Backstage Dance Studio_December 2022 Newsletter

THE BEAT STUDIO

BY MARTY ROBERTS, STUDIO OWNER

With the winter holiday season in full swing, we know it is both a FESTIVE and BUSY time of year for everyone. Here at Backstage, we are busily preparing costume orders for our spring shows (don't forget to turn your forms in by December 5th!), starting choreography for our shows, and collecting winter essentials for Treehouse of Seattle. If you would like to donate an item to foster children who benefit from Treehouse's services, please take a tag off the tree in our lobby!

This month our community focus is KINDNESS. During this season of giving, we will be reinforcing the importance kindness and how it is our individual responsibility to contribute to a positive community...

Winter Essentials Drive

This holiday season, Backstage is hosting a Winter Essentials Drive for Treehouse of Seattle. Treehouse supports 6,400 children, youth and young adults in foster care throughout Washington State each year, helping them succeed in school, meet key material needs, and experience childhood activities that every child deserves. Please consider participating in our drive by taking a tag from the giving tree in our main studio, purchasing the item listed on the tag, and returning it to the studio by Monday, December 12. Backstage will deliver all donated items to the Treehouse Store on Decembe

COLORING & DRESS CODE CONTEST

DRESS CODE CONTEST CLASS WINNERS!

First, we must acknowledge that we had over 100 entries for our Dress Code contest, which means we have SO many dancers coming to class in proper dress code each week Keep up the awesome work, dancers!

The winning classes were

Ballet 1, Monday at 5:00 with Miss Rhonda Hip Hop 1, Thursday at 4:15 with Miss Grace Broadway Bound, Friday at 5:00 with Miss Charmin

These classes enjoyed ice cream at the end of class prior to Thanksgiving break!

THANKSGIVING COLORING CONTEST

Thanks to all our talented artists for participating in our November coloring contest! It was a very tough decision, but we have three winners! Kayla B, Bailey P, and Riv r

Teacher Spotlight

OFIA!

Sofia joined the Backstage family in August and currently works as both a teacher and the manager of our dancewear store, Stage Left Dancewear! You can find Sofia in Stage Left Monday through Thursday, and at Backstage on Fridays and Saturdays. teaching Acro, Hip Hop, Pre-Ballet/Tap, Ballet Basics & Creative Movement classes.

Sofia studied dance at Southwest Washington Dance Center, where she was also a part-time teacher. She also holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Apparel, Textiles and Merchandising from Central Washington University.

We are so thrilled to have Sofia join the Backstage teaching team and help us reimagine our dancewear business!

DANCERS OF THE MONTH!

Congratulations to our November Dancers of the Month!

These dancers will receive a gift card to Stage Left Dancewear! Please stop by the front desk to pick up your prize. HOORAY!!

RUBY DOWNER

Ruby is enrolled in Tap 1, Ballet 1 and Hip Hop 1! She was nominated by Miss Grace, who says that Ruby is always prepared for class and is super kind to her classmates GREAT JOB, RUBY!!

MYNDY LOH

Myndy is enrolled in Hip Hop Basics. She was nominated by Miss Charmin, who says Myndy always come to class on time in proper dance attire, she works hard, memorizes choreography, and is courteous to peers. WAY TO GO, MYNDY!!

OLIVIA ZHONG

Olivia is a member of the BDS Signature Competition Team and is enrolled in a number of classes, including Ballet 205.5/206, Beginning Pointe, Jazz Tech 205.5/206, Tap Tech 206. Olivia was nominated by Miss Elise, who says that Olivia is always very focused in class, pays close attention to details, and has a good attitude. AWESOME JOB, OLIVIA!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DANCERS!

DECEMBER BIRTHDAYS

Make sure you wish these dancers an awesome birthday this month!

Oshan Abeyesinghe, Lucia Alcoholado, Callie Auyong, Arloe Caplan, Jessica Chandler, Kaitlyn Cheah,Cecilia Choi, Harper Chu, Charlotte Curtiss, Quinn Davidson, Amelia Days, Paige Dennett, Christa Egesdal, Vivian Fan, Eliza Fein, Delsa Ghodrati, Maya Goldfeder, Zoe Green, Lily Hockenstein, Lucia Hutt, Sahan Katipally, Kristina Koppes, Emi Kuramoto, Ivan Kutchera, Audrey Kwong, Amelie Kwong, Lillian Lake, Piper Lee, Anyi Li, Danielle Li, Audrey Liu, Aria MacKenzie, Kara Mangone, Emersyn Martija, Meghan McHugh, Benton Melbourne, Hannah Meleney, Jacqueline Mooney, Alexis Moore, Julia Negrete, Olivia Nguyen, Lucia Perez-Valverde, Ariana Razmpoosh, Riley Sanders, Iris Scherpelz, Madelyn Scowcroft, Sakura Stearns, Jessica Szczepaniak, Beatrice Ungur, Juliana Villaveces, Gigi Wojdak, Sophia Yeh, Lisa Zhou, Liv Zorotovich

PARENT EDUCATION

Again this year, Backstage would like to partner with you on your parenting journey! We will inform you of parenting workshops and speaker series that may be of interest to you, and hope to bring you some of our own events throughout the year.

ParentMap Presents:

Raising Critical Thinkers: Media Literacy for the Digital Age Tuesday, December 6, 2022 1–2 p.m. PT REGISTER HERE

Tech-savvy kids today are constantly awash in an onslaught of unfiltered information. How can parents help them at every stage of development to cultivate an ability to safely explore the world around them with an understanding of how their loyalties and biases affect how they assimilate information and form their beliefs?

In this free Dec. 6 ParentEd Talks event, Julie Bogart, author of “The Brave Learner: Finding Everyday Magic in Homeschool, Learning, and Life,” will draw on her more than 20 years of curriculum development experience to share strategies for parents to coach critical digital literacy skills in their kids.

OUR CHARACTER FOCUS FOR DECEMBER IS... KINDNESS

Look for a culture card coming home with your dancer this month! We hope everyone will earn a card for BEING KIND!

Acts of kindness can make the world a happier place for everyone. They can boost feelings of confidence, being in control, happiness and optimism. They may also encourage others to repeat the good deeds they've experienced themselves – contributing to a more positive community.

HOLIDAY FUN!

Take a break from regular dress code clothing and celebrate the holiday season by wearing your holiday-themed flair to class during Holiday Spirit Week, December 12th through December 17th! Show us your spirit by wearing your favorite holiday attire! Silly socks, sweaters, even pj's are appropriate, as long as you can dance and move in them!

Parent Classroom Observations

During the week of December 5th, each of our recreational classes will invite parents into the studio rooms for the last 10 minutes of class to share what they have been working on so far this year! AND, enjoy a cup of hot chocolate to go! We'll have a small hot chocolate station in the lobby from 4:00 to 7:00 for you to grab a yummy warm beverage after watching your kiddos in class!

Spring Show Theme!

If you ' ve been in the studio in the past several weeks, you have no doubt seen Olaf hanging out by our display wall announcing our SPRING SHOW theme. We are so excited to present our ballet, Frozen, and hip hop, contemporary, tap and jazz performances in our show, Bloom Where You Are Planted. Our six shows will take place on Saturday, June 3 and Sunday, June 4 at IKEA Performing Arts Center at Renton High School. Show Participation/Costume Forms have been distributed in class and via email for all classes performing in our shows. Please reach out if you have any questions and be sure to turn yours in by the December 5th deadline!

6-WEEK Pop-Up Classes starting in January!

Hip Hop Choreography Class with Shay! Ages 10-14

Adult Dance Mix Class with Grace!

BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND, ADULT DANCE MIX! Dance Mix incorporates a variety of dance styles - hip hop, contemporary, jazz, and even a little yoga and stretching!

Class is on Mondays, 7:00-8:00pm and runs six weeks, January 9 to February 13. $150 for the six week session.

Miss Shay loves hip hop and will share her passion for hip hop choreography during this six-week class. Students will learn how to choreograph a hip hop dance and will choreograph their own dance to perform for their family on the last day of class. For dancers, ages 10 to 14. Class is on Mondays, 4:15-5:00pm and runs six weeks, January 9 to February 13. $120 for the six week session.

Registration opens December 3 on the Backstage website and through your Jackrabbit family portal.

It is overflowing!!

Parents , please come into the studio and do a quick look through our Lost and Found! Lots of water bottles, coats and assorted clothing have been left behind. We will donate all unclaimed items at the end of December!

December Frequently Asked Questions

Can I add or change classes?

Enrollment for the 2022-2023 school-year session will close on December 2. Acro, Creative Movement, and tech classes will continue to be available to enroll in throughout the year, space permitting, as those classes do not participate in the spring show.

Am I required to participate in the

Spring Show?

NO! If you do not wish to participate in our show, that is not a problem. Your child is welcome to continue coming to class, learning technique, new skills and choreography that will be performed in the show. Your last month of classes will be in April as we focus heavily on show protocol in May, and we don't want any of our dancers to feel left out!

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