We understand that being a member of our competition dance teams is a commitment and a dedication – that’s why we are working extra hard year after year to make our competition program the very best! If you have additional questions please let us know.
With all of your hard work and dedication, we will meet the following goals:
To share our passion for dance with our community
To achieve excellence at competitions and conventions
To display superior dance technique, style and stage presence at all events
To work hard, be dedicated and fulfill all commitments
To maintain and even improve our skills throughout the year
To be good role models and set good examples for all dancers
To have fun and enjoy every moment of our season!
All of the Academy teaching staff is very excited about the upcoming competitive year. Questions and concerns may arise so please feel free to contact Whitney or Suzanne for further information.
Email:
Our primary method of communication with competition team parents is by email. We communicate often regarding upcoming events, announcements, scheduling, etc. Accordingly, all competition team parents must provide an email address to us that they check regularly for emails from The Academy Competition Team. Please be sure that this is an email that you can receive non-work related emails on.
All AFA dance competition emails will come from AFACompteam@yahoo.com. We will ask that if you would like to send out a group announcement that you send an email with the announcement to AFACompteam@yahoo.com. We will then take care of sending out the announcement. We will try to send no more than one email a day and try our best to at least give 24 hour notice on turn around.
All correspondence about the Academy of Fine Arts Dance not related to competition will come from the academycastle@aol.com . We will follow the same process as stated above.
In addition, we have a “Competition Team Blog” that we update with important information regarding booster club updates.
Booster Club:
The Booster Club is the fundraising arm of the Academy Competition Team. This club is run by the parents of the competition students. This group is separate from the AFA competition team and the Academy of Fine Arts.
More information on Booster Club will be provided in the first meeting. This group will meet once a month.
Instructional Class Requirements :
These classes are fundamental in teaching dancers the proper foundations of all dance and in strengthening them so that they can perform and execute moves in a manner that is technically correct. Ballet technique class will focus on the fundamentals of classical ballet, including proper ballet positions, body alignment and technique. Jazz technique class is focused on strengthening dancers with targeted stretches and exercises, as well as focusing on proper technique for leaps, turns, and other integral dance moves incorporated into the competition routines. Tap class is focused on strengthening dancers with targeted exercises to help loosen their ankles and improve their sound articulation and footwork. We will also focus on expanding their tap vocabulary and exposing the dancers to different rhythms and styles of tap.
Class Schedule:
The class schedule for competition dancers will be finalized after auditions and will ready August 15th.
Practice Attire:
All competition team dancers are expected to dress in full dancewear for every dance class. Competition team members are looked to as role models within the studio and should be dressed properly for all classes (hair pulled back for ALL classes and appropriate dancewear and dance SHOES for all classes). Please note, again this year Academy will follow a studio-wide dress code for competition dancers, as well as non-competition dancers. We feel this creates a more
professional learning environment for our students.
Ballet: Leotard, tights, ballet skirt (optional) and ballet shoes
Jazz/Technique/ Lyrical: Any tight fitting clothing over a leotard and appropriate shoes
Tap: Any tight fitting clothing over a leotard and tap shoes
Competition Dance Practice: Black Leotard and tights -You may wear black tight fitted shorts as well
Attendance Policy:
Good attendance is required of our Competition Team Members.
Regular attendance is essential and mandatory. Students may not miss any of their regularly scheduled classes/choreography the week before competition. Some exceptions will be made if the teacher has plenty of advanced warning and agrees to excuse the absence.
If you miss a regular class please plan to make this class up in the following 2 weeks. If you miss competition class, please understand you may be asked to make this up with a private at your cost.
All dancers agree to practice, practice and practice some more. You, along with your teammates and teachers, will be pleased with the results.
Extra Practices:
Along with required attendance at weekly classes, there will be some mandatory extra practices throughout the dance year to work on our competition routines or prepare for other performances.
Extra Choreography Classes:
We are asking ALL competition team members to mark the following Saturdays on your calendars as a possible rehearsal/choreography day:
Saturday, September 26th
Saturday, October 17th
**We may or may not need all competition dancers to be present on every Saturday listed above -we will try our best to give at least two weeks advance notice of which teams (if any) will need to be available for an extra Saturday rehearsal or performance.
These two Saturdays above would be at NO COST to our competition teams – these are a complimentary service provided to our competition teams so that they will be their very best when it comes time for competition!
Extra Competition Classes:
These extra competition classes are used in between the dance class sessions or to help us prepare for competition. These classes are an extra $5 per dance. This will be billed to you in the month the classes will take place. The schedule for these days will be as close to our Thursday schedule as possible. Please plan for the following dates:
August 20th
August 27th
September 3rd
December 15th
December 17th
January 5th
January 7th
Competitions:
During the upcoming competition season, The Academy competition teams will participate in one convention, 4 regional competitions and one national competition. The three regional competitions will be during the months of Feb -May. Each of these regional competitions is usually within the Kansas City or St. Louis area and is usually on Saturday and Sunday (sometimes there may be Friday evening times). The specific competition times for each competition are no t posted until the week before the competition. Sometimes dancers must be present at the competition on both days (Saturday & Sunday), other times, a dancer must only be present on one day or the other – it varies competition by competition.
· Students must attend all competitions their groups are entered
· All students need to be prepared to stay for all award ceremonies. The only exceptions are from the teachers for late Sunday evening awards
· All students need to arrive at competition in their AFA jackets. These need to be worn over costumes at all times and on stage for awards.
· All dancers agree to practice, practice and practice some more. You, along with your teammates and teachers, will be pleased with the results.
· Competitions will usually post their schedules 1 week prior to the competition. A copy of the schedule will be posted in the studio. All dancers must be at a competition, dressed with makeup and hair done, at least set ready time, this is usually two hours before your scheduled time. This allows for stretching and running of the routine(s) before show time, minimizing stress on all.
· Suggested hotels for each competition will also be posted, however it is not necessary to all stay at the same place if you prefer a different hotel or have other accommodations. We will not be making group reservations. Each person is responsible for themselves
· Academy will sell a practice CD for $5. The CD will contain all of the competition music for this season. This will be ready for purchase Oct. 15th
· When attending conventions and competitions, students and parents must behave in an appropriate manner. Poor sportsmanship, inappropriate attire, and being disrespectful to anyone (including other studios' dancers and parents), is unacceptable. Please remember you are representing everyone at the Academy of Fine Arts.
Dance Convention
LA Dance Magic
January 16-17
St. Louis, MO
Optional for level 3 dancers.
Regional Competitions
Prime Time
Feb. 19th-21st
St. Louis, MO
Star Power
March 12th -14th
St. Louis, MO
Showbiz
April 16th -18th
St. Louis, MO
Masquerade
May 7th -9th
Kansas City Expo Center
National Competition:
This year we are looking at Showbiz National Competition in Kansas City, July 3-7, 2010. This National Competition is OPTIONAL for those dancers who wish to attend and compete. We will determine which dancers would like to participate in Nationals, and which groups will be able to compete in Nationals (based on dancer participation) in the Winter of 2010. We will need a final headcount by January 31st, 2010. National Entry Fees and summer tuition for rehearsals leading up to Nationals will be collected separately in spring 2010 based on participation.
Competition Dance Shoes:
We will let our competition team members know what color and style of shoe they need for each class by October 15th. This will be determined once competition team auditions are held and costume/music choices are finalized for each group. These shoes may only be worn for competition practices and at the competitions. Only exception is for the black/white tap shoes.
Competition Costumes:
We will let our competition team members know what costumes will be worn for each dance by October 15th. Most of our team costumes are made by Wanda. If you are a solo dancer please understand the group costumes are a huge undertaking. Please have all solo dance costumes to Wanda by August 31st.
Stoning on Competition Costumes:
Each parent will be responsible to the stoning of their competition costs. Each costume will be provided with a stone design and we ask that all stoning is complete for the Competition Showcase on Jan. 9th, 2010
As time allows Ms. Suzanne will be offering to stones costumes for a fee of per gross of stones. Please make sure you communicate directly with her on this and plan ahead so all costumes are ready for Jan. 9th.
Competition Showcase Performance:
January 9th, 2010 will be our Showcase Performance at the Hazel Kinder Theatre.
Solos/Duos/Trios:
All solos/duos/trios need to be approved by Ms.Whitney or Ms. Suzanne. All soloists need to have competed in dance for 2 years at a minimum. The Academy Bill needs to be paid in full at the time of registration. A minimum of a 30-minute private per week needs to be taken for each dance solo/duo/trio competing in.
Get Ready for a Great Year!
"Champions do not become champions when they win the event,but in the hours, weeks, months and years they spend preparing for it. The victorious performance itself is merelythe demonstration of their championship character."-T. Alan Armstrong
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