Studio Policies

Studio Policy Sections:

2023-2024 Studio Policies and Procedures

Please note that there are new Studio Policies and Procedures due to COVID-19. Please request information at our contact page for further information.

Tuition

Tuition is due on or by the 10th of the month.

  • Tuition is non-refundable and is based on a 10-month program (approximately 36 weeks) and is broken down into 10 monthly payments (September to June)
  • Fees remain the same regardless of the number of classes in any given month
  • No refunds given for missed classes or inclement weather. All absences can be made up. (See section regarding make-up classes.)
  • $15 late fee is charged to payments received after the 10th of the month.
  • Additional $15 late charge will be charged at the end of that month for unpaid tuition.
  • Returned checks or insufficient funds via automatic withdrawal will be charged a $35.00 service fee.
  • Families will be required to be put on an auto pay plan if account is more than 2 months behind.

Dancers will not be allowed to participate in class if your account is more than 2 months past due. All previously paid for items, such as recital and competition fees, will be forfeited, if you choose not to return to the studio. All delinquent accounts may be turned over to a collection agency and charged additional collection agency fees.


Payment Options

  • Payment Options

    • All families are encouraged to make payments online or use our ACH payment plan. In person payment may be done, however, only during posted reception hours.
    • Check, cash or credit card either MasterCard or Visa only. There is a drop slot at the desk for payments
    • Pay by credit card via phone
    • An ACH (automatic payment service) is available. Release forms are needed giving permission to automatically debit your checking or savings account or charge your credit card for tuition on the 1st of each month.
    • Any payments over $300 will have a 1% charge added to your transaction if using a credit card

Studio Closings

Please mark your calendars!

If Mehlville School District is closed due to weather, so is the studio, typically. All postings are done through various news stations, social media, texting as well as email.

The studio will be closed on the following dates:

October 31, 2022                                              Halloween

November 22 – 26, 2022                                Thanksgiving Break

December 20, 2022 – January 2, 2023         Holiday Break

March 18 – 22, 2023                                           Spring Break

May 27, 2023                                                        Memorial Day

 

We DO have classes on Martin Luther King Day and President’s Day.

Facility

All families and dancers are to feel welcome in the OYT environment. Being respectful of the studio areas by not running, climbing on furniture or leaving a child un attended anywhere in the studio lobby, hallway or store area.

There is a bathroom in the OYT store lobby for all families. Dancers are able to use the studio bathrooms while in class.

OYT offers a snacks  as well as a drink cooler. OYT does NOT have a water fountain.

Parking

OYT does have ample parking for all guests. We do ask that a slow speed is used by all when in the parking lot AT ALL TIMES due to children coming to and from parked cars and the studio.

Please do not park in the handicapped spots unless proper licensing is displayed.

Dance Attire

Attire and Supplies Needed for Class — please click here to see detailed info

It is too difficult to give the proper corrections if the instructors cannot see the dancer’s bodies.  If your dancer has other activities before or after class, please do not send them in street clothes.  Bring a change of clothes in their dance bag.

Hair

Hair needs to be tied back securely during class.  Hair not to be left long and must be pulled back.

Ponytail holders will always be available at the front desk for $0.25. A neat appearance helps your child feel like a dancer, and realize that dance class time is special. Loose hair is distracting to both dancer and teacher. Please place an extra ponytail holder in your dancer’s bag. If a dancer’s hair is too short, please have them use a headband. Faculty is not responsible for fixing your child’s hair.

In the event a staff member feels a student potentially has lice or your dancer was sent home from school that day with lice, dancers are not allowed to return back to the studio for 24 hours and hair would need to be retreated within 7 days.

Shoes

Dancers are required to wear the proper shoes to each class. For recital, ballet shoes are pink and tap shoes are black. Jazz shoes may be black or caramel pending recital costumes. Other colors are acceptable for class use only. If your child dances in a jazz routine, they must have jazz shoes, but is permitted to use other options until recital shoe color is chosen.

Pre Dance, Mini-Starlights, Starlights, and Starpower classes must put elastic in your dancer’s tap shoes. Tap ties are available for purchase in the OYT store. Elastic allows for the dancer to put shoes on independently and able to spend more time on class work.

Dance shoes should be worn inside only.  Wearing dance shoes outside will ruin the shoe and bring in dirt to the dance floor. Please put your dancer’s name in their shoes as it’s easy to get them mixed up.


Watch Week

Watch Week Guidelines:

  • Watch weeks are offered from our viewing window and/or inside the classrooms on designated days and times given throughout the season
  • Please take turns at the window as all guests would like to view
  • Limit of one guest per family if possible due to accommodating our space
  • Be respectful to others with noise level
  • Please do not distract children from the teacher

It is important to monitor your children’s progress and see the instructors interact with the dancers, however, watch weeks are not necessarily typical classes at On Your Toes. Please keep in mind that dancers’ are very excited and can be easily distracted having guests watch through the windows. Instructors have to work extra hard during these weeks to make sure the class stays as structured during viewing week. The staff appreciates your understanding.

It is extremely helpful to the instructor to keep voices down during watch week or any other classes. Noise does travel into the dance rooms and the dancers feed off the energy outside of the door.

Gossiping about other children or teachers is not tolerated at On Your Toes, and if it is heard, you will be asked to leave.

Music

  • Home practice is always encouraged
  • An ASCAP fee (a copyright licensing fee for the state of Missouri) of $10 is charged to EACH student. Failure to cover these fees is a violation of code and puts OYT at risk to fines.
  • Music may be emailed or copied to a CD for $2

Recital

Recital fees vary depending on the number and type of classes the dancer is in. Recital fees include all costumes, props, auditorium rental, fifteen recital tickets per family, scenery and all staff for rehearsal and recital.  Late fees will be added to accounts that do not complete recital payment on time.  Costumes will not be ordered until the first payment is made.  Recital fees are non-refundable.

Attendance / Absences / Make-up classes

Attendance is taken at each class. Good attendance is very important to each dancer’s success, as well as the progress of the class as a whole.  Please make every effort to have your child at class each week.

All OYT students are allowed to make up in any class offered at OYT within one month of the absence. Please inform the teacher it is a makeup class and not to add the student to the roster. Please view the online schedule of classes that are offered and try to meet with the same teacher in the same level if applicable.

All make up classes must be made up within a 4 week period.

Classes may be made up at any time during the 4 weeks that they were missed, except during a watch week. Senior dancers and competition dancers are encouraged to take technique classes to make-up their classes. Tuition will not be refunded or discounted due to absences.

Sickness / Injury

Students who are ill should not be in classes as a courtesy to others. All students must be fever free, as well as no episodes of vomiting or diarrhea for 24 hours before retuning back to class. If students have an injury they are encouraged to still come to class and observe/take notes as needed or applicable.

In the event of preventing illnesses to spread, it MAY be required of non-dancers to wear face masks in the building. Proper signs will be placed in the OYT facility stating the expectation during that particular season.

Class Placement

Dancers are placed according to age and ability. If a child is more advanced, a higher level of class may be needed to strengthen the dancer’s ability and give them a challenge. In most cases, dancers are with others their own age.

Dancers are not placed because of friendships or how long they have been dancing. They are being placed strictly by the level of technique that they demonstrate on a weekly basis. A child is placed in a class where he/she will feel confident in order to promote the highest level of self-esteem.

The OYT staff are professionals and always act in the best interest of the dancer. Dancers progress at different levels and advancing a dancer before they are ready can create stress, a loss of interest and discouragement.

 Dropping off and picking up

    • dancers are not allowed to stand outside the building waiting for a ride.

     

    • Small children need to be escorted to and from the studio. Please do not encourage your dancer to find you out in the parking lot. Never leave your dancer unattended in any part of the studio at any time.

     

    • The studio will be considered open 10 minutes before the first class of the day.

     

    • Dance rooms will remain closed until the instructor opens the door to enter. Teachers come in early to prepare for class. Please do not open the doors until the instructor is ready.

     

    • OYT will have the right to limit adults in the building while dancers are in class.

     

     

     

    All traffic from the studio needs to come through the main lobby. Please enter and exit the far end of the building by the reception area only. The hallway doors need to remain locked and closed except in an extreme emergency. This is for your child’s protection!Please do not arrive more than 10 minutes early to class. This is very important to help your child through class and parking lot congestion.Please remember, On Your Toes is not a daycare. On Your Toes is not responsible for dancers that arrive too early or are not picked up on time. If you have arrived early, you must wait with your child until it is time to start class.

Creative Dance, Mini-Starlights, Starlights and Starpower

Before class begins, please try to have the dancer’s ballet shoes on, as dance class typically starts with Ballet. If you are late arriving to class, please stand outside of the dance room and put your dancer’s shoes on before entering the room so there are no interruptions during the class.

Please have your dancer use the bathroom BEFORE class, as bathroom trips during class are very disruptive and can be “contagious”. There is a bathroom at the back of the lobby you may use.


Changing or Terminating Classes

If you would like to change classes, add or remove a class, or completely terminate dance classes, we must receive your intentions to stop classes in writing at the start of the month you wish to stop. Refunds are not given if classes are dropped in the middle of a month.


Lost and Found

There is a lost and found box at the beginning of the hallway. If something is left at the studio, it will be put in the lost and found box. We do not hold any items at the front desk.

E-MAIL

On Your Toes Dance Studio provides all studio information via email. Some hard copies of documents are available; however, all weekly updates for the studio are done via email.  Email allows the staff at On Your Toes to keep you informed of important dates and new information. We do not sell or distribute addresses. Weekly updates are sent out to help remind you about events, due dates, and other information.

Social Media

Please “like” us on Facebook and “follow” us on Twitter. There is always lots of fun and helpful information that is posted.

Thank you for your interest in On Your Toes Dance Studio. We appreciate your patronage. If at any time you have questions, please let us know how we may assist you.