SOO Academy Newsletter
-
April 2020
Hello SDCA Family!
We miss all our dancers so much and we hope everyone is staying safe and healthy! With the extension of the shelter-in-place order, we will be postponing in-person classes for the month of April and will await more news to set a date to reopen the studio. We will make final announcements regarding the Spring Showcase/Don Quixote Performance as soon as we have more information from the Livermore venue. From our previous emails, you know that everyone’s Studio Director account has been “frozen”, meaning we have not proceeded with any charges since the enactment of the shelter-in-place order. This will continue to be the case, and we will not be collecting any tuition until we resume regular classes. This will be carried out automatically, no action is required on your end.
For those of you who have chosen to pay for tuition for the year or 5 months upfront; the tuition for the months that the studio is closed will be credited for future months of tuition.
In the meantime, we’d love to stay connected with you! We’ll be holding free live recreational classes through Zoom while the studios are closed, so we can stay connected with all of you! The classes will be geared toward intermediate-level students, but we’d love to see all our dancer’s faces even if it’s just to watch! You can join the Zoom meetings with or without video and audio. During classes, we ask that you mute your microphone (unless you have a question), so background noise isn’t an issue. Zoom meetings will be open to sign in 15 minutes before the designated start time.
Making a Zoom account is free and easy: https://support.zoom.us/
hc/en-us/articles/201362033- Getting-Started-on-Windows- and-Mac These are the fun classes we have planned (more to come!) available through the Zoom platform:
First Free Zoom Class : 4/9, Contemporary with Miss Tara 4:45-5:30 PM
More Dance classes with free Zoom class with Director Soo & All Soo Dance Instructors~!!
Each Zoom class has its own unique Meeting ID which we will send out as we set them up.
Along with our free Zoom live classes, we want to share with you the free online instruction that professional dancers and companies are releasing during this time. We will update you as more become available! Take advantage of these Free opportunities to learn from some of the world’s best!
Free online classes from Shawl Anderson Dance Center!!!
modern, ballet, jazz, yoga, and pilates classes; for all levels from new to dance – professional
https://www.shawl-anderson.
org/sadconline Please click the link to sign the SADC online participation waiver SADC Online Participation Waiver to be eligible for their online classes
On Instagram, search these dancers for IGTV follow-along dance videos and livestreams!
o Skylar Brandt, Soloist with American Ballet Theatre – IGTV videos @skylarbrandt
o Isabella Boylston (@isabellaboylston) & James Whiteside (@jamesbwhiteside), Principals at American Ballet Theatre – Joint Instagram livestreams Mondays/Wednesdays/Fridays, 11 AM PST
o BalletX (@balletx.
official) – Livestream classes on Instagram: Schedule available at https://www.balletx.org/ live-stream-dance-class- schedule/ o Pennsylvania Ballet (@paballet) – Company member-led livestreams every day at 8 AM PST
Look out for more as we update the list!
We miss everyone so much and hope to see you on Zoom! Keep dancing!
Best Regards,
Director, Soo
-
March 2020
Hello again SDCA Families,
We’ve been monitoring San Ramon Valley Unified School District’s reaction to COVID-19 and have decided for the safety of our students to close the studio Sunday March 15th through Sunday, March 29th.
During this time; all instruction will continue through Dropbox online videos with password that your instructor will upload every week for your dancer to view at home! Classes will be ~45 minutes in length consisting of a warm up, barre (for ballet students), center work/across the floor, and a short choreographed combination for you dancer to learn.
Videos reviewing choreography for our 5/16 Don Quixote Ballet and Spring Showcase will also be uploaded for your student to practice along with. Choreography for the show should be reviewed 3 times per week to prepare for the resumption of classes. These videos will be uploaded throughout this next week, beginning tomorrow Monday the 16th.
Dancers who were cast in soloist roles in our 5/16 Don Quixote performance will have the option to arrange semi-privates with Soo during the studio closure. These semi-privates will be capped at 5 students per session, with the expectation of 2-3 students per session, to minimize interaction, foot traffic and any possible risk. These semi-privates are not mandatory, but an option available to you and your dancer to continue preparing for their performance.
We understand the complexity of the evolving situation around COVID-19 and want to thank you for your patience while we coordinated with our instructors and made appropriate arrangements with regard to its effect on our community.
Please reach out to Artistic Director Soo Park for further support or concerns at soodance225@gmail.com
-
Feburary 2020
Important dates
– January 6th : First day of Spring classes!
– January 20th : Martin Luther King Holiday– No Class
– January 25th : Don Quixote Audition (Ballet Level 3,4,5 & Teen only) at 2:00- 3:30pm in Blackhawk Studio
– January 25th : Soo Dance Competition Team Showcase at 3:30-5:30 in Blackhawk Studio
– February 10th : Spring Show Participation Forms FINAL DUE!
– February 17th : President’s Day Holiday- No Classes
– April 6th – 12th : Spring Break- No Classes
– May 16th : Spring Showcase & Don Quixote
– May 25th : Memorial Day Holiday- No Classes
– May 29th : Last Day of School
Hello SDC/A Students & Families!
We wanted to extend our thanks to everyone who joined us today at our audition for Don Quixote! We are so proud to have so many talented dancers at our studio! The official cast list is attached below. We want to stress that every role is important to the storyline of this Ballet, and if your dancer was not selected for an individual role this year, we’re so excited for their participation in their level’s group dance!
Please note that two sets of dancers are listed for roles that will be divided into two groups; Group A 1pm show & Group B 5pm Show. This applies to all roles with the exception of Don Quixote, Basilio, and Gamache.
Congratulations to all our dancers on a very impressive audition!