Sultanov Russian Ballet Academy Parents’ Handbook Winter 2016 Sultanov Russian Ballet Academy Dear Parent or Guardian, On behalf of Sultanov Russian Ballet Academy (SRBA) we would like to thank you for the trust you have placed in us by selecting our pre- professional ballet Academy for your child. At the Sultanov Russian Ballet Academy we are committed to providing the best ballet training in a most supportive and caring way. Our Academy is supported by a welcoming community of parents who value the qualities ballet provides—commitment, discipline, perseverance, respect, and rigor— and who appreciate the way SRBA leads students to develop these qualities in a warm and nurturing environment. While those qualities tend to inspire many parents, they also come with responsibilities and expectations that must be evenly shared between the Academy, the teachers, and the home. The enclosed Parents’ Handbook outlines the partnership, opportunities, and responsibilities you accept when selecting our Academy for the growth of your child. We ask you to please read this information carefully before signing the Sultanov Way Commitment Form, available online and at the end of this booklet. We look forward to including you as members of the Sultanov Russian Ballet Academy Community. Warm Regards, The Sultanov Family Contact Information BEAVERTON ACADEMY: Phone number: 503-575-5659 1800 NW 167th Pl #125 Email address: Beaverton, OR 97006 [email protected] Website: LAKE OSWEGO ACADEMY: www.russianballetacademy.net 1167 McVey Avenue Lake Oswego, OR 97034 Table of Contents Welcoming Letter from the Sultanov Family (p.2) 6) Private Lessons (p.13) Contact Information (p.3) a) Attendance Table of Contents (p.4) b) Attire c) Faculty 1) Brief History of Ballet (p.5) d) Conflict e) Makeup Lessons 2) The SRBA Commitment to Excellence (p.6) f) Payment g) Contract a) The SRBA Method b) Class Setting c) Variety of Classes 7) Summer Intensive (p.14) d) Trust Outside Auditions e) Faculty f) Observation Week 8) Youth America Grand Prix (YAGP) (p.15) g) Yearly Progress Report h) Annual Scholarship i) Pointe Shoes 9) Sultanov Community Support Hours (p.16) j) Extracurricular Activities a) Support Hours Opportunities - Newsletter 3) Your Responsibilities as a Parent (p.8) - New Family Mentoring Program a) Embracing “The Sultanov Way” - Sultanov Social b) Academy Protocol - Open House c) Communication - Spring Performance and Nutcracker - Thank You Notes b) Support Hours Opt-out - Saying Goodbye d) Tuition Policy Support Hours Questionnaire (p.18) e) Refund Policy f) Uniform Policy g) Drop-Off/Pick-Up Policy The Sultanov Way Commitment Form (p.19) 4) Responsibility of the Student (p.10) a) Code of Conduct b) Training Commitment Requirements c) Attendance d) Managing Expectations 5) Live Performances (p.11) a) Audition b) Casting c) Role Acceptance d) Rehearsals e) Performance Fees f) Costumes g) Attendance h) Student and Parents’ Commitment "4 1. Brief History of Ballet Ballet is a formalized type of dance that originated in the Italian Renaissance courts of the 15th and 16th centuries. With the help of Catherine de’ Medici, ballet spread from Italy to France, where it developed further under her influence. Aristocratic money was responsible for the initial stages of development in “court ballet,” as royal money dictated the ideas, literature, and music for ballets created primarily to entertain the aristocrats of the time. Catherine de' Medici and Balthasar de Beaujoyeulx were responsible for presenting the first court ballet ever to apply the principles of Baif's Académie, by integrating poetry, dance, music, and set design to convey a unified dramatic storyline. In the late 17th century Louis XIV founded the Académie Royale de Musique (the Paris Opera) within which emerged the first professional theatrical ballet company, the Paris Opera Ballet. The predominance of French in the vocabulary of ballet reflects this history. Theatrical ballet soon became an independent form of art, although still frequently maintaining a close association with opera, and spread from the heart of Europe to other nations. In the 20th century ballet spread around the world with the formation of new companies, including London's Royal Ballet (1931), The San Francisco Ballet (1933), American Ballet Theatre (1937), The Royal Winnipeg Ballet (1939), The Australian Ballet (1940), The New York City Ballet (1948), The National Ballet of Canada (1951), and The National Ballet Academy Trust of India, New Delhi (2002). Source: wikipedia.org "5 # 2. The SRBA’s Commitment to Excellence a) The SRBA Method understand ballet rather than follow its steps The SRBA Method fosters an appreciation for mechanically. ballet as an art form and provides superior classical ballet training. Our Academy’s goal is d) Trust: By choosing SRBA for your child, you to train dedicated young students seeking a have entered a world that is extremely career in dance. Artur Sultanov’s teaching technical and specific. As a pre-professional method is designed to encourage dancers to ballet Academy, we put great emphasis on develop their individual strengths, help them hiring the most qualified teachers. These build their technique, and inspire artistic teachers have had rigorous training and interpretation. Graduating students of SRBA experience as professional dancers. They have will be guided through the process of obtaining the ability to train and observe the growth and a career in dance. Our rigorous training potential of each student. You may notice that program promises to produce dancers of the even though students may enter the Academy highest quality, both technically and artistically. at the same time and may be the same age, We welcome students of all ages and skill they may not progress at the same speed. levels and seek to provide professional training When students enter our Academy, each child in an enjoyable, nurturing environment. demonstrates a unique pace of growth, body strength, and stamina. The progress of each b) Class Setting student is thus dependent on a multitude of Classes at SRBA have a maximum number of factors that can be assessed only by students limited to 20. For certain classes and professionals such as the ones SRBA hires to especially when choreographing a live work with your child. We ask parents not to performance, classes have to be combined to intervene in the decisions that are made by the reflect the positioning and role of each student Academy with regard to the progression of on stage. each student. Please be assured that those decisions have been carefully weighed and are c) Variety of Classes always in favor of protecting the student. At SRBA, we believe in pushing our students’ abilities and for this we recommend that e) Faculty children who wish to pursue dance as a career Please check our website at take private classes in addition to regular www.russianballetacademy.net to obtain the most ballet classes. We also offer contemporary, updated information on SRBA’s teachers. variation and choreography classes so our dancers are well-rounded and thus able to "6 f) Observation Week! h) Annual Scholarship In order to ensure a quiet learning atmosphere SRBA has a scholarship to help students pay and environment where the pupils can their annual tuition to the Academy. The Carol concentrate# without distraction, observers are Streeter Dancer Award is made possible by a permitted only during announced observation generous gift from Artur and Cynthia’s dear weeks. We encourage you, your relatives and friend, Carol Streeter. Carol was a grade friends to become actively engaged by taking school teacher and is an avid supporter of arts advantage of Parent Observation Weeks and and arts education. This annual award is thus witness your talented child working hard bestowed on two promising young students of toward his or her goals. There will be one SRBA. A cash award of $500 each will be observation week each semester, which will given to the students who best demonstrate be posted on the Academy calendar. commitment, determination, and improvement. The Carol Streeter Dancer Award recipients g) Yearly Progress Report are announced at the final production each Each January, students receive a written year. progress report from the Academy, recommending that the student either move i) Pointe Shoes up to the next level or remain at the same one. Often parents and/or the student wonder when Please note that in ballet it is not uncommon the student will start practicing on pointe to remain at the same level for several years shoes, if the dancer is too young to be on while the student develops needed ability or pointe shoes, or why the student is still not on strength. pointe shoes. Those are indeed all relevant questions, and the answers are directly linked Because ballet is an individual art form, the to the feet, ankle, and core strength of the student’s report should not be compared with student and to how often the student practices the progress report of other students. As at our Academy. The more time invested in aforementioned, each student progresses at practicing, the stronger the student becomes. his/her own pace. While it may sometimes be The decision to put a student on pointe shoes hard to accept the differences among students is thus an individual one and is made entirely that the teachers see, we ask parents not to at the discretion of the Academy. interfere with the decision of the Academy. Please do not contact the teachers to request j) Extracurricular Activities a reconsideration of any kind. Once a month, thanks to our creative parents’ community, SRBA offers a group outing to its If you however have any questions or students. Previous activities include a matinée concerns about your child’s training, your at OBT, high tea with a principal dancer, a child’s teacher, or the Academy, the director ballet related movie, etc.