DanceCats Competition Team Membership Information Commitment to the Team Time Commitment Competition Etiquette Costs Solos, Duets, Trios Contact Information Table of Contents Page 2 Pages 3-4 Pages 4-5 Pages 5-6 Page 7 Page 8
Commitment to the Team DEDICATION By joining the DanceCats Competition Team, you are committing to a team run by dedicated staff who not only strive to train the dancers to be the best they can be, but to challenge them also to become confident individuals with dedication and a strong work ethic. It is expected that dancers are just as committed to their teachers and their teams, as their teachers and teams are to them. TEAM MENTALITY Once the Dancer/Parent contract is signed, we ask that you respect the time and dedication of our other families and commit to the team for the entire year through the June Recital. A dancer quitting mid-year may not seem impactful for that dancer, but the dancers on their team now have to redo their routine or the understudy has to fill in. This can be very stressful, depending on the age of the dancers and the amount of time the team has to regroup before a performance. We always want to put our best foot forward at competitions and teach the girls about reliability and seeing things through. EFFORT Dancers are expected to always give 100% effort when they are in class or performing. If it is perceived that a dancer is not trying their hardest and it s affecting the team as a whole, the dancer may be asked to sit out from a performance. It is our goal to portray the DanceCats team as a professional and skilled dance team to the Las Vegas/Henderson community. CLASSROOM RULES/ATTIRE 1. Dancers are expected to keep a professional attitude and appearance in the dance room as well throughout the rest of the Gymcats building. 2. Food is not allowed in any of the dance spaces and only water should be brought to class. 3. Dancers are required to have proper clothing and footwear for each of their classes. Should a dancer forget their shoes for class, they can either borrow or they will be sent to a ballet class to work on technique. 4. Hair must be pulled off of the face and neck. 5. Ballet classes are required to wear a leotard and ballet shoes. 6. Cell phones are not allowed and if they are in the dancer s bag they must be silenced. 7. If dancer takes gym ballet, the teacher will report the behavior of the dance competition students to the Dance Director on a regular basis and if there are any concerns she will disucss with the parents Ṗ2
PRACTICE SCHEDULE Each team member is expected to attend their weekly team class as well as fulfill their ballet requirement. The 2017-2018 schedule is below and subject to change: Mini Acro Crew (taken with Acro 1) Tuesday 6:00-7:30 pm Novice Tap Crew - Monday 4:00-4:55 pm Novice Jazz Crew - Thursday 6:00-6:55 pm Junior Acro Crew - (taken with Acro 3) Monday 3:30-5:00 pm Junior Jazz Crew A - Monday 6:30-7:25 pm Junior Jazz Crew B - Tuesday 4:00-4:55 pm Junior Hip Hop Crew - Wednesday 7:00-7:55 pm COMPETITION SCHEDULE The DanceCats team will attend 3-5 competitions per year between February and May. The schedule is subject to change. Specific performance times for competitions are not released until a week before the competition so please keep the entire weekend free. Location of competitions is TBD. February 2 & 3 (not Feb 4) - Leap Dance Competition - CANCELED February 10 & 11 - Showbiz Dance Competition (same weekend as meet in AZ) March 23 & 24 - Releve Dance Competition in St. George, UT April 13-15 - Inferno Dance Competition May 4-6 - KAR Dance Competition EXTRA REHEARSALS Time Commitment If extra practices are needed when competitions approach, the teacher will call these. It is expected that a team member will do everything they can to make these extra practices. The teacher, as well as the other team members are taking time out of their schedule for this extra practice in order to ensure that the team looks their best on competition day. A dress rehearsal will take place in the studio in order to prepare for the competition stage, sometime near the first competition date. You will be notified of this dress rehearsal date and time as it approaches. P3
OUTSIDE PERFORMANCES We look for community events to perform at throughout the year and will notify you as these come up. The community events are fun for everyone and a great opportunity for the dancers to gain experience performing in front of an audience. There is no extra charge to families for participating in a special performance. ATTENDANCE POLICY Time Commitment Please stay in touch with your teachers and/or Dance Director and let them know if you have to miss class for any reason. It is expected that team members will not miss class unless it is an excused absence that the teacher is made aware of ahead of time. If you have more than 2 unexcused absences per term then you may be asked to schedule a private meeting with your teacher to learn what you missed or asked to sit out of the next competition. Absences will not be permitted during the week of a competition. Absent students (other than emergency) will not be allowed to perform at the competition that weekend. COMPETITION ETIQUETTE BEHAVIOR At competitions, all the dancers are representing the DanceCats and furthering the reputation of Gymcats amongst other studios in the area. Dancers are expected to show professionalism and sportsmanship, no matter what the outcome of the judging. Dancers are also encouraged to support their fellow teammates by cheering for them in the audience during performance and camaraderie backstage. Any dancer portraying unfavorable behavior during a competition will be met with individually. TIMELINESS Dance competitions almost always run early and the order of dances can sometimes be changed last minute. Dancers are required to arrive to a competition at least one full hour before their performance time with their hair and make up completely finished. The hour before performance time gives the dancers a chance to run their routine a few times, it should not be relied upon as time for the dancer to get completely ready. If you would like a teacher s assistance with hair/makeup, please arrange to arrive two hours early. P4
COMPETITION ETIQUETTE PREPAREDNESS Before competitions begin in the spring, you will be given a list of items to consider purchasing to have on hand for dance competitions. Please make sure (and we recommend you have your dancer get in the habit of the responsibility of checking) your child s dance bag has everything packed the night before. Tights will be on hand in case there is a run and other similar items. All female dancers are required to wear makeup to some degree. Please speak with the Director if you have concerns about this. COMMUNICATION The schedule will be emailed to you a week before each competition along with parking instructions and the phone numbers of the teachers who will be present during your child s performance times. Please make sure you save the numbers into your phone in case you get lost. If there is an emergency or any reason that your child is unable to attend a performance last minute, please communicate this immediately to their teacher and we will try to arrange for their costume to be transported to the competition so the understudy can fill in. AWARDS CEREMONY Depending on the proximity of the awards ceremony to your child s performance time, you are encouraged to stay and support the team during the awards ceremony. Any child attending awards is required to wear the DanceCats or Gymcats warm up over their costume or street clothes. The teacher for each competition group will select the student assigned to go up and collect the award for the group. All awards (except for solos, duets, or trios) needs to be turned into the teacher after the awards ceremony to be distributed fairly across all dancers at the end of the season. Individual pins can be kept by each dancer. CLASS COST & TERM CALENDAR Costs Competition classes are charged at the same rate as any other dance class. All classes also follow the term calendar. Students are expected to be enrolled and paid in full before the beginning of each term. If a student is behind on their tuition or fees they may not be allowed to perform in an upcoming competition. If a student misses class they can see the front desk to schedule a make up class. P5
Costs TEACHER FEE Upon signing and returning the dancer/parent contract, a one-time $75 teacher fee is charged to each student. This fee covers the teacher wages throughout the year to make it possible for them to attend competitions or community performances. This fee is non-refundable. COMPETITION FEES Each competition has an entry fee for each dancer per routine and varies depending on the type of entry. These can range anywhere from $40 for a small group routine up to $110 for a solo. Fees and due dates will be communicated to you before the winter break. Students with solos or duets can elect if they want to perform at every competition or just most of them. Group routines will perform at every competition. The fees will be added to your account 1-2 weeks prior to the due date. If you are not on auto-pay, you will need to see the Front Desk before the due date to pay. If you are on autopay, the fee will be charged on the due date. Dance competitions do not have an entry fee for spectators. COSTUME FEES Competition costumes are ordered in November in order to receive costumes prior to the first competition, we will begin collecting costume payments in November. This costume will be the same costume your child will use for the June Recital so there will not be an additional costume to purchase. However, competition costumes can be a little more expensive in order to receive a better quality costume. Cost can range from $60-$110 per costume, hip hop costumes can be more expensive due to the purchase of multiple pieces. ACCESSORIES Attached to your contract is an Order Form. Please fill out and turn in with your contract to order the items desired. Female dancers must order competition earrings if they do not already have them. As stated previously, all dancers must wear makeup to some extent. Once costumes are selected, you will receive a Costume Requirements sheet for each dance in which your child participates which will outline tights, shoes, jewelry, and hair. A bun shaper is a great choice to assist with hair styling. Any purchases selected on the Order Form will be charged to your account when they arrive. Exchanges for shoes and other attire may be possible, please speak with the Director if you have concerns about the fit of an item on your dancer. P6
DANCER AGES & LEVELS Dance competitions segment their dancers into 4 or more age categories, varying by competition, but most commonly those age divisions are Petite (8 and under), Junior (9-11), Teen (12-14), and Senior (15-18). Each competition calculates a dancer s age for the year by their age as of January 1 of the competition year and that s the age category they are assigned. Groups, duets, and trios have their ages averaged to assign an age to the routine as a whole. The DanceCats have 5 levels, Mini, Novice, Junior, Teen, Senior and we place our dancers into groups of students who have a similar dance ability. Age is not a hard line for why one dancer would be in one group over another. For solos however, the competition will place them solely by age and then ability. SELECTING DANCERS TO RECEIVE A SOLO, DUET, OR TRIO In addition to coming to auditions and preparing a 30-second piece for the judges, multiple other factors influence if a student is granted one of these special routines. The first and most important is their work ethic. These special routines only receive 4 hours or rehearsal time with their choreographer, so it s imperative they practice at home in between meetings so the teacher can move on each rehearsal. If the student has had a solo, duet, or trio in the past, the teachers look at their past work ethic as well as their stage presence and performance history. While the number of wins does not affect if a student is granted a solo again, we look for dancers who are excited to perform onstage and exude their love of dance. A solo, duet, or trio is a special honor for a dancer and is meant to elevate a dancer to the next performance level. EXPECTATIONS Solos, Duets, Trios Until the solo, duet, or trio fee is paid the teacher will not be permitted to meet with the student to begin choreography. Solo cost is $320, Duets are $160 per student, Trios are $120 per student. Dancers in these groups must select 3 song choices for their choreographer to review. The choreographer will schedule the rehearsal times that are most convenient for all parties involved. Please let the choreographer know as soon as possible if you need to reschedule. At the end of each rehearsal the choreographer or the parent(s) can film the dance so the dancer(s) can practice at home before the next rehearsal. P7
TEACHER CONTACT INFO Hilary Nelson 724-972-8578 (text is fine) or h.nelson@gymcats.com Amanda Stephens dancingchickidy@msn.com Deb Hess deborahhess@gymcats.com Aubrey Colvin - aubreyc9030@gmail.com Kimi Sturgis - gymchickie@gmail.com GYMCATS WEBSITE The website is an excellent resource to find information that you may have misplaced. Dance Home Page: www.gymcats.com/dance.html Competition Schedule Info: www.gymcats.com/documents/dance/2018dancecats.html Practice Music/Videos: www.gymcats.com/music.html QUESTIONS? Contact Information If you have any questions about anything in this packet please do not hesitate to contact me at h.nelson@gymcats.com. We are very excited about a brand new year and I appreciate your feedback! P8