Ballet and Jazz Attendance and Attire Rules 2020-2021 Season

This document has been altered to accommodate the current pandemic situation that we are in. We are hoping that dancers who can come to class will come and those that shouldn’t won’t come.  These rules will be taken on a case-by-case basis should issues arise. We are sure that dancers will participate as much as they can.

The following paragraph is last year’s wording and applies only to the extent it can be enforced during the pandemic. We will not be strict on this but still believe in it: Dancers must attend class if they want to be in an upper level class. Both ballet and our placement jazz classes have dancers separated by skill - ballet dancers are placed by the instructors, placement jazz is by audition. It is an honor to be in a higher level class in either style and dancers should want to attend to continue learning and improving.

Attendance Policy for both Ballet and Jazz Your dancer should not come to class if s/he displays ANY Covid-19 symptoms as listed in our Roadmap to Recovery/Back to Dance Protocols or has had a positive result on a test within the last 14 days. Quarantine if you have to and stay home. Let us know by NOON on your class day if you need us to livestream the class. Those that must take the class virtually (due to Coronavirus, flu, or other sicknesses or injury) will be counted as attending the class like normal and you are ON YOUR HONOR to be actually doing the class during the livestream or, in the event the class must be recorded and posted instead, the dancer is on their honor that they’ve actually done the class before their next class. Thanks!

Any dancer who misses six classes will be moved down a level. Normally, there would be no exceptions to this, but because of Covid, we will deal with this on an individual basis. We feel that a dancer must be present if they can be. All dancers should WANT to be there either in person or virtually. We do not want to get bogged down in the "excused or not excused" type of absence. Just know that if a dancer misses because of a mandatory school event or activity, that type of absence will not count.

Injury or sickness FOR BALLET SPECIFICALLY, our instructors ask that if your dancer cannot participate due to injury or sickness, your dancer should not attend in person but virtually instead. This is because, in ballet, the dancers are not working on learning choreography each week but are focusing on technique. It is very hard for even the most advanced dancer to improve their technique if they are not able to perform the moves, but we feel watching and trying from home virtually is better than doing nothing.

FOR JAZZ SPECIFICALLY, it is a little different. We want the dancer to be able to participate in each class, of course, but if he or she is able to physically be there (as long as they are not contagious), it is better to be there and watch and listen than to not be there at all. This is because in jazz class the class is working on learning choreography much of the time. It's important that a dancer even just be there to see how the team moves through the formations (if any during the pandemic) so she can put herself into it mentally and next week be able to execute the flow and possibly some of the choreography. Also, another reason a dancer should come even if she cannot participate (meaning an injury or a non-contagious sickness) is that the instructor is consistently talking about how to break things down and a dancer may hear something that helps her figure out the move. Therefore, if your dancer is sick or injured and cannot participate in class but can physically be there, sit in the back and watch and listen, it will not be counted as an absence. If the dancer shows any symptoms of Covid-19 or has received a positive test, he or she should stay home for the necessary allotted time and take the class virtually. Please notify us by NOON on the day of your dancer’s class that the class needs to be live streamed for your dancer.

Know that our other classes - Kix, Hip Hop, Lyrical, Tap - are not leveled by skill so anyone can be in them. We are not instilling any kind of attendance policies or dress codes for these classes, but we will highly recommend great attendance and proper dancewear. This is the Just For Kix policy. However, the home office encourages us to set policies for placement classes and we feel like we MUST do this for ballet and jazz because the dancers need to treat these classes differently than their others.

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Ballet Dress Code Female dancers should wear a black leotard, pink or tan tights, ballet slippers and have their hair pulled backed neatly and secured in a bun. Male dancers should wear form-fitting ballet attire that is made for men and secure any longhair away from the face and neck. Visit JTs Dancewear in White Bear Lake for idea and/or to purchase shoes or ballet attire. - A ballerina wears a leotard and tights, and the male ballet dancer wears form-fitted attire, so that the teacher can easily see the placement of the pelvis and muscles of the legs and how they work together to properly turn-out. - For females, a sheer, short dance skirt (usually made of chiffon or georgette material) may be worn but jazz shorts, which are opaque and prevent the teacher from seeing the hip joint MAY NOT be worn. On cold days a snug fitting sweater and an extra pair of leggings may be worn. Hoodies, sweatshirts, sweatpants and loose fitting t-shirts hide the body so the teacher cannot see the dancer's placement and may not be worn in class. - Ballet slippers are designed to work well for all steps performed in ballet. Slippers have a little bit of grip that aids the dancer when executing adagio (slow sustained movements), balances and petite allegro (small quick jumps). Socks are too slippery and hinder the dancer's ability to dance these moves. Ballet slippers are just smooth enough that dancers can perform turns easily and in a controlled manner. Socks are too slippery and can cause falls. Bare feet grip too much and can trip a ballet dancer. The flat, thin sole of ballet slippers allow the ballerina to stand in correct placement and easily move in and out of releve. Jazz shoes were developed specifically for the needs of the jazz dance. Their thicker sole and slight heel, although perfect for jazz, hinders the ballerina's ability to releve and changes body alignment. Ballet slippers are a ballet dancer’s equipment and need to be worn at every class. - Male dancers should wear their hair in a way that does not inhibit their movement in class - long hair should be pulled back into a bun and/or long bangs should be pinned back. - Female ballet dancers traditionally wear hair in a bun. There are two reasons for this. First, when performing turns, if the hair is long or in a ponytail it can whip around and hit the dancer in the face and the eyes where injury to the eye can happen. Second, as dancers become more advanced in ballet we begin to work on the placement of the head in relation to the shoulders. This is called epaulement. If you have ever seen a ballerina and noticed the long graceful look of their neck it is not because they have a longer neck, it is because they have learned how to hold their upper body in a graceful manner. For this skill to be taught and improved upon the teacher must be able to see the dancers shoulders and neck without the distraction of long hair or extra clothing (another reason a leotard is to be worn).

Dress Code for Jazz Class Dancers should wear tight-fitting, stretchy clothes in BLACK (or any color the instructor wants but they all should be the same) to class every week. - The tight-fitting clothing helps the instructor see the body better and can correct the dancer more accurately. - When the team wears the same colors it helps the instructor see team placement in formations. - Both things - wearing tight-fitting clothing and wearing the same colors - also helps make sure the dancers are all doing the same thing at the same time in the same way. - Jazz is a competitive class, so precision is a must. - When a dancer is great at ballet, it will help the dancers do more in the same way - it makes our jazz teams much more precise and more competitive. All of those phenomenal jazz classes you see at our competitions have dancers with a lot of ballet background in them.

We DO NOT want to have to enforce the above-listed dress codes for ballet and jazz. The dancers should WANT to be dressed properly so they can be corrected and aligned properly so they can improve. However, if dancers begin to wear baggy clothing, jazz shorts instead of leotards, etc, to ballet, we WILL count each time as an absence and you, the parent, will be informed. Our older dancers (junior level, senior level) should be setting a great example by coming properly dressed and prepared each week. Please make sure your dancer is dressed correctly for ballet and jazz. Thank you!

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Attitude for Ballet Class Dancers should attend class ready to learn and improve while being open to corrections. Ballet is both a style of dance and an art form. For this reason, ballet class will focus on learning the proper technique needed to execute skills while incorporating musicality, emotion, and dynamics. A ballet class moves at a slower pace than other styles of dance, and it does not have the high-energy and recognizable music of other dance styles. Dancers should be aware of these differences and allow their own desire to be the best they can to lead them through the learning process.

Attitude for Jazz Class Dancers should attend class ready to learn and improve while being open to corrections. As dancers progress in jazz, the skills they are learning and the way that they are combined become much more difficult. Dancers need to understand that they need to TRY everything in a jazz class and not let any self-doubt get in their way. The instructor will break a move down into its pieces and then have the dancers walk through the movement (for example, a calypso, which is a chaine turn in releve, and chaine turn in plie and then a jumping back attitude while turning which then lands either in a turn standing or a roll on the ground - all of these things are taught in ballet separately so the dancer knows the beginning and end of each move so that the jazz instructor can instruct them on how to connect the moves together to create an awesome skill combo). Without ballet knowledge, practicing a turn like this can be dangerous and lead to injuries. In jazz class, as in ballet class, dancers are welcome to ask questions to clarify the movement so they understand better what it is they are learning and why.

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