DOWNLOAD Tuition Policies 2019-20

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All families pay the Annual Registration fee of $20.00 per student each September unless recently enrolled (April or later).

By paying the registration fee, families agree to the following:

Class Tuition – 12 Months Year Round

Monthly tuition is due in advance and must be received prior to student’s attendance -- a late fee of $10.00 applies to payments received after the 7th of any month. (an additional $10 fee applies to payments received after the 15th). Classes missed due to school holidays, rehearsal weeks, illness, or any other absence may be made up in another class of the same or lower level. Make-up classes are offered as an occasional courtesy and must be taken within two months of the missed class. Make-up classes are in addition to the student’s regular classes during any month for which regular tuition has been paid. Tuition is due year-round and is not pro-rated for partial attendance or holidays– except for pro-rating in August due to Summer Break and in December for students not participating in The Nutcracker production. Tuition is non-refundable. Continuous attendance is expected for all students in order to progress through the Academy. Students absent for one month or more will be re-evaluated for placement and must reregister prior to returning to class.

Siblings receive a 10% discount on monthly tuition.* There is an additional 10% discount when pre-paying in advance for a period (Sept-Feb and/or Mar-Aug)*. We do not send bills or invoices. Automatic payment is recommended to avoid late charges. “Autopay” runs continuously until notice in writing. Declined automatic payments are subject to the late fee. Returned checks will be assessed a $15.00 fee.
*Tuition paid by Charter School purchase order is not eligible for discounts.

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Fundraising

Long Beach Ballet is a non-profit organization and relies on donated income for its on-going programs. Tuition alone does not cover all of these expenses. All families are urged to participate in the school’s fundraising efforts.

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Performances

Students in Pre-Ballet 4 and up are eligible to participate in both The Nutcracker in December and the annual school performance in the Spring upon payment of a performance participation fee and signing a participation agreement for each production. Tuition and attendance must be current through the months of June & December to participate in each performance. By paying the registration and performance fees, parents/guardians agree to Long Beach Ballet’s right to use any photo or video recording of their child for promotional purposes.

DOWNLOAD DRESS CODE

As a classical ballet institution, Long Beach Ballet Academy considers our dress code an  important part of our curriculum.  Showing respect for our art in conduct, as well as impeccable  dress helps to foster the required discipline it takes to learn a classical art.  All students are required to arrive for class in the proper dress code for their class level.

GIRLS/LADIES

• Full footed or transitional pink tights
• Leather or canvas pink ballet shoes
• No jewelry except stud earrings
• Any style leotard without embellishments or attached skirts

Pre‐Ballet Level

• Light pink leotard with no skirt attached
• Hair pulled back into ponytail or bun

Children Level

• Light blue leotard and hair in a classical ballet bun
• Class‐level colored hip‐alignment belt*

Academy Level

• Black leotard and hair in a classical ballet bun
• Class‐level colored hip‐alignment belt*

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BOYS/MEN

• White t‐shirt
• Black tights
• White socks with black or white leather or canvas ballet shoes
• Long hair held back away from face

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*CLASS LEVEL BELT COLORS

• Children Level 1 ....................... light yellow
• Children Level 2 ....................... light pink
• Children Level 3 ....................... white
• Academy Level 1 ...................... lilac
• Academy Level 2 ...................... turquoise
• Academy Level 3 ...................... red
• Academy Level 4 ...................... royal blue
• Academy Level 5 ...................... burgundy
• Academy Level 6 ...................... light grey
• Academy Level 7 ...................... black

1.  What are the benefits of ballet training?

Ballet training develops the mind, the body, and the spirit, in a unique and harmonious way.  It is wholesome and traditional, using classical music as the accompaniment for physical effort, and develops a child’s sense of self-awareness, self-confidence, discipline, and mental agility.

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2.  Are private lessons important to a student’s advancement?

The curriculum of our regular classes is structured to take a student successfully from their first ballet lesson to the maximization of their potential, without the need for private classes.  This having been said, occasionally a student might benefit from some additional individual attention to address a particular technical issue.  Also, individual coaching in preparation for a solo performance or ballet competition is very valuable (see YAGP category below).

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3.  How and when does a student progress to the next level?

Each class level at Long Beach Ballet roughly corresponds to a year of training for an average student.  Our first four levels are for students aged three to six.  Beginning at age seven, however, this progression can vary, as physical and mental development varies not only from child to child but also from year to year for each individual child.    Every level at Long Beach Ballet has a syllabus that corresponds to an increase in a student’s level of technical and mental agility regardless of chronological age.  Sometimes a student will take more than one year to reach the next level.  Occasionally a student will be deemed ready to “jump” levels mid-year.  Students at Long Beach Ballet are carefully evaluated as individuals, enhancing their prospects for maximizing their potential.

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4.  What is a good age to begin ballet?

Long Beach Ballet’s curriculum is meticulously designed to accommodate beginning students at any age – as young as three.  Our fifteen levels of training include four levels wherein a beginning child can join in at any time of year and feel welcome and nurtured.  Teenagers and adults who are trying ballet for the first time will feel comfortable in the Adult Elementary classes.

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5.  Can you be too old to begin ballet training?

It’s never too late.  We offer an Adult Elementary class two evenings every week.  Many adults who have begun with Adult Elementary have eventually moved up to the morning Open Intermediate class for those with more experience.

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6.  When do girls get their first pointe shoes?

It is every little girl’s dream of wearing pointe shoes, but it is a serious matter and depends on many factors.  Dancing on the tips of the toes is not something the human body was designed for, and to do so without harm requires certain abilities and strengths that take years of careful training.  It is the policy at Long Beach Ballet to, once per year, introduce a new group of students to “pointe work” all at the same time.  This advancement usually happens during the Academy Level  4 year.  Students are introduced to pointe work when their understanding of ballet technique and their ability to execute it consistently is sufficient to protect their young bodies from the potential harm of doing something so unnatural.

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7.  Why are ballet terms in French?

Ballet originated in Italy but was developed into a concert dance form in France by King Louis XIV.  It was in France that the early forms of training were developed.

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8.  What are male ballet dancers called?

Ballet dancer.

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9.  What is YAGP?

Youth America Grand Prix is a pre-professional annual ballet competition.  It was founded by Larissa and Gennady Saveliev, former dancers with the Bolshoi Ballet who danced one season with the Long Beach Ballet in 1997.  Competitors range in age from nine to 18.  It comprises several regional competitions --one of them in Huntington Beach-- during which five percent are selected by a panel of prestigious judges to compete at the finals in New York.  Many competitors in New York receive scholarships to major ballet academies around the world.

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10.  Do Long Beach Ballet students compete at YAGP?

Yes.  Several dancers from Long Beach Ballet have received Gold and Silver medals at the regional competitions and have gone on to compete in New York.

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11.  What are the benefits of competing?

For serious ballet students wishing to pursue a career in dance, participation in a competition such as YAGP is a valuable tool to help them “rise to the top.”  Providing them with a short term goal to struggle toward, it also allows them opportunities to perform solo in front of an audience and to train with and meet dancers and teachers from around the world.

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12.  Is there a downside to competitions?

Some ballet educators believe that competitions are counter-productive or just plain wrong, insisting that ballet is an art form and therefore should stay clear of the competition circuit.  I disagree and have found over 32 years of teaching that friendly competition is one of the most valuable tools we have as educators.

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13.  What are LBB’s policies regarding competing in YAGP?

Students in Levels 6, 7 and 8 are invited to compete by filling out a request form and submitting it to the office.  Each student will be assigned a coach.  Students are responsible for the competition fee as well as private coaching fees.  Students in lower levels may be invited to perform at the discretion of the faculty.

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14.  Why do ballerinas wear tutus?

Originally, female ballet dancers wore long dresses.  As training methods for ballet advanced, and the beauty of the “line” created by long legs and arms became more an important part of the visual attraction of ballet, dresses became shorter and shorter until they became “flat,” thus giving the abstract appearance of wearing a dress, but revealing the entire leg.

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