As summer begins winding down, every family has their own way of gradually readjusting to the reality that another school year is on its way, and soon our time will be consumed by drop-offs and pick-ups, homework, projects, holiday celebrations, spirit week, and a bevy of after-school and weekend activities. At the studio, we are finishing up the last of our Adventures in Summer Camp and Hip Hop Workshops, all the while sprucing up, cleaning up, and stocking up the studio for the coming year.

It may be hard to believe, but planning has already started for the 2018 recital, and shortly we will begin to pour over costume books to search for the perfect costume for each number. It’s just the beginning of what adds up to months and months of hard work and preparation for the entire staff and all of our students and parents as well. It starts with small steps though, and first classes, new shoes, new teachers, and new moves.

In my house we are gradually stepping back our bedtime so that we are ready for school. We’ve filled our new backpack with labeled supplies and started mass-producing items we can freeze for future lunches. Our dance bag is ready with the hundreds of bobby pins and hair ties we will inevitably lose throughout the year (where do they go??) and new shoes for little feet that have gotten a bit less little over the past year. My dancer is very excited about this year in particular, because she will be old enough to audition to be a part of the Recital Company and the Ducks Performance!

If all of this leaves you wishing for a little more beach time, or prep time, here are some tips for getting ready to be back in studio:

• Make sure that you are receiving the studio emails, and if not, let us know so that we can add your address to our newsletter system. Email is how we send out a ton of information for holiday parties, costumes, and most importantly, the recital which will be June 16th & 17th this year.
• If you can, add our studio calendar to your phone, computer, or tablet. You can add reminders for yourself before holiday parties, costume measurement week, the costume order deadlines and even reminders for when the studio is closed!
• Follow us on our social media channels (to get to them you can click the links below) to keep up with what’s going on each week, and for our contests during spirit week. You may even see your dancer’s class featured in our “This Week at DC” series. It gives everyone a behind the scenes peek at our dancers hard at work, and also the studio “goings-on”.
• Get in touch with us at the studio if you have a change to your schedule that requires you switching classes, or if you have any questions about the days/times you’ve been assigned to. We’re happy to help with anything you need!
• If your dancer is in need of new shoes, tights, or leotards you can stop by the dancewear boutique in the studio to have your dancer sized for the perfect fit. If you pre-registered you can use your discount coupon, so make sure to bring that with you!
• Make sure to read over your Welcome Packet to become familiar with the studio policies, especially about monthly billing and late fees, as well as the attire for different classes and recital information. You can also make sure the calendar on the back is tacked up on a bulletin board or the refrigerator so our school breaks are always visible.
• If you are looking to be billed on our Monthly Auto-Pay plan, make sure that you’ve filled out a new authorization form for this year’s charges. It can be easy to forget, and we like to help our families avoid having late fees added whenever we can.

Once you complete this dance prep checklist, you’ll be well on your way to having a fantastic dance year! Always keep in mind that our teachers and staff will be there every step of the way to answer questions, provide guidance, and address any and all concerns you may have, so please ask us!