Here we are six weeks in and it feels like we've been at it for ages! Things have really taken off around Absolute Dance. Classes are well underway, competitive choreography is getting started, and students are in the thick of participation in workshop classes, exam preparation and our November production of Alice in Wonderland. The snow last week makes it feel like Christmas is just around the corner. What a relief to find that we still have a few more months to take care of the many things that need to be covered before we break in December!
Some exciting news that Absolute Dance is very pleased to announce is that we've been chosen as The Calgary Herald's Reader's Choice Award for Best Dance Studio and were also given an honorable mention for our Summer Camps. You can can look forward to a small write up about the studio in The Calgary Herald on October 26th. The story will remain online at www.calgaryherald.com. A big thanks goes out to our wonderful clients who put in the good word for us and everyone who helps make this studio a great place to come and dance!
Since October is our first full month of classes, we are happy to bring back our Student of the Month program. Congratulations to Madi Hannaford! Madi is new to our studio this year and has already impressed her teachers with her organization, focus, effort and participation in all her classes. Thanks for all your hard work Madi. Keep it up!
A few exciting things went on this past weekend: Absolute dancers attended Groove Street Productions on Saturday and Sunday. GSP is a dance convention that comes out of Vancouver. The fantastic husband and wife duo, Joanne and Alex Pesusich, always bring out the best faculty and out of the many conventions that come to Calgary, this is one we highly encourage our dancers to attend every year. It is always great practice for dancers to take classes from as many different people as they can. Not only does it build their technique and experience, but adjusting to different teaching styles of choreographers is a learned skill that takes practice.
Also this past weekend, some of our Intermediate Foundation candidates attended an exam preparation class taught by Anuschka Roes. Ms. Roes has been the director of the Teacher Training Program at Canada's National Ballet School for over a decade and is also a long time Graded and Vocational Examiner for the Royal Academy of Dance. The class was a great way to see how the dancers worked under pressure and revealed the areas that need more attention before the big exam day.
Saturday, October 13th was also the first day of an exciting new dance program here at Absolute Dance called Moving Forward. This class is for children who are considered "slow bloomers" with regard to their coordination, also a great class for children with special needs! Registration is still open for this unique opportunity.
Competitive choreography for our groups heading to competition in the spring is also getting underway this month. Mindy Conto and Sabrina Phillips are two talented choreographers that are flying in from Toronto and LA to set pieces on some of our Intermediate and Advanced soloists. Bringing in people from outside Alberta is not something many studios do and we consider our dancers very fortunate to have the opportunity to work with some of the best. Mindy will also be teaching workshop classes that are open to the public on Saturday, October 20th. There will be a Junior class from 2 - 3, a Youth/Teen class from 3 - 4 and an Advanced class from 4 - 5:15. The cost of the class is $20.00. Classes are filling up fast!
On Tuesday, October 23 Intermediate and Advanced dancers are also invited to come take a Hip Hop workshop from Jungle Boogie who is currently touring with Sean Desman. The class runs from 8:15 - 9:30 and the cost is $15.00. This class is open to the public so tell your friends!
Last week Absolute Dance finished this years first four week session of Creative Dance and Movement Classes at the Hawkwood location of Early Discoveries Nursery Schools. We taught nearly 150 boys and girls between the ages of 3 and 4 and had a great time teaching them dance steps through imaginative storytelling and songs. We always enjoy visiting EDNS since the children have such enthusiasm and the teaching staff are so much fun to work with. Many thanks for having us! We look forward to another session at the Parkdale location starting at the end of November.
Choreography, costumes and set pieces are slowly coming together for our November 25th presentation of Alice in Wonderland. Generally, each group has two big numbers that they learn for the show. At this point in time each class has just gotten their second piece off the ground. Putting a full length show together in only 12 weeks is no small feat and requires team work and 100% attendance from everyone. At-home practice is a must since there is no time to review in classes. We can only move forward and learn new choreography from week to week to get the show done! We've also got some really fun props and set pieces that we have started to work into our rehearsals. What's so great about this show is the room for creativity that it leaves and the many opportunities for comedy within the storytelling. It has been really fun to give the dancers a starting idea and then see where their imaginations will go with their characters.
During the evening presentation of our Holiday Production, Absolute Dance holds a silent auction with all proceeds going towards a charity of choice. This year, we will be giving to the Alberta Children's Hospital Foundation. We have been very successful with our silent auction in the past and over the years have raised a cumulative amount close to $10,000. We encourage everyone to bring an item in for the auction. They can be handed in at the front desk. Let's work hard to raise even more than we have in the past! We also encourage our current students to bring a friend and come see the show. At just over an hour long, it is the perfect way to introduce ballet and theatre to little ones. Tickets go on sale November 1st through the Wright Theatre box office on the Mount Royal University Campus or online at www.mtroyal.ca/tickets.
The month of October will finish off with a bang. Halloween is on a Wednesday this year and we will still run classes as usual. Dancers are welcome to wear a costume to class on the 31st as long as they are still able to dance full out with it on. Sometimes wearing an accessory from their costume works just as well!
Hope you all have a spooktacular month!
