MDU Family Chat #2 Recital Reimagined, Summer & Fall Info

Dear MDU Families,

All, thank you for your patience. I thought I could get this out yesterday, but Isabella's ACL repair surgery was rescheduled at UW-Madison Hospital yesterday! We are very thankful as it was canceled because of the quarantine. The surgery went great and she will be coming home today <3.

Parents, we thank you SO much for your support over the past weeks as we transitioned to distance learning and dancing safer at home. Together we have done perhaps some of the most important work of this season - that of providing kids an anchor to the familiarity and comfort of their friends, peers, and teachers during a very difficult time. And, yes we did some dancing! We even did some GREAT dancing! But, this season - more than any other season - we have truly embodied what it means to be MORE than just great dancing.

Now, it goes without saying that when we chose our theme for Recital of "Vision 2020" that finishing the last 8 weeks of our season at home was not what we envisioned. It's not what any of us envisioned. But, as I share the following plans to finish our 22nd season strong and prepare for the future, I am at peace with the care we have taken and the decisions we have made. At all times, and in all ways, we have gone above and beyond to provide love and life for our teachers, our students, and our families and will continue to do so as we move forward.

Our plans for Recital, Summer, Fall & More are described in this 20-minute video presentation and outlined below.

Watch Video

Coming Back Together:

We take the safety of our kids and families and our responsibility to our staff and the community seriously.

Any considerations to move towards face-to-face service is being done with the utmost care and consultation of our local leaders and authorities.

Recital Reimagined:

We will be offering two opportunities for families to reimagine recital and to showcase the accomplishments of our ALL of our students. Learn more at our Recital Page.

Costumes

If you have not yet received your costume, you will receive a separate email regarding a time for Curbside Pick-up later this week.

Performance Company Competition and Ballet La Crosse Performance

Our team is working hard on rescheduling options for these events with vendors. Stay tuned for more information!

A Special Note for Seniors

As dancers, our hearts ache for our graduating seniors knowing that "Finishing Strong" for them is not just about ending the year well. It's about the finish line of their entire dance journey with us. Our teachers will be helping all our older students, but especially our seniors, process the rollercoaster of emotions that accompany loss in their classes during the coming weeks and helping them to know that it's okay to be sad about what "cannot be" and still be grateful for what "can be". They are not mutually exclusive. Sadness and gratitude are both valid, and normal, responses. But, as for much as this has been hard for our upper-level students, I am confident of this - THEY WILL RISE AND SHINE. So, it is in this spirit, that I ask ALL MDU families and students to help us in acknowledging all the pieces of the journey of our upper-level students and supporting them as we share their senior stories with you in the weeks to come and livestream a special Senior Night that they will be helping to put together as part of our Red Carpet Recital Experiences. Please keep your eyes peeled for those details and get ready to cheer them on <3.

Summer and Fall Schedules

As we look to transition from Safer-at-Home to Phase 1 of recovery we have a relatively high degree of confidence in sharing the following dates.

• Next Week: Information regarding Curbside Costume Pick Up Options
• May 1: Performing Group Audition info available
• May 1: Updated Summer Programming Released
• May 11-16: MDU’s Virtual Recital Experience Week!
• May 18-26: MDU office closed for schedule, placement, performance prep
• May 26: Level Placements and Fall Schedule emailed
• May 27-June 5: MDU’s Red Carpet Recital Experience!
• June 1: Extended Early Bird Deadline for Summer Programs
• June 6: Fall Registration begins per the previous schedule online

As we look past Phase 1 to Phase 2 and 3 operations we are making an outline for the following:

• Mid June-Early August: Modified Summer Programs
• Late July or Early August: Potential rescheduling of PC Comp dates
• Early August: BLC Mozart’s Requiem Performance
• Mid August: Start date for 2020-21 regular classes
• Mid-October: Fall break (or back up in event of 2nd wave)

To be determined:

• Christmas Cookie Social Structure
• Ballet La Crosse Full Length Ballet

MORE to Love

We have three more themed weeks of awesome classes:

This week is "Blast from the Past" - wear a previous costume or a vintage recital t-shirt!

Next week is "Hero Week" - dress like your favorite superhero for class: doctor, nurse, teacher, mom/dad, author, athlete, character, etc!

Then it's our Virtual Recital Experience Week!

PLUS, we still have all of our bonus content going. Check out the fun!



It's going to be awesome, so hang in there and finish strong!

NEW - MDU Helping Hands Initiative

We recognized that this situation has been a challenge in many ways for families, including job loss and loss of income. To that need we have established the MDU Helping Hands Initiative for the 2020-21 dance season.

In addition to refunding all recital & BLC tickets, MDU is committed to :

No additional tuition or ticket fees this season

Refunding any unused competition fees if not rescheduled

Providing a free and fun week of free summer classes
(More details coming on this new program)

Splitting up fall enrollment fees (1st month and membership fee only)

Modifying some of our dress code, class and costume requirements

Emergency Communication

Beginning June 15, we will be establishing a family emergency communication so that at all times there will be a colored circle in the upper corner of our website and social media pages indicating to families what the status of classes is for the day. If it's green it means that classes are happening as usual. If yellow, it means we are proceeding with some kind of changes, so please check your email for further instructions. Red means stop, stay home and learn online.



Building for the Future

A year ago we were invited by the Boys & Girls Club to be a permanent part of their new Holmen facility. Construction has already started when the pandemic hit. But even so, we have remained steadfast in our commitment to the BGC and are proud to announce that we will be expanding service to Holmen in the fall of 2020.

Also, we are pleased to welcome True North Chiropractic as our new neighbor in the south unit of our Onalaska building. What a great compliment to the family focused businesses we have in our facility.

In closing

Thank you for your support for our students and teachers to FINISH STRONG.

As we enter our 23rd year, we are more excited than EVER for our shared future!

With appreciation,

Miss Misty and Team