Back to School

Welcome back to a new year at the Vacani (Clapham) School of Dance. We hope you all had a wonderful summer, and extend a particularly warm greeting to our new students and their parents. An exciting diary of ballet events for children is listed overleaf, which we trust you will find of interest.

Exams and beyond

We have scheduled an exam date for October. The ISTD haven’t yet confirmed the date but when they do we will let you know this as soon as possible.

This year, however, we hope to alter our focus: in addition to working on the exam syllabuses, we hope to teach more “free work”, consisting of choreographic development and the learning of new dance skills that go beyond the requirements of the syllabus.

Changes to Timetable

Thursday – Standard 4

Mrs Loftie’s Standard 4 class on Thursday (6.15pm – 7.15pm) will remain a Standard 4 class until October, when the older girls will take their examination. For the second half of term this class will become a Standard 5 class. Pupils in this class who have not taken their Standard 4 exam will need to move to a Wednesday class taught by Miss Angelina (7pm-7.45pm). Those who can’t change time have the option of skipping the Standard 4 exam and moving straight on to Standard 5.

Monday – Grade 5 tap and modern

Miss Finn’s Grade 5 tap and modern class on Monday, which previously started at 7.15pm, will move to 6.30pm. The length of the class will extend to 1hr 15min and Miss Finn will not only be teaching the Grade 5 syllabus but will now also work on expanding the movement vocabulary of pupils and developing their choreographic skills. Due to the new length of the class we have added 40p to the fee required.

Wednesday - Standard 3

Miss Angelina has decided that the class for Standard 3 pupils shall start at 6.15pm, instead of 7pm. However, this class will not include students taking their exam in October, so a separate class shall run for these pupils at 7pm. After October, this 7pm class shall become a Standard 4 class.

Invoices and Fee Payment

Thank you to all of the parents who pay their fees on time (before the start of term). Vacani has to cover costs including hall fees, teachers and pianist fees which are payable in advance, and your prompt payment is vital. As I am sure you will appreciate, chasing payments takes up bookkeeping time and costs. Miss Angelina does not want to introduce a surcharge for late payment, but it may soon become necessary. Please ensure, therefore, that payment is made promptly this time around. 

Uniforms

As of January 2008 the Vacani School uses On Pointe in East Sheen to supply uniforms. From September we expect all children to be wearing the correct uniform, details of which can be found on our website, www.vacani.com.

On Pointe Ltd. East Sheen, London, SW14 8QS – Telephone : 0208 876 0300

Lisa Edwards, the owner of On Pointe, has extensive knowledge about the ballet industry and is an expert at shoe fitting and finding the right shoe for different shaped feet. 

Please note that often uniforms have to be ordered and this can take up to three weeks.