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Company Team Constitution

2023 - 2024

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PLACEMENT ON TEAMS:

The director reserves the sole right to place your child on any team/any level of team.  Please understand these decisions are made carefully.  Depending on the circumstances, your child may be moved to a different team during the course of the year at the sole discretion of the coach.  Placement on teams is determined, a number of factors such as by their score from a panel of judges, age, their height, natural ability, learned skills demonstrated, attitude, personality attributes that demonstrate a child’s ability to work well with a specific team under specific circumstances. Student’s are required to tryout in front of a panel of judges and be scored on dance skills and techniques.

 

PRACTICE:

Dance is a team sport.  When one person is missing from a practice, the whole team suffers.  In order to be competitive, all practices are mandatory!!!

  • Students should attend all practices

  • Students are required to attend weekend practices (that will take place only if need be, schedule TBA).  If missed, it will count as one absence.

  •  Students must attend a mandatory dress rehearsal before each contest.  The dates will be announced at the beginning of the second semester.

  • “Bad attitudes” will be asked to sit out or go home and will result in demerits (see Demerits section)!

  • Disrespect, eye rolling, arguing with a coach or team member will result in dismissal from practice and demerits (see Demerits section).

 

ABSENCES:

  • If practice is going to be missed, please notify the director in advance and let her know a reason for absence.

  •  If ill or injured, please have a parent or guardian text the director in order to not participate FULL-OUT.  You should still try to attend class and watch unless contagious. Do NOT come to class if you have fever or are contagious. Even so, this will still count as an absence.

  • If a competitive dancer misses too much practice or fails to know the routine with no time left to catch up, they may be placed on probation, or removed from their team at the sole discretion of the director.  If your child is absent, it is NOT the director’s responsibility to get them caught up unless you schedule and pay for a private lesson. Please have him/her make plans with team to get caught up BEFORE the next practice/class.  NOTE: Removing a team member at the last minute is a HUGE disadvantage and means many extra hours of practice for the team!  This will only be used as a last resort if the student continues to say they will practice outside of class when they are behind, and fails to show results.  We definitely do NOT want this to happen at any time!

  • PARENTS:  Please encourage your child to be committed!!!  This is a team sport, and should be treated as one.  Not wanting to come is not an excuse to miss practice and let team members down!!!

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ATTENDANCE POLICY:

  • All absences of any kind are discouraged!!!

  • Excused Absences are absences because of a sickness or illness, or mandatory school events

  • Unexcused Absences are absences because of skipping or other inexcusable reasons.

  • If a student will be absent the director MUST be notified (preferably via text). No notification for absences will result in demerits.  

  • Attendance will be taken daily in contest classes and recorded for future reference.

  • Absences per semester:

    • ​Three excused absences are not encouraged but accepted in Semester 1

    • Two excused absences are not encouraged but accepted in Semester 2.

      •  In semester 2:

        • NO excused absences are accepted before going to contest

        • Other two excused absences are accepted after going to both contests.

        • Absence from class two weeks before contest is prohibited!!

        • Tardies or leaving early from class in the two (2) weeks leading up to a competition will not be accepted 

      • Having more absences than the ones allotted will result in demerits (see Demerits Section) 

  • Tardies

    • A student will receive a tardy if they are later than five minutes to class.

    • Three tardies will result in one absence.

    • Tardies and leaving early will be recorded for future reference.

    • Leaving early will be counted as a tardy

 

ATTIRE:

  • Dancers must ALWAYS come in clothes that they can dance in.  No jeans or school clothes.

  • Hip Hop teams may come in baggy clothes and tennis shoes

  • Jazz or Lyrical teams need tighter fitting dance clothes and foot undeez for practice

  • Failure to follow these rules will result in demerits (see page 4)

 

 

COMPETITIONS:

  • All competitions are mandatory.  This includes the awards ceremonies!!!  Let’s be good sports and teach our kids how to act despite winning or losing!

  • Tardiness to a competition will not be tolerated and will result in demerits (see Demerits Section).  You will receive a hand-out prior to the competitions with the exact time and location where you and your child should meet the director and team members.  If you are not there on time for ROLL CALL, you are late! Competition is very exiting and it is a big deal to the students.  When someone is late, everyone is nervous and this causes a problems.  Be on time, and remember that THE KIDS are the ones affected by the tardiness.  Tardiness will have consequences.

  • Team members must be dressed in FULL uniform (as specified by the director on your handout) before arrival.  Failure to do so will result in demerits. This is not a GUIDELINE. Exact specifications must be followed for how to look upon arrive to competition. 

  • Make-up will be worn.  Make-up is heavier for competitions due to the bright lights on stage, the distance from the judges, and the overall “showiness” necessary for stage appearance.  NO EXCEPTIONS!!!

  • NO fingernail polish, long fingernails, or temporary tattoos of any kind will be worn, unless approved prior to competition.  Manicures and fake nails are costly, so please do not waste money on them before the competitions!!! Any natural polish or french tip will be accepted.  If your child is has on nail polish or temporary tattoos, she will receive demerits (see Demerits section).

  • NO jewelry is allowed!!! This includes belly button rings, and stud earrings.  ANY jewelry (other than team earrings) that is left on your child is subject to removal by a Coach prior to competing.  If your child has on any jewelry at the competition, she will receive demerits (see Demerit section). This includes pony tail holders around the wrist!!

  • All teams that compete in the same awards ceremony are required to arrive at the same time in order to support our other teams!!

  • Family members are encouraged to sit together, and support ALL APDD CONTEST GROUPS!!!

  • A good night’s rest is needed before each competition.  Please help your child out with that!  If your child is tired on the day of the competition, she will not perform as well and may be in a bad mood that would cause her to be disrespectful. We always expect our students to perform at 110% and be on their best behavior at competitions. PLEASE take this in to account when making plans for the night before a competition.

  • Good sportsmanship starts with our parents.  Please set a GREAT example for our kids!!!  Let’s support each other, those around us, and be respectful of competition staff, judges, directors, and coaches.  Remember, we are all on the same team, and the overall goal of everyone there is to benefit the kids!

  • REMEMBER:  There is no greater feeling that performing before a screaming crowd!! Crowd appeal is a category on the score sheets! Help our kids and show your support with cheers and applause!

 

MASTER CLASSES:

  • MUST attend at least ONE HOUR of master classes per month as a part of training.  

  • 2 hours will be offered per age. You may pick one to take per month or you can choose both!

  • $25 for one hour, or $40 for two hours.

  • Students must wear ALL BLACK, TIGHT FITTING ATTIRE with their hair UP AND OUT OF THEIR FACE. No Bows or big accessories. No Jewelry unless it is stud earrings. Dancers MUST bring the appropriate shoes for technique classes!! 

  • Please remember that wrong attire, missing shoes, or bring late will result in demerits! 

  • Master Classes are NON-REFUNDABLE AND NON-TRANSFERABLE once paid for

  • This means that once you have registered and paid for your child to attend a certain date and time, you may not cancel or request to have them moved to a different date, time, or session. We do this because our class space for these sessions are LIMITED. 

  • If you are unable to attend the Master classes, you will need to make this up this in a private lesson, or double up the next month! 

  • Please let us know AT LEAST a day ahead of time what class you plan to attend, OR if you are unable to make it, and what alternative make-up method you chose. (Private lesson or 2 hours next month)

  • If there are not 2 or more students attending the class, it will be cancelled. In this case your payment will be applied to your choice of the next Master Class. 

  • You may not used past hours to make up Master Classes in the future: for example, if you took 2 hours in March, but cannot come in April, you still have to make up a class for April. 

  • If you know ahead of time that you will not be able to come to the master class in (lets say) December, you ARE allowed to double up the month before. This is to encourage planning ahead!!!

  • Although you are allowed to take as many Master Classes as you would like, you must have at LEAST one hour per month, or replace it with a private lesson and or extra hour the next month.    

  • If you are unable to make them up within one month, you will receive demerits for missing a mandatory practice. 

  • If you have any questions regarding Master Classes please contact us! We are excited for the future of our dancers and are confident that the unique curriculum taught in these classes are helping your kids to EXCEL! 

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RESPECT:

  • Respect of all teachers and staff of APDD is required.  Contest season can get a bit overwhelming for dancers and parents because of the many hours of practice and cleaning routines.  The students and teacher must have an equal level of respect for each other during this time.  Failure to show respect will result in demerits (see Demerit Section). Dancing is about having fun and stress relief. Leave your personal problems and bad attitudes at the door. Failure to do so will result is the consideration of removal from the team. 

  • Student Behavior

    • All APDD students are expected to conduct themselves in an appropriate manner in and out​side of the studio. 

    • Wearing your APDD warm-ups outside of the studio means that you are representing APDD! Please make good choices!

    • Social Media

      • Although APDD does not make it a point to follow allour students on social media, it has been brought to our attention in the past that there is from time to time inappropriate language or pictures posted by our students. Most the time this does get around to our staff. Please represent yourself, your family, and your studio in an appropriate manner, especially on SnapChat, Instagram, or TikTok

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DEMERITS:

Students will receive demerits for failure to follow rules stated in the Contest Constitution.  Demerits are not used to punish our students, but to encourage them to follow all of the rules and guideline set for the team.

Absences:

o   Missing over the allotted absences, excused or unexcused: 2 per absence

o   Any Absence in semester 2 before both competitions: 2 per absence

​o   Any absence the last 2 weeks before competition: 3 per absence 

o   Missing a mandatory practice: 5 per absence

o   Wrong attire during practice (this includes not having appropriate dance shoes): 1 per item

o   Being late to a mandatory practice: 1 for every 5 minutes late to practice

Competitions:

o   Being late to a competition: 2 for every 5 minutes late.  

o   Forgetting a piece of a costume: 5 per piece

o   Coming in wrong attire: 3

o   Having on fingernail polish or temporary tattoos: 2

o   Not performance-ready at the pre-determined time: 2

o   Wearing jewelry (other than costume earrings): 2

Respect:

o   Disrespect towards a teacher: 5

o   Disrespect towards a teammate: 3

o   Although they will still have to be worked off, disrespect demerits will NOT be removed by merits 

Other mandatory performances:

o   Missing the performance: 7

o   Being late to the performances: 2

o   Forgetting a piece of the uniform: 2 per piece

Demerits for reasons other than those stated above will be assigned at the discretion of the director.

 

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WORKING OFF DEMERITS:

  • Each demerit will have to be worked off at the designated "Demerit work-off day/hour"

  • Failure to work off demerits could result in removal from the team.

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REMOVAL:

Removal from a team will be considered after a dancer has:

  • More than the allotted absences

  • Missed a competition

  • Displayed intolerable behavior

  • Displayed loss of skills demonstrated at tryouts

  • Continually failed to make payments on time

  • Has over 15 demerits NOT worked off

 

PAYMENTS:

  • Because this is a contest team, it is important to have all payments in on time.  If a student’s warm-up, costume fee, or contest fee fails to be in on time, there will be no choice to remove them from the team.  These are all necessary requirements for a contest team. Tuition rates incorporate these fees so that a parent does not have a hard time getting payments in.  If tuition is paid on time, your daughter will not have to worry about removal!  If tuition payments fall behind, the student’s family will have until the third month to collect the owed amount.  If tuition is not paid by the third month, the student will be removed.  *If a student’s family is having payment issues, please come talk to us!! Budget plans can be arranged!!

  • Please note that most studios and daycares do not allow students to attend class when payments are late.

  • Not all payments have late fees, but ARE due in a certain order. Please understand that items MUST be paid in order. For example, if it is the 7th of the month (last day to pay tuition without a late fee), and you are behind on costume payment, final costume payments MUST be made before paying tuition. If you do this online and pay with the tuitions tab, the balance paid will be put towards past balances FIRST! 

  • Fundraiser earnings

    • If you have accumulated fundraiser earnings that have been turned in to the studio, these may go towards what ever you would like on your account sheet as long as you have no past or overdue items. If you have items that are past due, your fundraiser earnings WILL go towards these first!! ​

 

REFUNDS:

  • There are no refunds on uniforms/costumes after they are ordered.

  • Competition fees, once paid, are non-refundable under any circumstance including, but not limited to, upon any subsequent removal of a child from the team.

  • Tuition fees, once paid, are non-refundable under any circumstances including by not limited to, upon subsequent removal of a child from the team/class/studio.

  • If a dancer decides to quit mid-season, a refund of contest or costume money will not be given.  Quitting puts the entire team as well as the coach in a difficult situation.  The same rule applies if you are removed from the team.

  • Registration fees are non-refundable once paid.

  • Persons paying with checks resulting in insufficient funds will be charged a $25 penalty fee, due within 7 business days from the date our bank notifies us.

 

COMMUNICATION:

  • It is your responsibility as a parent to know what is going on!! Please ALWAYS text me for any questions you may have. Check the front door for postings, check your child’s bag for hand-outs, or the BAND app. Please take the time to read notes that are sent home with your child! You may also check our facebook, instagram, and twitter! 

  • Always feel free to text me with any questions you may have! This is usually the fastest way to get in touch with me! 

  • Communication between students and parents will be done before or after practice.  Communication during practice is extremely distracting.

  • Any questions you have about your child are welcome to be discussed.  We are here to help!  

  • Absolutely no parents or visitors are allowed in the practice area during practice.  Please stay tuned for PARENT’S WEEK.

 

We want all of our students to have an outstanding year at contest!!! If there are any concerns about these guidelines, feel free to contact us!  We would love to work with you!!

 

By signing 2023-2024 APDD Team Roster sheet, you are giving your consent to being on the team(s) you have been chosen for, and stating that you have throughly read and will comply to the rules and guidelines specified in our current APDD Company Team Constitution! 

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