ATTENTION ALL ADULTS! I'd love to have an Adult dance again this year! See the costume form for more info.

My child will not perform in the recital. May we continue to take class? Should she/he switch to a different class? Yes, you may continue classes! It is not necessary to switch classes. All students in a class will learn the recital dance during Session 3. Depending on the age range, we spend 5 - 10 minutes each class learning the steps. All students receive the recital song along with a choreography sheet so that they can practice at home. During sessions 4 and 5, we spend approximately 5 minutes each class on the dance. As you can see, there will be only slight changes to the way your child's class runs now, and recital is not the emphasis!

My child will not perform in the recital. What about costume arrivals? Costumes must be tried on within a few days of their arrival, or we cannot send them back for errors. Every effort will be made to notify you when the costumes arrive, so that you can skip that class. In classes where only a few students are in the recital, we may ask them to come in early or stay after to try on costumes. In the event that a costume comes in the day of class and we are unable to call everyone, we may ask that you take your child after 30 minutes instead of 45, so that we can try on costumes.

What are the benefits of my child learning the recital dance? First, they will have a great time with the theme. Learning choreography requires the use of memory, listening skills, coordination and problem solving, teaches children the value of practice and hard work, and creates good, old fashioned together time with you. Whether they choose to perform onstage with us or not, they will have a wonderful dance to share with family and friends at home, if they desire.

My child does not want to perform in the recital, but I think he/she should. Should I sign him/her up? It is important to respect your child's wishes. Your child may be too young, it may seem too scary, or maybe they just have no interest in being onstage. The benefits of taking a dance class and learning the choreography are reward enough to some children. If a child does not wish to perform, they may still want to attend the show to support their friends, or to see what really happens at a recital.

My child is young, do you think she/he will really perform onstage? Most children who spend time practicing at home and in the classroom will dance onstage. Can I guarantee that? No. I have seen children know the dance inside and out in class and at home, then freeze onstage. I have also seen kids who do not do much in class, who I truly worry about, get onstage and steal the show. I can tell you that we do spend time before the show practicing every detail that may come up so that your child will feel certain of what is to come. I also ask the children during the rehearsal week if they have any questions or worries, so that I can address them.

We may want to change class dates/times next session, can we still do the recital? We ask that you stay in the same class from November through June, as classes do different songs/dances. If you know now that you need to switch class times, please do so now. RECITAL PARTICIPANTS MAY NOT CHANGE CLASSES AFTER COSTUME FORMS ARE IN ON NOVEMBER 15, 2008!

Do the performers stay in a room backstage during the show? No! Your child will sit with you throughout the show. My goal is to make the recital a fun, safe event for the young ones. They get to watch every number with you from the audience, with the exception of the dance immediately before theirs when they line up along the side of the auditorium.

Why do you have a recital? This is my 18th recital year as a teacher and let's not even try to count my days as a student. This is CiM's seventh annual recital. In the beginning, CiM did not have recitals, only in-class informances during the last class of the year. Then I began to hear from parents that although their children loved my classes, they were going to go elsewhere because I did not offer a recital. So, I decided to offer an optional recital. I try to make the recital as fun, inexpensive and stress-free as I can!

How long is the recital? What time is the recital? It is about an hour long on a Saturday morning.

What fees outside of costumes/shoes are involved? We sell tickets beginning in late April. Every adult (ages 13 and up) will need to purchase a ticket this year for $10. Non-Performing Child tickets are $2 (no charge for kids on your lap). Performers seats are free. We also offer optional Recital DVDs and photos for an additional fee.

Is there a dress rehearsal? Yes, we will have a dress rehearsal, tentatively the night before the show. Each dance will have an assigned time to use the stage (about 15 minutes), so that you do not have to give up the entire night.

There is no song/costume fee listed on the form, why? I do apologize for this, however at this point I have no idea how many recital dances will be in the recital. If a class only has 2 or 3 interested in performing, that class will have the same song/costume as another class in the recital so that they feel comfortable in a good sized group (your class time will not change). However, if I receive costume forms from the majority people in each class, I will need many songs/costumes, as I do not want to have 20 preschoolers onstage at once! Once I select the final costumes, I will post full information on the bulletin board. Last year costumes fees were $50-$60, including tights or pants.