Catch Any Leprecauns Lately?

Feeling lucky yet? It is the month that you could possibly find that Pot of Gold at the end of the rainbow, and maybe snag a Leprechaun. It is already March and it sure feels like winter is here to stay. This is the latest I have seen it snow since my children were little. I love the luck of the Irish, and my husband comes from a long line of Irish heritage. I wish us all a bunch of luck this month, and maybe a glimpse of a cute impish leprechaun, even if it is only a decoration!

Things to remember at the studio this month:

• We are going to start sizing for costumes in the coming few weeks, so please be especially careful this month about making sure your child is in class so they can be sized.

• The children will begin learning their recital dance this month, and it also helps if they are consistent in coming to class.

• There was a one per family, one time recital fee charged this month of $30, so if your monthly charge looks high that is why.

• In the next few weeks we will also be putting the music and videos of the teachers doing your child's dance out on the parent portal, so this is a good time to check and make sure you are setup on the parent portal so you can get into the music and video. If you are not sure how to get onto the Parent Portal please ask someone at the desk during office hours and they can help you . Here are office hours for the studio:

Monday- 4:30 PM to 6:30 PM

Tuesday - 4:30 PM to 7:30 PM

Wednesday - 4:30 PM to 6:30 PM

Thursday - 4:30 PM to 7:30 PM

• Just a few reminders for the upcoming recital. We do not charge for recital tickets. The recital will be at the Valentine Theater on the USDC campus. Recital packets will be passed out the end of April with everything you need to know about what to do, where to be, makeup, hair, color of tights etc.

This is a fun time for us at the studio, getting all the costumes out and fitted to your children, and having them learn their dances. Encourage them to be excited about the Recital and showing off their newly learned skills to parents, grandparents, cousins, aunts, uncles and friends. We love seeing the little ones get so excited about seeing their costumes, but it is also hard for us to pull just your childs class out to see what it looks like so please be patient.

Have a heart

Have a heart can mean a bunch of things to different people depending on whom you ask. February is heart month, and some might say it is a "Hallmark" holiday, but I think it is a good thing to share our love with our families, friends and significant others. Of the things I have come to love about this month is the Charlie Brown special about him having a crush on little red haired girl. Being a red haired girl myself that always made me feel kinda special. I have seen the impact of the feeling in the heart that desires us to serve others, to share our feelings and to generally help humanity. So this month have a heart and give your heart to someone else.

At the studio this month we love to have our dancers, they fill our hearts with excitement as they develop their skills in ballet, jazz, hip hop, tap and Acro skills. We love our teachers, who are exemplary in their love for their students and in the way they continually reach for the best in themselves and their students.

Here is what is going on currently at the studio:

We have passed out a letter asking our parents to fill out a form before Feb 23, 2023 if they don't wish to have their child participate in the recital at the end of May. For those who plan on participating, there is no need to fill out anything.

The recital fee will be charged on your March statement and is $30.00 per family. Costume fee will be charged in April, and all charges must be paid before recital. For those who are new to recital season, we put together a recital packet that will be passed out in a couple of months, and give you all the information you will need for costume, hair, makeup and when to be where. For your information, Leaps and Bounds Dance Academy does not charge for tickets to the recital so feel free to bring as many guests as you would like. We will be sending out information on photography in the next couple of months as well.

I would like to do a shout out to our owner, Katie Collier. She has been through an incredibly challenging year, with two back hernia surgeries that didn't work, and a major operation in November to fuse her spine. Through all of this she has continued to work on making the studio the best place in the world to take dance. She has interviewed and hired talented teachers who take the time to get the incredible training to do well at Leaps and Bounds Dance Academy. She cares very much about your child's dance education. So this month, heart month, I give my heart to her for her tireless efforts in behalf of the studio, the students and the teachers. If you get the opportunity, tell her you are thinking of her.

Next Monday, Feb 20, 2023 is Presidents Day so there will be no classes. You are always welcome to bring your child to a makeup class if you would like. But we do adjust the schedule to even out the tuition to be equal each month overall.

Have a wonderful heart month!

Welcome to 2023, Snowflakes and all

One of the coolest things about snowflakes (yes, they are cool :) ) is that there are no two snowflakes alike. We need every single person in the world because each person, like a snowflake, is unique and brings different things to the world. Without even one of us the world would be lacking. So when you start to think "oh, I am just ordinary, there isn't anything special about me", just take a moment to realize that nobody can replace you....YOU are irreplaceable!

Christmas is over already, and we are on to a brand new year. It's hard to believe that what feels so 5 minutes ago dealing with COVID and other hard situations in the world was actually almost three years ago now. This January has been especially fun, with all the snow. I had 2 and a half feet in my yard and my grandchildren came over on New Years Day and had a blast playing in it. They made a fort, rode sleds down my sloped driveway, and had literal "snow cones" with the snow in the yard and the flavorings we use during the summer. This is the most snow I have seen in my yard in 20 years.

I made a list of resolutions as most of us did about things we wanted to do better or different in 2023. If one of those things on your list was have some fun and get in better shape, we have two adult classes. One is Adult Beginning/Intermediate ballet, and the other one is Adult Contemporary. Both classes are fun, and you can start at any level, even if you haven't danced before. So come join an adult class, meet people and have some good exercise fun.

We are starting, like we always do in January, to prepare for our annual recital. Now is the time to sign your children up for dance so they can participate in the recital at the end of May. We have some new class sessions but classes are filling up quickly, so come in or go to our website and sign up. If you want to take more than one class our studio charges less for each successive hour you take.

We do not offer a dance number for the recital for our Acro classes, so if your child is in an Acro class and not taking another class you may want to sign them up for an additional class so they can participate in the May recital. Also be aware that we have a Feb deadline to participate in the recital, so you may want to make that change this month.

We would like to congratulate all of our ballet students who passed the test and earned their pointe shoes starting this month. We have two excellent ballet teachers that have received BA degrees in dance. Both of them are classically trained in ballet and teach the Cecchetti, ABTand Vagonova (Russian) methods. Moving to Pointe is a big step in ballet, and we are so proud of them.

We have a couple of cute new leotards available for sale at the studio. There is a plum colored one with a cute mesh back for older girls 6 and up, and another cute lavender one with a daisy trim for our toddler and 4/5 year old students that are $16.00 each. We also have tights for $8.00, Ballet Shoes for $12.00, tap shoes for $20.00 and logo tee shirts for $8.00. We have bumper stickers for free.

Be sure and check the lost and found bin in the front lobby for any items your child may have left. We want them to be returned to their loving owner. And parents probably don't want to have to replace ballet shoes, tap shoes, coats, hats and gloves!

If you know of anyone who wants to start taking dance and you refer them, after they have taken for three months you will receive a free month of dance tuition. Take advantage of that special if you know people you would like to refer to us.

We have a Community Bulletin Board if you would like to advertise your business there, please bring in a business card or small advertisement and put them on the Community Bulletin Board. We want to help out any way that we can.

Next Monday is Martin Luther King Day so Alpine District is out of school. Go and have some snow fun with your family. There are lots of fun snow activities to be had and then indulge in the thick rich yumminess of hot cocoa. Don't forget the marshmallows. For the Monday classes, remember you can always drop into one of the classes from Tuesday to Friday that is your child's age to makeup for Monday. No need to schedule, just come and take the class and the teacher will mark it as a makeup.

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