Show Information

Rehearsals
Please can everyone make every effort to attend all of the rehearsals at Henley Community Centre (IP6 0RP). I am aware that this a big commitment for both you and your child(ren) and I will try to keep the rehearsal times to a minimum as I know they all fall on school nights – please bear with me. The rehearsals are very important is it gives all of the dancers the opportunity to see how their routines fit within the show and most importantly of all experience the spacing on the stage.

Food/ pack up/ snacks will be allowed at normal rehearsals but not on the dress rehearsals or show nights. Please can you advise your child not to share their pack-up food as other children may have special dietary requirements. Although we are responsible for the children, we are not in a position to watch all of the children eat their pack-ups.

During all of the rehearsals the bar/lounge area within the Henley Community Centre will be open and available for you to sit and wait. There is a Coffee vending machine which is also available for use. This is an extra bonus which will provide you with somewhere comfortable to wait during the rehearsals.

Rehearsal dates
The rehearsal dates are a mixture of Monday’s and Tuesdays, however everyone is required to attend all rehearsals regardless of your normal dancing day.

The rehearsal dates and two dress rehearsal dates and times will be given below once confirmed. Not all classes will have to stay to the end of each rehearsal as we aim to release the younger dancers of the school earlier. The exact times for each class will be provided nearer to the rehearsal dates.

We do understand that a 16:00 start may be a little difficult especially for our High School/Sixth Form pupils; however we would appreciate everyone trying to get there as soon as possible.

The curtain will go up at 7pm on both Show nights. We will advise everyone of the time that pupils will need to arrive backstage in due course.

Backstage Rules
In order to produce a show the dancing school has to comply with some strict rules under the safeguarding of children requirements. All rules that are put in place are purely for the safety or your child(ren). Please can we ask everyone to adhere to the rules and work with us in order for the show to run effectively.

When arriving for the dress rehearsals and show nights, your child(ren) will be in the care of the dancing school, which means you will have to leave them at the backstage door. The child(ren) will have to be signed in and out of the venue. This may take a little time, especially at the end of the two show nights, however if we all work together this can be a smooth process.

During the dress rehearsals and show nights the only people allowed back stage will be the cast, chaperones and backstage crew. All of the chaperones and backstage crew will be fully DBS (chaperone) checked and trained accordingly. NO unauthorised person will be allowed backstage, unless in an emergency. This is to comply with our safeguarding of children and fire safety policies.

On the two dress rehearsals and the two show nights we highly recommend you send your child(ren) in with a named dressing gown or onesie as this would be ideal for them to wear during the time they are waiting for their dances. The dressing gown/onesie is great as it doesn’t need to go over their heads , so their hair will not get messed up plus it’ll be warm for them to sit and wait in.

Uniform at Rehearsals
To ensure that we present a professional image at an external venue, please would all pupils wear full uniform and have tidy tied back hair when attending the rehearsals at Henley. All items of uniform including shoes need to be named please.

Costumes
Our costumes are professionally made to a high standard and will be yours to keep after the show.

The total cost of the ballet costume, including 2x headdresses and accessories will be in the region of £30 for pupils who have selected a costume up to and including a size 2. For pupils who have selected a costume size 3a and above it will be in the region of £35. We are aware that this is quite a big expense but the costumes are very well made and all of the pupils who have had the costumes before have loved them. Invoices will follow shortly.

The total cost of the tap costume, including accessories will be in the region of £21.

Once costumes have been given out, please ensure you name everything clearly, including shoes as this stops any confusion backstage for our dancers and chaperones.

Tap Shoes
Please can I ask that all tap shoes are fitted with 5mm black elastic rather than laces. This is for two reasons, it ensure the shoes do not come undone during dances and secondly for ease regarding quick changes. The elastic is threaded through like normal laces but stitched (not tied) tight enabling the shoe to slide on and off when needed. You will also be presented with a bow to be stitched onto your elastic as part of the show costume.

Please feel free to see me if you are unsure what is required.

Ballet Shoes
Please can I ask that all ballet shoes are fitted with 5mm pink elastic rather than ribbons. The only exception to this being senior dancers who will require ballet shoe ribbons. You will be advised if this applies to your child(ren).

Hair / Make Up / Jewellery
Everyone needs to arrive at the venue with their hair tidily up in a bun please (unless we have advised otherwise). No fringes or ‘donuts’ in buns please. Please kindly ensure that pupils do not have nail polish, temporary tattoos or jewellery upon arrival.

Gifts
Please could we ask that you present any gifts to pupils away from the show venue. Whilst we understand the desire to reward them for their beautiful performances, we wish to avoid the potential of other pupils feeling upset having not received anything.

Chaperones
Many thanks to the chaperones who have already volunteered, the show would not be able to go ahead without your help. Mrs Leggett has already started to liaise with you in order to allocate specific rehearsal and show nights to you. If you have not acted as a Chaperone previously but feel that this is something that you would like to do please speak to Mrs Leggett and she can help you with your application.

Tickets
Following the success of our last show, we have decided to advertise our performance to the general public. If you feel you can put a poster up, please let me know.

There will still be limited seating in the hall, so please purchase your tickets sooner rather than later. The price of the tickets for our last show (May 2017) remained the same as our previous show, which was £5 each for adults, however we introduced a child’s price of £3 for anyone under 16*. The ticket prices for future shows will be advised nearer the time.

Consent
We will be asking for signed consent forms regarding show make-up, photography and food on show nights. More information will follow in due course.

Photography / Videography
Please note that we do not permit photography or videos to be taken by members of our audience. This prevents any distractions for the cast on stage and respects the privacy of any families who do not wish their children to be photographed. We will, as always, be arranging an official show photo session for which consent will be obtained.

Any other questions
If you do have any questions or queries please feel free to ask, I know I’m not always available to speak to every parent; however my Mum does a fantastic job of liaising with all of you and passing on all of your comments and questions, so everything will be addressed.

Finally Mrs Leggett and I would like to thank you all for your on-going support and commitment.

Kelly & Mrs Leggett

* Please note the dancing school is not intent on making any profit from producing these shows. Any profits that are raised will be given to EACH Ipswich, our local charity so please come and support us.