Policies and Procedures for Steppin' Up Dance!

Welcome to Steppin’ Up Dance Productions! This is going to be a very exciting year for us here in O’Fallon. Thank you for choosing our studio. We promise to give your child the best training available. Please read the following policies and procedures.

 

1.    Tuition is due by the 7^th of every month. After that an automatic $15 late fee will be added to your balance. If your tuition is more than 30 days late, your child will not be allowed to take class until the balance is paid in full. This prevents tuition balances from getting out of control and helps you, as well as the studio, stay organized. We run on a school year schedule (Sept.-June) and full tuition is due all ten months. We do not pro-rate tuition. If you would like to pay your tuition in full at the beginning of the year, you will receive a 15% discount. Tuition will not be refunded for any reason and our fees are not pro-rated. Paying tuition essentially reserves your child’s spot in the class. Cash, credit card, personal check or money orders are all acceptable forms of payment. If at any time you bounce a personal check, there will be a $25 fee added to the amount of the check. If this is not paid, your child will not be allowed to take class.  In addition, if you bounce two personal checks within the year, you will no longer be allowed to pay by personal check.

 

2.    Absences & Tardies: We will keep track of these. Being in class on time is essential to the development of dancers. If your child has more than five (5) absences in a year in a class, they will not be allowed to participate in competition or recital except through an approved audition with their teacher. If your child is more than 20 minutes late to class, you must receive permission to come into class. Please call if you cannot come to class.

 

3.    Dress Code: There will be a strictly enforced dress code in all of the classes. Dance clothing must be worn at all times. This consists of any color leotard and tights. You may wear shorts and/or a tank top over the leotard, but they must be form fitting so that your teacher can see your movements. This is for all classes unless otherwise instructed. The dancer’s hair must be pulled back away from the face in a ponytail or bun. They can either dance barefoot or in whatever shoes the teacher requests. They must have the correct shoes for every class.

 

4.    No cell phones are allowed to be on during class! You will not be allowed to make or receive calls on a cell phone during class time. If you need to use the phone, please ask permission from the teacher. No food or drink (except water) is allowed in the studio. Please eat before you come. No gum chewing will be allowed during class time! It is considered disrespectful in the professional dance world to chew gum in class.

 

 

5.    Newsletter: A newsletter will be handed out to the parents and students once a month. This is our effort to keep you informed about what’s going on at Steppin’ Up, so PLEASE read them. Also, make sure that you come into the studio at least twice a month and check the bulletin board. Your cooperation in this matter will ensure that you stay well informed.

 

6.    Observation: The best learning environment for dance is a quiet and calm one. During class sessions, only students and instructors are permitted on the main studio floor.  In order to create a focused learning environment, and limit the amount of distractions to our dancers, doors are to remain closed during class sessions.  We encourage parents to observe classes through our viewing area.  We will have observation week the last week of every month. During this time, the curtains will be opened and you are welcome to observe from the lobby. We cannot have all of the parents in the main studio because this may cause a distraction for the dancers. If there are too many distractions from the lobby, the instructor may find it necessary to close the curtains.

 

7.    Questions for Staff: If you have a question for any one of the staff members, please feel free to leave a message on the studio voicemail and they will contact you promptly. PLEASE do not disturb them during class or at the start of class unless it is urgent. This takes away from the dancer’s instruction time.

 

8.    Annual Recital: We will have a recital at the end of the year. As soon as we have the date and location, we will let you know. There will be a $30 recital fee, per family, due at the end of February. We will have a fundraiser that you can participate in that will cover this fee, but if you choose not to fundraise you will be expected to pay the $30. This goes toward the costs incurred to put on the recital. We go above and beyond the expectations of a normal studio recital and really put on a great show.

 

9.    Competition: Some of our classes will compete in regional/National dance competitions this year. This decision is left up to the teachers. A separate contract/note about that will be given to those classes. Once again, as soon as we know the dates and location of the competition, we will let you know.

 

10.Costumes/Pictures: We will be making one costume order for the studio, usually in early December. We will also have pictures taken in the spring. As soon as we know the dates and location we will let you know.

 

11.Holiday Schedule/Bad Weather: The days that we will be closed for holidays will be announced at the beginning of each month. If there is bad weather, call the studio and check the outgoing message. If it is the same, classes will be held as normal. If we decide to close, the outgoing message will indicate that.

 

12.Professional Workshops: We will periodically hold workshops where we will feature teachers and choreographers from all over the country. This is a great opportunity for any dancer, so please participate in these.

 

Thank you for taking the time to read these. If you have any additional questions please let us know!