DATES TO REMEMBER:
2023 SUMMER DANCE SESSION
Monday, May 15 - Monday, July 24
NO SUMMER DANCE CLASSES
Monday, May 29th
Monday, July 3rd – Thursday, July 6th
LYRICAL/CONTEMPORARY WORKSHOP
Tuesday, June 13 – Thursday, June 15
JAZZ WORKSHOP
Tuesday, June 27 – Thursday, June 29
SHOE FITTING DAY - ASHLAND
Tuesday, July 25 5:00 - 7:00 PM
SUMMER DANCE PERFORMANCE
Thursday, July 27th @ 5:00 & 7:00 pm – Ashland High Auditorium
AUGUST DANCE SESSION
Monday, July 31 – Thursday, August 17
CONTEMPORARY WORKSHOP
Tuesday, August 2 & Wednesday, August 3
ACRO WORKSHOP
Tuesday, August 8 & Wednesday, August 9
SHOE FITTING DAY - IRON RIVER
Monday, August 21 5:30 - 7:00 PM
FALL DANCE SESSION BEGINS
Week of Sunday, September 10
ASHLAND SCHOOL OF DANCE
Offering Ballet, Lyrical, Jazz, Tap, Poms & Funk Classes
For Dancers Ages 3 & up
Ashland Studio Address: 802 Main St West, Ashland, WI Washburn Studio Address: 325 Washington Ave, Washburn, WI Iron River Studio Address: 8265 US Hwy 2 Iron River, WI Mailing Address: 1316 Main St W, Ashland, WI
SUMMER SESSION PERFORMANCE
All dancers currently enrolled in a Summer Dance Session class will perform at the Summer Performance on Thursday, July 27 at 5:00 pm & 7:00 pm at the Ashland High School auditorium. For this performance, dancers must wear their matching Ashland School of Dance t-shirts, blk shorts and bring their dance shoes. All dancers with the except of Strength & Flex class will perform one dance in both performances. Tickets for the performance are $8.00 each; tickets will be available for purchase online beginning June 1. Tickets will be available for purchase in person at the dance studio (802 Main St West) on the dates listed below – in person ticket sales are cash or check only. When purchasing tickets you do need to know how many tickets you want for each performance as we can only sell a certain number of tickets for each show.
TICKET SALE DATES
Monday, June 5th 4:30-5:30 pm
Wednesday, Jun 7th 5:00 – 6:00 pm
Tuesday, June 13th 5:30 – 6:30 pm
Thursday, June 15th 5:00 – 6:00 pm
SUMMER SESSION FEES
The second/final payment for the summer session dancers is due by Thursday, June 8. The fees have been posted to your dancer’s account. If you have any questions regarding the amount due on your account, please call/text or email asod@centurytel.net
4TH OF JULY PARADE
All dancers ages 7 & up are invited to join Ashland School of Dance in Ashland’s 4th of July parade on Tuesday, July 4th at 11:00 am. Dancers will learn the parade dance routine during their summer session classes. For the parade, dancers will wear their Summer Session performance tshirts. If your dancer isn't enrolled in our summer session, they can still participate in the parade! Please email me by Monday, June 1 and I will get you details on how they can learn the parade dance and order a tshirt.
SUMMER SOLO/DUET DANCERS
All dancers that signed up to do a solo or duet in our Summer Dance Session must have their song submitted for approval and their first private lesson scheduled no later than Saturday, June 3. Dancers will have their show a completed portion of their dance at their summer dance classes weekly beginning Monday, June 19. All solo and duet dances are expected to be complete by the end of June.
AUGUST DANCE SESSION
We will hold a 3-week summer dance session starting Monday, July 31 and ending Thursday, August 17. All classes during this session are 2 days a week in the Ashland studio (802 Main St West). Class costs for this session are $45.00 for a 45 minute class - these cost includes all 6 classes in this session. For this session, all classes do require jazz shoes. For attire, dancers can wear anything type of comfortable clothing. Registration and payment may be done online with the following link: https://dancestudio-pro.com/online/asod Shoe fitting will be held on Tuesday, July 25 from 5:00 – 7:00 pm at the dance studio (802 Main St West). All class space is available on a first come first serve basis. Schedule is subject to change depending on registration.
2023 FALL DANCE SCHEDULE
Our 2023 Fall Dance Schedule is complete and available to view on the schedule tab here on our website. For fall we offer classes in Ashland and Iron River. Registration begins Monday, May 29. To register your dancer for a fall class, use the following link: https://dancestudio-pro.com/online/asod First month payment is required to hold a spot for your dancer in a fall dance class. Payments may be done online at the time of registration. All class space is available on a first come first serve basis; availability in each class is limited. All classes (except for Jr Company and Sr Company on Sunday & Wednesday) are 1 day a week starting the week of Sunday, September 10 and ending in April 2024 with a Spring Dance Recital. Anessa’s Jr Co Jazz/Funk and Sr Co Jazz/Funk classes are held on Tuesdays. If you have any questions, regarding the fall schedule please be sure to contact us, we’ll help you find the perfect class for your dancer!
AGE REQUIREMENTS FOR FALL DANCE CLASSES
The following age requirements are required for fall dance classes: Creative Movement dancers must be 3 years old by Sept. 1; Pre-Ballet/Tiny Tap & Pre-Jazz/Funk dancers must be 5 by Sept 1; Level I dancers must be 7 by Sept 1; dancers in Level 2 and up are all moved up by instructor recommendations. Please let us know if you have any questions on which class(es) your dancer may sign up for this fall.
CLASS PLACEMENT
For all dancers in Level 2 & up: dancers advance to the next level by instructor recommendations. If your dancer advanced to the next level, you should have received an email last week stating class placement details. Please remember it isn’t abnormal for dancers to be in each level for multiple years (2-3 years typically). If you have any questions as to which level your dancer is in, please be sure to email.
LYRICAL/CONTEMPORARY WORKSHOP
ASOD Alumni Clara Douglas will be hosting a Lyrical/Contemporary workshop at our studio Tuesday, June 13 through Thursday, June 15 from 1:00 – 3:00 pm for ages 9 & up. Over those 3 days dancers will spend time doing contemporary and lyrical combos, all in an effort to have fun and work towards their own personal movement goals. Cost is $40 (includes all 3 days) Online registration is available https://dancestudio-pro.com/online/asod
JAZZ WORKSHOP
ASOD Alumni Clara Douglas will be hosting a Jazz workshop at our studio Tuesday, June 27 through Thursday, June 29 from 1:00 – 3:00 pm for ages 9 & up. This workshop is a fun chance to learn some new things about jazz! In these 3 days with Clara, she will be showing you her favorite forms of jazz. Expect lots of classic, Broadway, and even some Fosse! This class will be a time to get creative and learn some new movement styles. Cost is $40 (includes all 3 days) Online registration is available.
RECITAL DVD
Recital DVD’s are available for pick up at the New England Store. If you picked up a DVD between May 1 and May 3 please stop back to get an updated DVD. The first set of DVDs were missing a group of dancers. Ed remade the DVDs and will have the corrected DVDs available for pick up starting Friday, May 5. If you have any questions or comments regarding the DVDs, please contact Ed Monroe (monrophoto@gmail.com).
COMPETITION TEAM *NEW FOR FALL 2023*
New this fall we will be adding a competition team(s) to our fall/spring schedule. Being on this team does require you to take at least one other dance class on our fall dance schedule. Tryouts will be required for this team. This group will attend 2-3 competitions as a team in the Superior/Duluth area. Typically, competitions are held in the spring (February - May). This team will also perform at our Winter Showcase in January, Spring Dance Recital and possibly one other local performance. Being on a competition team does involve additional time, commitment and costs which include but aren't limited to - cost of another costume, travel costs & the fees associated with registering for a competition. The approximate fees for a team to compete is $60-$80 per dancer per competition. Registration costs vary with each competition as each competition sets their own registration fees. These fees would be in addition to your regular monthly class fees. This team may meet a time or two on a Friday evening prior to a scheduled competition weekend for extra practice. If you have a dancer interested in signing up to try out for the competition team, please email me and I will add them to our list.
NO CLASS DATES
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.
WEATHER/CANCELLED CLASSES
Please remember all families to check your email on a regular basis. A few of our dance instructors come from out of town to teach their dance classes; if we cancel dance class for any reason, I will send an email to notify parents. I will also post on facebook if classes are cancelled. All cancelled classes will be made up at a later date; all make up class details will be emailed to parents once dates and times are set.
DANCE SHOES
Dance shoes are mandatory when attending dance class. Please be sure to write your dancer’s name or initials in their dance shoes! Dancers are expected to have the appropriate dance shoes for their dance class. Wearing must dance shoes during class is a must! No exceptions!! Below is the list showing what each class needs for dance shoes. If your dancer’s shoes are too small, you can order new shoes through the dance studio. Please let your instructor know if your dancer needs to get fitted for new shoes.
Creative Movement – Pink Ballet shoes
Pre-Ballet/Tiny Tap – Pink Ballet & Black Tap shoes
Level I & II Ballet/Jazz classes - Pink Ballet & Black Jazz shoes
Jazz/Tap - Black Jazz & Black Tap shoes
Poms - Black Jazz shoes
Tap Classes (Level III) – Black Tap shoes
Jazz/Funk classes – Black Jazz shoes
Level III Ballet/Jazz - Nude Lyrical shoes & Black Jazz shoes
Jr & Sr Company – Nude Lyrical shoes
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.
STUDIO WAITING ROOM
*In Ashland, since our studio doesn’t have an actual waiting room for parents and siblings, we do ask that all parents and other family members stay behind the mirrors when dance classes start.
*In Washburn, we ask that parents and other family members wait in the entryway.
*In Iron River, we ask that parents wait in the room adjacent to the dance area.
We have found that dancers perform better when they aren’t being watched by everyone in the waiting room. If you have a dancer that is waiting for their class to start, we also ask them to wait to enter the dance floor until the prior class has ended. Once kids enter the dance room, we ask that kids DO NOT RUN AROUND while waiting for class to start.
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 are emailed to everyone who provided an email address on their registration form. Please email us (asod@centurytel.net) if you didn't receive a copy of the newsletter by email. Extra newsletters are always available at the studio. All of the information is also available here on our website too. (www.ashlandschoolofdance.info). You can also find ASOD on Facebook.
DANCE COMPETITIONS
For dancers who are interested: Competitions are open to all dancers who are interested in doing a solo, duet or trio at a competition. ASOD’s Sr Co dancers have attended competitions held in the Duluth and Minneapolis area; ASOD’s Jr Co dancers usually do a competition in the Duluth area. The minimum age for a dancer to compete is 6 years old. Competitions do involve extra costs that include: private lessons, additional costume, and competition fees. If you have a dancer that is interested in competing, please contact ASOD.
WATER BOTTLES
Remember to send a water bottle with your dancer to each and every class!!
CLASS ADVANCEMENT
Over the dance season, the instructors evaluate the dancers in their classes to decide who is ready to advance to the next level. All Creative Movement and PreBallet/Tiny Tap dancers 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 Ballet/Jazz; Level I Jazz/Tap and/or Level I Jazz/Funk. After dancers reach Level I they are moved up to the next level by the instructors. 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.
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 15 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).
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.
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: 802 Main St West Ashland, WI 54806 (next to The Alley)
Washburn Studio Address: 325 Washington Ave, Washburn, WI (Washburn Meditation Center)
Iron River Studio: 8265 US Hwy 2 Iron River, WI (VFW Hall)