As we enter our second decade of dance, Commotion continues to innovate and inspire as each new generation of students comes through our doors. This year is all about improving technique, lifting performance energy and having fun as we work towards our goals and reach new heights.

At the end of last year, I announced that Commotion would be moving to a new studio premises in 2012. The plan was to find a large warehouse in Smeaton Grange and divide it up into different rooms, fit it out as a studio and move in there. In December the plan changed when I was contacted by a real estate developer who offered to purpose build studios for us in Narellan Business Park. This opportunity is incredible because it means we can be in a better location with a space built specifically to our needs, including sufficient parking, appropriate ceiling heights, soundproofing and efficient air conditioning – as well as professional sprung floors. This new studio premises will be perfect for us in every way and will be our home for the next 10 to 15 years. The plans I’ve drawn up are lying with the architecture at the moment and it won’t be long until we will “break ground”. This is all very exciting because we will get to watch them build our new home. The developer says that the studio should be ready to move into within about 7 to 9 months. Until then we will stay where we are, with some minor changes...

We’ve re-designed the foyer furnishings to maximise office efficiency and create more space for parents who are waiting. We have removed all the costumes and the shelving units from the back studio, making it as big as the main room. We have installed new bag hooks so that the floors of each room are kept free to maximise dance space. We have had the air conditioning serviced. We have had the entire studio professionally cleaned by a commercial crew. We have touched up the paint. We have bought a new sound system for the back room.

Fitting 120 classes into 3 rooms in the 2012 Timetable was indeed a challenge, and we’ve even been able to add some exciting new classes for our students. Some of the times are a little later than I’d like, but I ask that parents please understand this is our very last year in this premises and when we move we will be running in 5 rooms, which will help us make an even more efficient timetable for everyone. In the meantime, we will find a way to excel in the space we’ve got, as it is still one of the finest studio spaces in the Macarthur region.

We will keep you all updated throughout the year with how the new building process is going, and when the exciting open day will be.

How to choose the right classes for 2012...

AGE:
Age listed is based on the age of the student as at 1st January 2012. This is fairly strict. Students are only allowed to dance out of their own age group with the expressed permission of Ben, and only under certain conditions.

When going through the timetable, we recommend you start by highlighting EVERY single possible class for your child’s age group, then narrowing down your selection from there. The “ages” column makes this process very easy.

LEVEL OF DIFFICULTY:
1 = Elite/Highly Advanced
2 = Advanced/Above average
3 = Leisure/Standard/Novice

To be eligible for 1 or 2 Jazz and Hip Hop, your child must be enrolled in Tap, Ballet (and Lyrical where offered... ie. Intermediate and Senior). If your child does not want to study what we call “The Package” (Jazz, Tap, Ballet, Lyrical, Hip Hop), then they are restricted to level 3 Jazz and Hip Hop, or Saturday classes. Exceptions will only be made in situations where the student is considered a Highly Advanced “specialty” dancer and with expressed permission from Ben.

Students in levels 1 and 2 are auditioned for Troupe, and there will be students from both levels selected. You may have noticed that there is no longer a Pre-Senior age group, after excessive study and assessment of the variety of abilities within the studio we decided that it would be better to run three main age groups and offer more levels within each age bracket. This allows us to place each student into a class more suited to their own specific needs and will help with the growth and development of every dancer at Commotion.

On your enrolment form, please don’t request for your child to be in level 1 “because you think they’re...”
It is the job and duty of the teaching staff to know, assess and understand the skill level, technical ability and development of each dancer and we will use this information to place each student correctly. You will be notified either during the holidays or on the first day back, as to what class your child will start the year in.

R.A.D Ballet grading is complex. On your enrolment form select that you’d like your child to do R.A.D Classical Ballet and we will be in contact with which class they’ll be in. I’ve arranged the timetable to have no clashes with R.A.D, and most classes are usefully placed in the timetable near other popular classes for the average age group that each grade will be.

WHAT IS THE COLOUR CODING?
The rule with the colours is that to be eligible for any of the coloured classes you must do them all as a package. There are other options through the week for classes that are unrestricted, but with the classes highlighted the student must be enrolled in the whole set. Why? This is the only way to maintain even class sizes and help make it convenient for students doing multiple classes.

$$$?
For the third year in a row, the base price of $10 per class will remain. We are proud to be the only dancing studio in Macarthur to have kept our prices unchanged. We even have our Saturday $8 special back again for 2012!