AUDITIONS SAT July 18th

Want to join dance team? We would love to see your audition! Please click the link below to RSVP and then come join us on Sat July 18th. Students will be contacted within two days with any offers for team placements and then you will have a week to decide. After that orientation will take place on Aug 1st and classes will start Aug 3rd.

NOTIFICATIONS ABOUT PLACEMENT POST AUDITIONS

  • You will find out the your team placement on Monday July 20th at 11am through primary contacts email. 

  • You have until July 25th to commit to your team by submitting a $200 deposit and signed contract. (If you need more time that's ok! Just email Miss Gemma)


What is Dance Team?

Starlight Dance Team is a select group of dedicated dancers chosen to represent the studio at competitions and local performances. Designed for students eager to deepen their training, the program helps dancers grow at a pre-professional level through focused instruction in technique, artistry, and performance quality.

Through an audition-based placement process, dancers are grouped into age- and level-appropriate teams that reflect their training and experience. Team members benefit from enhanced instruction, multiple weekly classes, and dedicated rehearsal time, all designed to help them reach their full potential.

Beyond training, Dance Team offers exciting opportunities to perform and compete throughout the year. Dancers proudly represent Starlight as confident, positive role models while becoming part of a welcoming and supportive community of fellow dancers, families, and faculty. Becoming a better dancer is only a fraction of what our team members gain from being a part of Dance Team.  This is a safe, welcoming environment, where our dancers will build a community with one another and develop lifelong friendships.  Dancers learn discipline and focus, build strong bodies, self confidence, positive body images and a healthy relationship with themselves. 

The program also includes our dynamic Solo/Duo/Trio Program and new Performance Team, creating even more opportunities for dancers to grow and showcase their talents. Placement is by audition only and determined by our directors. We look forward to another inspiring and high-energy season with our Dance Team. We pride ourselves on transparent, up-front pricing and clear, well communicated dates so you can plan your family’s schedule with confidence.


THE IMPORTANT DETAILS

  • The following are the teams we intend to run for the 2026-2027 school year. These may change slightly after auditions this year. All placements are determined by the coaches after auditions. Decisions are final, however, student interest in teams will be taken into consideration when making decisions.‍ ‍

    Age 4 to 6 (Beginner) **Only attends 2 competitions

    • Beginner Hip-Hop/Jazz team ~ Miss Gemma and Miss Bailey

    Age 7 to 11 (Novice) **Attends all 4 competitions

    • Tap team ~ Miss Alina

    • Hip-Hop team~ Miss Gemma

    • Open/Folkloric team ~ Miss Gemma

    Age 12 & up (Intermediate) **Attends all 4 competitions

    • Tap team ~ Miss Alina

    • Jazz team ~ Miss Alina

    Mixed Ages (Intermediate/Advanced) **Attends all 4 competitions and may be eligible to attend Nationals

    • Jazz team (age 13 & up) ~ Miss Gemma

    • Hip-Hop team (age 12 & up) ~ Miss Gemma

    • Modern/Contemporary team (age 13 & up) ~ Miss Gemma

    • Acro/Lyrical team (age 10 & up) ~ Miss Alina    

    • NEW THIS YEAR: Performance Team (all ages and levels) *Any student accepted onto any team may opt to add this as an additional team. Note, the performance team will do all the same competitions as the other teams plus several more performance opportunities.‍ ‍

  • We know that predicting the expenses of an activity like dance team can be confusing and overwhelming for families so we have tried to break it down into 3 easy, all-inclusive steps.

    Step 1: $200 Deposit per team

    Due upon commitment to the team

    This is fully refunded at the end of the year upon completion of the team contract or you can choose to redirect it as a scholarship for students in need.

    Step 2: Competition Flat Fee of $999 Per Team (note the 4-6 year old beginning team is lower ($799) because they only attend 2 comps.

    Due over the summer (can be paid in full or broken into installments)

    This includes competition entry fees to all 4 competitions (2 for our youngest team), your costumes, and your media fees, professional photography of your student in their group routine costume for team photo day, plus covers the cost of staff attending the competition and the admin hours that go into booking the competition.‍ ‍

    Step 3: Tuition Fee of $199 Per Month Per Team

    Due once per month as a subscription payment from August - June

    This includes tuition for your team rehearsal and the required technique class, Friday Fun Days, Warriors Training Days, and all recital/photo fees required for any routines you are in for recital because of dance team or dance team required classes.

    The following is not included in the fees above and are the responsibility of the student’s family:

    • REQUIRED: Dance Team Jacket ($100) and Dance Team Custom Jersey ($80)

    • REQUIRED: Tights, hair products, makeup, dance shoes, any accessories or props needed for your team.

    • OPTIONAL: Recital fees (if you choose to be in additional recreational classes that perform in recital.

    • OPTIONAL: Group outings after Friday Fun Day (movie tickets, potlucks etc)

    • OTHER: Students MAY be asked to provide their own basics for some events such as plain black pants, shorts, leggings, tank tops, white shirts etc.

    • OTHER: In order to attend the Warriors Game, there is a required number of tickets we need to sell, it may be as high as 10 - 15 tickets per student.

    • INT/ADV TEAMS ONLY: All fees associated with Nationals in June for our most advanced teams. This info will be released ASAP but we anticipate it will be in the $450 range.

    *Note: we build and budget our program with the knowledge of the number of students accepted on each team and anticipation of those fees throughout the year. A student that withdraws throughout the year for any reason is still responsible for making all payments through the end of the contract period.

  • If accepted onto a team you are committing to the following weekly commitment per team August - June: (rehearsal calendar and dates for Friday Fun Days coming soon)

    • 1 Team Rehearsal per week (included in your tuition)

    • The 2 - 3 technique and training classes required for that team (included in your tuition) See “Required and Additional Classes” below for details.

    • 5 Friday Fun Days (we will schedule 7 but understand if you need to miss up to 2) *These are full run throughs of all your comp routines as a team, performed for invited staff and parents and used to build performance skills, teamwork and receive feedback. Afterwards all team members will be invited to join on team bonding activities such as movies, outings, parties, etc.

    We do not call any classes or rehearsals on federal holidays and we take 1-2 week breaks for Thanksgiving, Winter Break and Spring Break.

  • Each week a dancer will be required to attend the following: 

      • Their Team Rehearsal (this is where your dancer will learn and refine their dance routine with their teammates) 

        • *Included in tuition

      • The Corresponding Technique Class (This is where your dancer trains the technique needed for their team, for example, a student on the Intermediate Tap Team would be required to attend an Intermediate Tap Technique class.  This is like the regular classes you have probably taken before however, since they are solely focused on technique and training, the dancers will advance faster and will not spend time working on recital performance pieces etc) 

        • *Included in tuition

      • Ballet Technique Class (This is a fundamental building block of making stronger dancers. 

        • Free to all Dance Team Students.  (Required) 

      • Strength and Conditioning (Strong, healthy bodies are the cornerstone of great dancers.  

        • Free to all Dance Team Students.  (Required for all except our youngest team) 

    Want to try something else? Please do! Just because you aren’t on tap team doesn’t mean you can’t take a tap class! Sign up for as many additional technique and/or recreational classes as you want! All dance team members get 50% of all additional classes!  

    Does your sibling or parent want to try a class? We’ll give them 50% of all additional technique and/or recreational classes too!  

    • We are constantly working to improve and trying to listen to our community to do so.  Here are a few of the changes/additions we have made this year that we are excited about. 

      • Later call times : Our plan is to to set your call time to arrive for comps when you are needed (usually 2-3 hours before your scheduled routine time since comps often run VERY ahead of schedule), not hours and hours before.  

      • Schedules for comp released earlier : No one will be gatekeeping competition schedules from you, when we get them you will get them. 

      • Simple more racially inclusive hairstyle and makeups : We want to celebrate all the members of our team and their beautiful diverse hair, bodies, and skin tones.  We also want to make your lives easier, so we will be simplifying the hairstyles and makeup color requirements as well as making more body conscious choices with costumes.  

      • No more uniforms, just a dress code and two simple items: Instead of uniforms, dancers will be asked to wear all black.  When we need to match for events such as comp or the Warriors Game, they will be asked to wear their Starlight Jacket and the Jersey Top that our dancers have requested instead of a shirt this next year.  

      • Costumes come sooner : We are still working on the best way to accommodate streamlining sizes and returns but we promise you will get your costumes MUCH earlier this year.  As well as all communications about shoes, base layers etc.  

      • Appropriate Costumes, Lyrics, Songs and Themes: Chelsea will personally promise to oversee and approve every costume, lyric, song choice and dance theme before it is given to the students.  All routines will always be clean and age appropriate pieces you can feel confident showing to grandparents and young siblings.  This does not mean older students will never have the freedom to explore mature subjects, but it will be done tastefully and within reason.  We believe in allowing children to be children.  

      • Feedback from judges goes directly to parents : Moving forward, whenever possible, we will provide you with the feedback directly and swiftly so you can learn from the judge’s critiques and immediately begin to implement that knowledge. 

      • Photos available to parents as immediately as possible : Gemma has taken over the access to photos and will make sure to release them to you as quickly as possible so you can post them! 

      • Partnerships with other studios: We want to develop relationships with 1-2 other studios to be our friends to root for and support and maybe even collaborate with at some events.  Focusing on positivity and kindness and fostering better relationships in the dance world.  

      • Showstopper is on theatre We will definitely be continuing showstopper! But we will move it back under the theatre umbrella with auditions alongside JT, Teen, etc.  Showstopper will perform at MTCA and one comp exactly like Teen Comp and Jr Comp Do. We will return to the model from years past of showstopper only having a few long rehearsals instead of a weekly commitment.  These rehearsals will be scheduled over holidays like Christmas Break and Thanksgiving Break.   PLUS, new this year: we will also bring showstopper to some outside performance events TBA like Kidfest or a farmers market.  Details TBA later.  

      • Galaxy is no longer a required team in fact its completely restructured -> Performance Team Per your request we are making changes to Galaxy.  It will  be called “Performance Team” and here’s how it will work.  

        • Anyone accepted onto ANY dance team can CHOOSE to also be on this team too, no dance team member turned away, simply register for this team in addition to the others when you sign up. 

        • This team, just like every other team, will have a regular weekly rehearsal and will go to all comps

        • In ADDITION this team will have a lot more performance opportunities at events and Farmer’s markets at no extra cost to your family for the extra events.  

      • Separate photo day for dance teams vs recital : Photo days are long! Let’s break it up.  We will do Dance Team’s photo days WAY earlier so you get photos sooner and so we spread it out.  

      • Better communication : You’ve already seen this from Gemma.  We are committed to improving our communication, from group chats to Monday Memos and more.  We are working on getting clear and consistent information to you.  

      • No more schedule changes: We will not ask you to rehearse on holidays (except maybe for the Warriors Rehearsal) and we will not keep changing the schedule on you. You will know the planned schedule at Orientation at the beginning of the year and it will stay that way (barring an unforeseen emergency) 

      • Age and level based team structure We want our teams to improve this year. We are going to buckle down on strengthening our dancers and this starts with breaking us up into appropriately leveled groups.  Beginner dancers with beginners, advanced with advanced and on teams with kids your own age.  This will create a structure that means no one could be on more than 4-5 teams max (including Performance Team)  

      • Required classes = Focus on Technique

        • Each team will have required classes included in their tuition costs.  

        • These classes will focus on technique that is appropriate to that team’s level.  

        • It will be open to other students to join but focused on the skill level of the team.  

        • These classes will not perform in recital and will not include any additional recital fees

      • Extra Classes are discounted (even for siblings and parents) 

        • Want to take other styles? Be in recital in Rec classes? Have fun? GREAT! 

        • Dance team kids (and their siblings and their parents) will get a 50% discount for other dance classes

      • Feedback forms at the end of every year 

        • We are excited to introduce something new in our commitment to really helping our dancers improve: Feedback Forms

        • Each year at the end of the year (starting this year that we are still in) the students will each receive a feedback form from the staff, detailing and tracking from year to year how that student has grown and improved, what we are proud of them for and what specific technical goals we want to help them set for next year to improve.  

      • Looking for a fundraising manager to take on the lead in fundraising

        • You want fundraising, so do we! Some parents want help offsetting these costs.  Let’s do it! We are looking for someone who can jump in and take the lead on helping fundraise! 

      • Transparent, simplified pricing. No more complicated math. 

        • We have tried and learned from a lot of pricing models, it sounds like what you want is simple, clear models. So that’s what we will do.  

        • Pricing has been simplified to a flat comp fee per team + a flat tuition fee per team

      • Friday Fun Days

        • We will not hold team rehearsals on Fridays but we got amazing responses about the rehearsal we did with the whole team performing for each other and getting feedback. We will schedule 5-6 of these Friday fun days (you will know the dates before the year starts) for team bonding and improvement and presenting routines before each big event followed by fun activities, movies, outings, potlucks etc for team bonding.   

      • Warriors Game and More!

      • We want to take you to do fun things! We are working to book the warriors game and hopefully even a workshop with the Warriors dancers.  We also want to see if we can do something like the Turkey Trot in Concord this year plus several fairs, festivals and markets. 

  • We believe that performing a solo, duo or trio at a competition is a valuable learning experience for all dancers at all levels. For that reason, unlike other studios, we do not gatekeep the privilege to do one, instead a team member needs only to purchase a solo/duo/trio package to be allowed to do one. However, we recognize how large of an undertaking it can be and for that reason we DO require that you have been on a competitive dance team for at least a year first. (*incoming students with prior dance team experience elsewhere may count that). We will still reserve the right to decide music, themes, costumes, pairings etc but your input is WANTED and WELCOME 

    • If you have already completed 1 year on a competitive dance team then you can do 1 solo/duo/trio total

    • If you have already completed 2 years on a competitive dance team then you can do 2 solo/duo/trios total

    • If you have already completed 3 years on a competitive dance team then you can do 3 solo/duo/trios total

    • HOW THE PACKAGE WORKS

      • 1 package includes the entry fees for all 4 comps and 4x1hr lessons to set the choreo with your choreographer (costumes purchased separately)

      • After that you are encouraged to book privates with MULTIPLE coaches and required to work at least once before competing with one who is not your choreographer. Your choreographer will be credited for their work but the solo etc is an evolving piece of art the studio as a whole will help you improve. The staff as a team want to help you grow and to lend a variety of skills to your training and development.  Coaching sessions as well as workshops will be posted long in advance with clear reservation systems.  Package links will be posted soon.

    • PRICING (per dancer)

      • Solo: $1590

      • Duo: $827

      • Trio: $712

      • Includes entry fees for all 4 comps, 1hr of staff pay per comp, photo package, admin time to register your routine, 4 hours of private lessons to set choreo, pick costumes and music, room rental fee for 4 hours.

      • Does not include costumes

      • Additional private lessons purchased separately


ALL THE DATES: PERFormances and events

We believe in transparency, we work hard to plan our calendars a year in advance and once we provide you with a date we do not intend for it to change. Please respect our schedules as much as we respect yours and only audition if you can commit to the required dates. None of these dates will ever conflict with a Starlight Theatre Co event.

Dance team members are required to attend all of the following events unless otherwise noted:

  • Auditions Round 2! Sat July 18th

    • 4-6 years audition 10 - 10:30, check in at 9:45

    • 7 and up audition 10:30 - 12:00, check in at 10:15

    • 7 and up TAP auditions 12pm to 12:30pm, check in at 11:45am

      • ** Auditioners are welcome to stay and attend the orientation after.

  • Team OrientationSat July 18th 1:30pm - 3pm (Mandatory for dancer AND a parent)

    • For those who auditioned and were cast in the May Auditions

  • New Student Team Orientation Aug 1st 1:30pm - 3pm (Mandatory for dancer AND a parent)

    • For any who auditioned and were cast in July 18 Auditions

  • Holiday Cabaret (Dress rehearsal Dec 4th and Performance Dec 5th) Times TBA please keep the day available

  • Dance Team Photo Day Sat Jan 23rd all day

  • COMPETITION #1 : Spotlight Dance Cup San Jose Feb 19 - 21 SAN MATEO PERFORMING ARTS CENTER Times TBA please keep the entire weekend available

  • COMPETITION #2 : Energy Dance Competition Dublin Mar 5 - 7 Times TBA please keep the entire weekend available

  • COMPETITION #3 : IDX Competitions and Convention Santa Clara April 23 - 25 Times TBA please keep the entire weekend available

  • RECITAL PHOTO DAY May 1

  • RECITAL (Dress rehearsal June 4th and Performance June 5th)

  • COMPETITION #4 : Starbound Dance Competition Sacramento June 11 - 13 Times TBA please keep the entire weekend available

  • NATIONALS: Advanced teams only (Involves an additional fee) : Starbound Nationals Lake Tahoe July 16 - 22 Times and specific days within this date range TBA please keep the full span of dates available and we will let you know as soon as we have more details but it will only be a few days within this window.

  • ADDITIONAL PERFORMANCES COMING SOON TO INCLUDE: A Warriors Game Halftime Show, potentially Turkey Trot, and several Farmers Market and Fair/Carnival events.

  • Every family is asked to volunteer to help run 1 of our events throughout the year, this can include managing a table or running concessions etc at a fair, farmers market, carnival, or performance or helping backstage for a competition or performance.


Planned dance team schedule starting this fall

Note: this is the schedule we are planning. We may make some small changes between now and August 1st but you can plan that alll of these times are within 15 minutes of there set in stone times. We will add more conditioning class choices.


Breakdown of what classes are required for each team

Dance team students do not need to enroll in their technique classes, you will be automatically added. If there’s more than one possibility or we need to make an exception for theatre, check in with us and we will take care of you.

Please note, more conditioning classes will be added to this schedule later. Don’t panic if you can’t make either of these.


Pay here!

Already made the team? Congratulations! Click below to take care of your registrations.

Step 1: Dance Team 26-27 Deposit $200 per team
$200.00

Step 1: $200 Deposit per team

Due upon commitment to the team

This is fully refunded at the end of the year upon completion of the team contract or you can choose to redirect it as a scholarship for students in need. Deposit is forfeited if student quits the team early, misses a competition or performance or otherwise fails to fulfill their team contract and commitment.

Step 2: Dance Team 26-27 Competition Fees All at Once
from $799.00

Step 2: Competition Flat Fee of $999 Per Team

(note the 4-6 year old beginning team is lower ($799) because they only attend 2 comps.

This includes competition entry fees to all 4 competitions (2 for our youngest team), your costumes, and your media fees for 3 of the competitions, professional photography of your student in their group routine costume for team photo day, plus covers the cost of staff attending the competition and the admin hours that go into booking the competition.‍ ‍

**LATE FEE +$100 per month TO ORIGINAL PRICE if payments are not completed by Aug 1st**

Step 2: Dance Team 26-27 Competition Fees 3 Installments (May/June/July)
from $286.00 every month for 3 months

Step 2: Competition Flat Fee of $999 Per Team

(note the 4-6 year old beginning team is lower ($799) because they only attend 2 comps.

Broken into three installments of $333 + $20 processing Fee (Big Kids) or $266 + $20 processing Fee (Littles)

This includes competition entry fees to all 4 competitions (2 for our youngest team), your costumes, and your media fees for 3 of the competitions, professional photography of your student in their group routine costume for team photo day, plus covers the cost of staff attending the competition and the admin hours that go into booking the competition.‍ ‍

**LATE FEE +$100 per month TO ORIGINAL PRICE if payments are not completed by Aug 1st**

Step 3: Dance Team 26-27 Monthly Tuition
$199.00 every month for 11 months

Step 3: Tuition Fee of $199 Per Month Per Team

Due once per month as a subscription payment from August - June

This includes tuition for your team rehearsal and the required technique class, Friday Fun Days, Warriors Training Days, and all recital/photo fees required for any routines you are in for recital because of dance team or dance team required classes. (Does not include recital fees for any other rec classes you choose to add)

Note: by registering for this tuition you are committing to the full school year of payments even if your student chooses to withdraw for any reason. Parent acknowledged that budgeting for the full class was determined by the number of students anticipated in the class for the year and by making the entire school year’s payments you are providing your alotted piece of that budget that allows our business to continue to function. There are no prorates offered for months with less occurrences as the tuition is a balance of the full cost of the year divided over the months evenly.

**LATE FEE +$100 per month TO ORIGINAL PRICE if first payments is not completed by Aug 15th or if any payments are cancelled and not immediately re-enrolled within five days**


Order your jackets and jerseys now

Items will be delivered to studio a little ways into the school year

Dance Team 26 - 27 Team Jacket (required if you don't already have one)
from $100.00

All competing students are required to have and wear a team jacket to all competitions.

Please note, dance team and theatre teams all wear the same jacket and it is the same as last year so you do not need to buy a new one if you already have one.

JT is not required to have a jacket but you are welcome to.

All jacket orders will be delivered to students before the first competition

Dance Team 26 - 27 Custom Jersey (Required)
from $80.00

All Dance Team Students will need a jersey top. We will not have full uniforms this year but you will need these for multiple performances throughout the year, including the Warriors Game.

Dance Team 26 - 27 Custom Jersey DANCE MOM / DANCE DAD Version
from $80.00

Parents are welcome to join in on the fun! Show your Starlight Pride with your own custom jersey!



STARLIGHT POLICIES

  • Dance Team is the ultimate team activity. It is so important that everyone is at all their rehearsals. It is impossible to adequately rehearse choreography when a dancer is missing. Please list ALL known absences and conflicts on the conflict sheet. All conflicts must be turned in BY orientation to be considered excused. No new conflicts will be accepted.‍ ‍Please take the time to check all scheduled sports, school conflicts, family activities, etc. when listing your conflicts.

    HOW TO REPORT AN ABSENCE

    • ALL absences, whether excused or not, must be reported in the conflict sheet through our website EVEN IF you told the teacher in person or through other means. If it is not reported on the sheet BEFORE the class or rehearsal starts, you will be removed from the material addressed in class at that time, even if the absence would have been excused.

    EXCUSED ABSENCES

    • Anything (up to 3) that is turned in on the conflict sheet by Orientation

    • Medical Emergency or severe illness reported at least an hour before class starts. Severe illness is considered to be when a dancer is actively vomiting or has a fever at or above 101.4 degrees. **MUST HAVE DOCTOR’S NOTE. Photos of thermometers with random temperatures will not be accepted as proof of sickness, and will result in the absence being unexcused.**

    • Family Emergency reported at least an hour before class starts (Requires a phone call from parent to teacher and detailed information)

    • Unavoidable School Conflict that will impact your grade (requires a letter from the teacher on school letterhead that details the time and day of the conflict, the fact that missing it will hurt the student’s grade and the date the student was informed of this conflict. Note that the date must show that student alerted Starlight teacher of the conflict as soon as possible. (We simply do not believe that you found out two days before your Christmas concert that you had a Christmas concert and the teacher won’t let you miss it.)

    UNEXCUSED ABSENCES

    • Everything in excess of 3 excused absences

    • Non-emergency Doctors/Dentists/Orthodontist appointments (please schedule them on a different day)

    • Spontaneous family vacations or dinners (please schedule them in advance)

      • Any student with more than 3 Late/Unexcused absences may be benched from performances or competitions and understudies assigned to your role.

    • If you were throwing up / had a high fever (above 101.4 degrees) in the last 24 hours, DO NOT COME TO CLASS. If you are able, find a friend to facetime you in. Otherwise, you may still be asked to do an alternative assignment as a makeup for the missed material.

    NEVER ACCEPTED

    • Any absence in the 7 days before a competition or performance (these are mandatory, no exceptions)

    • Any absence during a competition or performance

    REPERCUSSIONS

    • After 1 unexcused absence, your dancer may be moved to the back of the formation for that section of choreography, or removed entirely from the formation for the section of choreography that was rehearsed on the date they were absent.

    • After 2 unexcused absences, your child will be removed from any routines that rehearsed on the day they missed and a parent/student/teacher meeting will be scheduled to discuss the unexcused absences.

    • After 3 unexcused absences, your dancer will be removed from Starlight Dance Team.

      WE ARE NO LONGER MAKING EXCEPTIONS IN THIS AREA. PLEASE GIVE OUR TIME AND YOUR TEAMMATE’S TIME THE SAME LEVEL OF RESPECT WE GIVE YOU. FAILURE TO DO SO WILL RESULT IN YOUR REMOVAL FROM TEAM FOR THE 25-26 SEASON, WITH CAREFUL CONSIDERATION OF CASTING IN THE FOLLOWING SEASON, SHOULD YOU CHOOSE TO AUDITION.

    OUR MUTUAL RESPECT AND UNDERSTANDING

    • We are imperfect, and we understand that you are too. We will work with you and we do not punish or hold to strict rules for fun. Respect our time, communicate early and often and we will do our best to help and understand. We understand that unavoidable things will come up and we will try to make them work when you come to us early. But please, treat us with respect and treat the program like the serious, pre-professional program that it is. Do not wait until the last minute to communicate a conflict you have known about for ages, do not lie about conflicts or schedule other events or trips during our rehearsals. They are precious to us.

    MAKING UP FOR MISSED MATERIAL

    Regardless of excused or not, if you miss a rehearsal it is your responsibility to reach out to your peers and learn the missed material BEFORE the next rehearsal. A dancer’s eligibility to continue in certain sections of a routine, or even dance with their team at all, is impacted by how they respond to their own absences. Failure to learn missed material could result in a dancer being pulled from the section of choreography that they missed, or being benched entirely from upcoming performances and competitions. If you know in advance that you will be out of town, reach out to a peer and make sure they record the material for you. Please do your best to attend rehearsals when you don’t feel well or when you don’t feel like dancing; if you are not actively vomiting or have a high grade fever, you are needed in rehearsal. Wear a mask or take other measures if you feel uncomfortable or uncertain about your sickness status, but do not make your team suffer because you “didn’t feel like it today”.

  • If a medical, emotional or psychological emergency  of any kind occurs in the 90 minutes before a performance is scheduled to start (meaning if at any point, however briefly, during said 90 minutes, that performer is incapacitated or would have been incapable of executing their role onstage) then the following will occur. 

    • Regardless of whether the performer deems themselves ready by the time the show is scheduled to start, the performer WILL NOT be allowed to perform in that performance. 

    • The performer may rejoin the cast for (if some remain) any remaining performances in the run of the show if they are in good health. 

    • For all performances, there will be one staff member designated to be the “Emergency Lead” during any such an event. That Emergency Lead shall have the ONLY and FINAL say over a performer’s eligibility to perform and cannot be overruled by staff, performers or parents. 

    • The Emergency lead may choose to make a reasonable exception to the rule ONLY if the student is absolutely 100% fully recovered and a medical or mental health professional unrelated to the performer has assessed the performer and given approval. 

    • If an understudy is available or accommodations can be made to allow the performance to continue without the performer then all best attempts will be made to do so, but in the event that the performer is irreplaceable, it is Starlight’s firm policy that the health and safety of our performers is more important than any performance and we will cancel a performance if necessary. 

    • If a student/performer has a known condition that may interfere with their ability to perform, Starlight invites them to develop a plan in collaboration with staff in advance of any performance or event and that any accommodations or plans negotiated in advance and approved by the studio owner will be shared with staff and the emergency lead and may supersede this policy. 

  • Starlight is, above all, a SAFE PLACE and we take any violations of that safety very seriously. We do not tolerate bullying, violence, cruelty or slander of our students, staff, community or studio.

    UNACCEPTABLE BEHAVIORS

    • Physical violence or agression - pushing, poking, kicking, hitting, biting, pinching etc.

    • Verbal abuse - name calling, sarcasm, spreading rumors, threats, teasing, belittling.

    • Emotional abuse- isolating others, tormenting, threatening gestures, ridicule, humiliation, intimidating, excluding, manipulation and coercion, homophobic comments

    • Sexual abuse- unwanted physical contact, inappropriate touching, abusive comments, exposure to inappropriate content

    • Online /cyber bullying - posting cruel things on social media, sharing photos, sending nasty text messages

    • Vandalism/Theft/Intentionally damaging property

    • Slander - sharing information whether online, text, social media or in person that is intentionally cruel or damaging to others or the studio.

    REPERCUSSIONS

    • First offense:

      • Student is spoken to by teacher and asked to sit out.

      • Parent is informed, a formal note is sent home and must be returned, signed by student and a parent before participating again. Note includes clear explanation of what happened and requires student to write out their version and exactly what they promise to do moving forward 

    • Second offense

      • Student is spoken to by teacher and asked to sit out.

      • Parent is informed, a formal note is sent home and must be returned, signed by student and a parent before participating again. Note includes clear explanation of what happened and requires student to write out their version and exactly what they promise to do moving forward 

      • Student must write an essay about what Starlight community means to that student, why their behavior is a violation to everyone in the community and how it impacts the others in their. community. Essay may be required to be read in front of the class

      • Parent is called to come in to speak to the teacher and studio owner to discuss the behavior in person.

    • Third offense:

      • Student is benched from performing at next event (but still required to attend, in uniform)

    • Fourth offense:

      • Student is dismissed from company and ineligible to return


      ***At Teachers/Dance Director’s/Studio Owner’s discretion depending on the severity of the offense, several of these steps may be skipped. NOTE: ANY behavior involving weapons, serious bodily harm or sexually exploitative behavior/touching will result in immediate expulsion.