Dance Experience

Located at 10310-56 street

Fulton Place Elementary School

780-450-0812

contactus@danceexperience.info

www.danceexperience.info

Mailing Address: 6803-102A Ave, EDM, AB, T6A 0S1

Dance Experience History

Dance Experience was founded in 1974 by Morrie Murray. From the onset Dance Experience has been dedicated to the idea of establishing a first rate affordable dance school which provides quality dance instruction. Through hard work and numerous volunteer hours, we are able to achieve this goal. Today the club continues to thrive through our major fundraising event, a casino, which occurs approximately every 18-24 months.

This unique studios’ philosophy is that the student comes first. We want our students to learn about all aspects of dance: the discipline and dedication, the showmanship, the teamwork, and the etiquette. We want to help our dancers be enthusiastic and positive in class, to be respectful and courteous to their fellow dancers and to always encourage those around them. Most important is that they enjoy themselves, are physically active, and develop positive self-esteem. The studio hopes to provide support and guidance to those students who wish to further their dance education and careers in other schools and organizations.

Our main goal is to continue to service the community at affordable rates, ensuring that all children regardless of financial situation are able to discover their love of dance.

 

2020-2021 Season

 

If you’re interested in joining our dance studio please contact us at: contactus@danceexperience.info

 

COVID-19 Protocols and Procedures

Dance Experience COVID-19 Protocols and Procedures – DRAFT version Aug 20,2020

 

Daily Screening Checklist

Prior to entry to the dance studio each day, please complete the:

Health Screening Questionnaire

 

 

2020-2021 Dance Experience Registration 

 

The 2020/21 dance schedule is now complete. Please read this carefully as it contains important information about class registration. Due to COVID-19 many policies and procedures have changed.

 

Information for 2020-2021 season

 

Schedule – The full schedule is available on Studio Director. The classes your dancer is eligible to register in have been pre-approved and you will be unable to register for other classes. Adjustments to the schedule may be made up to October 30, 2020. Based on enrollment, some classes may be cancelled (low enrollment) and additional classes may be added (high enrollment).

 

Season start dates – All classes will have an online welcome the week September 21 - 26. During this session, instructors will be at the studio and will review the new procedures with each class.

 

·         Start dates for the in-person season will be staggered for the two streams of classes (festival and recreational). This will decrease the initial number of people in the building, allowing us to effectively implement our new protocols and procedures.

·         Festival classes will begin online the week of September 21 and will move to in-person the week of Monday September 28.

·         Recreational classes will begin online the week of September 21 and will move to in-person classes the week of Monday October 5. 

 

COVID-19 – All families are expected to read the Dance Experience COVID-19 Protocols and Procedures (and all associated links) and review it with their dancer(s). Families are required to confirm they have read this document and agree to the protocols and procedures stated. This is achieved by completing the Dance Experience COVID-19 Waiver. 

 

Face Masks – Dance Experience will require masks to be worn by all individuals while inside the building. Individuals will be expected to provide their own masks however, if required, Dance Experience Staff can provide them at a cost of $1.00. This charge will be added to your studio director account.

 

Class Delivery Options – Dance Experience will offer a full complement of classes in-person for the 2020-2021 season for the continued development of our dancers. At this time, there is insufficient interest in online classes. As we monitor the situation and engage with our families we may start new online or in-person classes throughout the season.

 

Class Structure & Costumes – The focus of in-person classes for the first three months will be on technique, and in-person classes will not begin choreography for routines until December. Although our hope is to have a full season, which includes shows and competitions, this is not guaranteed due to the unpredictable nature of the pandemic. For this reason, we will not be ordering costumes until December or January, when we hope to have a better idea of what might be possible in the spring. This will impact what instructors are able to do with their choreography and it will limit the options they have for costumes. We know how disappointed dancers and their families were last season and we do not want to see choreography and costly costumes unused for a second consecutive year. 

 

Class Placement – Class placements will be slightly different this season to decrease the amount of close contact our dancers have at the studio. Dancers will be placed in cohorts, which will remain the same across all styles of dance. This may mean that your dancer is not with the same group as last season. We understand this may be challenging for some dancers as they may move down a level, but we think this is the best way to maintain the health and safety of our dance community. Dancers from different cohorts will not interact with each other at the studio.

 

Ballet Choreography and Ballet Technique – This season Ballet Choreography and Ballet Technique will be combined into one class to decrease the dancers hours at the studio. The Junior I Ballet class has been split into two classes for scheduling reasons. Junior I Ballet will be 30 minutes and Junior I Ballet Technique will be 60 minutes. Junior I Ballet will focus on turns and jumps for the first part of the season and will later be used for choreography.

 

Musical Theatre – Current health restrictions on group singing, coupled with our inability to find an instructor, means that musical theatre will not be offered this season.

 

Tumbling Classes – We will not be offering tumbling classes this season due to implications for sharing of equipment, physical contact with the equipment, hands on spotting by the instructor, and the requirement not to mix cohorts.

 

Class Requirements – Some classes have specific requirements associated with them; please ensure you consider these when registering. Should you not have the appropriate pre-requisite(s), or be registered in the appropriate co-requisite class(es), you will be removed from the class. Class requirements are as follows:

• Pre-pointe and Pointe classes: dancers must take Ballet.
• All Jazz classes: dancers must take Ballet.
• All Lyrical/Contemporary classes: dancers must also be taking Ballet and Jazz and have at least one year of experience in both of these styles.

 

Festival Classes – Festival classes can be recognized by the Beginner, Junior, or Intermediate title at the beginning of the class name. Open Tap, Open Hip Hop, and Adult Hip Hop are also festival classes. If your child is registering for a festival class please ensure you and your dancer have read the Dance Experience Festival Information & Etiquette before registering. You and your dancer(s) will be required to acknowledge that you have read and agree to the festival information by completing the Dance Experience Festival Class ~ Agreement.

 

2020-2021 Class Fees – For the 2020-2021 season the yearly fees can be paid in full at registration or divided over 8 months (last season this was 9 months). Although we provide families the convenience to pay using monthly installments, upon registration families accept that this is a season commitment and they are responsible for class fees for the entire season.

 

Class Length	Yearly Fees	Monthly Installment                        (yearly fees divided over 8 months)
30 minute recreational class	$196.00	$24.50
45 minute recreational class	$228.00	$28.50
60 minute recreational class	$260.00	$32.50
60 minute festival class	$280.00	$35.00
75 minute festival class	$312.00	$39.25
90 minute festival class	$344.00	$43.25

 

*Note: Junior I Ballet will be charged as one 90 minute class. It will appear as Junior I Ballet Technique $35.00/month, Junior I Ballet $8.25/month.

 

Payment Options – for the 2020-2021 the preferred methods of payment are:

• Cheques
• Credit card – a service fee of 3% will be added to all credit card payments.
• Electronic bank transfers – the security question password must be your eldest dancer's full name (capitalized) without any spaces (JaneDoe).
• Cash and Debit payments can be made by appointment only.

 

Festival Fees – Festival organizers have provided studios with festival credits for the fees paid in the 2019-2020 season. These credits varied between the different events:

• Standing Ovation – 100% credit
• Showtime Promotions (Dance Extreme) – 100% credit
• Dance Power – 90% credit

At this time we don’t know if the credits will cover the 2020-2021 festival fees per event. To make the accounting of the fees simpler, and to ensure we are not collecting more money from families than necessary, we will not be charging returning festival dancers festival fees at registration. Festival fees and credits will be applied to each family's Studio Director account on November 1, 2020. Festival fees ($85.00/class) for new festival dancers will be due at registration.

 

Those festival dancers not returning this season, or returning but in fewer classes, will have their fees assessed on November 1st, 2020. If we are able to use the festival fees from the non-returning dancers for other dancers this season we will issue refunds to these families. However, the studio was only issued credits so we cannot guarantee refunds if we are unable to use the full credit.

 

Costume Deposit – We will be taking a $30.00 costume deposit, due December 1, 2020, for each performance class. This does not include: Pre-Pointe and Pointe.

 

Volunteer Commitment – To ensure all families are involved with our non-profit studio at a common minimum level we will be collecting a volunteer commitment deposit. This comprises a deposit of $100.00 if your family dances 2 hours a week or less, and $200.00 if your family dances over 2 hours a week (collected at the time of registration). This deposit can be a cheque post-dated to June 15, 2021, or a credit card authorization with an expiration date of July 2021 or later. The volunteer deposit must be submitted with the tuition payments the week of October 5 using the Volunteer Commitment Form.

 

2020-2021 On-line Registration 

 

Class registrations will be entirely online this season and will only be accepted through Studio Director. We will only be asking parents/guardians to come to the studio to drop off tuition payment, monthly installment plans, and volunteer commitment deposits. 

 

Studio Director can be accessed through the following link: 

 

https://app.thestudiodirector.com/danceexperience/portal.sd

 

Step 1: Logging In

 

New and Returning Families – Login will be the main email address you provided to Dance Experience. If you encounter issues while trying to login please contact the studio: contactus@danceexperience.info.

 

Step 2: Updating Account & Dancer Information

Once logged into Studio Director please complete the following:

 

1. Sign student waiver & release of liability – the system will require you to sign this before you can proceed.
2. Change Password (if you have not already done so) – go to My Account, Change Password.
3. Update Account Information – go to My Account, Edit Account Contact Info.

·         Ensure phone number(s) and email addresses are correct. You can enter more than one, each should be separated by a comma. Please ensure an emergency contact is listed.

4.            Update Student Info – go to My Account, Edit Student Info.

·         Ensure dancers' birthdate and gender are correct.

·         Enter any medical conditions, allergies or medications that would be relevant to their involvement at the studio.

 

It is very important that you update this information.

 

The ‘rates and policies’ link at the bottom of the home page screen will link you to the Dance Experience webpage. 

 

Step 3: Class Registration Process 

Instructors have pre-approved each dancer in classes based on the classes they attended last season. Some placements have been adjusted to keep dancers in cohorts. Please use the 2020 Cohort Registration Guide when selecting your dancers classes. All classes must belong to the same cohort. To enroll in classes please complete the following steps through Studio Director:

 

1. Select Enroll in My Pre-approved Classes. A list of classes will appear for all the dancers in your family.
2. Select the enroll box for each class you would like to enroll in and select the green enroll button.
3. An enrollment confirmation will appear. If this information is correct, select the green Checkout button.
4. Proceed through the checkout steps.
5. Payment will not be required when completing enrollment through Studio Director. Payment will be collected the week of October 5 once all accounts have been checked. 

 

Class Placement Questions – If you have any questions regarding your dancer’s class placement please contact the studio via email. 

 

Additional Classes – If a dancer is interested in a style that they are not pre-approved for please contact the studio via email. If there is an appropriate class for your dancer it will be added to your page.

 

Step 4: Payments (week of October 5 - October 10)

During the week of October 5 - October 10 volunteers will be stationed outside the studio accepting payment for classes. All payments must be received in a sealed envelope with a Payment Submission Form. Debit payments during this week can be made by appointment only.

 

Payment of all fees must be arranged during the registration process. The preferred methods of payment are:

• Cheques 
• Credit card – a service fee of 3% will be added to all credit card payments to cover bank fees.
• Electronic bank transfers – the security question password must be your eldest dancer’s full name (capitalized) without any spaces (JaneDoe).

 

Cash and Debit payments after the registration process can be made by appointment only.

 

There are two schedules families may follow for payment of their dance fees:

1. Full payment at the beginning of the season – families will pay all their fees in one payment. This includes: registration fees, class fees, and festival fees (if applicable).
2. Monthly installments (yearly tuition fees divided over 8 months) – class fees may be paid using monthly installments, a Monthly Installment Plan form must be completed. These can be paid using the following:

·         Post-dated cheques (dated the first of the month November - May)

·         Pre-authorized monthly credit card payments - a service fee of 3% will be added to all credit card payments

·         Electronic bank transfers - the security question password must be your eldest dancers full name (capitalized) without any spaces (JaneDoe)

If you pay monthly by electronic bank transfer, debit, or cash you will be required to leave credit card information. If payment is not received by electronic bank transfer, debit or cash by the 30th of each month, your credit card will automatically be charged.

 

Installment #1 – due October 10. Registration fees, festival fees (new festival dancers), and the first month tuition installment. If payment is not received by this date, your dancer(s) will be removed from their classes.

Installments #2-8 – due the first of the month November - May.

 

Festival fees (returning dancers) will be charged November 1, 2020.

Costume deposit(s) will be charged December 1, 2020.

 

All cheques should be made payable to Dance Experience. Upon receiving an N.S.F. cheque from a member, they will no longer have cheque privileges. 

 

Understanding your Studio Director invoice 

 

• The “current balance due” on your families registration page reflects only what is due by October 10. To view total fees for this season, click on “view financial history”. The balance for May 31, 2021 is the total including registration fees and class fees. 
• The “auto registration fee” is your registration fee ($40 per dancer). 
• On the first of each month a “+tuition” fee will appear, with the exception of October, as the first installment will appear the day you pre-register. The “+tuition” fees are your class fees divided evenly over 8 months. 
• For families that are registered in 6+ hours of classes, the 10% discount will not appear on your tuition summary when you pre-register. This discount will be manually applied prior to October 5.
• For new festival dancers the performance fees of $85.00/class will be manually added to your account prior to October 5.

 

Tights and Shoe Sales

To purchase tights and shoes from the studio please email the studio in advance.

• Transition Tights – Notify the studio of the color and size tights you require and we will arrange contactless pick-up.
• Dance Shoes – The studio has a small stock of new shoes. If you are looking to purchase shoes, notify the studio of the style shoe and size. We will see if we have the correct shoes in stock and arrange an appointment to try them on.

 

Classes will begin on Monday, September 21, 2020

Online welcome for all classes the week September 21 - 26

 

Should you have any questions regarding classes, online registration or the changes for this season please contact the studio at contactus@danceexperience.info