Studio Address: 511 1/2 Main St West, Ashland, WI Mailing Address: 1316 Main St W, Ashland, WI 54806
ASHLAND SCHOOL OF DANCE
Offering Ballet, Lyrical, Jazz, Tap, Hip Hop & Poms Classes
For Dancers Ages 3 & up
DATES TO REMEMBER:
REGISTER FOR SUMMER DANCE CLASSES
NOW THRU FRIDAY, MAY 15
SUMMER SHOE FITTING DAYS
5:00 - 6:00 pm Monday, May 4
2026-2027 COMPETITION TEAM TRY OUTS
Wednesday, May 6
SUMMER DANCE SESSION
Monday, May 18 – Monday, August 3
NO DANCE CLASSES
Monday, May 25
Monday, June 29 - Friday, July 3
2026 - 2027 DANCE SEASON REGISTRATION
Beginning Monday, June 15
4th OF JULY PARADE - ASHLAND
Saturday, July 4
SUMMER DANCE PERFORMANCE - ASHLAND BANDSHELL
Tuesday, August 4
2026 - 2027 DANCE SEASON BEGINS
Sunday, September 13
SUMMER DANCE SESSION
Our Summer Dance Session is scheduled to start Monday, May 18 with classes ending on Monday, August 3 (Note: Wednesday classes begin in June). Several classes are already ½ full or have minimal spots remaining. All class space is available on a first come first serve basis. Use the following link to register your dancer for a summer dance class: https://dancestudio-pro.com/online/asodOur final shoe fitting day for the Summer Session will be held on Monday, May 4 from 5:00-6:00 pm. All Summer classes are held one day a week for the session. A copy of the schedule is attached and available for pick up at the dance studio or on our website. The Summer Session will end with a performance on Tuesday, August 4 at the Ashland Bandshell. Registration for the session is complete and a spot will be held for your dancer once payment is received. Payments can be done online at the time of registration or through Venmo (@asod5678).
ASHLAND SCHOOL OF DANCE APPAREL
ASOD merchandise - including t-shirts, sweatshirts, and tank tops – are now available to purchase by using the following link: https://ashlandschoolofdance26.itemorder.com/ Purchasing a t-shirt or tank top is required for all summer dancers as this is what your dancer will wear for the performance on Tuesday, August 4. Please note: all items must be preordered. We will not be ordering extra sizes. Orders will be available for pickup at the dance studio in mid-June. Dancers joining us in this summer’s 4th of July parade will need to wear one of these t-shirts or tanks. The deadline to order is Sunday, May 31. All orders must be placed online.
DANCE ASSISTANTS
If you have a dancer aged 10 and up who is interested in becoming an assistant instructor for our 2026-2027 dance season, please contact Stacey to request an application. Completed applications are due by June 15th. Assistant instructors entail significant effort and extra commitment from both the dancer and their parents. Dancers will be required to attend an additional class each week, master the recital dance for their class, cover when the instructor isn’t able to attend class and assist with choreography as needed. Following the application deadline, applications will be reviewed.
4TH OF JULY PARADE
All dancers ages 6 & up are invited to join Ashland School of Dance in Ashland’s 4th of July parade on Saturday, July 4th at 11:00 am. Dancers will learn the parade dance routine during their summer session classes. For the parade, dancers will wear a matching ASOD Summer Dance tshirt or tank top. The order link will be shared with all families mid-May. If your dancer isn't enrolled in our summer session, they can still participate in the parade! Please email me before May 30 and I will get you details on how they can learn the parade dance.
RECITAL DVD
Recital DVD’s are now available for pick up at Moores on Main (505 Main St West, Ashland). If you didn’t get a chance to order a DVD at the recital, there are extra copies available for pick up at Moores On Main. If you have any questions or comments regarding the DVDs, please contact Ed Monroe (monrophoto@gmail.com).
2026-2027 COMPETITION TEAM TRYOUTS
Tryouts for the 2026-2027 Competition Teams will be held on Wednesday, May 6 from 5:30-7:30 pm at the dance studio. Attending tryouts is required for these teams. Competition teams are open to dancers age 5 through Jr Company level. If you have a dancer interested in trying out for the Competition Teams, please sign them up for tryouts online, through your dance account. Being on this team does require dancers to take at least one other dance class on our 2026-2027 dance schedule. These teams will attend 3-4 competitions as a team in the Superior/Duluth area and possibly one competition in the Minneapolis area. The teams will attend one competition in October/November with the rest of the competitions held in the spring (February - April). These teams will also perform at our local performances. Being on a competition team does involve additional time, commitment and costs which include but aren't limited to - cost of two additional costumes, travel costs & the fees associated with registering for a competition. The approximate fees for a team to compete is $80-$90 per dance per competition (typically each group does two dances per competition). Registration costs vary with each competition as each competition sets their own fees. These fees would be in addition to your regular monthly class fees. This team may have extra practices scheduled prior to competition weekends. If you have a dancer interested in signing up to try out for the competition team, please log in to your dance account to sign up for try outs. Competition team dancers will have opportunities to participate in extra fundraiser opportunities too.
CLASS ADVANCEMENT
Over the last few weeks of class, the instructors start looking at their class lists to decide who is ready to advance to the next level. All dancers through the age of 6 advance to the next level depending on their age. Dancers must be 5 by September 1 to advance to the PreBallet/Tiny Tap class. Dancers must be 7 years old by September 1 to advance to Level I Lyrical/Jazz; Level I Jazz/Tap and/or Level I Hip Hop. After dancers reach Level I they are moved up to the next level by the instructors. In the coming weeks, instructors evaluate dancer’s skill & ability levels, their behavior in class, listening skills, maturity levels, respect for others (dancers & instructors), how well they work together as a team, their attendance...many things are taken into consideration when determining if dancers are ready to move up to the next level. As parents it’s natural to think that our dancer is ready to advance to the next level but we have to remember we aren’t the ones in the class each and every week. . . . . so we’ll leave this up to our instructors.
NO CLASS DATES
Mark Your Calendars! A complete list of "no class dates" may be found on the schedule tab. Please note: ASOD doesn't follow the school schedule; sometimes we have class when there is no school and vice versa.
STUDIO WAITING ROOM
If you plan to stay at the dance studio while your dancer is in class, please remain in the waiting room once classes begin. Dancers perform better when they’re not being watched by everyone in the waiting area. For those dancers waiting for their class to start, we also request that they stay in the waiting room until the previous class has ended. Once dancers enter the dance room, we ask that they avoid running around while waiting for their class to begin.
AGE REQUIREMENTS FOR 2026-2027 DANCE CLASSES
The following age requirements are required for 2026-2027 dance classes:
Creative Movement dancers must be 3 years old by start of session
Pre-Ballet/Tiny Tap & Pre-Jazz/Funk dancers must be 5 by start of session
Level I dancers must be 7 by start of session
Dancers in Level 2 and up are all moved up by instructor recommendations. Please contact us if you have any questions on which class(es) your dancer may sign up for this fall.
DANCE SHOES
If your dancer needs to order dance shoes at any point throughout the dance season, please be sure to let your dance instructor know! Dancers can be fitted for shoes before or after their dance class. Dance shoes are mandatory when attending dance class. And please be sure to write your dancer's name or initials in their dance shoes!! The complete list of shoes required for each class is available above by selecting the 'SHOE LIST BY CLASS' button.
EMAILS, NEWSLETTERS & WEBSITE
Throughout the dance season, please be sure to check your emails regularly and read the monthly newsletters. Our main form of communication is email. The monthly newsletters always have lots of important information. All newsletters will be emailed to everyone who provided an email address at registration. Please email us (asod@centurytel.net) if you didn't receive a copy of this newsletter by email. All of the information is also available here on our website. (site.ashlandschoolofdance.info). You can also find ASOD on Facebook.
PRE-BALLET/TINY TAP & LEVEL I DANCERS
When dancers for the Pre-Ballet/Tiny Tap and Level 1 classes come to class, please make sure that both sets of their shoes have their names in them and please make sure their shoes are in a bag when they come to class each week. This will help lessen the confusion of whose shoes are whose since most dancers have the same shoes.
DANCE STUDIO PRO
We'll continue using the online program called Dance Studio Pro for our registrations, tuition payments, ticket sales and volunteer sign ups. DSP also offers an app which is also very convenient. This link: https://dancestudio-pro.com/online/asod can be used to log in your account. If you ever have any issues logging in, please be sure to let me know. Monthly payments can be done right online, otherwise payments can also be given to your dance instructor or sent via Venmo (@asod5678) if you want to avoid the fees from paying online. Please note, dance instructors DO NOT know how much each family owes on their account; you are responsible for logging into your account to get your balance due. Monthly newsletters and various reminders are also posted on bulletin board of DSP. Once our schedule is finalized after registration the calendar page on DSP will show the no class dates.
CLASS ATTENDANCE
If your dancer is unable to attend their dance class, please be sure to email asod@centurytel.net or send us a message to let us know they won't be at class. If your dancer isn't feeling well, please be sure to NOT send them to dance class!! We want to stress the importance of attendance to dance class. In our policy handout it states: "Any student who misses 8 or more classes during the regular season (Sept-April) will not be allowed to participate in the spring dance recital performance." Dancers only progress if they attend class on a regular basis. If your dancer is going to miss 2 or more weeks in a row due to other commitments, you can expect that while they're missing class the rest of the class is learning parts to their recital dance so your dancer may be excluded from a portion of the recital dance. It is not fair to the instructors or the other dancers in the class, if instructors can't move forward each week with teaching their recital dances.
WATER BOTTLES
Remember to send a water bottle with your dancer to each and every class!!
DROPPING OFF AND PICKING UP YOUR DANCERS
If you have a Creative Movement, PreBallet, Level I or Level II dancer please stay at the studio with your dancer until class starts. Dancers shouldn’t be arriving more than 10 minutes prior to class starting. And please remind your dancers there should be no running around and yelling or using loud voices while waiting for class to start. Also, when your dancer’s class ends each week we would like parents to come into the building to pick up their dancer (this is required for all dancers through Level 2).
LOST & FOUND
When you pick up your dancer after class each week, please be sure to make sure they have all their shoes.
CLEAN STUDIO
For those of you that bring a snack to the studio, please take a moment to clean up any mess before you leave. Please help up keep the studio area clean.
FACEBOOK
Like Ashland School of Dance on Facebook to keep up on all the dance updates and reminders.
QUESTIONS, COMMENTS OR CONCERNS
Please contact us by phone or email.
Telephone: 715-413-1074
Email: asod@centurytel.net
Mailing Address: 1316 Main St West Ashland, WI 54806
Ashland Studio Address: 511 1/2 Main St West Ashland, WI 54806 (3rd floor)