Communitcation:  Good communication is important to the success of our season.  Your comments and questions are important to me.  Please feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns you  may have.  The best time to reach me is in the evenings after 5 pm.  You can call me at 605-380-5684 or you can contact me by email at aberdeen_sd@justforkix.com.

Website:  We are so exctited about our new website.  It is going to be a great tool for you.  Just go to www.justforkix.com/danceclasses/aberdeen_sd and bookmark it in your favorites!  My hope is that you utililze this webpage to its full potential!!

♦NEW THIS SEASON!! We will  once again be offering customized Aberdeen JFK gear for you to purchase at! I’m so excited about this because I’ve had many dancers and parents ask about this. There is another cool shirt option this year!  Watch for an order form to come home with your dancer very soon. What a great way to show your dancing pride by wearing these shirts to school the day of a performance, or to competition. AND, we’ll be able to find our parents up in the stands easier!  Orders need to be turned in by class on October 15, 2009.

Important Dates: All performance dates that I have scheduled can be found on the “Local-News” portion of the website.  All basketball performance will be after Christmas break.

Dance Attire: Please have your dancer arrive in dance or active wear. Jazz pants, leggings, shorts, bikers, leotards and T-shirts are acceptable. NO JEANS, DENIM, DRESSES or SKIRTS will be allowed. In order to be a dancer, you must dress like a dancer. Ballet, Jazz or Tennis shoes are required footwear. (No stocking feet please). Sandals, boots, dress or shoes with a chunky sole will not be allowed. If you have long hair, please have it pulled back into a ponytail. Do not wear any jewelry to class. Please remember no gum, food or candy is allowed.

Uniforms: Please make sure that your dancer has been sized for a uniform. All uniform payments must be returned to me by September 30. Uniforms take 8-10 weeks to manufacture. If uniform orders are not in by that date, we cannot guarantee them for the first performance. Full payment is required to order your dancer’s uniform. Once you receive your uniform, try it on. We can only accept exchanges if the uniform has not been worn. Tights may not be returned once the packaging has been opened, so check the size on the package prior to opening. If an exchange is needed, please return the uniform right away as it may take several weeks to process. We are very picky about how our dancers come to performances. Proper dance shoes must be worn and they must be CLEAN. Nylons/tights or socks must be the correct color. Hair must always be pulled up.  If your dancers pants are longer than floor length, please hem them before her first performance so she doesn’t slip and slide (and possibly hurt herself).

Payments: Class fees are $29 for K-12th graders, and $26 for pre-schoolers every month. Class payments are due by the 1st of each month. Any payments received at the home office after the 10th will have an additional $5.00 late fee per month added to the balance. First 1/2-year payments are due by September 30th and you will receive a $1.00 per month discount by paying by the 1/2 year. Second 1/2 year payments are due on January 1st. I strongly encourage you to send payments directly to the home office at Just For Kix •• PO Box 724 •• Brainerd, MN 56401. You will receive a payment stub sheet at the start of the season.  Sibling Discount: If you have two or more dancers in the program there is a dollar discount per month per child. All state sales taxes are included in payments where applicable.
**I will hand out friendly payments reminders regularly at class for any accounts that are past due.
Please Note: Any NSF or “stopped payment” checks made payable to JFK will be charged a $20.00 service fee per check. Thank you.  We do reserve the right to ask your dancer to sit out if your account is past due.

Cancellations: The calendar will provide you with a class schedule for the season. Occasionally, we may run into a circumstance where an unscheduled cancellation needs to be made. This is very rare but should it happen, you will receive a note or a phone call. Any classes that are cancelled will be made-up. Watch for make-up dates on future calendars. Please note: if school has closed early or is cancelled due to weather, there will be NO Just For Kix classes that evening. I will typically follow the recommendation of the school’s policies given to after school activities as a guideline for canceling classes. Announcements will be made on the “Local News” page on the JFK website and also the local radio stations.

No Distraction Environment: We have found through the years that the most productive way to run classes is without the distraction of parents and siblings. We want to offer the best quality class we can. Since we only have a short time per week together, every minute is important. Therefore, I will have a “no distraction environment”. No spectators will be allowed during class time. However, I will allow spectators in the last 10 minutes of the last class of each month. This way you will be able to see the progress we are making.

Facility: Our facility is VERY important to us. There is no yelling, running, or gymnastics allowed while you’re at your facility. Dancers should be picked up immediately after their class is finished, as there is no supervision outside of classtime.

Performances: I will try to offer as many performances as possible. I am always looking for new opportunities; please feel free to contact me with any ideas. Please note… you may have to pay admission into some performances. For example: basketball games, football games or shows. Please understand that Just For Kix has no control over admission fees and we try to offer free performances also.

Shoes: Ballet or Jazz shoes are required at all performances. I would also recommend that ballet or Jazz shoes be worn at practice.

Our Dance Season: Our dance season is broken into different parts. We utilize our fall classes to build up our skills, learn our first routines, get uniforms ordered and prepare for performance season. Our performance season begins in the end of November. By this time we have learned our first routines and have built some of our skills. We utilize this performance season to polish our routines, work on facial expressions and confidence. We may perform routines multiple times to allow us to polish and build self-confidence while we perform. You will notice that each time we perform a routine, the facial expressions and confidence should improve as we become more comfortable with the routine. We will also continue to introduce new routines throughout the performance season. Following the Holidays our 4th-12th grade classes will also begin competing. We finish our year with a Spring Show at the start of May.

At Home Practice: Often parents ask how to help their dancers practice at home. The most important thing dancers can do is stretch on a regular basis at home. Dancers should do some activity to warm muscles and then stretch as many times a week as possible. Stretching technique is covered at class. Dancers who miss class should try to arrange to get together with one of their teammates to learn what was missed. Note: For Tiny Kix and Wee Petite dancers, at home practice should not be forced. Our goal is for them to enjoy the experience.