Questions Frequently Asked by Parents at Acton School of Ballet
1. How do I determine my child’s correct placement in the school when registering?
ASB follows a syllabus ladder, which begins at age 3. Students must be the required age as noted below by the start of school on September 13, 2010.
| Age by start of school | Correct placement |
|---|---|
| 3 years | Creative Dance |
| 4 years | First Steps |
| 5 years (kindergarten) | Pre Ballet (1st year of 2-year syllabus) |
| 6 years (1st grade) | Pre Ballet (2nd year of 2-year syllabus) |
| 7 years (2nd grade) | Level 1 |
| 8 years (3rd grade) | Level 2 |
| Students 9 years and older | take a placement class to determine level assignment |
We rarely advance students beyond their age-appropriate levels, as our ballet syllabus is challenging and its vocabulary cumulative. Technique is both learned and refined in all levels. By the time students graduate from ASB they are often qualified for professional companies, competitive conservatory or college dance programs. Many students at ASB dance for pleasure and do not seek a professional ballet career, but their education here supports that goal.
2. My child loves to dance. Can she take more than the class requirement in her level?
Absolutely. Students are encouraged to take more classes when their schedules permit. For instance, children in Pre-Ballet are required to take one class per week, but they may sign up for more than one section in that level. We offer eight sections of Pre-Ballet during the week.
When students enter the Upper School in Level 3, they may access many supplementary classes, such as Modern and Jazz. Students in Levels 4 and up may also take Variations and Ballet Conditioning in support of their dance education. In Levels 3, 4 & 5 students are required to take two syllabus classes per week, but may also take another two-day section of the level, making their class commitment four days per week. Or, they may take just one class in another section, increasing their commitment to three classes per week. Please call the school if you have questions about personalizing your student’s schedule with additional classes. Your child’s registration form lists the available classes to your child’s level.
Students in Levels 6, 7, 8, 9 & 10 regularly take supplementary classes to support their ballet education.
3. What does my child wear to class?
Each level at the school is identified by a different color. Please refer to the attire chart for the color and specifications of your child’s leotard, tights and ballet slippers. Students are required to wear the correct attire to class. Hair should be neat and in a bun for girls, or pinned back off the face if very short. Hair nets, hair spray or gel and bobby pins should be carried in a student’s dance bag. Students are taught to follow this etiquette in the Lower School, and are required to follow it in Level 3 and up. We offer a bun making workshop for parents on a Saturday in September, for those new to the process.
Boys wear a close fitting white t-shirt, black leggings or tights, and black ballet slippers.
Dance This Way in West Concord ( 978-318-1960), and Patterson’s (781-273-3089) in Burlington carry our attire for sale. You may also attend our fall Open House on Thursday, August 25 from 3:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Patterson’s will be on hand at our studios with leotards, tights and ballet slippers for sale.
4. What happens if my child arrives at the school and has forgotten her/his dance attire at home?
The School Administrator, Melissa Morris, keeps a stock of donated leotards, ballet slippers and tights in her office. Your child simply needs to ask to borrow them for the day. Mrs. Morris will help fit her/his size. If she has forgotten her hair supplies, we also have hair elastics and bobby pins.
5. Will my child have an opportunity to perform?
Students in Creative Dance and First Steps demonstrate their accomplishments before their parents in an open classroom at the end of each term.
Students in Pre-Ballet through Level 10, including Modern and Jazz classes, perform in our annual spring production of a full-length ballet. Each class performs a choreographed role. This experience is an important part of their ballet education, enabling them to both collaborate with other students and develop an appreciation for the genre’s finest works. Coppélia, A Midsummer’s Night Dream, Sleeping Beauty, La Fille Mal Gardée, Cinderella, The Enchanted Toy Shop and The Pharaoh’s Daughter are some of the ballets in our school’s repertoire. Nearly all of our students perform but If a student would rather just study and not perform, that option is always available. In 2012 we will perform A Midsummer’s Night Dream.
Students in Pre-Ballet through Level 2 (the Lower School) perform on only one of the two performance days. Students in Levels 3 and up perform both days. Students purchase a costume for the performance. We measure the students in December and order the costumes in January. ASB makes every attempt to keep this one-time purchase cost as low as possible for families.
Students in Levels 4 and above may also take a Variations class. Each student selects a classical variation she/he has learned in the semester class and performs it in a Studio 3 Variations Recital at the end of each term. Students in Levels 5 and above who enroll in the Choreography Workshop also perform their works in that recital.
6. What is your policy about tardiness?
We do not tolerate tardiness and strictly enforce our policy. Students must warm up at the barre before working in center, and late students miss this important warm up and are prone to injury. Tardiness is also disrespectful to the teachers, and distracting to other students. Parents should only register their children for classes which they can realistically enter on time. Please understand that arriving on time to class means being in the classroom ready to work at the assigned start time, not coming in the door of the school.
If a student is going to be more than five minutes late to class, she or he must ask the teacher for permission to enter the classroom. Entry is at the discretion of the teacher and may be refused. Students late to class by ten minutes or more are automatically marked absent and may not enter the classroom. A student missing a class for any reason, including tardiness, may make up the class as described in question #15.
A student may not be asked back to the school for a subsequent semester if he or she has been chronically tardy, as it erodes the integrity of the classroom experience for others. It is also a courtesy to call the school when your child is going to be absent, so that we don’t worry.
7. We live in Acton. Do any of the school buses stop near the studios after school?
Yes, we have many students arriving to the school on the public school buses each day. Please check with your child’s school to confirm the bus schedule, asking which bus # has a stop on Spruce Street, next to the Acton School of Ballet and Sweet Bites Bakery. Our school opens its doors early enough to greet all buses, and children are welcome to come early, do homework, eat their snacks and socialize before classes. We meet the buses the first few weeks of school, so that all children see a familiar face and learn the simple steps from the curb into our studios. And please, don’t forget to pack extra snacks in your child’s backpack. Young ballet dancers need energy and they are usually famished in the afternoon!
Children may call their parents from the Ballet School, once they arrive, to let them know they made it safely.
8. Do you offer any early afternoon classes for school children from Acton who have early release days on Thursdays?
Yes, this year we offer Pre-Ballet, Level 1, Level 2 and Ballet Conditioning on Thursdays as a convenience for working parents who are looking for early afternoon classes. Refer to the schedule for times. On Thursdays the school opens at 1:00 p.m. for students who arrive off the early release buses.
9. How does payment of tuition work?
The school operates on a two-semester calendar. Parents are required to pay the full semester’s tuition prior to the beginning of school, either by cash or check to Acton School of Ballet. We do not accept credit cards. This payment is non-refundable, except in the case of injury or illness with an accompanying doctor’s note. We do not make exceptions to this policy, and thank you for your understanding.
10. Other than tuition, what expenses would I incur if my child attends ASB?
ASB does not charge a registration fee. Other expenses include the cost of ballet attire (leotard, tights and ballet slippers for girls, white t-shirt, black leggings and ballet slippers for boys), the spring costume purchase (usually between $50-$85), and the purchase of any tickets to the spring ballet performances. In 2010 the cost of a ticket was $15. Students approved for pointe work also purchase pointe shoes. Optional purchases include DVDs of the performances, ASB logo wear and studio portraits.
11. What is your pointe policy? My daughter was on pointe at another school. Can she continue on pointe at ASB if she transfers?
Students may begin pointe study only after passing our Pointe Readiness Evaluation, usually administered by the Director. Generally students at ASB are able to take the evaluation at the end of Level 4, or during their year in Level 5, depending on their age and growth. Students who do not pass the evaluation the first time may take it at a later date, usually at the suggestion of their teacher.
A transfer student who was on pointe at another school is required to take a placement class on pointe to determine if she may continue at ASB or needs more preparatory work.
12. Do you offer separate classes for boys?
Boys and girls take their technique classes together. In 2011, we will offer a separate boy’s supplementary class for boys in the Upper School, which will be taught by Director, Chip Morris. The scheduled time will be coordinated with the individual student schedules, to ensure all boys have an opportunity to enroll.
13. I understand how the syllabus levels work. Why do you offer Beginning Ballet, Intermediate Ballet and Advanced Ballet as other options?
We recognize the need to offer different educational models to our diverse student body. Beginning Ballet is for teens (and adults) who are starting ballet later in their student careers. This class gives them age-appropriate introductory training with their peers. Intermediate Ballet is a non-pointe level for students who have achieved proficiency in the syllabus program, who are not on pointe but wish to continue with rigorous technique training twice per week. Students in Levels 4-6 may also take one or both Intermediate Ballet classes to supplement their syllabus classes. Advanced Ballet is a rigorous technique level meeting twice per week for students who have achieved Level 7 or higher status and are on pointe, but who can not make the commitment to more classes during the week. One or both classes of Advanced Ballet may also be taken as supplements for students on pointe in Levels 7-10.
14. My child has a nut allergy. Is the school a peanut-free zone?
No, the school is not guaranteed to be nut-free but we do not serve any products which have peanuts at school functions, such as cast parties. We encourage families not to bring allergy-causing snacks into the school but we can not always enforce this recommendation. Parents of children with allergies should consider if the school policy is consistent with their own doctors’ directives. Health issues should always be noted on your child’s registration form.
15. Do you have a make up policy for illness?
Yes, students are encouraged to take a make up class in any other section of their level. Please check the schedule to see when other sections of your child’s level meets. Teachers expect to see students doing make ups in all of their classes. You do not need to notify the Administrator ahead of time when taking a make up class. The student simply tells the teacher at the beginning of class that he or she is attending the class as a make up.
16. What is your policy on student hygiene?
Dance classes are aerobic and often sweat-producing. Students are expected to wear clean leotards and tights, and air out their ballet slippers after classes. We recommend students in the Upper School always bring extra deodorant in their dance bags, as well as other personal hygiene items, as needed. Girls should remove their pointe shoes from their dance bags every night and air them out by leaning them up against a wall.
17. What is your policy for snow days?
If the school must close due to snow, the announcement is posted on our website and on our phone by 10 a.m. for afternoon classes, 8 a.m. for morning classes. We often but do not always follow the local public school snow closings, as we must take into account the travel concerns of students and faculty from over 30 different communities. If we must close the school, students are encouraged to do make up classes later in the week in another section of their level.
18. How do you determine class size?
We make every attempt to keep class sizes small. We have guidelines for each level, based on educational classroom models we believe are successful, and re-evaluate them at the end of each year. Lower School enrollments are usually held to 14 students per class. Most First Steps, Pre-Ballet, Level 1 & 2 classes run with assistant teachers, as well as their head teachers. Upper School classes are held to 16-18 students. Supplementary class sizes are determined on a case by case basis.
19. How is the Acton School of Ballet related to the Commonwealth Ballet?
Acton School of Ballet and the Commonwealth Ballet Company (CBC) are separate organizations. CBC is a non-profit corporation governed by a separate board of directors, and is financially unrelated to ASB. CBC recognizes Acton School of Ballet as its official school, and ASB students audition for many CBC productions, including the annual Nutcracker and in early spring of 2012, Beauty and the Beast. However, dancers from other schools are also welcome to join CBC and audition for its ballets. The Commonwealth Ballet Company audition in 2011 will take place on Sunday, September 11, for students aged 13 and up. The Nutcracker audition will take place on Sunday, September 18, for students in Levels 3 and up. Please visit the Commonwealth Ballet website (commonwealthballet.org) for more information about these and other events.
20. What are the Acton School of Ballet’s expectations of parents?
Parents are expected to support their child’s education at the school. We expect our students to arrive on time for their classes, be rested, in good health, with nutritional support before aerobic work (i.e. not hungry because they did not get a snack after school). The number one stress that afflicts students is the fear that they are going to arrive late to class. We ask that parents try to alleviate this by allowing extra time to navigate traffic and parking.
21. My child has expressed an interest in teaching. Are there any opportunities at ASB?
ASB offers some qualified older students opportunities to become teaching assistants in the Lower School. There is a training period in September to orient new teaching assistants. These are paid positions. On occasion, a senior with exceptional, proven teaching facility is offered a First Steps teaching position.
22. My child is interested in an education or career in ballet after high school. Can ASB offer help?
We keep an active file of universities which offer ballet programs and keep abreast of new programs. We are happy to meet with parents and students to discuss our opinions about these programs. We can also offer guidance regarding auditions for professional companies. We actively write letters of recommendation, maintain relationships with other teaching faculties, and research opportunities for our older students.