Issue 1
Welcome!
Hello Dance Attic dancers and parents! We hope you had a great summer! We are very excited about the upcoming year as we begin celebrating our 36th season of dance here at The Dance Attic! We have an amazing line up of staff and lots of new dancers! We are excited to announce that our studio has officially completed its “reboot” with loads of new studio renovations and upgrades!
For all of our newest dancers and families, you will receive a newsletter like this in your email each month. It will be helpful for you to read the entire newsletter as it will contain lots of important information. The newsletter will also be posted at TDA, posted on our Facebook and on the TDA website www.thedanceattic.com.
As we start the new season, please be patient with us as we navigate the new beginnings for all of our dancers and staff. If you have questions, please send an email to info@thedanceattic.com.
Parent Meetings: We will have informative parent meetings during the last 15 minutes of class to go over important information. Please see the schedule for those meetings listed below. Students in Advanced “I” word classes and not in Combo classes will hear information from staff and can take notes to pass along for parents. Those advanced classes meetings will take place in the last 5 minutes of your Ballet Classes.
Creative Movement a – Monday September 11th at 6:30
Creative Movement b – Monday September 11th at 7:00
Creative Movement c - Wednesday September 6th at 4:15
Creative Movement d (Advanced) – Tuesday September 5th at 4:15
Creative Movement e (Advanced) – Thurs. September 7th at 4:15
Creative Movement e (Advanced) – Thurs. September 7th at 7:15
Monday Combo Dancers – Mon. September 11th at 5:45
Tuesday Combo Dancers – Tues. September 5th at 6:15
Wednesday Combo Dancers – Wed. September 6th at 6:15
Thursday Combo Dancers – Thurs. September 7th at 6:15
In This Issue: Welcome
Parent Meetings
Meet The Staff
Beginning of Year
Reminders
Dancewear
TDA Merchandise Sale
TDA Leaving Our Imprint
TDA 23-24 Impact Dancers
TDA Leadership
TDA Studio Renovations
Best Of The Best
TDA Drive
TDA Linktree
New Student Interest
Class Titles
Parking Map
Ms. Ari’s Wedding Week
Master Classes
Adult Classes
Birthday Package
Important Info & Reminders
September Calendar
Important Dates: 9/1: Sept. Tuition Due
9/5: First Day of Classes
9/9: Master Class
9/11: First Day of Monday Classes
9/18: First TDAC
Monday
9/23: Master Class
10/31: TDA Closed
11/4: TDA Goes Nutz
6/7-6/9: Tentative Recital Weekend
Volume 34 – Issue 1 September 1, 2023 – Volume
–
36
Meet The Staff! The Dance Attic has a very talented and accomplished staff that has expressed so much excitement about the upcoming year and dancing with all of their dancers again. The TDA Staff family welcomes all of our dancers and their families with welcome arms. Feel free to check out our website to learn more about all of our TDA Faculty and Staff!
Beginning Of Year Reminders: CLICK HERE to view 2023-24 TDA Fall Schedule!
SCHEDULES: First day of classes will be Tuesday September 5th. We will be sending out your most updated schedules today. These schedules will not be absolutely finalized until after September when enrollment is finalized. There might have been shifts in studios, teachers, or times since you last checked your parent portal so be sure to review the schedules sent to you today to confirm your schedule. ***After receiving your schedule, if there are necessary changes need to be made, please email those as soon as possible so we can make adjustments as needed. All changes must be submitted by August 28st at Noon so that staff can make adjustments before processing all tuition on September 1st***
CREATIVE MOVEMENT CLASSES: Some of our creative movement classes have low enrollment and are subject to be combined for enrollment needs. At this point, we have already combined some of the classes and you can see those adjustments made on the Fall Schedule linked above. We hope to increase enrollment before the new year and be able to keep all of our class time offerings, but will keep you all updated on any changes that might be made.
SEPTEMBER TUITION: Your September Tuition totals will be visible to you on August 25th. We do this to allow for any communication of schedule changes so we can get those tuition totals as correct as possible before posting the tuition accounts. New this season, each dancer/family has been enrolled in a tuition class specific to their enrollment. If changes need to be made, we can do that we just need to know by August 28th at Noon. This class will appear on your class listings with a “*” at the front of the title. As a reminder, your tuition will look a little higher for this first month, as we process tuition for September and half of June 2024.
1st MONTH TRIAL CLASSES: We welcome all of our dancers to try out classes for our first month, and we can remove them after that first month if you decide to change your mind on enrollment. Ballet and Jazz are required for all dancers that are enrolled in Combo or Advanced Classes, and then from there you can add on additional styles (Jazz, Lyrical, Hip Hop, or Technique).
ONLINE PAYMENTS & TUITION: Each month you will receive a statement of your account at The Dance Attic. Your statement will provide detailed information about charges and payments that have been posted to your account. While it is required to have your banking information on file, TDA processes only from your credit card inserted in the system. If you want to pay in cash or check, please submit that on site at TDA by the 25th of the month prior. Please be sure to review the payment terms policy in JackRabbit regarding automatic payments within our system.
Ms. Wanda Ms. Hallie Ms. Ari Ms. Abby Ms. Allie Ms. Heather
Ms. Charleigh Ms. Jessica Ms. Alyssa Ms. Melissa Ms. Addison Ms. Delaney
Dancewear:
It's always exciting to start a new year and get new dance clothes and shoes! It's important to know what you need before heading out to the dance shop. Please CLICK HERE for the dress code and a list of the shoe styles needed for each class. *Please note that you do not need shoes for jazz or lyrical. *
Tap: Combo Tap classes need tan Mary-jane style tap shoes. You can find this information listed in the link above. All other Tap classes should purchase black Bloch "Respect" tap shoes. Other similar styles with a hard sole are also acceptable. (We do not want the flexible split sole type for dancers no longer enrolled in combo tap.)
Hip Hop: All Hip-Hop dancers need sneakers for class that are not their day-to-day sneakers. This allows us to keep the floors as up to date and undamaged as possible. Any style/color shoe will be fine for class. We will inform you later in the year on what shoe your dancer will need for their performance routine.
Pointe: Dancers who were evaluated for pointe for the Fall 23-24 will receive a separate email at the start of next week. Ms. Charleigh at TDA Administration are finalizing details of the Pointe Program and will pass that information along to you soon. Dancers who are in need of new pointe shoes, will need to attend the Pointe Shoe Fitting with our ballet director, Miss Charleigh on Sunday, September 17th (more information to come – on who will be needing pointe shoes)
There are several dance shops in the area that carry the dance shoes. Dance Etc. is located on 401 in Raleigh. The Dancer’s Closet (formerly the Dance Exchange) is a dance consignment shop in Wendell. There are also some good websites that we can recommend as well: Discountdance.com & Dancewearsolutions.com
TDA Merchandise:
Super excited to announce the first new merchandise item of the season! TDA gets fancy with custom warm up slides! Interested in ordering?! CLICK HERE for order form and more information! Slides will be $50 (processed November 1st) and the deadline to order is Friday, September 29th! If you would like to have your dancer (or yourself) try on the shoes prior to purchase, we have sample sizes available to try on at the front desk!
Additionally, we will be selling some custom TDA jogger pants ($50) that will be available for purchase soon too! These items will be sold in-house as we have a stock set already on the way! There is potential for an additional order, but the first round of sales will be first come first serve. Once all items are sold, we will see if we have enough interest in a second-round order and go from there. Looking forward to seeing you all represent TDA merch from head to TOE!
TDA
– Leaving our
IMPRINT: As we shared in our Summer Newsletter, we are so excited to announce our theme for the 36th season of The Dance Attic as “The Imprint of Dance.” As we make this come to life, TDA dancers, families, and staff will be supporting multiple charities throughout the year and we are excited to have your help as we make an IMPRINT on the Wake Forest Community this year! As we start the year off, read below to learn a little bit more about the organizations and communities we will be supporting! As we take in donations, please note that we will only accept donations for each charity during their assigned time for donation collection. The studio will not hold donations for charities if it is not the direct charity for that month. These will be announced in the Newsletter from month to month.
1. SAVING GRACE - Saving Grace began in 2004 at a private residence and farm to bring adoptable dogs and loving homes together. NC is one of the highest states for euthanasia in the country and their mission is to make an impact. Saving Grace has placed over 30,000 animals since 2004.
2. THE LODGE AT WAKE FOREST - The Lodge provides a combination of housing, care and services for seniors. They have assistance with their daily routines but also receive assistance to thrive physically, mentally, and socially within the community. Their mission is to create an all-in-one, maintenancefree lifestyle for their independent living residents, giving them total access to convenience services and amenities.
Friendship Chapel Side Exit
3. TRI-AREA MINISTRY FOOD PANTRY - Tri-Area Ministry (“TAM”) Food Pantry, founded in 1988, is a nonprofit and 100% volunteer organization with a mission to provide food to the food insecure in the community. TAM is the largest food pantry in the Wake Forest, Youngsville, and Rolesville area serving over 1,200 families each month.
4. NORTH EAST WAKE BACKPACK BUDDIES - Backpack Buddies began in 2006 as a youth mission at Rolesville Baptist Church and in September 2011 developed into a nonprofit organization separate from the church. Backpack Buddies distributes approximately 1,800 bags of food to schools in our region monthly. Their mission is to provide food to hungry children in our region and to enrich their lives by giving them a greater opportunity for growth, development, and learning.
5. MY BIRTHDAY TOO - My Birthday Too was created in April 2019 by two mothers who believe every child deserves a happy birthday memory. My Birthday Too strives to bring happiness to children experiencing difficult times by providing birthday parties.
6. CLAIRE’S COURAGE - Claire was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes (“T1D”) on April 7, 2009 at 5 years old. Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (“JDRF”) is the leading global organization funding TID research. JDRF plans to turn Type One into Type None. Every year Claire’s Courage team raises money for a cure and participates in the JDRF One Walk. They are determined to fight this noncurable disease.
7. LEUKEMIA & LYMPHOMA SOCIETY - LLS is the world’s largest non-profit health organization dedicated to funding blood cancer research and providing education and patient services. LLS’s mission is to cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease and myeloma, and improve the quality of life of patients and their families.
8. AMERICAN RED CROSS - The Red Cross provides about 40% of our nation’s blood, all from generous volunteer donors. Every 2 seconds someone in the U.S. needs blood and/or platelets and it is essential for surgeries, cancer treatments, chronic illnesses, and traumatic injuries. This lifesaving care starts with one person making a generous donation.
9. AMAZING AVEN’S QUEST FOR AMOEBA AWARENESS - Amazing Aven’s Quest for Amoeba Awareness (“Amazing Aven”) was formed after Aven passed away on August 13th, 2021, from Primary Amebic Meningoencephalitis (PAM). Amazing Aven is a non-profit corporation with a mission of improving and advancing early detection strategies and medical treatments for infections caused by Naegleria fowleri and (PAM) while increasing awareness within medical communities and the public.
September Charity and Donation Collection:
A little bit of back story on who Claire of Claire Courage is and what this organization stands for. Claire is the daughter of Miss Wanda ‘s college, sorority sister and roommate, Amy Takacs. When Claire was diagnosed with Type 1 just a few weeks before her 6th birthday, she spent two nights at Brenner Children's Hospital in Winston-Salem, NC. The doctors told us she would not go to college with this disease, that they felt a cure was on its way. 14 years later, Claire is a junior at UNC-G, and we are closer but no cure yet.
The Claire's Courage (Takacs Family) Team is raising money to help cure Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) at the 2023 JDRF One Walk on October 28, 2023. Any donations or support goes towards helping the researchers continue their work to free Claire of multiple finger pricks, insulin pump and cgm site insertions, and insulin injections.
CLICK HERE to learn more about Claire's Journey and Story
CLICK HERE to visit Claire’s Courage team donation site where donations can be made and you can join the team. Any donations and support is greatly appreciated. We challenge our TDA Family to take charge in support of Claire’s Courage in their goal of $1,000. Let’s help make a difference this month for such a great cause that starts so close to home.
2023-24 Impact Dancers of The Month:
Those of you who have danced with us in the past may remember what we call “Dancers Of The Month.” In spirit of the theme this season, we are switching it up a little bit as we will have one “IMPACT Dancer Of The Month” which will receive recognition in the newsletter. Dancers will be selected based on their dedication and improvement in class as well as their kindness towards their peers, families, and staff through their positive IMPACT they make on the studio environment as a whole. These selected dancers will get to select a charity of their choice for The Dance Attic to make a $50 donation in their name. Once the charity is chosen by the dancer and their family, we will share that information with our families in the following Newsletter. This year is all about spreading the imprint of dance and all of these dancers will be doing just that! We look forward to selecting and announcing our first IMPACT Dancer of the Month in our October Newsletter!
TDA – Leaving our IMPRINT (Continued):
TDA Leadership: Head on over to our website to learn more about all of our fabulous leaders within the studio. As a reminder, the best form of communication is always via email, and please do not reach out to specific staff members via texts or messenger. Always communicate using info@thedanceattic.com
• Artistic Directors: As an administrative team, Ms. Wanda and Ms. Hallie work together closely on making decisions for The Dance Attic Family. We thank them both for all of the work they put in for our dancers and families as they lead our entire studio to success throughout each dance season.
• Company Directors: When you see one you see the other - Ms. Hallie and Ms. Ari are our Company Directors and are here to help you with all things TDAC. Always striving to push these dancers to their greatest potential, they wear many hats here at TDA and will help you with anything they can!
• Front Desk Personnel: Our hometown heroes Ms. Wanda, Ms. Melissa, and Ms. Addison will be stationed at the front desk through the week to help dancers and families with any needs and answer any questions that may come up for you throughout the season.
• TDA Staff: Ms. Abby, Ms. Allie, Ms. Jessica, Ms. Alyssa, Ms. Charleigh, Ms. Heather, and Ms. Faith, are also always ready to help! We are lucky to have a staff that works so cohesively and no matter what, you will be able to find someone who will help get an answer you might be looking for.
• TDAC Interns: Be on the lookout for some student leadership throughout the season as they will be serving as TDA ambassadors through our internship team for the 23-24 Dance Season. These dancers have stepped up to the plate and are ready to help with all things TDA. Congratulations Faith, Diara, Kiana, Ella, Merritt, and Maita on your positions here at TDA.
• TDA Teacher Assistants: This group of fabulous dancers will be assisting our dancers directly in their classes with anything they need. Each dancer has been assigned a specific group and all of our younger dancers will have these great role models in their rooms each week!
TDA Studio Renovations: We cannot wait to welcome you all back into the newly renovated studio! With upgraded floors, lights, décor, paint, and so much more, we hope that all dancers and families can continue to call TDA their home away from home! We would like to thank all of our TDA staff for their hard work and efforts in renovating the studio. Also, we wanted to shout out Hunter Hoy for his time and work on the studio, many of our TDAC dads and families, and especially Jason Horner with his work with the Windows! The studio really looks beautiful and we thank all of our dancers and families in advance for helping us keep it that way as there are more updates to come!
Best Of the Best: Thank you to all of you who went out of your way to vote for The Dance Attic. While we do not know results quite yet, we would like to thank you all for your support!
The TDA Google Drive: TDA will be continuing with our TDA Google Drive. This Drive will house all of the Newsletters, Important Updates, Music, Celebration Photos throughout the year as well as videos for the dancers to use to practice. CLICK HERE to access the TDA 23-24 Google Drive.
The TDA LinkTree: TDA is excited to continue our Link Tree that serves as a hub for all of our dancers and families. You can use the QR below to scan and access the link tree on your devices. These will also be available to scan while you are at the studio, and we can help you with any questions you may have. TDA Administrative staff will keep the link tree up to date with pertinent information for you to check in and see if you are up to date with all things going on at TDA!
New Student Interest:
For the month of September if you know of anyone that would like to try a trial class - they may do so by contacting TDA at info@thedanceattic.com and we will place them in the appropriate class to try. We are trying to finalize our season by Mid-September so if you have anyone who is interested, send them our way ASAP! Remember for anyone that uses your name in registration process, you will receive a surprise on your September Tuition!
Class
Titles (for Combo Dancers Only):
As we are working on our class sizes and enrollment, we have the Combo classes currently titled by day. Once we finalize enrollment and see the dancers in person working all together, we will be dividing them and retitling the classes to help with our book keeping purposes. We are hoping that by the third week of classes we will have all of our combo classes officially assigned to their “number” in the system. All dancers can arrive with bare feet for the first two weeks and we will have dancers put on their different shoes needed with their teachers.
Parking Map: See below for the traffic pattern for drop off. We appreciate all of our families for following suit to make for easy transitions between classes and to keep these dancers safe in the parking lot. If you it works for your family, it is also beneficial for dancers getting out of the car to sit in the seat behind that driver so they can get out quickly. This was really helpful throughout the year last year with keeping the traffic flowing in the parking lot. Thank you all for your assistance with this!
Ms. Aris Wedding Week:
Sending out another congratulations to Ms. Ari as she will be getting married on September 26th! With that being said, we will have a lot of TDA Staff out the week of the wedding. We have our substitute teachers lined up and ready to go, but wanted to just put it out there to the studio that many of your normal teachers will be out of town that week, which will allow for the exciting opportunity to have some new teachers that week!
TDA Master Class Series:
We are excited to be able to offer several different types of master classes throughout the year. Dancers who sign up and pay for classes by the posted deadline will pay $15 for the class and the rate will be $20 for those who wait until the day of the class. (Some class prices may vary depending on the guest artists.) CLICK HERE to see our Master Class Page on our Website and how you can register today before these classes fill up!
Master Class Schedule: Master Classes are typically held on Saturdays and you can see the assigned classes and dates at the link listed above. We will host three different time slots for these classes. Once we see enrollment, we will send out designated schedule to have equal class sizes based on age and level. Class times will run from 12:00-3:00 depending on age and level of dancer.
Tumble Time with Ms. Delaney: New this Year… We welcome back TDA Alumni Delaney Nunn as our New Tumble and Tricks Coordinator! “TDA Time For Tricks” will be offered alongside our Master Class Series Program listed below. All Tumble Time Classes will line up before your scheduled Master Class, and is an additional $10 fee. Being registered for the Master Class is required to participate in that week’s Tumble & Tricks. Delaney has created her own series to help get dancers prepared to incorporate some tumbling and tricks into the regular dance season and choreography. These tumble times will run from 11:00-2:00. Ms. Delaney will also be offering a few other pop-up Acro classes throughout the year, so look out for those dates soon!
Adult Classes:
We are so excited to announce that our Adult Class Series will be returning for the upcoming season! This was such a huge success last season, and we are so excited to get to continue. These classes will be broken down into one month series, where you can register for as many of the separate series as you would like based on your preference and availability. We have listed the dates and styles below and if anything changes, we will communicate that with you. Each session costs $40 for general public adults, and $30 if you have a dancer currently enrolled at The Dance Attic. This fee includes all four classes included in the series you choose, and there is not a registration fee required for adults. Please note, these classes are intended to be a fun getaway for our parents here at TDA. Dancers are not permitted to come into classes or be left in the lobby unattended.
• SERIES #1: Adult Hip Hop Series with Ms. Ari - September 6th, 13th, 20th , 27th
• SERIES #2: Adult Tap Series with Ms. Hallie - October 4th, 11th , 18th, 25th
• SERIES #3: Adult Ballet Series with Ms. Abby - November 1st , 8th , 15th , 29th
• SERIES #4: Adult Hip Hop Series with Ms. Heather - January 3rd, 10th, 17th, 24th
• SERIES #5: – Adult Lyrical Series with Ms. Hallie – January 31st, February 7th, 21st, 28th
• SERIES #6: – Adult Musical Theater Series with Ms. Abby- March 6th, 13th , 20th
• SERIES #7: – Adult Hip Hop Series with Ms. Heather - April 3rd , 10th, 17th, 24th
• SERIES #8: – Adult Tap Series with Ms. Abby - May 1st , 8th , 15th , 22nd
CLICK HERE to learn more on how to register for an Adult Class Session today!
Already have a dancer dancing at TDA?!? - CLICK HERE to skip the information and get registered today!
TDA Birthday Party Package:
Want to host your birthday party at TDA?!? Lots of fun and special memories are in your future! If you are interested in scheduling a party with us, please email us at info@thedanceattic.com for more information! We look forward to celebrating your special day with you and all your friends!
