The Pointe’s Friday FYI – 4/14/23

Happy Friday, PSD Families!
This Friday FYI is our primary method of communication to studio families – please save it for a time when you can read through it thoroughly and bookmark it for reference!

New & Urgent this week:
– Recital Ticket Update – ticket sales will be different this year than in years past. Read the details below!
– Rollover Registration is ongoing through 4/21! Read all the details below (or in this packet) to get set up for easy, smooth registration for next year! Rollover registration is our concierge service where our team takes care of everything for you! Families can choose one of three options to get dance for next year taken care of and crossed off the to-do list early. NEW today – schedules are online! See details for all classes, including recital show times and instructors, here. **These are subject to change 🙂
– Recital program business ad and dancer shout-out orders are online now! These are due May 8. Order forms are on the recital page!
– Summer class registration is open NOW! Don’t miss out on the classes that work best for your schedule – register today!
– Most of our recital gear is available online now! Stay tuned for program books and DVDs – shirts, flowers, and gifts are ready for your pre-order! Orders are due May 4. www.theturningpointeboutique.com – click on “Recital 2023”
– Summer Dance registration is open now to the community! See details below and on our summer dance page.
– RECITAL INFORMATION is out! We know it can be a lot to keep track of, so we keep EVERYTHING you need to know on one page: www.thepointeschool.com/recital-2023 – bookmark this page and check it regularly!

Find all of the important dates for the year here: www.thepointeschool.com/policies – we list upcoming dates within the next few weeks in every Friday FYI as well for your convenience!

• April 21 – Priority Class Selection & Rollover Registration Opt-Out Forms Due (forms linked below, full schedules here: www.thepointeschool.com/dance-classes)
• April 22 & 29 – Free Costume Alterations (details and sign-ups coming soon)
• April 25 – May auto-pay (final installment of the 2022-2023 school year!) including 2023-2024 Membership Payment
• April 30-May 5 – Recital Pictures (detailed schedule on the recital page – www.thepointeschool.com/recital-2023)
• May 7-13 – Ticket Week

Due to management changes at the Paramount Theatre, we are no longer allowed to use an outside online service to reserve or sell tickets.  We had two options for ticket sales this year from the theatre: use the Orchestra Iowa online ticketing service (with ticketing fees of $5+ per ticket, plus additional fees for mailing tickets home or picking up at will-call) or distribute physical tickets and manage reservations and sales in-house.  To avoid burdening our families with significant increases in ticket costs, we will manage distribution and sales of physical tickets in-studio.  We have developed a great system to minimize costs and inconvenience for our families – please read the details thoroughly so you have all of the information you need to get your recital tickets at the lowest price, best seating availability, and without any added stress as we get closer to recital!  

• Every family at The Pointe has 4 complimentary tickets included with your membership in dance classes! You will be able to reserve your complimentary tickets and purchase any additional tickets at the same time.
  • Purchasing tickets for multiple shows?  You can use your family’s 4 included tickets any way you’d like – 4 for one show, 2 each in 2 shows, etc.  Purchase the total number of tickets you need, reserve your seats for each show, and 4 tickets are complimentary! (Ex: If you would like 3 tickets for the 12:00 show and 3 tickets for the 6:00 show, you only will pay for 2 tickets!)
• We utilize a system for reserved seating – so families don’t need to rush in to the theatre to choose a great seat.  There’s not a bad seat in the house – and you can choose your seats when you reserve or purchase tickets.
• Ticket pricing is the same as the past several years – $14 during ticket week, $18 after that.  Sales tax does apply to tickets, but there are no additional fees for families.  With the changes, you do need to come in to the studio to reserve and purchase tickets, but you will save on ticket service fees of about $1.75/ticket!
• Ticket Week at the studio: May 7-13
  • We will have extra hands on deck to help families reserve and purchase tickets this week.  Please make every effort to come in during this week to select your seats and reserve/purchase your tickets!  
  • Tickets are $14/ticket for additional tickets after your family’s 4 complimentary tickets this week only.  Starting May 15, tickets will be available for purchase at “best available” seating, and at $18/ticket.
  • May 7: Ticket pre-sales for graduating seniors, Company and Community Team, and STEP Program only (2:30-5:00 PM)
  • May 8-11: Ticket sales in the lobby from 5:00-8:30 PM
  • May 13: Ticket sales in the lobby from 9 AM – Noon
• May 15 – June 18: Ticket sales open online or in person at the desk, our team will assign “best available” seats.  
• There will NOT be tickets available for sale on the day of recital (this is a rule from the Paramount, this was not our decision).
• Tickets will be bundled together after ticket week and then on an ongoing basis as we get closer to recital.  Tickets will be ready for pick-up at the front desk during the last week of classes at the studio (May 30-June 5) and at the table at dress rehearsals at the theatre.

We can’t believe it’s already time to start thinking about next year – we’re working hard behind the scenes to build an incredible 2023-2024 season. To make things easy for our families and to optimize our schedule based on our community’s needs, we utilize an automatic registration process called “Rollover Registration”. Everything happens in April – we’re sharing early so families have lots of time to think about their plans for next year and choose the best registration path for them! All of the information you need is in our Rollover Booklet here. Detailed schedules by program are available here: www.thepointeschool.com/dance-classes

1. Automatic Enrollment – You won’t need to do ANYTHING! Your dancer(s) will be automatically enrolled in the class(es) they are recommended for (we’ll match your current schedule as closely as possible). Your annual membership will process on April 25 with the final tuition and costume installment for the school year unless we receive the membership change form from you by April 21. We can add or change classes easily at any time (pending availability). Last year, about 75% of our studio families utilized this option – and we had rave reviews! We’re happy to make dance registration easy and smooth for you!
2. Choose Your Own Classes – To choose your classes and guarantee a spot in your preferred time slots, use our convenient Class Choice form here. Your annual membership will process April 25, and we’ll take care of getting you set up and registered in our software system!
3. Opt-Out – We’d hate to see you go! If you are not planning on continuing in dance next year, use this membership change form to opt-out. This must be received by 10 PM on April 21 to avoid the annual membership payment processing on April 25.

A few important things to know:

• Registration for camps is open now!  Get the best deal with early bird pricing by registering by April 30!
• Over the summer, we fit classes into just 4 days per week as opposed to 7 days a week during the school year – so we have some combined-level classes.  These allow us to offer more schedule options for families.  A Level 3/4 class, for example, is suitable for dancers recommended for either Level 3 or Level 4.  These are not new levels (Level 3/4 is not “in between Level 3 and Level 4” – it is a mix of dancers in both levels). 
• We are still offering packages for classes (this is the best way for your dancer to get the most out of their time at the studio – and the best value for tuition).  To keep things simpler and cleaner on the administrative end, register for all of the classes in the package you want – then our team will adjust your tuition right before tuition is added to your accounts so you get the package pricing.  This is different than registration last season – it should be more straightforward for you, and will be easier for our teachers to just keep one class roster 🙂  
• At registration, there is a $20 deposit due per dancer.  This holds your spot in classes and will be credited back to you when tuition is processed before summer classes begin. 

Class Selection:

• If your dancer is 1 or 2, register for My First Dance Class (my Ray will be taking this class this summer and I can’t wait!)
• If your dancer is currently in Mini Movers or My First Dance Class and will be 3 by July 1, enroll in Dance & Discover 1/2 and/or Hippity Hop.
• If your dancer is currently in Dance & Discover 1, enroll in Dance & Discover 1/2 OR Dance & Discover 2/3 and/or Hippity Hop.
• If your dancer is currently in Dance & Discover 2, enroll in Dance & Discover 1/2 OR Dance & Discover 2/3 and/or Hippity Hop.
• If your dancer is currently in Dance & Discover 3, enroll in Level 1 classes (we recommend the Level 1 Core Class Package + any specialty classes)

Here are some important dates for longer-term planning 🙂
April 30 – May 4 – recital picture week
May 10 – Pre-Audition Parent Meeting
June 4 – 2023-2024 Company Auditions
June 5 – last day of classes (this is different than past years – Monday classes get one more class after Memorial Day!)
June 6-8 – Dress rehearsals @ Paramount
June 11 – RECITAL!
June 12-23 – Studio break between recital and summer classes (two weeks this year, based on feedback from families!)
June 26 – August 4 – Summer session (6 weeks of classes)
August 7-11 – Intensive
August 12-19 – Studio closed
August 20 – Start school year 2023-2024 classes
June 4-6 (2024) – Dress rehearsals
June 9 (2024)- Recital

Recital 2023 preparations are happening in classes and behind the scenes! Stay up to date on EVERYTHING you need to know for recital here: www.thepointeschool.com/recital-2023 – this page will hold all of the information you need for a smooth and low-stress recital experience. Bookmark this page and revisit it regularly – we’ll email home when we add updates, and keep everything you need on this convenient page.

As we prepare for recital, we often have families wondering what tights and shoes their dancer needs for their classes. All of the details are on the costume label on the garment bag for your dancer’s costume, and the quick reference guide on the recital page. Here are details on the shade options that we have. If your dancer’s class has skin tone tights and shoes as an option or the required shade, we mean the closest match to the dancer’s skin tone. We ask that tights and shoes match (not ballet pink tights and caramel shoes or vice versa). Samples of these shades are available in our boutique – and we have most sizes in these listed shades available in stock, and anything we don’t have in stock at the moment you come in can be easily ordered.

Families will be notified by email when costumes for their class(es) are in and ready to go home. We do a quick costume try-on in class, then dancers take their costumes home that day. We have a handy guide to keep your costumes recital-ready & some information about the timeline for recital costumes below.

Did you know that we offer free trial classes for new-to-The-Pointe families – and we have a sweet deal for you if you refer a friend to our program? Families can schedule a trial class easily using this link!

When a family you’ve referred signs up, please have them list your name in the “Where did you hear about us?” form in online registration. We will send them a $20 gift card to our boutique to help them get the gear their dancer needs for class – and as a thank you, we’ll send one to you, too! Trial classes are easy to schedule online, and are FREE for a limited time!

• Click the links on your phone to download the BAND app and join these groups 🙂 
• Please join the Studio-wide BAND here: https://band.us/n/aba6607526O3B 
• If your dancer is in COMPANY, please join the Company BAND here: https://band.us/n/a4ac627b2aNdR (dancers can and should join, too!)
• If your dancer is in COMMUNITY TEAM, please join the CT BAND here: https://band.us/n/a7a9687a26O1J (dancers can and should join, too!) 
• Families have received an email with a unique link to join the BAND group for each class – if you’ve joined us after that message went out, please find your dancer’s instructor after class to get access or shoot us an email ([email protected]) and we’ll get you added!

We’ve added another easy method of communication to get relevant information directly to families – right on your phone!

Have a wonderful weekend!
– Miss Vanessa & your PSD Staff