the bright stage lights. The bare minimum make-up required for all dancers is neutral colored eye shadow (browns, grays, pinks PLEASE no blues, purples, etc.) a pink blush, & a RED lipstick (pinks do not show on stage). Mascara, foundation, powder, eye-liner, etc. is optional.  Glitter of any kind is NOT allowed per our rental contract.  No jewelry of any type, this includes earrings, necklaces, anklets, bracelets, etc. As well as no hair accessories (bows, ribbons, barrettes, clips, ect.) other than items that came with your costume.  No nail polish, if you feet will be exposed this rule applies to your toes too!  Costumes have begun to arrive- they will all be here by showtime, even though some come at the very last minute. As soon as they arrive we will hand them out. If costumes are not here by the final day of class we will announce a costume pick up date and time.  Costumes are not made to order, some may be snug, itchy, baggy, etc. We do the best we can to fit your child based on the size charts the costume company provides uswe do err on the side of being too big as opposed to too small because it is easier to take in then add to a costume.  Once you have received your costume please be sure that is ready to be worn. If pants need to be shortened, straps need to be attached or any other alteration need to be made, please have these things done BEFORE dress rehearsal. Additionally, there can be no visible pins anywhere on your costume. If you require the help of a professional, we highly recommend Amy Hemmer or Martin’s Alteration & Tailoring 1044 Cleveland Road Sandusky 419-621-0953. 2  Take care of your costume, we cannot get replacements for any pieces or parts that are lost or damaged. You cannot be in the recital without a costume!  To help avoid accidents, costumes should be transported folded neatly in a bag, or hung up with a bag over them for protection. STUDIO REHEARSAL  A studio rehearsal will be held Saturday June 1. All students must attend!  Act I will rehearse from 9-11  Act II will rehearse from 11:30-1:30  Dancing Dads & Moving Mama 1:30-2  This is a closed rehearsal which means no parents may observe, but they may wait in the lobby. DRESS REHEARSAL  REMEMBER that dress rehearsal is “CLOSED”, meaning that NO parents or others may watch. There will be no exceptions to this rule, please do not ask. There is a lobby parents are welcome to wait there if they wish.  Students should be at the theater, DRESSED AND READY TO DANCE (this means hair, make-up, costume, etc!) no later than 15 minutes before their scheduled rehearsal time on Friday night.  For dress rehearsal, it is strongly recommended that dancers arrive in the first costume they will dance in, with a cover-up over it to protect against spills and snags. (A button-up shirt, jacket or a robe work well)  Dress rehearsal night the students will be sitting in assigned seats in the theater, this is their chance to see the show. They will be taken backstage by a “helper mom” as a group a few numbers prior to their dance.  When students arrive they will need to check in at the designated check-in table. They will then be directed to an area where they may leave their belongings.  The schedule for dress rehearsal is as follows: - ACT I REHEARSAL 5-7pm - ACT II REHEARSAL 7-9 pm - MOVIN MAMAS/DANCIN DADS REHEARSAL 9-9:30pm 3  If you child dances in both acts they must be there for the whole rehearsal- otherwise they can just  come for their act. Please know we try to run as “on-time” as we can at rehearsal but we are operating on “kid time” so that is not always a reality.  Please feed your child before rehearsal. Pack lite, non-messy snacks and a bottle of water too please.  EVERY DANCER MUST STAY AT THE RECITAL THE WHOLE TIME, BECAUSE EVERY CHILD IS REQUIRED TO BE IN THE FINALE! PICTURES  Individual & group pictures will be taken at the Dance Studio on Thursday June 6th. You may wear your hair and make-up however you wish for these photos.  Even if you are not purchasing photos your child must attend so they may be in the group shots!!  Photo envelopes and directions for ordering and payment will be sent home shortly. Please follow the photographer directions to avoid confusion. Please bring the completed photo envelope along with full payment to picture day. RECITAL  This is our first, of hopefully many years, holding our recital at Seneca East High. The venue is very nice and I think everyone will be quite pleased. Although it would be ideal to hold our show right here in Bellevue, there is not a stage large enough to accommodate us. SEH is three miles further from the studio than last year’s venue (Norwalk Main Street School) but it is a much newer facility and the best part- Air Conditioning!  Students need to be checked in and backstage no later than forty-five minutes prior to show time.  When students arrive they should follow the signs to the dancer check-in table.  Once they are checked in they will be taken back stage to their assigned changing area.  THEY WILL REMAIN BACKSTAGE FOR THE ENTIRE SHOW! Please be sure they are sent back with everything they will need. 4  Kindercombo students may remain in the audience with their families for the first half of the show but must be checked in backstage during intermission.  Every child will be assigned an area backstage where they are to remain during the show. It is very important that they stay in their assigned area so that we may keep track of everyone.  Helper moms will assist in keeping the younger children where they need to be-  A sign-up sheet for backstage helpers will be posted next week. A brief mandatory helper mom meeting will be held on Saturday June 1st at 2pm.  We strongly recommend that students bring books, puzzles, games, WASHABLE crayons, etc. things that are easily contained and do not make a mess.  Do not send anything of value with your child. The dressing area is a shared space and we cannot be responsible for stolen or damaged property. Additionally, please take all your belongings home every night.  LABEL EVERYTHING YOU BRING!!!! Please do not bring more than you need!  Students need to be on their best behavior backstage. No loud or unruly behavior will be tolerated. Students who break this rule may not be permitted to perform.  Only “helper moms” will be allowed backstage before and during the show. The dressing area is already going to be a bit crowded allowing moms and others backstage would make things even more difficult. Please respect this rule because the helper mom’s will be enforcing it.  ** A fifteen minute “BACKSTAGE PASS” will only be issued to parents of small children who will need help with a costume change ** (see below)  Please do not allow your child to change in the lobby restrooms before or after the show. EVERY DANCER MUST STAY AT THE RECITAL THE WHOLE TIME, BECAUSE EVERY CHILD IS REQUIRED TO BE IN THE FINALE! BACKSTAGE PASS PROCEDURE  If you will need access to the backstage area to help your child with a costume change, please be sure to check the backstage pass list posted, before the show.  No changes, additions or deletions will be made to the list once the show has begun. 5  When you are ready to come backstage and help your child, please check in with the helper mom at the door.  You will be issued a name badge. Please wear it!!  The time that your pass expires will be written on the badge.  Please get your child changed as quickly as possible.  If you are found backstage without a pass or with an expired pass you will be asked to leave.  Your cooperation & compliance with this policy is greatly appreciated! FINALE  Participation in the Finale is mandatory for everyone in the show.  The finale routine will be taught during the final weeks of classes. It will also be reviewed at dress rehearsal.  Every dancer must make a sign with their name on it for the finale. Please decorate an 8 ½ by 11 sized piece of poster board for this purpose. Use markers, glitter, foam cut-outs or whatever else you wish- be creative!  After the finale dance is completed, we will have all the students sit down on the stage while a few announcements are made. Announcements will be very brief on Saturday. Sunday’s announcements will be a bit longer.  Following the announcements the students will be released.  If you have a small child please come up to the stage to retrieve them. We will do our best to keep them on stage until you are in sight.  You may take photos on the stage following the show if you would like to. TICKETS, SEATING, ETC.  Pre-sale tickets for this year’s show will be $14 for Adults & Children 12 and over; $9 for children ages 4-11, and children 3 and under are free as long as they will be seated on someone’s lap. Ticket prices increase to $16 and $11 respectively after May 20th.  Everyone over the age of three who attends the show needs a ticket.  Tickets are date specific.  Ticket order forms are attached to this form and are due back by May 29th. 6  The student who sells the most pre-sale tickets will receive one free class for a year!!  The most commonly asked question we get regarding tickets is “why do parents have to buy tickets, shouldn’t we get to see the show free of charge?” I can understand the parents’ point of view on this topic. After all, you have made quite an investment in lessons, shoes, costumes, etc. for your dancer. Unfortunately recitals are a big expense for the studio- from paying for the venue, to printing tickets, the whole undertaking is extremely costly. Our studio does not profit from the recital- quite frankly we typically end up “in the red”. Because of this, it is necessary to charge for every seat at every show, I ask parents to think of it like this: if your child was on the high school sports team you would typically have to pay admission to watch their games. In order to continue our tradition of having an annual recital (some studios now only put on recitals every other year) we encourage dancer to sell at least ten tickets. (The amount required for the studio to just “break even”).  We will begin admitting people to the theater a half hour before the show.  Seating is general admission and all seats are on a first come first serve basis.  YOU MAY SAVE ONE SEAT PER PERSON- IN OTHER WORDS IF YOU NEED 10 SEATS FOR YOUR FAMILY THEN 5 PEOPLE NEED TO BE PRESENT SAVING THOSE SEATS!!!  Video taping will be permitted, this year. In order to tape you will need to buy a ticket to the show, video pass for $10 and sign a video agreement that the video is for your personal use and that you agree not to copy the video or post any portion of it on the internet. Video taping will be done from from a designated area only and no cameras can be left unattended. If you are found recording without a pass, your camera will be confiscated and the recording erased. These rules will be strictly enforced as choreography is copyrighted.  Photography is permitted, however please refrain from standing in the aisles, or anywhere else you may block someone else’s view.  There will be flowers, as well as a few dance related items for sale each night at the ticket table for parents who would like a special gift to reward their “Star” for a job well done!  Programs will be for sale for $2 each. When you buy a program you are entering a raffle to win a free class for a month or a free pair of dance shoes of your choice.  There will be a concession stand with snacks available at both performances.  Out of courtesy to our performers, if you must exit or enter the theater once the program is in progress; please do so only between dances. 7 SUMMER REGISTRATION  Summer is a great time to try a new class or brush up on your basics! Summer registration begins June 1st! Spots are limited so enroll today! ONE MORE THING….  If you have any questions or issues, please address them with us now! We want to make sure we are able to extend you the attention you deserve. The closer we get to the Recital, the more difficult it will become for us to find the time to speak with you, so please ask your questions early!  Please do not interpret our inability to resolve situations “instantly” as a lack of interest in your child or your concerns.  Recital time is a very busy and stressful time for instructors, your patience & flexibility is greatly appreciated.  Please encourage your child to practice their routines at least a couple times a week so they are prepared for the big event!  Please remember that our studio has many families all with different schedules, feelings, and opinions to consider. We do our very best to be as accommodating as possible. There may be times you do not agree or understand the decisions that are made, but rest assured we make them with everyone’s best interest at heart.  Thank you for your continued commitment to your child’s dance education! 8