Amazin Grace Team Nova Competition Team Handbook 2015-2016
A Auditions Students must participate on Saturday, July 11 th for the full Team Nova audition time in order to be considered for the 2015-2016Competition Team. Nobody will be allowed to view the auditions (parents, other family members, friends, other dancers, etc. Auditions will begin at 2:00pm and run until 3:30pm. Girls should wear a black leotard with tan tights. Ballet skirts or plain black dance shorts are optional. Hair should be worn completely off the face in a tight bun. This is to ensure all dance steps will be executed without the distraction of hair getting in the way. Boys must wear a white t-shirt and black athletic shorts or sweatpants. Please come prepared to dance in tap and jazz shoes. If you do not own any of the shoes you may bring whatever shoes you have or go barefoot. Results will be available within 24 hours on the website and door of Amazin Grace. Attendance Team members are allowed three unexcused absences throughout the entire dance season. Team members are required to call the studio or inform a teacher prior to the classes that will be missed. *Team members may be excused for an injury/illness with a doctor s note, school activities that affect a student s GPA with a note from school, or a family emergency. If there is an issue regarding parents work schedules and/or carpool situations that result in frequent tardiness, please notify the coaches and we will work with you to the best of our ability. B Ballet Team members will be taking a ballet technique class Monday nights 6:45-7:30 (following a snack after tap class). Girls will need a pair of pink ballet shoes, and boys will need a pair of black ballet shoes. While we will not be competing in ballet, it is an important class to strengthen muscles, core, develop flexibility, etc. C Competitions Team Nova will compete in 2-3 competitions this year. We would love to see the Team Nova at the other competitions that the Sparkle and Shine teams compete in! This is a great way to not only support our older girls but also get a taste of what the other competition teams are like!
Contracts Please read, sign, and return the Team Nova contract given to you in your child s purple Team Nova folder. You can sign and return 1 copy, and keep the extra copy for yourself. Critiques/Corrections Critiques and corrections will be given to the entire group as well as individually. At this age level, it is very easy for a student to think they are being singled out or picked on. Please encourage your dancer to remember that corrections are given only in order to better themselves as a dancer! Costumes Team members will be asked to pay for 3 costumes for the 2015-2016 dance season. D Disneyworld Team Sparkle and Shine recently just performed in Disneyworld! We are hoping to offer this opportunity to the Mini Star Team in the year 2017. Stay tuned for more details E Extra Dance In addition to the jazz and tap dances that they will be competing with, we will be teaching the Team Nova an extra dance number for the dance recital. While this number will require an additional costume (3 costumes total), it will not require additional shoes. Emails Please feel free to email Miss Kelly or Miss Jodi at any time with questions. Miss Kelly nykteacher@yahoo.com Miss Jodi Jodilyn.small@me.com F Fundraisers Students and parents are strongly encouraged to play an active role in fundraising to help lower out-of-pocket expenses. It is VERY possible to fundraise a large portion of financial needs for the Competition Team; please don t let slight financial uncertainty hold you back! We appreciate and encourage parent and
family involvement in all and any fundraising opportunities since the coaches will not be responsible for planning fundraisers. The coaches and Mrs. Kraft are willing to participate in parent-run fundraisers and we strongly encourage parents and students to take advantage of the many opportunities for fundraisers to be held at the studio and in the community. Team members will have personal accounts in which their fundraiser money will be kept for individual-based fundraisers (example: Easter Candy Sale). If it is a team fundraiser, (example: car wash), the money will be split evenly amongst the students who participated. Folders Please keep and utilize your child s purple dance folder to store any papers we send home regarding Team Nova! G Gear Each team member will be required to purchase the basic uniform (team jacket, purple leotard, purple pants, black shorts). Order forms for all gear will be available in September. **Team members must wear tan tights, black or purple team leotard, and plain black dance shorts to each weekly dance class.** H Hair Hairstyle for competition will be determined at a later date; however, the coaches will train all team members and parents on how to do hair correctly. Hair should be worn in a neat bun for each dance class. I iphones/smartphones As per Amazin Grace s phone policy, all iphones and smartphone devices must be left in the office during dance class. Please see Mrs. Kraft if you have any questions about this policy.
J Jazz Each Team Nova team member will be required to take an hour of jazz technique, and an hour of jazz choreography on Friday nights from 4:30-6:30. K Kindness Team members will be spending A LOT of time together! They will become the greatest of friends, but, could easily have arguments or get upset with each other. We expect our dancers to be kind, courteous, and respectful to each other, teachers, and staff at Amazin Grace. L Lost items Amazin Grace is not responsible for any lost or stolen gear/costumes/shoes. Parents will be responsible to replace these items if they become lost or stolen. M Monthly Payments/Tuition Parents are responsible to pay for all fees in relation to costumes, gear, classes, travel, and any other additional expenses. Any competition related fees (costumes, classes, competition fees, etc.) are non-refundable. Makeup Makeup kits will be available for optional purchase through Amazin Grace. Information on the kits and the cost of the kit will be given in September. Coaches will train team members and parents on how to apply their makeup correctly.
Medical Conditions If necessary, please let the coaches and Mrs. Kraft know about any medical conditions concerning your child. N Nude leotard Each team member will be required to wear a nude leotard under her costume. You can find these at Bailey s Slipper Shop or Discount Dance. O Opportunity Dance doesn t have to be only a hobby. For some, dance is a lifelong investment. Being part of a dance team opens not only windows, but countless doors of opportunity. Many dancers go on to dance in college and beyond, even if they have other career goals in mind. There is a huge amount of career paths that dance can be combined with that are very fulfilling and rewarding. Even if dance is more of a hobby for you, we would love for you to consider all the wonderful skills and assets kids can gain as a result of participating on a team such as this. The ability to accept failure in oneself and others and to be able to move past failure in a positive manner in order to reach achievement is a skill that translates into many different facets for life. We do not expect our dancers to be perfect! But, we do expect that our dancers obtain and the skills and discipline that will allow them to reach their full potential both individually, and as a team. Dance technique and personal character are held to the same standard in our book because it is very important for each team member to thrive and work in a positive, nurturing environment. P Parent Meetings We would like to briefly meet with parents once every two months. You will receive a schedule in September. If it becomes necessary to hold any extra meetings, they will be scheduled with at least two weeks advance notice. Practice Practicing at home is very important! We encourage your child to review what they ve learned each week in order to minimize review time in class. They can practice in their room in front of a mirror, or have them show you what they ve been working on each week
Q Questions Please feel free to call the studio and speak with Mrs. Kraft, or email the coaches at any time with questions that you may have! We will respond back as timely as we can. R Recital Team members will be performing three dances at our dance recital in June their competition tap and jazz numbers, and a lyrical number which will be taught later in the year. S Shoes Team members will need the following shoes: TAP Bloch TapFlex Lace Up Tap Shoe in BLACK JAZZ Capezio Slip-On Jazz Shoe in NUDE BALLET PINK ballet shoes (any style, brand) Schedule We will have a schedule available in September that will list your parent meeting dates, and other fun team building opportunities for your child. Snack Students will be given a 15 minute break time on Mondays, following their tap class. During this time (6:30-6:45), we will encourage them to grab a quick snack and rehydrate. T Transportation Amazin Grace coaches and/or staff are not allowed to transport dancers to competitions or performances. We encourage parents to carpool!
Team Bonding/Building Throughout the year, we will be having team bonding activities and opportunities to have fun and get to know each other! These activities will be listed on the schedule you will receive in September. Tap Team members will be taking one hour of tap technique, and one hour of tap choreography on Mondays from 4:30-6:30. U Uniform Please see G for team gear requirements. V Volunteer If you have any fundraiser ideas that you would like to volunteer to run for the Team Nova team, please contact one of the coaches, or Mrs. Kraft! W Website Please continue to check our website www.amazingracedance.com - for updated information and schedules. X X-tra expenses While we will try to keep extra expenses to a minimum, you will be given opportunities to purchase additional items for your child such as makeup kits, extra team gear, etc.
Y Y should you audition? If you love to dance and thrive on hard work and accomplishment, you should audition for the Amazin Grace Team Nova Competition Team! Becoming a member allows students to strive to meet many goals throughout the dance year while enhancing and expanding dance technique, as well as the aesthetic and performance qualities of dance. Members of the Team Nova will work closely with their coaches and teammates in order to enhance their dance experiences and their passion for the art of dance. Z Zzzzzzzzz s Just like the night before a big test at school, Mini Star members will need a good night s sleep before every dance competition day!
Team Nova Weekly Schedule Monday Tap Technique/Choreography: 4:30-6:30 Break/Snack: 6:30-6:45 Ballet: 6:45-7:30 Friday Jazz Technique/Choreography: 4:30-6:30 **We would also like to occasionally join the Sparkle and Shine teams on Saturdays for workshops during the year. You will always be given advance notice of days and times.** Team building/bonding activities schedule will be available come September!