August 25, 2021

Dear MDU Families,

Thank you for a great kick-off to our 24th season of “More Than Just Great Dancing!”. We are now a full week into our season and it has been amazing to see kids and families back in the building.

As the leader of our studio community, I have the great joy of seeing the excitement of the kids and teacher returning to class. I also have the great responsibility of navigating a continuously changing situation as it relates to Covid-19.

Since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, MDU has provided clear communication and real-time decision-making. This has allowed us to offer continuous programming with only .0002% incidence of Covid-19 while providing consistent access to the benefits of dance such as physical fitness, social-emotional health, and mental wellness. That’s the joy part!

Now for the responsibility part. At MDU, we make all of our Covid-related decisions based on a variety of inputs, including local and national sources, as well as industry and studio data. I wake up every morning, search the data, and track the trends. I also consult with our county, speak with other community leaders, and pray for wisdom. I’m pleased to say that MDU is still doing extremely well in terms of cases as shared above. That’s why we began our fall season by continuing our summer policy of mask recommendation, not a requirement. Our community, however, is not doing as well. The cases reported yesterday morning were double what they were the week prior and the 7-day average is one we have not seen since February.

In my Welcome Letter from one week ago, I shared that we would escalate our policies if cases continue to rise. As such, beginning today (8/25/21), the following mitigation measures are being implemented:

Masking required for students in preschool to age 11 while indoors.
Masking strongly recommended for everyone 12 and older while indoors.
Masking required of teachers while working with students unless in a private lesson.

We will continue monitoring the situation week by week and will make you aware of any changes. If community cases continue to rise, potential escalation of policies may include closing the lobby to reduce traffic, further limiting class sizes, greater physical distancing requirements in classes, and/or masking requirements for all ages.

In closing, I fully understand this message will cause relief for some and disappointment for others. Some will think it’s too much and others may think it’s not enough. This is the nature of the times we live in. But, it’s also in our nature to adapt and to support each other. Our kids are mirrors of our reactions and emotions, so let’s focus on what’s positive! In a time when our community is welcoming Afghan refugees who have lost all, we have much to be thankful for. Thank YOU for your support!

Sincerely,

Misty Lown

Safer Studio Policy Archive

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

COVID Policy Update - 8/25/21

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