THE BEAT
NEWSLETTER
STUDIO
MARCH 2023
OUR DANCERS ARE OUR LUCKY CHARMS
BY MARTY ROBERTS, STUDIO OWNER2023 is moving right along! In spite of the recent cold weather, the days are getting longer and Spring will be upon us soon! Daylight Savings ends on March 12, so remember to SPRING FORWARD and look ahead to warmer weather in the future!
During this month where we celebrate St. Patrick's Day, we feel so very LUCKY to have ALL of you as members of our dance community! It is our honor to dance with your children each and every week! Spring Show preparations are in full swing and your dancers are working hard to put on an awesome show for you in just a few short months!
WELCOME - 1 DANCERS OF THE MONTH - 2 TEACHER SPOTLIGHT - 3 NEW TEACHER SHOUT-OUTS - 4 SPRING BREAK CAMP - 5 SUMMER REGISTRATION - 6 SUMMER CAMPS - 7 MARCH BIRTHDAYS - 8 CHARACTER FOCUS - 9 PARENT EDUCATION - 10 SIGNATURE TEAM UPDATES -11 STARS TEAM UPDATES -12 SHOW TIMELINE -13 SHOW UPDATES -14 MARCH FAQ'S -15 SHAMROCK SPIRIT -16
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DANCERS OF THE MONTH!
We are excited to announce our February DANCERS OF THE MONTH!
Congratultions to River, Beatrice and Alex for being recognized by their teachers for their hard work! Make sure to stop by the front desk to pick up your certificate and prize! WAY TO GO, DANCERS!
RIVER TALADA-SHAO
River is enrolled in Tap 1 and Ballet 1. She was nominated by Miss Rhonda, who says that River is always focused, on task, friendly and eager to improve. She's always working to the best of her ability.
WAY TO GO, RIVER!!
BEATRICE UNGUR
Beatrice was nominated by her teacher, Miss Sofia.
Beatrice has great attendance, always pays attention in class, and Miss Sofia loves that she puts in 100% effort every week! Beatrice is enrolled in Hip Hop Basics.
EXCELLENT JOB,BEATRICE!!
ALEX AKYUZ
Alex is a member of our STARS 104 Team! Alex was nominated by Miss Emma Rose, one of her ballet teachers. Emma Rose says that Alex is attentive, helps to keep the class focused, displays tenacity and strives for improvement week after week.
AWESOME WORK, ALEX!!
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MADDIE! Teacher Spotlight
MaddiejoinedtheBackstageteachingstaffin Septemberoflastyearandhasbeenlovingher timegettingtoknowherstudentsandthe community!
Maddiebeganherdancetrainingduringhigh schoolandcontinuedstudyingdanceincollegeat WesternWashingtonUniversity,wheresheearned abachelor'sdegreeindance.Maddiestarted teachingdancewhileincollegeandnowteaches atthreedifferentstudiosinthearea!Wearelucky tohaveheratBackstagethreedaysaweek, teachingacro,jazz,contemporary,balletandhip hopclasses.ShealsoteacheshiphopatBigStar PerformingArtsStudioinSnoqualmieandenjoys teachingadultsatTheStudioinIssaquah.
WearesothrilledtohaveMaddieonthe Backstageteam!
FunFacts!
Miss Maddie's favorite styles of dance are contemporary and hip hop. When she's not dancing, Maddie likes to paint, listen to music, cuddle with her dog, and playthe ukelele.
FUN FACT: Her favorite animal is a giraffe--they are so tall and awkward but also graceful at the same time!
MISS MADDIE TEACHES AT BACKSTAGE ON TUESDAYS, WEDNESDAYS & THURSDAYS. SHE IS ENJOYING GETTING TO KNOW OUR AWESOME DANCERS IN ACRO 1-4, JAZZ TECH 202, CONTEMPORARY 1, BALLET 1-2, HIP HOP/FLIP FLOP, HIP HOP 1, HIP HOP INTERMEDIATE, AND HIP HOP TECH 204.
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We've had a few staffing changes since the year began...please join us in welcoming these new teachers to Backstage!
Lindsie joined the Backstage team in February and teaches Hip Hop Tech 205 & STARS Hip Hop 103. She has been dancing for 15 years and participated in competition dance in high school. She attended college in Texas and, after graduation, worked in Malaysia with the Fulbright Program. While in Malaysia, she led a girls' hip hop ensemble, which won best in their category at a national dance competition in Kuala Lumpur. Upon returning to Texas, she spent two years as a dance company member and teacher at Dance Discovery Studios. She is currently a teacher and head dance coach at Evergreen High School.
Ally graduated from Cornish College of the Arts in 2020 with a BFA in dance. She knew from a young age that dance was her passion and wanted it to be her career. She trained extensively in ballet growing up, dancing in ballets such as The Nutcracker, Coppelia, and Sleeping Beauty. She taught dance as a high school student and began teaching again last year. Ally absolutely loves watching the dancers grow in their craft and as people. She joined the Backstage team in February to teach Hip Hop 1 and Contemporary 2-3.
NEW TEACHER SHOUT-OUTS! LINDSIE! ALLY! KELLSIE!
Kellsie has studied dance for 32 years, performing in jazz, modern, ballet, pointe, tap, lyrical, and hip hop from the age of 3. She attended Saint Mary's College of California where she was captain of both her dance and cheerleading teams.
Kellsie has performed nationally at NCAA basketball tournaments, and as a member of the San Francisco 49ers Goldrush professional cheerleading and dance team, has had the opportunity to perform in places such as China and Japan. Kellsie has taught at multiple dance academies in both San Francisco and Seattle; she joined the Cornish Dance staff in 2014 and was excited to join us here at Backstage in February. She teaches Hip Hop/Flip Flop, Tap 2, and STARS Hip Hop 102.
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Spring Break Camp!
We are partnering with Gymnastics East during SPRING BREAK to offer one of our Dance/Gymnastics camp opportunities to children ages 6 to 11!
Campers will spend the morning at Backstage, enjoying hip hop and jazz classes and making a music video, and then they'll spend the afternoon tumbling at Gymnastics East!
Monday, April 10 - Friday, April 14 9:00am-5:00pm Register at backstagedance.org!
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REGISTER FOR SUMMER CLASSES TODAY!
WE ARE EXCITED TO ANNOUNCE THAT OUR SUMMER CLASS SCHEDULE IS OPEN FOR REGISTRATION!!
BACKSTAGE IS OFFERING 6 WEEKS OF CLASSES AND 5 WEEKS OF CAMPS, JUNE 26 THROUGH AUGUST 4. THERE ARE ALSO TWO WEEKS OF INTENSIVE 3-DAY WORKSHOPS FOR EXPERIENCED DANCERS (JUNE 13-15 AND AUGUST 8-10).
REGISTER TODAY ON THE BACKSTAGE WEBSITE!!
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SUMMER CAMPS 2-in-1
DANCE & GYMNASTICS FULL DAY CAMP FOR CHILDREN AGE 6-11
SESSION 1: JUNE 26 - JUNE 30
SESSION 2: JULY 17 - JULY 21
SESSION 3: JULY 31 - AUGUST 4
performing ARTS
DANCE & CREATIVE ACTIVITIES HALF DAY CAMP FOR CHILDREN AGE 3-6
STUFFED ANIMAL SLUMBER PARTY PRINCESS ACADEMY
JULY 10-JULY 14
JULY 24-JULY 28
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HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DANCERS!
Make sure you wish these dancers a HAPPY, HAPPY BIRTHDAY this month!
MARCH BIRTHDAYS
Ariana Alizadeh, Nikolas Bagha, Zeynep Bozdemir, Brynn Bright, Amy Brown, Leonie Chen, Laina Coglon, Claire Danley, Hermine Devouton, Makayla Du, Elena Dubow, Nathan Duldulao, Zoe
Elien, Noelle Ellison, Ariana Espiritu, Julia Farrell, Kaylee Feather, Helena Florian Fouts, Hudson Gose, Amelia Guanoluisa Mieles, Sophie Guattare, Adrian Hands, Hebe Hsieh, Ella Huntress, Inaaya Jacobsen, Danbi Kim, Emma Kincaid, Anna Kolpikova, Dorothy Kwong, Chloe Lan, Allison Lee, Autumn Lee, Natalie Lee, Mindy Lee-Yang, Lillian Li, Liz Li, Adrian Liang, Coco Lin, David
Liu, Emika Malm Akiyama, Kylie Mokashi, Rhyah Reddy, Irene
Ryu, Dylan Sanders, Emma Schaffer, Gabrielle Stephenson, Charlotte Swenson, River Talada-Shao, Sky Talada-Shao, Irene
Thomas, Claire Tougher, Elise Trescases, Amelia Ussery, Calla
Vandehaar-Johnsen, Avery Wang, Roslyn Wang, Amarah Wei, Soren Wolff, Kaylee Wong, Emiko Young, Zoe Zhang
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ACCEPTANCE OUR CHARACTER FOCUS FOR MARCH IS...
We will be encouraging our dancers to focus on ACCEPTANCE this month! We hope everyone will earn a card for working on both self-acceptance and acceptance of others this month!
Please see our BDS blogHERE for more thoughts on acceptance!
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PARENT EDUCATION
ParentMap Presents:
A Parenting Playbook for Raising the Happiest Kids on Earth
Wednesday, March 22, 2023
11:00 a.m. PT REGISTER HERE
Whoreallyknowsthesecretsofraisinghappychildren?
Parentingexpert,researcherandauthorJessicaJoelleAlexanderhasdevotedherprofessional lifetoprovidingculturallyvalidatedanswerstothisveryquestion.Inherbestsellingbook“The DanishWayofParenting:WhattheHappiestPeopleintheWorldKnowAboutRaisingConfident, CapableKids,"Alexanderrevealstheessentialparentingprinciplesofthehappiestpeopleinthe world.Forfourdecadesinarow,Denmarkwasvotedthehappiestcountryintheworld. AccordingtoAlexander,thereasonforthisissimple:“Happykidsgrowuptobehappyadults whoraisehappykids,andsoon.”
Butitturnsoutthatparentsfromeverywhereandfromallwalksoflifecanapplythissuccessful Danishparentingplaybook referencingAlexander'seasy-to-remember“PARENT”acronym toraisewell-adjustedkids:Play,Authenticity,Reframing,Empathy,Noultimatumsand Togetherness.Takeoffyour“culturalglasses”andlearnhowtoimproveyourfamily’swell-being withAlexander’sactionablestrategies.
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Signature Team Updates
OUR SIGNATURE COMPETITION TEAM CONTINUES TO GEAR UP FOR MULTIPLE WEEKENDS OF PERFORMANCES THIS MONTH! DANCERS WILL PERFORM THEIR ANNUAL SHOW, FOOTNOTES, THIS WEEKEND (DETAILS BELOW) AND THEN THEY HIT THE ROAD TO PERFORM AT ENCORE & CELEBRITY LOCAL COMPETITIONS LATER THIS MONTH!
FOOTNOTES 2023
Support our Signature Team this Sunday, March 5th at Renton High School's IKEA Performing Arts Center for Footnotes. This is the annual showcase featuring all our competition team dances and is a fabulous show! Our Signature Team dancers range in age from 7 to 18. Showtime is 1:00pm and tickets are available to purchase at the theater. We hope you join us!
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STARS TEAM Updates
Our STARS Teams are gearing up for their team party to kick-off the competition season! They are working hard and polishing choreography that they will perform at local competitions this month and in April. Best of luck to our STARS dancers!!
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Spring Show Timeline
April March
Students continue to learn new choreography and skills throughout the month of March.
Attendance is important so dancers don't fall behind!
May
The Final Countdown!
Tickets go on sale May 3, more details to come!
Class pictures in costumes, May 13-19
Dress Rehearsals at the studio, May 30-June 1.
SHOWTIME: June 3-4 !
Costumes begin to arrive and are passed out in class.
Dancers continue to rehearse their show piece, as well as the Grande Finale Bow!
Media Fee of $60 per family (covers photo and video digital downloads) charged on April 17.
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Spring Show Updates!
We can't wait to share our Spring Show with you in June! As a reminder, our Spring Shows take place on Saturday, June 3 and Sunday, June 4 at Renton High School's IKEA Performing Arts Center.
Show photos (in costume) will take place during regular classes from Saturday, May 13 through Friday, May 19. The following week, we'll hold regular classes (no costumes) and then dress rehearsals (in costume) will take place at the studio May 30 through June 1. We will share the dress rehearsal schedule for the week of May 30th in the coming weeks.
Show pictures are taken by Nigel Cooper Photography, and all shows will also be professionally video-recorded by Shotwell Productions. Families with dancers participating in the shows will be charged a Spring Show Media Fee of $60.00 on April 17 (this covers all digital downloads of dancer pictures and video recordings of all 6 shows). One fee will be charged to each family with dancers participating in our shows.
More Spring Show information will be shared in the coming weeks! 7
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MARCH FAQ's ???'s
What is the process for taking photos for the Spring Show?
All students who are participating in the Spring Shows will come to class in costume during the week of May 13 through 19. Students will take individual and group photos in their Spring Show costume during class time. Nigel Cooper Photography is taking all photos and will distribute a link to digitally download your child's photos approximately two weeks after the Spring Shows. The cost of the digital download is included in the Spring Show Media Fee that will be charged in April (this fee will only be charged to families with students participating in the Spring Shows).
If my child misses class, can they still make it up?
Because we are focused on learning choreography for our Spring Shows in all participating classes, attendance at this time of year is SO IMPORTANT. Therefore, make-ups for classes missed after the end of March will not be permitted. Please encourage your child to attend class regularly and practice their dance at home! Students in Creative Movement and Acro classes will be permitted to do class make-ups after March since those classes are not participating in our Spring Shows.
If my child is not participating in the Spring Show, when is their last class?
Students not participating in the Spring Shows are welcome to attend classes through the end of April. During the month of May, classes are geared toward students participating in the Spring Shows, with show pictures and dress rehearsals.
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We're Feeling Lucky!
It is our privilege to have your family as part of the Backstage Dance community! And we'd love to see you continue with us for future sessions! Summer registration just opened up, and current Backstage families who register for a class, camp or punch card before April 10th will be entered into a raffle for $50 off summer tuition. There will be 3 winners--we hope YOU are the LUCKY dance family!
Shamrock Spirit Week! Wearyourgreen,gold,orspecial Shamrockspiritweartoclass!! Makesureyoucanstillmove freelyanddanceitout! March13-18! PAGE 14
March 5 March 13-18 March 22 April 10-15 April 10-14 Upcoming Events Footnotes Showcase, 1:00pm, IKEA PAC Shamrock Spirit Week Parent Map Parent Education Session Spring Break, NO CLASSES 2-in-1 Dance/Gymnastics Camp, 9am-5pm
