Last week of dance reminders!

Good afternoon!

I hope you enjoyed yesterday's dance recital as much as I did - it was the largest and most successful one to date! Thank you to everyone who contributed, especially your dancers! You can still order DVD's of the recital/and or snowflake special at the front desk of the Glebe Community Centre. Deadline to order is December 11th.

A reminder that this week is our last week of dance classes at GNAG. Registration for our Winter dance classes will begin online this Thursday at 9:00pm.

Next up is the Snowflake Special, our annual event, which is this Saturday from 6-9pm. All dancers will be performing at least once in the recital. 

WHAT TO WEAR:

Preschool ballet/hip hop: pyjamas (any color, any kind)

All other classes taught by Kailena (ages 5-17 performing Barbra Streisand) : Wear anything you would like.

Intensive 1, 2, 3: Wear the same costume as recital

WHEN TO ARRIVE:

We suggest arriving at 6pm so your dancer can take part in the festivities (Games, face painting, horse rides). Please meet Kailena in the dance studio no later than 6:30pm. The show will begin at 6:45pm, with the first number being the preschool dancers. After each dance number performs, they will be brought back up to the dance studio as a class, where you can pick them up. 

Feel free to email me (kailena@gmail.com) if you have any questions!

If I do not see you this week, happy holidays, and I hope to see in the New Year!

End of October reminders!

Hello parents!

I cannot believe how fast October has gone by! 

Just a few reminders for the next week:

1) As mentioned in the brochure, all Dance classes are cancelled THIS Saturday, October 29th. This is because the ENTIRE Glebe Community Centre will be transformed into a festive Halloween Haven for all ages, so make sure to buy a ticket as soon as you can at the front desk! Doors will open at 4:30pm and our event will run until 7pm! 

2) There are no afterschool dance classes (4pm onwards) on Halloween. Have fun trick-or-treating!!!

3) GNAG Dancewear orders forms are now available! Deadline to order new GNAG sweatpants or a GNAG Dancebag will be no later than November 11th. Dancewear will be available for pick-up on December 9th. These are great gift ideas for upcoming birthdays and holidays!

If you have any questions, feel free to email me at Kailena@gmail.com

October News!

The leaves are changing colors and starting to fall, which means we are just about half-way through our dance session! Classes are running very well this session, we have a great group of dancers who are eagerly learning their fall dance recital routines each week!

I have included a lot of information below on upcoming events, so take a look and please reply if you can!

1) GNAG Fall Dance Recital - December 4th, 2011

2) Snowflake Special - December 11th, 2011

3) The Pulse On Tour - February 10th-12th, 2012

4) Other conventions and fundraising

5) Our blog and Facebook Page

1) GNAG Dance Recital - Sunday, December 4th, 2011 from 1-3p.m.

IF YOUR DANCER WILL NOT BE ATTENDING, PLEASE EMAIL ME ASAP! I am picking out costumes, therefore it would be great to have exact numbers.

• all dancers will perform a routine with their class
• dancers will be asked to provide parts of their costume for recital
• doors will open at 12 noon on Sunday. 
• no reserving of seats will be allowed. 
• we only have space for 400 seats, after that it is standing room only
• dancers will meet in full costume and be seated on the blue mats unless otherwise specified

2) Snowflake Special - Saturday, December 10th, 2011 from 6-9p.m.

• dancers will perform a large group number at this event
• all dancers will meet in the dance studio no later than 5:30 p.m.
• after performing, you can pick up your dancer for the evening in the dance studio

3) The Pulse On Tour - February 10th-12th, 2012 (for dancers ages 11 and up)

The PULSE On Tour is a powerful weekend dance event featuring the most renowned instructors and choreographers of our day. At The PULSE, dancers get the opportunity to learn from the most sought-after artists in the field. From dance reality TV shows such as So You Think You Can Dance and America's Best Dance Crew, to current stage productions, Broadway shows, and movies in theaters now, our faculty are the top in the business. 

The weekend at The PULSE includes: 

• PULSE classes all day Saturday and Sunday
• At least four PULSE faculty members each weekend  (Brian Freedman, Mia Michaels, Wade Robson, Tyce Diorio, Cris Judd)
• group photo with the faculty!
•  Q&A with the faculty
• More than $25,000 in scholarships awarded in each city
• Group discounts for studios and teams when you come with 10 or more
• A Coffee Chat for parents
• - Last year, we had 19 dancers attend, and again it was an incredible experience!

- If you are interested in registering, please email me ASAP! We have already quite a few dancers and parents signed up for February 2012, and we are only taking a limited number of dancers this year.

TUTITION:

$210 USD = $215CAN

TRANSPORTATION:

We will be travelling as a group, taking Via Rail right to downtown Toronto. We will get  priority seating on the train as well. Here are the costs of our 2011 train trip:

Adult ( 18 - 59 yrs ) $ 183.06

Student (12-17yrs or still in high school) $ 140.12 

Child (2-11yrs) $ 90.40

ACCOMMODATIONS:

Westin Harbour Castle

We will be booking a double room suite, and the rate will be $100 for the weekend. 

If you are a parent traveling with your daughter, and are interested in sharing a junior suite with another mom or dad/dancer combo, let me know!

4) Other conventions and fundraising

SUMMER INTENSIVE OPTIONS - THE PULSE NYC/VEGAS (for ages 11 and up) OR CDR SUMMER INTENSIVE (for ages 7 and up)

- The past two years I have attended The Pulse Summer Intensive in New York City, bringing dancers from GNAG as well. By far it has been the most amazing of all the dance conventions I have attended. 

If this is something that may interest you and your dancer(s), please email me and let me know as the earlier we plan this, the better! Las Vegas intensive is only 3 days July 6-8. New York City intensive is 4 days from July 12-15. 

- CDR also plans on having an intensive this summer in Toronto, depending on the dates we may consider taking down a summer group. Let me know by email if you would like to be informed on the dates of this convention as well!

Between December 2010 and June 2011, GNAG dancers raised around $5000 to go a dance Convention that was just recently held in Ottawa, We brought 60 keen dancers to an incredible weekend of dancing. By fundraising this much, we were able to reduce the tuition cost for the dancers and provide transportation to and from the convention centre.

- The fundraising was done almost entirely by our dancers, and we encouraged it to be their initiative instead of a parent-driven activity

- If you are interested in continuing the fundraising initiative from now until the next CDR, please email me to let me know, and I will include you and your dancer in the fundraising committee for 2011-2012

5) Our blog and Facebook Page

If you are on the web, you can follow GNAG Dance's blog at http://gnagdance.blogspot.com/ , or become a fan of our facebook page https://www.facebook.com/pages/GNAG-Dance/358565164282

Another successful Convention attended by GNAG Dance!!!

This past weekend, 61 dancers from GNAG Dance attended Coastal Dance Rage for the 4th year in a row! The first time we attended CDR was in Toronto, and only myself and Mariah participated. The following year, we took a group of 11 dancers to Montreal. In 2010, CDR came to Ottawa, and we had a group of 34 dancers. This year has been our largest group with 61 dancers ages 8 and up.


Choreographers this year included: Chloe (amazing tapper), Shannon Mather (lyrical), Jordan (the winner of SYTYCD Canada), Ian Eastwood (hip hop), Dee Caspery (Contemporary), Alex Wong (ballet), and Blake Mcgrath (jazz). Dancers took approximately 11 classes over the weekend in all styles.
At the end of the first day, there was a freestyle competition, in which GNAG had 15 dancers register for. They all were incredibly fabulous, and by the end of the competition, we had two move on to the finals on Sunday.
Not only did the dancers leave the convention with new dance skills and choreography, they left with inspiration to work harder in classes to reach a higher level of dance.
We had several dancers from GNAG receive overall awards for the weekend, which we are all so very proud of!
Below I have included information on our next GNAG Dance trips!

1) Fundraising for CDR in Ottawa 2012!-

 - Between December 2010 and June 2011, GNAG dancers raised around $5000. This is how we were able to reduce the tuition cost for the first 50 dancers to $100, and provide transportation to and from the convention centre.

- The fundraising was done almost entirely by our dancers, and we encouraged it to be their initiative instead of a parent-driven activity

- If you are interested in continuing the fundraising initiative from now until the next CDR, please email me to let me know, and I will include you and your dancer in the fundraising committee for 2011-2012

2) THE PULSE ON TOUR - TORONTO, FEBRUARY 11-12, 2012

- The next convention GNAG Dance will be attending is The Pulse On Tour in Toronto, Ontario February 11-12th, 2012

- ages to attend are 11 and up

- Last year, we had 19 dancers attend, and again it was an incredible experience!

- If you are interested in registering, please email me!

- Info on The Pulse On Tour:

TUTITION:

$210 USD = $215CAN (it fluctuates so much, so just to be safe...)

TRANSPORTATION:

We will be travelling as a group, taking Via Rail right to downtown Toronto. We will get  priority seating on the train as well. Here are the costs of our 2011 train trip:

Adult ( 18 - 59 yrs ) $ 183.06

Student (12-17yrs or still in high school) $ 140.12 

Child (2-11yrs) $ 90.40

ACCOMMODATIONS:

Westin Harbour Castle

We will be booking a double room suite, and the rate will be $100 for the weekend. If you are a parent traveling with your daughter, and are interested in sharing a junior suite with another mom or dad/dancer combo, let me know!

3) SUMMER INTENSIVE OPTIONS - THE PULSE NYC/VEGAS (11 and up) OR CDR SUMMER INTENSIVE IN TORONTO (7 and up)

- The past two years I have attended The Pulse Summer Intensive in New York City, bringing dancers from GNAG as well. By far it has been the most amazing of all the dance conventions I have attended. 

If this is something that may interest you and your dancer(s), please email me and let me know as the earlier we plan this, the better! Las Vegas intensive is only 3 days July 6-8. New York City intensive is 4 days from July 12-15. 

- CDR also plans on having an intensive this summer in Toronto, depending on the dates we may consider taking down a summer group. Let me know by email if you would like to be informed on the dates of this convention as well!

I am so proud of all of my dancers for representing GNAG Dance so well in each class- you were by far the hardest working ones there!!!

Thanks again!

Registration is now open for all GNAG programs!

It is always an exciting day for me - the night of registration for dance programs. I always find myself logging on and seeing how many spots are left in each class. Some parents are super eager and are the first ones online, while others take their time and don't realize programs can fill up in less than 5 minutes (this year it was hip hop 5-7).

I always need to remind myself that some dance classes will not fill up as quickly as I expect in fall sessions because parents are worried that it's just too much for their child to handle. Then in the winter session, we have a surge of enrollment. By spring, parents are begging for us to take their children off the wait list and into our programs.

It happens every single year without fail, so for parents who are concerned and on the fence about registration and are worried that it will be too much on their child's week to take an hour program (not just dance - of anything) -  it wont be. If anything, stimulating their minds with something other than school work is probably better for them!


If you take a look at our schedule closely, we do have lots of new dance classes for adults this session! If you know a university student or if you are a former dancer yourself, these classes are geared towards you - take a look at our new schedule online at www.gnag.ca . All levels are welcome, so if you have always wanted to take a dance class, here is your chance!

Registration begins tonight!!

Make sure to log on to our updated website http://www.gnag.ca to check out our new programs! Registration begins tonight at 9pm! Spots fill super quickly so make sure to log on right away!!

GNAG Dance registration is now open online for CDR in October! Ottawa 2011!!!

Dancers are parents!

Our fundraising efforts have paid off and it is time to register for our fall conventions! Coastal Dance Rage will be coming to Ottawa for the second time, and we are taking our studio!

To register you or your dancer online with GNAG Dance, just click HERE!

For the first 50 participants registered, tuition will be $100! (original cost is $190) WOW!