Studio Handbook Welcome to WAPA! We are proud to facilitate a positive, encouraging environment within the studio. In order to uphold our caring, supportive and inspiring studio while incorporating high standards there are a few things we would like everyone to know. Please read through this handbook for the outline and expectations of dancers, parents and faculty. If you have any further questions don't hesitate to contact Dana Fry Blanco by email. Happy Dancing!! Registrations: WAPA offers many options for dancers to reach their individual goals. We will strive to find the perfect classes for each student. Classes students are placed into ballet, modern and tap classes based on their level of dance, not by age. This way we can insure that students will be learning within a positive structure. Students who are taking junior classes, jazz and hip hop are placed by age. We offer trial classes to all new students in order to find the perfect class for each dancer. En Avant is a pre-professional training program which has classes 6 days per week. Prospective students will need to audition to enter the program either at the summer intensive or by arranging a private audition time. En Avant students are expected to participate in festival/competitions and to attend all classes offered to them. RAD WAPA offers classes from Pre-Primary (age 5) through to Solo Seal Award (for future professional dancers). Royal Academy of Dance has two higher level branches of examinations which extend after Grade 5 ballet. The Higher Grades (6,7,8) are based on the romantic era of ballet and do not include pointe work. The Vocational Exams (Inter-Found, Inter, all Adv Levels) are preparatory levels towards professional careers and do include pointe work. All dancers wanting to take Vocational Examinations are asked to be fully committed to their classes. ISTD Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing is a society of dance based out of London, England and we have been training their modern examination syllabus from the beginning. We find this method engaging, filled with imagery and a great introduction to modern for young students. It is structured very similar to the RAD and has a large international following.
Registration all registration forms and postdated cheques (or other payments) should be handed in for your registration to be complete. Please, don't forget your cheque book on registration day. For monthly payments we are able to accept personal cheques and prefer the year's fees to be divided into two payments. For yearly payments we are able to accept personal cheques and visa (visa transactions have an added 3% to the fee). Fees are posted on the website under registration tab. We try to keep our fees current and competitive. We offer small class sizes, high quality training and a positive family environment, all of which are reflected in the fees. Scholarships WAPA is proud to support deserving dancers and families with scholarships towards class fees. Anyone wishing to apply for a scholarship should fill out and email in the WAPA Scholarship Form by October 1 (or as early as possible) to be considered. Costume Fees a costume fee for the year end show in June will be required by November 1 of each season or on the day of registration if registering after November 1. Fees are based on your level of dance and are posted on the website under the registrations tab. Payments all payments need to be handed in, in a timely fashion. Most costumes, festival and exams fees will have due dates. Please observe these dates to insure your dancer is able to participate. Withdrawal if you wish to withdraw and your dancer is 6 years old or under we require one month's written notice. If your dancer is 7 or older we do expect that they are committed to finishing the season. Fundraising WAPA families will be able to participate in fundraising opportunities with the funds going directly towards dance fees as you choose. Notification of fundraising opportunities will be emailed periodically throughout the season and will have a coordinator contact to arrange things with. We hope this will help families off set dance fees in whatever capacity they are able to participate. Etiquette & Studio Wear: Communication is key to any successful relationship. Please notify us of any schedule conflicts, illness, issues etc. So that we are able to work together (if needed) on a solution. If WAPA is unaware of conflicts, illness and issues we are not able to assist in creating positive outcomes. Don't hesitate to communicate anything on your mind, we are here to listen! Tardy if you arrive late for class please wait at the entrance to the studio until the teacher sees you and invites you in. Please apologize for being late when you enter the classroom.
Issues all dancers, parents and faculty are asked to uphold our caring, supportive studio philosophy. If you are experiencing any issues please contact Dana Fry Blanco immediately! Any dancer or parent found being disrespectful of our positive environment will be asked to discontinue their behaviour or, depending on the issue, asked to withdraw from the studio. We uphold our positive environment above all else for the benefit of all dancers, parents and faculty. Shared Space all dancers and families are asked to keep their noise down out of respect to dancers and faculty in class as well as refrain from bringing any allergic materials (dogs, nut products, etc) to the studio's shared space. We wish the studio to be an inviting atmosphere for all. Uniform dance incorporates uniforms to assist the faculty in providing sound advise, proper corrections and to train students at the lowest level of risk to ones body. Uniforms and hair facilitate proper technical understanding. We ask that all students purchase the studio uniform by October 1. Bodysuits and tights should be purchased through WAPA; shoes and shorts can be purchased at Toes n Tap Dance Shoppe or Ellswear. Used Shoes each season during the Sept registration dates WAPA holds a used shoe sale. Any student who has grown out of their shoes can drop them off in a ziploc bag labelled with your name, email address and amount being charged to be sold at the used shoe sale. In turn, students looking for a new size shoe can look through the used shoes available to see if there are any that fit before having to go and buy new shoes. All fees from shoes sold go back the the family who placed them into the shoe sale. Pointe shoes are not included in the used shoe sale. Studio Wear jackets and tops with the WAPA logo are available to order starting in September. Please observe the order deadline to make sure you are included. All orders will arrive in time for Winter Break. Students participating in Festival are required to purchase the studio jacket. Festival: Dancers in the Graded Programs are able to hand in a Festival Request Form if they are interested in participating. Forms will be sent out with the September Newsletter and should be handed in by October 1. En Avant Dancers are expected to participate in Festival/Competition and don't need to fill out the form. Expectations dancers participating in festivals/competitions are asked to take their rehearsals, memorization and team efforts very seriously. Dancers are to be on time, and ready to dance for every rehearsal. If a student is more then 15 min late or missing for two rehearsals they may be asked to not dance a section of the piece or not participate at all. It is imperative that the group work well as a
team and everyone be treated equally. Solos students who are seen as ready for a solo by the faculty/choreographers will be asked by the choreographer to do a solo. Only dancers who participate in groups will be asked to do solos and dancers/parents should not ask choreographers for a solo. Any questions or concerns about solos should be directed to Dana Fry Blanco. Fees there are different kinds of fees involved with Festivals/Competitions Rehearsal/Choreography fees which cover the costs of space rentals for all rehearsals as well as choreographers time at $265 per group and $250 per solo Entry Fees which cover the costs of entry into all festival/competitions usually about $100-$150 for groups, $168-$500 for regular and provincial solos and costume fees, usually from $80-$130 which cover the costs of all costumes involved with just festival (your costume fee paid at registration goes towards your year end show costumes not your festival/competition costumes). These fees will be asked for throughout the process of getting ready for festival/competition and should be handed in by their individual due dates. Studio Jackets all festival/competition dancers are asked to purchase the WAPA studio jacket to wear at all festivals/competitions. Festival/Competition Behaviour while the popular TV show Dance Moms glorifies the type of dancer and parent who is hostile, demanding and disrespectful of others dancers/studios, WAPA will does not believe in that behaviour. We ask that all dancers and parents attending festival/competition be courteous and encouraging of everyone. If you have an issue with anything during any of these festivals/competitions please find Dana Fry Blanco immediately and notify her! Exams: Please read our 'Examination Structure' posted on the website to fully understand how we will be placing dancers into levels each season after an examination. WAPA offers Royal Academy of Dance (RAD), Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing (ISTD) and school exams every season. Fees there are fees for examinations. The costs covered as necessary are: the cost of the entry fee through the society, the rental of dance space, the pianist or music player, the examiners food, any paper work completed by WAPA and the time spent by teachers on these extra days. Fees presented to families are the final total of the above components and do include GST. Dance Societies are ever changing their fee structures which is why exam fees are not the same each season. Feedback it is important that all students receive feedback about how they are dancing in order to better themselves. Report Cards will be handed out in all examinable classes during November for dancers and parents to review, track
progress and ask questions. Full reports will be given with every exam (exams usually happen in the spring) and can further your understanding of where the dancer is in their individual process. Standard RAD and ISTD teachers are held to a standard of teaching and training. We are expected to carefully select students for examinations who are mentally and physically ready to handle the exam work and move onto the next level. Each student will be ready for exams at their own personal pace. Certain exams such as Grade 1 Ballet and all vocational ballet levels usually take two years to train for. It is our commitment to each student to be sure they are fully ready for an exam when choosing them to participate. This is why WAPA also offers school exams so that each student can feel they have accomplished a level of achievement within the season and can receive full feedback. Commitment students and families are expected to fully commit to attendance in the three months leading up to any examination. This way dancers will receive complete training and attention. Any student who disregards attendance leading up to an examination may have their participation revoked. This goes back to the understanding of standard and our careful choosing of what will be best for the dancers progress. Costumes & Shows: All families will get the chance in January to let WAPA know if you are not able to attend the year end show so that a costume will not be ordered for you. Costume orders do go out by the end of January and all costumes ordered for dancers are asked to be paid for and picked up regardless of if your participation in the year end performance changes. Fees costumes range from around $65-$100 depending on class and age as per the Costume Fee Schedule on the website. Winter Show we do put together a Winter Show which typically happens late November/early December (depending on theatre space) and consists of performances from most classes. We do reuse costumes from previous year end shows as well as create specialized accessories for this performance. A fee of $12 per performing dancer is charged to cover all props and accessories needed. Tickets can be purchased through the studio for this performance. Notification of this performance typically comes out in the October Newsletter. Year End Show WAPA has created story performances for the last 8 years and enjoys being able to put forth a cohesive performance to their audience. Show Info all of the info pertaining to performances will be handed out one month before the performance. All questions should be dealt with immediately so that we can all enjoy a smooth performance day. Timing and scheduled spacing rehearsals are very important on the day of the performance so dancers and
families should anticipate being on time (if not a bit early) on this day. Photo Day WAPA hires a photographer every year to come in and take professional photos of the classes and individuals in costume before the show. Families are not required to purchase photos, but we do ask that everyone attend so that dancers can have all their class mates in a photo together. Photo day typically happens two weeks before the year end show at the Braefoot studio. Information for Photo day will be sent out in May. The date for Photo day will be posted in the newsletter as soon as it is arranged. Keep Costumes please hold onto your costumes from previous years so that WAPA can borrow them for Winter Show use. Videos videos of the Winter Show and Year End Show are available through the studio and order forms will be sent out with the information for each performance. We hope to have answered some of the general questions you might have about options and everyday life at the studio. If you have any further questions don't hesitate to email Dana Fry Blanco! Dancer: Remei Photograph By: Dana Fry