The Policies and Procedures of The Pennington Studio for Dance and Creative Arts is designed to maintain the decorum required to excel in the art of dance while observing maximum safety for your student and their peers.
Attendance and Tardiness Attendance, punctuality, and proper hair, uniform, and footwear are of utmost importance for maintaining an environment conducive to dance training. Good attendance is imperative to the growth and success of your student. If more than 20% of classes are missed, your student may not be eligible to be promoted into a new level for the next year. Please make every effort to attend every class. Missed classes may not be deducted from tuition payments. Make-up classes for missed classes are encouraged.
Along with proper hair, uniform, and footwear, students should be sent to class(es) having used the restroom before the beginning of class, and in possession of a personal water bottle. Students can expect a break halfway through class to drink water and use the restroom if needed. Water bottle and restroom use in excess of break time is discouraged.
Make-Up Classes If a student misses a class, they are encouraged to attend a make-up class within the month. For make-up classes, students may attend a different class with the level they are registered for, or a class immediately below their level. For example, if your student in Ballet 3 has missed a class, they may take a Jazz 3 or a Ballet 2 class. When making up a class, please let us know via email to expect your child at a make-up class.
Inclement Weather Procedures The Pennington Studio will post updates on our website front page, social media (IG, FB), and inform via email regarding closings for snow and other inclement weather. The Pennington Studio reserves the right to close classes at our discretion. We will not put any student or family in danger due to weather. Any classes canceled or missed may be made up according to our Make-Up Class Procedures listed above.
Scheduled Studio Closures Mon. 9/25/23: Yom Kippur Tues. 10/31/23: Halloween Tues.-Sat. 11/21-25/23: Thanksgiving Break Fri. 12/2/22: Holiday Walk Fri.-Thurs. 12/22/23-1/4/24: Holiday Break Wed. 1/31/24: Wildcard Wednesday Mon. 2/19/24: Presidents' Day Thurs. 3/7/24: Hopewell Valley Night Off Fri.-Fri. 3/29/24-4/5/24: Spring Break Sat. 5/4/24 (tentative): Dress Rehearsal for Spring Recital Lobby Area The lobby is shared by all families and patrons of The Pennington Studio. Please be courteous and mindful of conversation topics in the lobby area. All dance bags and personal items are to be left in the lobby area when a student goes in to take class. Observation windows may be used to see what your student is learning in class, please keep distractions to a minimum. Parents are asked to refrain from taking photos and videos of their child(ren) during class time. It can be distracting to the teaching and learning process, and we are working diligently to create a focused environment while still permitting natural observational tendencies (i.e. keeping the doors open and windows available for parents to watch). Parent Observation Week in the springtime is the opportunity to capture students’ progress on camera. In the same spirit, we encourage parents of younger students to remain outside the classroom and students to remain inside the classroom for the duration of class, once acclimated to fellow classmates and teachers. Payment and Late Fees The Pennington Studio is based on a 32-week year (9/7/23 - 5/22/24). Scheduled days off are accounted for within these 32 weeks. The amount of tuition charged for 32 weeks gets divided evenly over 9 months, September to May. Enrollment dates after 9/7 will be prorated accordingly. Tuition payments are automatically charged on the 1st of each month when a credit card or bank account number is provided through the registrationprocess. Alternatively, a check or cash may be mailed or dropped off by the 1st of each month. A $25 late fee will be charged 5 days after payment is past-due. May tuition will be collected with first month’s tuition.
An annual registration fee is charged with the first tuition payment – $40 per family.
Students are automatically enrolled for applicable performances, and Performance Participation Fees are collected as follows:
Nutcracker Extravaganza $150 charged Sept. 1
End-of-year Spring Recital $150 + $90 for each additional class charged Nov. 1
Participation in any performance event includes commitment to attending all rehearsals scheduled in the Performance Events table. Attending the entirety of dress rehearsals is especially mandatory.
You may opt out of any performance opportunity for which your family cannot commit before the first tuition payment is charged. Opting out must occur via email to gabriella@thepenningtonstudio.com.
Commitment to program participation and tuition payments through May is enacted after attending two weeks of classes consecutively or by October 1, whichever comes first. Recital tickets will not be sold to delinquent accounts. If you withdraw from The Pennington Studio for any reason, it is your responsibility to contact the studio immediately. A notice of 30 days is required to drop a class as well as a drop fee of $25. Additionally, all outstanding performance fees are due at the time of dropping.
A class with less than 5 students may be canceled at the discretion of the owner. There are three different payment plans available. (1) Payment paid in full upon registration. (2) Payment in two installments: first installment due at registration and the second installment due on January 1st. (3) Payment in nine installments: first 2 installments due at registration; the remaining installments due on the 1st of each month. Dress Code Proper uniform is required for all classes. Students are expected to provide, at their own expense, proper attire and footwear for all classes. This includes but is not limited to, leotard, tights, dance shoes, and hair accessories. Students must abide by the designated hair requirements for the class they will be attending, as listed below. The dress code uniform per level is as follows: 2Cute Pre-School Dance Light pink cap sleeved leotard with attached skirt. Pink tights and pink ballet shoes OR no tights and barefoot. Hair should be neatly pulled back. ABC Pre-School Dance Light pink cap sleeved leotard with attached skirt. Pink tights and pink ballet shoes. Hair worn up in a tight bun. Kinderdance Cerise leotard. Pink tights and pink ballet shoes. Hair worn up in a tight bun. Recreational Ballet 1 Purple leotard. Pink tights and pink ballet shoes. Hair worn up in a tight bun. Recreational Ballet 2 Marine blue leotard. Pink tights and pink ballet shoes. Hair worn up in a tight bun. Recreational Ballet 3 Navy leotard. Pink tights and pink ballet shoes. Hair worn up in a tight bun. Recreational Ballet 4 Mulberry leotard. Pink tights and pink ballet shoes. Hair worn up in a tight bun. Junior CORE Ballet Mulberry leotard. Pink tights and pink ballet shoes. Hair worn up in a tight bun.
Senior CORE Ballet Black leotard. Pink tights and pink ballet shoes. Hair worn up in a tight bun. Jazz Classes The designated leotard for your ballet level. (see above) Black jazz pants, black bike shorts or caramel tights. Caramel jazz shoes. Hair worn up in a tight bun or ponytail. Contemporary & Lyrical Classes The designated leotard for your ballet level. (see above) Caramel footless tights. Barefoot. Hair worn up in a tight bun or ponytail.
Hip-Hop Classes Tank top or T-shirt. Shorts, leggings or sweatpants. Sneakers. Hair pulled back out of the face and eyes.
Boys’ Dance Uniform White or black fitted T-Shirt. Black bike shorts, tights, or leggings. Black ballet shoes. Hair worn out of the face and eyes.
Students may wear a ballet skirt during class, if desired. All students are REQUIRED to wear proper cover up attire to and from the dance studio. (This is simply for safety.) Students must also refrain from walking outside in their dance shoes. There is to be no jewelry worn during any dance class. (Exceptions include stud earrings.) There should be no chewing gum in classes.