Recital Day!

Recital Day!

Location: Franklin Park (235 S. Washington Street)

Dress Rehearsal: 10:30am 

*Please be dressed in your first costume and ready to go by this time! We will start with bows, and then run through the performance. After you have practiced your routine(s) with your class, you are free to leave. You do NOT need to have hair and makeup ready before the dress rehearsal.

Recital: 5:30pm

*Please arrive and be in your first costume, hair and makeup ready, no later than 5pm. I have the recital line-up below…

1. Peace Like a River (First Steps)
2. Constellations (Contemporary)
3. Afraid (Tap Prima)
4. Just Like Heaven (Ballet Magnifique)
5. Control (Hip Hop)
6. Space to Speak (Ballet Prima)
7. Take it all Back (Tap Magnifique)
8. BOWS

Please DO:

-bring lawn chairs and blankets for seating

-label all of your belongings 

-bring snacks if needed

-keep costumes nice and de-wrinkled before the performance 

-have dancers use the restroom before the dress rehearsal and performance begin

-Let me know if you’d be willing to hand out recital programs as guests arrive! I need a few volunteers.

Just like years past, we will have a tent at Franklin Park (girls only!) to use for costume changes. I’m not sure if we will have anywhere to hang costumes, so, if you have a costume change, you may need to just find an area to lay costumes down neatly until you need them.

First Steps Parents: please bring your child(ren) to the right side of the stage at the beginning of the performance for line-up. After they perform their dance, you can pick them up beside the stage and take them back to your seat to stay with you. It is completely optional for First Steps dancers to come back on stage for bows at the end of the show. Pleas bring them up to the front during the last song if you are planning on them participating in bows.

Tap/Ballet Prima Parents: I will set out a few blankets up front for Tap/Ballet Prima dancers to sit while they wait to perform their routine. I will have a few teenage girls helping me, who will watch over the dancers before they line-up, and then help with costume changes if they have one. If you prefer for your child(ren) to sit with you, then please just take them to this area at least one song before it’s their turn to perform, and also have them ready to line-up for bows during the last song. Also, if you prefer to help with the costume change, they will be changing as soon as their tap routine is finished. 

Older Dancers: such as tap and ballet magnifique, are allowed to sit with parents or to sit up front with their fellow dancers, but they will need to be ready to line-up at least one song before their turn to perform and for bows.

Costumes, hair, makeup, go!

I will list each class below and give a description of how to style hair for the recital, as well as anything you need to know about costumes. 

Please be sure not to forget dance shoes for the recital. Also, every dancer was provided with tights (with the exception of those who have pants with their costume). The tights are located in the back pocket of your costume bag. Any accessories are also located in the back pocket of your costume bag. I try to keep spare tights and accessories with me during the recital, so if you accidentally damage or lose something, I may be able to replace it.

Makeup is optional for the recital! There is no checklist, just apply makeup according to your preference.

First Steps- “Peace like a River”

Girls should have their hair half up, with a small bun on top of their head, and the pink bow clipped in front of the bun.

Ballet Prima- “Space to Speak”

Girls should have their hair up in a bun on top of their head, and the white hair bow clipped on the left side of the bun.

Tap Prima- “Afraid”

Girls should have their hair up in a bun on top of their head, and the gold hair bow clipped in front of the bun. We will NOT be using the bows that were provided for tap shoes, because they are meant for shoes that tie, rather than Velcro.

Ballet Magnifique- “Just Like Heaven”

Girls should have their hair up in a bun on top of their head, and the silver hair clip should go in front of the bun.

Tap Magnifique- “Take it all Back”

Girls should have their hair up in a bun on top of their head, and all dancers will wear a black headband tied around their forehead, with the knot in the back. *Someone forgot their headband at my house, I found it in my office, so please check your garment bag to see if you are the one who lost it!

For this costume, girls will need a white cami under the white shirt (it is rather transparent). Also, dancers will be putting a black paint line under their eye (like in a football game). If they are in ballet, they will be doing this AFTER performing their ballet routine. I will provide black paint, but I know that some dancers were concerned about how their skin would react to the paint, so feel free to bring black paint from home, or to put on the paint ahead of time if tap is the only routine your dancer will be performing.

Looking forward to a beautiful recital day with you all!

Recital Songs!!

Hey inspire families!

Check out the song selections for the upcoming recital! (I have not picked the song for First Steps yet!- still deciding!)

Prima Tap- “God is bigger than the Boogie Man Remix” by Shama (maybe pre-watch the video before showing it to any littles, I could see how it may seem scary in the beginning to some children)

https://youtu.be/nD6bWlR7Cng?feature=shared

Prima Ballet- “Space to Speak” by Tenth Avenue North

https://youtu.be/BHvCx4fD6fE?si=r-vNHqT9aLF47s5w

Tap Magnifique- “Take it all Back” by Tauren Wells

https://youtu.be/xhr6REYguCU?si=bgHck3n29wyhuElq

Ballet Magnifique- “Just Like Heaven” by Brandon Lake

https://youtu.be/X_oSmV4LIvA?si=ydaD4s89qoIEH-o5

In case you’re curious what my oldest age groups will be dancing to at the recital as well-

Contemporary- “Constellations” by Ellie Holcomb

https://youtu.be/r356nPxzIk8?si=5gPnZGyakceEP8gD

Hip Hop- “Control” by For King and Country

https://youtu.be/5KhQj8LiTcQ?si=R5H_ZsHDLNBC-DWk

What to Expect

Hey Dance Families! This post should answer tons of questions about what to expect when you come to dance class. Of course, let me know if you have more questions! Also, check out the other posts about…

Our recital theme this year: http://inspiredanceministry.blogspot.com/2024/01/recital-theme-2024-inspire-eternity.html?m=1

The class schedule, as a reference:

http://inspiredanceministry.blogspot.com/2024/01/class-schedule-2024.html

Special Days to mark down in your calendar (i.e. dress-up days, a grandparent’s day, etc):

http://inspiredanceministry.blogspot.com/2024/01/mark-your-calendar.html

Lastly, here’s a write-up of my family’s vision and why we do inspire!

http://inspiredanceministry.blogspot.com/p/inspirations.html

And here we go!

**Parents of First Steps dancers, please read the additional note towards the middle of this page- expectations are a little different for your littles!

Attendance  Expectations 

Dancers are expected to attend every week that classes are in session. It is understood that sometimes there are emergencies and sicknesses that will effect attendance, but those situations should be exceptions, not routine.

Attendance is not only important for each dancer to be prepared for their dance routine at the end of the year, but also for their classmates. One dancer’s absence can set back their whole group as extra time needs to be spent helping that dancer catch up with everything that they missed in class. This is not fair for the rest of the dancers, nor is it respectful to my time as a teacher.

I will not be enforcing a termination of being able to participate in the recital, like I had in place before, but I will trust that you as a parent are making the best decisions for your family, while keeping respect for the dance ministry and your children’s classmates by not missing classes on a regular basis. Thank you for your consideration as you make your family’s attendance commitment for these upcoming four months.

Class Behavior:

Dancers are expected to arrive at class eager to learn, and eager to serve others. Behaviors that will not be tolerated are: disrespecting the teacher, condescending words or actions towards classmates, an unwillingness to participate, vulgarity and repeated disruptive behavior. 

Here’s what you can expect from myself, as the teacher, if behaviors arise that need to be addressed. Dancers will be verbally corrected and asked for their offenses to be made right (i.e, say they are sorry, go back to their spot, etc). Dancers may even be asked to take a seat for a while, or may lose certain privileges in class (i.e. losing candy privileges or the opportunity to be first in line, etc). 

If the behavior continues, then the dancers’ parents will be notified. If, after parental discipline, a parent sees it fit for the dancer to continue in class for the day, they may do so. However, if the behavior still continues, then they will be asked by their teacher to leave class for the remainder of the day.

If behaviors continue repeatedly, I will have the conversation with you, as their parent, about whether it is in the best interest of everyone to have the dancer continue with classes and perform in the recital. It is a possibility that a dancer may be asked to leave the dance ministry for the remainder of the year if necessary. 

Hopefully, no behaviors will ever escalate to that point! My hope and prayer is for great classroom attitudes and respectfulness, new friendships, and that dancers will build each other up in class!

**First Steps Dancers-  I understand, with the age range of this class, that there are more circumstances that require flexibility (random nap times, unpredictable attitudes and behaviors, etc), so, there is definitely grace for this group as far as absences and class behavior expectations. But, if there are consistent bad behaviors and absences, it is possible that your child is just not ready to attend a dance class. We can assess each situation together.

Practicing at Home:

Practicing at home will also be a necessary commitment, especially as recital routines are being learned. Please commit to practicing at home once or twice per week for at least 20 minutes. Often times, of technology allows, I will be sharing practice videos as the recital draws near. These should be a useful tool to use for practicing at home.

Dress Requirements:

First Steps: please be prepared with both ballet shoes and tap shoes every week, as we will be incorporating both in class. I will prepare a schedule in case you’d like to know which week you will be needing which shoes, although the ballet shoes will be worn for most days. I have no other dress requirements for this class,  as long as there is no items that cause tripping or restraint or extra distraction (aka, accessories that turn into toys). 

For all other classes: Dancers are expected to have their hair pulled back in some sort of a bun. Please do not have any loose hair hanging down. If a dancer’s hair is too short to be put into a bun, then please do your best to have it pulled back and out of their face.

Appropriate shoes must be worn for classes; Ballet shoes for Ballet and Tap shoes for Tap class. There is no color preference for the shoes, but I recommend that the ballet shoes should be leather, as the recital is outdoors and canvas shoes would more easily tear, and I also recommend that Ballet Magnifique dancers should wear split sole ballet shoes. Please no “high” heeled tap shoes (there usually is a small heel on tap shoes, but I’m talking about the really tall heels).   

• Please check out the appropriate way to tie ballet shoes for class: https://inspiredanceministry.blogspot.com/2021/10/how-to-tie-ballet-shoes.html?m=1

 Ballet: dancers must wear tights and a leotard (I don’t have a style or color preference). Feel free to wear a skirt or dance shorts that are above the knee (so that legs are visible in class). 

Tap: please wear clothes that are comfortable, fit well, and allow for mobility in class. Pant legs that drag on the ground, or clothes that could potentially fall off should be avoided.

Things you should NOT wear in class:

-Jewelry (stud earrings are ok)

-scarves

-loose hair accessories  (hair accessories are ok, as long as they are well secured)

-masks

Dress-up days are exceptions to all rules! Although, it’s nice if they are followed to the best of your ability, dress up days should be days to let loose a little and have fun with what you wear! 

*If you are in need of any shoes or dance wear, feel free to check out our “Borrowing Bin” ant the open house on January 21st and take what you need!

Arriving at Dance Class:

The inspire studio is located at our home, in our remodeled garage. if you haven’t received my address yet, please shoot me a text!

When you arrive, please park either in the driveway, or in front of my house. It is important to our neighbors next door that you don’t park in front of their house or turn around in their driveway. 

You may enter through the front door and make yourself comfortable inside- in past years, we’ve loved to welcome you all with snacks, but this year we don’t have the capacity to offer that, sadly! However, please enjoy my tea spread and my tea pot is your tea pot 🫖☕️☺️. 

Your children are welcome to play downstairs with my kids and their toys, but if you do bring your own toys along with you, please be careful to make sure they make it back home with you. We are asking to please supervise your children downstairs that they are not rough housing, and we kindly ask to keep bedrooms off limits.

* Our baby gate is not functioning right now and we do have stairs. Please give me some feedback if that would be helpful for us to get that fixed and operating with all of the littles running around. I know that the gate is constantly being open left open anyways with so many children running up and down the stairs, so I didn’t know if it would matter much anyways, but please share your thoughts! We have to fix it soon anyways with our youngest becoming a crawler soon!

Please have your dancer(s) use the bathroom before class and be ready with dance shoes on at least 5 minutes before their first class begins. I prefer that dancers who are in multiple classes bring their shoes into class with them for a quick shoe change in-between classes.

The studio is located in our garage. You are always welcome to come in and watch class, although, there isn’t a ton of room for spectators. If it gets too crowded or loud, I may need to add some structure for parents who want to watch during class. First Steps parents- I am very used to parents and siblings staying in the studio during class, so please feel free to support your little dancer(s) in whatever way you see fit; whether it’s staying in class, leaving, or even holding their hand and doing the routines with them.

One last thing…There are NO SNACKS allowed in the dance studio! Please carefully monitor your dancers to be sure that they are not skipping out of class time to eat snacks in the house, or sneaking snacks into the studio. Speaking of snacks, please expect that your dancer will be getting an organic sucker at the end of each class to enjoy, as long as you don’t have a problem with that. 

Thank you for taking the time to read through all the little details that help everything to come together smoothly!

-Lindsey

Recital Theme 2024: Inspire Eternity

 We all know that things are not as they should be. We can feel it in the lack, the loss, the disappointments, the FEAR. We all have our personal weight of weaknesses that kill, steal and destroy our mind and our hearts, and even our bodies. This message is for those who have reached the point of HOPELESS, where the gap between heaven and earth is just too wide and our will is too tired; our joy and our purpose is wounded, and our soul is some sort of lost.

Yes, our will is too tired, because our vision is too nearsighted.

We cannot overcome this world when our eyes are only fixed on this world. We cannot have confidence for tomorrow when we are living for our today; for the successes and temporary gratification that is either in or out of our reach, depending on mere circumstances. We must pray for a capacity to have a greater aim- a reach for eternity. It’s a reach for a God who is different; who is not made by our own hands, who we cannot control or tell what to do. A God who always has been and always will be. A God who will set all things straight in their proper time. A God who has been with us throughout every breath, gracing us with another and another.

We must give in to the FEAR of the LORD, if we want to taste eternity. The FEAR of the LORD is what sets us free from the fears we face in this world. The FEAR of the Lord is what we need, to endure forever. Because everything else is just not working.

{Inspired by Psalm 19}

Class Schedule 2024

Class Schedule:

Tuesday Nights

January 30th-May 28th

Recital: June 1st (June 2nd Rain Date)

3:30-4:00pm: First Steps (ages 2-4)

4:00-4:30pm: First Steps (ages 2-4)

4:30-5:00pm: Tap Magnifique (ages 8-12)

5:00-5:45pm: Ballet Magnifique (ages 8-12)

5:45-6:15pm: Tap Prima (ages 5-6)

6:15-6:45pm: Ballet Prima (ages 5-6)

Mark Your Calendar!

Open House: Sunday, January 21st, 1-3pm

Classes Begin: Tuesday, January 30th

Dress-up Day: Tuesday, February 27th (theme pending)

Grandparents’ Day: Tuesday, March 26th 

Dress-up Day: Tuesday, April 30th (theme pending)

Recital: Saturday, June 1st                                         (10:30AM Dress Rehearsal, 5:30PM Performance)

Recital Rain Date: Sunday, June 2nd                                    (1:00PM Dress Rehearsal, 5:30PM Performance)

*Picture  Day: TBD!!

How to tie ballet shoes

Please follow theses steps for tying your ballet shoes so that they will not come untied during class….

Step 1: put on your ballet shoes and tighten the strings until the shoes feel comfortable; not too tight that they cut into the foot, but not slipping off. Then, tie a knot to secure.

Step 2: cut off the access strings so that only little stubs are left over. If you like, you can leave just enough length to readjust the strings in the future.

Step 3: When putting on your shoes for class, tuck the strings under the top of your shoe. The idea is that the strings are tucked away and don’t have to be retied. The strings are also not bulky and don’t bother your foot while dancing.

Ta Da!