Holiday Break

Our studio classes will be on a holiday break from December 24 until January 3.   We will have limited office hours during this break but will check emails and voicemails daily.   Have a wonderful holiday and we look forward to seeing you in the New Year!

Volunteer Ushers

Student families have an opportunity to volunteer to usher at Company performances this December.   It is a great chance to support the Company and enjoy a holiday performance.   High school students may use this event to fill community service hours required.  If you are interested, please call Sharon in our office at 952-563-8562

New Fall Classes

We have started a pre-ballet class on Wednesday afternoons at 3:30 PM.   This class is for young students who are interested in dance but not quite ready for the discipline of Ballet I classical ballet technique.   There is room for additional students in this new class.

In addition, we are offering a Yoga class on Wednesdays at 4:45 PM.   This gentle introduction to yoga is open to adults of all ages and abilities.   We are promoting this to adults to take after work but the class is open to anyone. 

To register for these or any of our other classes, please call 952-563-8562.  You may also download a registration form of our web site.  

New Policy

Policy – No Student Left Behind!


• All students waiting for a ride home should wait inside the Bloomington Center for the Arts until their ride is here.

• Parents not wanting to come inside might want to pick up their students at the east entrance so the student can see them pull up to the door.

• Students may use our registration office phone to call if their ride has not shown up.

• Please keep in mind that our registration office hours are 3:30 pm to 7:30 pm. After that time there is no one in the office and your student’s teacher may be busy with another class.

• We will ask our instructors to stay until all students are picked up but they may have an obligation they have to get to after class

• No Continental Ballet Company students should be waiting outside for their ride to come.

Fall Classes Have Begun!

Welcome to our new and returning students!    Classes began on Tuesday, September 7th and we are very happy to be back in session.   If you have not yet registered, you can still sign up for classes.  Just give us a call so we can assist you with placement.  Office hours are Monday through Friday from 3:30 PM to 7:30 PM.  

952-563-8562

Class Placements

Friday, July 23 class recommendation letters were sent, along with 2010-2011 registration information. If you have not received your letter, please call the office to update your contact information. 

Congrats!

Congrats to all our students who participated in the Spring Recital!  We look forward to seeing some of you during our summer session and many more of you when you return in the fall.  Thank you for all your hard work this year. Have a great summer!

Summer Office Schedule

Our offices will be closed from Monday June 28 through Monday July 5. We will be checking email daily during that time, so please contact us at cbcinfo@continentalballet.com if you need an immediate response.

2010-2011 Season Classes and Info

We invite you to attend the Invitation to the Dance performance/demonstration on August 5, 2010 at 7:00pm in the Schneier Theater in the Bloomington Center for the Arts.  In addition to the performance, we will have an Open House where you can pick up next year's information packet including class placement, schedules, teacher and tuition information.

We will mail this information out on August 6 to anyone who was not able to attend the Invitation to the Dance event.  The first day of classes is Tuesday, September 7, 2010 (the day after Labor Day). 

Many of you may remember from previous years that this is later than usual.  In the past, we have tried to get the upcoming schedule posted by the last day of class.  However, some of our teachers have resigned for personal reasons (moving, pursuing a Master's degree, expanding family, etc.) and we find we need some more time to plan on our end.  Thank you for understanding.

Recital Packet Information

Photo Day and Dress Rehearsal General Information
Students must arrive and check in 15 minutes prior to their scheduled photo and rehearsal times. 
Students in Creative Movement, Pre-Ballet, Ballet I and Ballet II should arrive in costume, with hair and make-up done.  After checking in, they should go into the theater to wait for their class's turn.
Levels III, IV and Advanced (and any students with multiple costumes) may change backstange, in the women's dressing room.
Photo order forms will be available photo day, Saturday June 12.  Please make checks payable to Ford Studio.

Recital Day Arrival Times
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Arrival time for Creative Movement, Pre-Ballet, Ballet I and Ballet II  check in by 6:30pm
Ballet III, Ballet IV, Advanced   check in by 5:15 (there will be class from 5:30-6:30pm)
After the recital Ballet I, II and III students may be picked up in the studio.

Recording
Dress rehearsal is the only time you may video tape or photograph your child on stage.  NO VIDEO OR PHOTOGRAPHY DURING THE RECITAL.
Videos of the recital will be available for $10.73.  Please add an additional $2 per DVD for shipping.  Payment is due at the time of purchase, and checks must be made out to City of Bloomington.

Attire
Students must wear pink, non-shiny ballet tights without seams, and pink ballet slippers.  On picture day, dress rehearsal and recital day, Creative Movement, Pre-Ballet, Ballet I and Ballet II students should arrive in their costumes with hair and make-up done.

Hair
All students need to wear their hair in a bun at the nape of their neck.  Bangs must be slicked back, no stray hairs, clips, or other decorations unless instructed by the teacher as part of the costume. Parents, if you have questions about how to fix your child's hair, please speak with their instructor.

Make-Up
Parents of students in Creative Movement, Pre-Ballet, Ballet I and Ballet II should apply light make-up prior to their student arriving at the studio--a little blush and lipstick is fine.

Students in Level III and higher should consult their teachers about what make-up is recommended, and how make-up should be applied.

Studio Evaluations

Every year we ask our parents and families for their feedback. We look at every single (anonymous) response and consider all the suggestions you provide as we continue planning for the upcoming year. Last year we were able to create an online payment option as well as increased communication about holidays and tuition reminders--both suggestions from our end of the year survey.

We appreciate you taking 5 minutes to fill out a survey either at our offices or online:
Click here to take survey

Friday Ballet I

Please bring/wear your costumes to class this Friday, June 11.  Alexandra would like to have the girls practice in them at least once before the dress rehearsal.  This will be a good opportunity to address any fitting issues as well. 

Dress Rehearsal Schedule Wednesday, June 16

Rehearsal Time                  Class                                     Teacher


4:30                      Creative Movement Tues 9:15                 Natasha

4:50                          Pre-Ballet Mon 9:30                            Natasha

5:10                         Ballet II Tues 4:30                                 Natasha

5:30                        Ballet III Thurs 6:30                                 Kara

5:50                          Ballet I Fri 4:30                                  Alexandra

6:10                       Ballet II Wed 4:30                                 Alexandra

6:30                       Ballet III Mon 4:30                                Alexandra

6:50                  Ballet IV/Adv Fri 5:30                                 Melissa

7:10                    Modern Fri 7:00                                         Melissa

7:30                    Ballet IV/Adv                                               Riet

Photo Schedule Saturday, June 12

Picture Time                Class & Time                                 Teacher

2:00                   Creative Movement Tues 9:15                      Natasha
2:15                         Pre-Ballet Mon 9:30                              Natasha

2:30                          Ballet II Tues 4:30                                Natasha

2:50                         Ballet III Thurs 6:30                               Kara

3:10                          Ballet I Fri 4:30                                  Alexandra

3:30                       Ballet II Wed 4:30                                Alexandra

3:45                      Ballet III Mon 4:30                                Alexandra

4:00                    Ballet IV/Adv Fri 5:30                               Melissa

4:15                      Modern Fri 7:00                                      Melissa

4:30                       Ballet IV/Adv                                          Riet

Costumes are here!

The costumes have arrived!  Please be sure to stop by the office to pay any outstanding balance on your account before picking up your costume.  Teachers will be instructing students on how to wear their hair, make-up etc. but please contact the office if you have any questions.  Thanks!

June Tuition

Every year we get the same question, so I want to address it before it even comes up:
Why do I have to pay for a full month of classes if there are only 2 full weeks of class?

June's payment is the same amount as every other month because the monthly rate is calculated on the total number of classes from September through June, not the number of classes in each individual month.  While there are only 2 weeks of classes in June, we have a number of other activities in the month (pictures, dress rehearsal and recital) that we need to staff. 

Hopefully that helps to clarify!

Costumes

I know everybody's excited about costumes arriving because I've gotten a lot of questions about the ETA this past week. They should arrive sometime the first week in June, and we'll distribute them to individuals provided they have no outstanding balance on their accounts; you have to pay for June tuition before you get your costume!

Memorial Day Weekend

We will be having class on Friday, May 28 (before Memorial Day) but we will not be having class Monday, May 31 (Memorial Day). Thanks for all your questions!

Video

This video was filmed over the course of the 2009-2010 season, so it's not exactly new, but it is fun to watch! Take a peek if you haven't already CBC's video on Youtube.

Attendance

As a reminder, please notify the office when you will not be in class. Attendance is important all year, but particularly during recital season. Your teachers (aka choreographers!) and classmates are counting on you to be present!

You may call or email to notify us of absences.

Updated Attendance and Make Up Policy

Attendance is expected at every class. All students must fill out a registration form to be considered enrolled in class. Please call or email if you are unable to attend. Only absences communicated to the registrar in a timely fashion will be eligible for make-up classes. Students must make-up classes within the month the absence occurred. Students are allowed 2 make-ups per month. Make-ups must be scheduled and approved by the registrar.

Ballet IV Schedule Change

There are some minor changes to the Ballet IV students' schedules that will begin starting the week of April 5, 2010 continuing through the end of the school year.

-Ballet IV on Tuesdays will be a 90-minute class from 5:30-7:00
-There is no longer rehearsal on Thursdays
-Ballet IV on Thursdays will now be from 4:30-6:00

Please contact me if you have any questions. Thank you for your flexibility.

Easter Weekend Schedule

We will not be having classes from Thursday April 1 through Sunday April 4. Classes will resume on Monday April 5.

Friday March 12 Classes

Friday March 12, 2010 Ballet IV/Advanced and Modern Ballet will not be meeting. There is a dress rehearsal that interferes with classes. This dress rehearsal does NOT affect the Ballet I class that meets from 4:30-5:30 on Fridays. Ballet I will be meeting as usual.

Costume Recital

By the beginning of next week (February 22) you all should have received information on recital costumes for the Thursday June 17, 2010 recital. We ask that you pay for your costume as soon as possible so we are able to place the order as soon as possible. A few quick notes:

-we are not able to provide any financial assistance for purchasing costumes

-we are not able to offer refunds on costumes

-we will not order a costume for your child without payment

-every effort was made to keep the cost of costumes reasonable

-we will distribute costumes shortly before the recital, and only after June tuition has been paid in full

More information about the recital is forthcoming. Please call or email if you have not received information about the cost of your child’s costume. Of course don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any other questions or concerns.

Spring Break Schedule

Continental Ballet Company does not have a Spring Break because all our kids come from different schools with different break schedules. However, we will be closed Thursday-Sunday, April 1-4, 2010 in observance of the Easter holiday. We will resume our normal class schedule on Monday April 5, 2010.

Presidents' Day--NO CLASSES

Just a reminder that there will be no classes on Monday February 15, 2010 in observance of Presidents' Day.

February Movement Mosaic--CANCELLED

February's Movement Mosaic classes featuring Francis Kofi teaching West African Drum and Dance will not be meeting. I apologize for any inconvenience and thank you for understanding. Please call if you have questions (952) 563-8562.

Parent Observation Days

Parent Observation Days are February 22-26 this Spring. As always, grandparents, siblings, etc. are invited to come watch class as well.

Even More February Movement Mosaic Info

February Movement Mosaic Info

Rehearsal January 14 at 4:00pm

We will be having rehearsal on January 14 at 4:00pm. Ballet IV and Advanced students, take note!

Thursday January 7 Ballet IV Cancelled

I apologize for the short notice--the instructor was unable to teach at the last minute and we were not able to get a sub in time. We apologize for any inconvenience and thank you for understanding.

Adapted Ballet Class Spring

We are still finalizing the schedule for Adapted Ballet Class for Spring 2010. Thank you for your patience and we'll post info as soon as we've got it!