COVID-19 Update – April 13, 2020

April 13, 2020

Dear Academy Family Member,

Here is our exciting MAY news for you! WE have been listening to our dancers and families as we shape the next right step for those dancing dancers we hold dear.

  1. Finishing the Season Strong! While we finish our service commitment to you with the final LIVE class gatherings on May 2, you will still have Academy Virtual access throughout the end of May. Remember that our class recordings stay up for an entire week right now so your dancer can take daily classes from their teacher or join another group, too! If you didn’t know, your dancer has access to take any classes from the online schedule they would like to try, as long as you deem the space safe to do so! We suggest your dancer stays within a level or two of their own, for safety reasons, too! And if we are given the green light to gather again in August, we will prepare dancers in rehearsal for the September 19 performances, at no additional charge to our families. Portraits can be scheduled in August, and costumes will be distributed the week prior to photography.
  2. Zoom-Fest Season Closure Celebration: Save the date, Saturday, May 2

Given the mayor’s decision to cancel our Civic Center events, we were able to reschedule our teams and the venue for Sept. 19. We also looked for solutions to help our dancing friends who are moving away or who may be unable to participate in the new September 19 Munchkinland and Over the Rainbow productions. On Saturday, May 2, at the very same time you were scheduled to be performing, please plan to join us for our first-ever Academy Zoom-Fest Day! We will host Virtual gatherings as we share each performance piece from home in a simultaneous broadcast event with our teachers, mentors, fellow students and parents in one giant Zoom room! Munchkinland dancers can join us for their performance times at 10am and 1pm, while Over the Rainbow Dancers are invited to Act 1 at 6pm, Act 2 at 7pm and Act 3 at 8pm. We will send you details and the links to join us soon, so be watching your email in-boxes and the Academy family Facebook page for links. We are so excited to see all of our dancers come together for this first-ever year-end virtual gathering with friends!

  1. Summer Quarter news: We will start it early, on May 18! Our dancers say they want more! We can see it is time to do even more together! We will move up the start of our Summer Quarter evening classes by two weeks to begin on Monday, May 18. Our Summer season will launch via Zoom with FULL-LENGTH class times at home until the quarantine is lifted.
  2. NEW this year: VIP Fall Pre-Enrollment starts Wednesday, April 15- May 2, 2020! For the first time ever, we are opening a sneak-peek at fall so that you can place a pre-registration hold to let us know you want to reserve classes through your Member Portal. You are important to us and we have been working hard to gather the information from student conversations, progress reports and skill listings. You can see these online in your Member Portal notes under SKILLS, to match your favorite classes to our professional teacher recommendations and course content for our most exciting Fall season 2020. If you don’t see something you think we may have overlooked, please make sure to ask!

While studios around the country are shutting down, I am so proud of our A-team here at home. The quarantine has not stopped us from dancing in safe ways and preparing our fall season, which we believe is going to be one of the best yet! We’ve discovered new technologies that will continue to enhance our student experiences. We want to give our students something to look forward to and anticipate. We are excited to be able to share this early look at our planning process.

A VIP Pre-Registration lets us know which classes our VIP Academy families need for fall so that we can begin to build schedules based on your early planning enrollment. You do not need to know your payment plan for paying a Year in Full, Quarterly or Monthly yet. Your deposit to reserve classes is based on the number of classes you intend to take and will apply directly to fall registration, so it’s less to pay later. We just want to know if we should include your family in our Fall planning, especially if you know now, so we can save you a spot!)
Your early VIP Pre-Enrollment online by May 2 will make sure you receive:

1) Tuition freezes at 2019 rates for 2020 (our thank you!)

2) A FREE upgrade to new LEAP membership benefits,
including ongoing access to Virtual Academy content throughout the year, 5% off Dance Shoppe purchases & more!

3) Knowledge that your early action means we will be here and can continue to bring you quality dance programming in the fall.

Fall VIP Reservations close on May 2. After May 2, tuition rates are subject to change.

We are so proud of the way the dancers are showing up and are committed to learning with us together in every way we can! We continue to stack benefits onto the Academy Families Facebook page and hope you are taking advantage of the Virtual Academy website with resources and recordings all in one spot! Thank you for sticking with us as we are leading the way for local businesses to pivot in business operations to continue to serve you and our community in better ways. Together we are stronger!

And as always, we are here for you! Join us in classes through May, online in VIP Pre-Registration starting April 15 and for the season-closing Zoom Festival on May 2. Be sure to reach out with any questions you have! We are here for you!

Keep growing one step at a time and see you soon!

Yours in dance, Ms. Julie & your entire Academy of Dance Arts Family

Ms. Abbey, Ms. Alie, Ms. Alina, Ms. Anna, Ms. Claire, Ms. Grace, Ms. Janie, Ms. Kat & Ms. Sara

Leave a Comment