Hosanna Dance Newsletter
Fall Edition 2019 ∙ 119 N Deadwood St ∙ Ft Pierre ∙ Artistic Director, Sunny Hannum
Think Nutcracker!
Where has summer gone? Technically it is still summer until September 21 but we always think of summer as being over when the kids go back to school.
We have already begun working on Nutcracker which we will perform the earliest we have ever done it - on November 30.
August 6, our Ballet V students and some of our Ballet IV students began working on the Waltz from Nutcracker. This piece is over six minutes long and takes a lot of practice.
We will be ordering costumes for Nutcracker in September which requires all students to be registered and in class right away to get their measurements taken as costumes will be ordered the middle of September.
What's new at Hosanna Dance? We have changed over to online registration and billing system that will save us a lot of administrative work by hand and snail-mail. To register your child go online to our registration portal (https://dancestudio-pro.com/online/hosannadance) and set up an account, add your students, and pick their classes. The new program is very user-friendly but if you have difficulty, we can help you.
Our online portal has a full listing of classes and will allow us to send you friendly reminders of payments due and keep you apprised of weather cancellations and other helpful information related to performances etc. It will even allow us to post pictures of your child's costumes. [who loves getting a sneak peek?]
Summer Frozen dance camps were a success with 18 attendees. Thank you to Becca Brusven who was a student assistant. Next summer we are looking at Lion King as the theme for summer dance camps.
Gracie Zeeb passed her student Cecchetti Grade IV exam in the spring. Mr. Josh and Ms. Sarah passed their Grade IV Teacher's exam in June.
Besides attending the Cecchetti summer intensive in June, Mr. Josh, Ms. Sarah, and Ms. Sunny went to the Christian Dance Educator's Leadership Summit at the end of June in Orland Park, IL, just outside Chicago. This was a wonderful seminar where we met Christian dance educators from all over the country. We also met and took class from Randall Flinn, the director of Ad Deum. This has been on our bucket list for a long time. We had sessions in studio administration as well as how to carry out our mission and goal to operate a Christian dance studio in a secular world.
Besides attending two workshops, your teachers found time to prepare the small dance studio and reception area with a new coat of polyurethane after they were sanded and got a little more painting done.
CALENDAR
- Make sure you add all class dates to your calendar. Consistent attendance is a very important part of any learning endeavor as well as group activities like.
- In addition to your classes be sure to add these dates:
Nutcracker performances on November 30.
All performing classes have required run-throughs every Monday in November from 5:30-8:00 at the studio (Nov 4, 11, 18, 25).
All performing classes have required dress rehearsal Friday, November 29, from 5:30-8:00 at the theatre.
All performing classes have two performances on Saturday, November 30.
Spring showcase is May 8 & 9.
All performing classes have required dress rehearsal May 4 from 5:30-7:45.
All performing classes have two performances
Holidays and Breaks: Sep 2, Nov 27-28, Dec 23 - Jan 1, Mar 23 - Apr 2, May 25.
Fall workshop: SD Dance Network convention 2019 is in Sioux Falls October 25-27.
Brochure and registration information at www.dancenetwork.sd.org
We Encourage All Our Students to Prepare for Cecchetti Examinations
This is such an excellent way for students to become technically proficient and thoroughly learn the terminology of ballet. There is something about preparing for an exam that makes students work harder and helps them develop as dancers. And bonus, you get a certificate as a memory of all the hard work, study, and effort.
If you or your student are interested in getting started with Cecchetti student examinations let us know.
Ballet III and up are eligible to start working on Grade 1. Examinations take a lot of preparation, study, and commitment. (Normally 1-2 years is spent studying per grade. More as you progress through the grades.) Examinations - read more about what to expect here
Our studio is affiliated with the Cecchetti Council of America. We added the Cecchetti syllabus to our classes in 2013. All teachers are professionally examined by the CCA to hold certificates in the Cecchetti Method grades.
- A Cecchetti Grade V/Elementary class is being taught on Thursday nights from 5:30-7:00 pm. (open to intermediate level Ballet V)
- A Cecchetti Grade III class is being taught on Mondays from 6:30-8:00 pm. (open to Ballet IV and V)
- A Cecchetti Grade VI/Intermediate is being taught on Thursday nights from 7:00-8:00 pm. (open to advanced level Ballet V students)
Even if you are not interested in doing exams, attending these classes is an excellent way for ballet IV/V to get another ballet class in and work hard on perfecting technique and getting more one on one corrections.
Hosanna Dance instructors attend all Cecchetti intensives at Dance Gallery in Sioux Falls and attend the International Cecchetti Teacher's Summit at least every other year.
For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works,... - Ephesians 2:10 KJV
