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Competition Team Age Groups

Micro - 4-5 years old

Crew - 5-7 years old

Squad - 8-10 years old

Company - 11-14 years old

Senior - 15-18 years old

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Competition Dance Styles

- Ballet Required Classes: Ballet Choreography, Ballet Tech, Comp Tech

- Hip-Hop Required Classes: Hip-hop Choreography

- Acro Required Classes: Acro Choreography, Ballet Tech, Comp Tech,  Acro Tech

- Jazz Required Classes: Jazz Choreography, Ballet Tech, Comp Tech

- Lyrical Required Classes: Lyrical Choreography, Ballet Tech, Comp Tech

- Musical Theatre Required Classes: Musical Theatre Choreography

- Contemporary (Junior and Senior Age) Required Classes: Contemporary Choreography, Ballet Tech, Comp Tech

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Team Structure

Basic Obligation: The teams rehearse year-round, with a heavily reduced schedule during the summer. Attend the weekly team rehearsal class. By day #1 of the fall session, enroll in the required foundation class per style. Competition team members must be present at every competition team meeting, every required competition, competition dress fitting, photo shoot day, Santa Claus parade, dress rehearsal, recital, one summer boot camp and any other events involving the competition team. Optional days include any time of party, or celebration for all kids dancing at Hayley Ann Dance Academy.

Duration: Your membership in the team, is defined by attendance, training, and event participation is a yearlong commitment. 

Team Membership Renewal: All current team members are required to re-audition every year to stay in their teams. Throughout the year, all members are constantly evaluated and their performance is carefully monitored and communicated to both the dancer and their parents.

Probation and Expulsion: During the season, probation periods and expulsion from the team may be enforced by the coach and studio director at any time if they deem the member has violated any of the rules and regulations outlined in the team's handbook.

Permanent Withdrawal: Members who wish to permanently drop out of the team may do so by sending a written notice to the coach and studio director. Your team membership and all related attendance, training and billing o1bligations, would end at the conclusion of the class session. 

Temporary Withdrawal: Members who wish to take time off from the team would need to follow the same process and guidelines for permanently dropping out of the team, and may audition to join the team at a later time in audition windows available for non-members. 

Injury Withdrawal: Members who can no longer attend the team due to a verifiable injury or ailment may be allowed to remain on the team as observers without being required to participate. The health of our dancers is of paramount importance and you should never dance while injured.

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Team's Mission

Our team's mission is to strive to be the best we can be! Winning is great, but it's not the only goal. The goal is to constantly improve as dancers, as individuals, and as a team. Above all. we must always give it our best efforts. The effort matters as much, if not more, than the results.

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Team's Guiding Principles

Embrace the team spirit: Respect all your fellow HADA dancers and teachers. The team comes first! Think "what's best for the team" and not "what's best for me". The team is stronger than the individual dancer.

Accept the Commitment: This is not a mandatory course; you chose to try out and be part of this elite team. Therefore, you must treat it as a top priority and to give it your all. If you prefer a lower commitment dance activity, then focus solely on taking our multi-level recreational program. 

Reap what you sow: You have to earn your place on the team. We will help you become a good dancer, but the success of these efforts rest on you. Your process, advancement and new opportunities in the team are solely based on merit; your hand work, talent, and commitment.

Develop confidence by accepting rejection: Self-confidence is a goal attained through hard work, talent, and reaping the favourable result of both. At times, things won't go your way. You won't be placed in the formations you want, you won't perform in the pieces you desire, or you along with your teammates won't win at competition. Such moments in dancing, as life, are bound to happen. The key is to take such rejections in strides because they're part of growing up, as a dancer and as a person. 

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Dance Competition Structure

Announcing Participation and dates: All competitions and dates will be announced to all teams by August, before the fall. While all competitions dates are known and announced well in advanced, the competition organizers only announce the exact day and time for each team around 7 days before competition weekend. Therefore, all team members must block the entire weekend or the entire date range for the competition until the exact time slot and full schedule are released.

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General Rules & Regulations

General Conduct: No gossiping. No inappropriate language. No bullying, mocking, or teasing. No negative criticism or hostile behaviour directed at your teammates or any other HADA dancers.

Class Conduct: While class is in progress, the following actions are prohibited: Personal cell phone use (except for videotaping dance routines), chit chatting, constantly complaining, or interrupting the coach without properly asking for a chance to speak. The team's director has the right to expel you from the classroom if you violate any of the above rules and regulations.

Keeping track of information: Dancers are responsible for communication effectively with their parents to ensure they keep track of all team-related dates, schedules, policies and announcements. Once the schedule and/or any other info are announced, both dancers and parents must mark their calendars and plan accordingly. 

Team Authority: We welcome your feedback about the many matters that the team coach opens up for votes. As a team member, however, you cannot make demands about how you should be assessed, rewarded, placed, the choice of costumes, music or competition, or any other team-related decisions.​​ All team decisions, including where you get placed in the formations, whether you can do all or just some of the choreography’s parts, or whether you’re ready to participate in a particular performance, rest solely with the coach and studio director, and all such decisions are made in accordance with the highest standards of dance education and in the best interest of the team. Remember, the team comes first!

Online Posting: If you post any public team-related pictures/videos/mentions on social media or elsewhere, you must attribute the proper credits and tagging, including citing the studio’s name, team name, and choreographer’s name. If the coach or studio director state that you cannot make any public online postings for any event that you attend with the team, you must refrain from making such postings. Many competitions have strict rules about videotaping and taking pictures, and you must follow our directives regarding all team-related events.

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Parents: General Rules & Responsibilities

Responsibility for tracking team info: Managing a team of youth dancers requires the collaboration of both the parents and the studio’s personnel. We ask that you exercise the same level of diligence and planning for your kids’ team membership as you do for their school and academic matters. Parents are responsible for keeping track of all team-related dates, schedules, policies, and announcements. Once the schedule and/or any other info are announced, you should mark your calendar and plan accordingly.

Communication with coach and director: Parents are expected and encouraged to have open communication with both the team’s coach and the studio director. Communication must be done in a professional and respectful manner, and without disrupting practice, competitions or any other HADA related events. The best method for non-urgent private communication with the coach or studio director is via email. As needed, you may request a private meeting with the coach or studio director to discuss any important matters beyond the information covered in the course of team communication or announcements. Text messages, phone calls, and Facebook private messages should only be used for extremely urgent matters. Team coaches are not in charge of fee/tuition-related matters, and all such inquires should be made to the studio director or staff.

Annual Team Meeting: At least one parent or guardian must attend the Annual Parent Meeting when such meetings are held.​ In conjunction with the meeting or separate from it, the studio organizes an annual Team Banquet at the studio, which is meant to foster bonding amongst all our teams, parents, and coaches. Attending the banquet, by at least one parent, is strongly encouraged.

Dancer's Evaluation: Your dancers are evaluated solely on merit. This may include a combination of innate talent, hard work, attitude, the ability to improve, and a host of other relevant factors as determined by the coach and studio director. In a dance team, such factors as “my dancer will feel rejected or hurt if he/she doesn’t get to do this or be part of that” do not count. Remember that one of the team’s official guiding principles is for kids to “build confidence by learning to accept rejection.” If the dancer is unable to hold up that mantra, then a dance competition team may not be for them. Withholding a dancer from attending practice or competitions as a form of punishment, or threatening to pull your dancer from the team, for reasons beyond what’s outlined in the Attendance and the Membership, Withdrawals & Auditions sections, will be considered in violation of the team’s rules and regulations and may result in dismissal from the team. How you parent your child is entirely your business, but your dancer’s presence in, or absence from, the team affects the entire team’s operations, and thus, you must follow the proper protocol for all matters related to their team membership and attendance.

Team Authority: We welcome feedback from parents, but you must remember that all artistic, technical, and strategic decisions rest solely with the coach and studio director, and all such decisions are made in accordance with the highest standards of dance education and in the best interest of the team Parents making demands about how their kids should be assessed or rewarded or placed or the choice of costumes or competition or music or any other team-related decisions will be considered in violation of the team’s rules and regulations. Remember, the team comes before the individual dancer!

Online Postings: ​If you post any public team-related pictures/videos/mentions on social media or elsewhere, you must attribute the proper credits and tagging, including citing the studio’s name, team name, and choreographer’s name​. If the coach or studio director state that you cannot make any public online postings (pictures or otherwise) for any event that you attend with the team, you must refrain from making such postings. Many competitions have strict rules about videotaping and taking pictures, and you must follow our directives regarding all team-related events.

Probation and Expulsion: Probation periods and expulsion from the team will be enforced by the team director or studio director at any time if they deem the dancer or their parents to have violated any of the team rules and regulations, including but not limited to, failure to perform at the required skill level, misconduct, failure to attend practices without prior authorization, or failure to meet billing obligations.

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Rules & Regulations

Competition Event Regulations: Parents and dancers are responsible for learning and following the specific rules and regulations for each competition they attend. These rules are above and beyond the studio and team’s rules and vary from one competition to the next. The coach and studio director will disseminate such information to the parents and dancers, but the responsibility for adhering to these rules rest on the parents and the dancers. Dancers are required to attend all competitions in which the team is scheduled to participate in a given season. If you can only attend some but not all of the competitions, then you will not be allowed to participate in any competitions during that season. On a case-by-case basis, the coach and studio director may exempt you from attending one or more competitions during the season and allow you to attend the rest. Parents and dancers must submit a request for exemption to the coach and studio director, in writing and with supporting evidence corroborating the reason for the absence, within 7 days from when the competition schedule is announced, or as soon as the circumstanced leading to their anticipated absence arise. It is solely at the discretion of the coach and studio director to grant you the exemption. All dancers are required to stay at competition until the award ceremony or until the time specified by the coach or studio director. Do Not schedule to leave the competition early for any reason. Parents and dancers are responsible for planning all their other events, including vacation, around all team-related scheduled events. Under special circumstances, the team coach may grant you permission to leave competition early provided you make such request with supporting evidence at least 7 days before competition. In cases of emergencies that may require you to leave competition early, you must immediately communicate such circumstances to the team director.

Travel & Lodging: Parents and dancers are responsible for arranging rides, travel, accommodation to the competition, and for incurring all related fees.

Chaperone: For all team members younger than 14 at the time of competition, at least one parent or guardian is required to escort them to competition or designate another parent/guardian as the chaperone for his or her child. Provided the competition organizers allow it, female parents/guardians are allowed in the female dressing room, while male parents/guardians are allowed in the male dressing rooms. All designated chaperones at competition are required to help get their dancers ready in accordance with the team director's instructions pertaining to costumes, hair, makeup, accessories, and others.

Conduct: While attending competition events, you're representing the studio and not only your team or yourself. Thus, while the first guiding principle in this handbook is to "respect all your fellow HADA dancers," at competition you are expected to respect and show the highest sportsmanship towards all dancers, attendees, and staff. Naturally, when other HADA teams are performing, you ought to cheer them on like they're your own team.

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Attendance Regulations

Attendance Requirements: All team rehearsals and required technique classes are mandatory and take precedence over all other leisure activities. Always arrive on time! If you're running late, you must inform the team director or call the studio to pass on a message to the director or to the class instructor. Repeated tardiness will be grounds for suspension or expulsion from the team. Do not schedule to leave team rehearsal or the required technique class early for any reason. In special circumstances, you may submit a written request with supporting evidence to the team coach at least 3 days before the rehearsal or class date, and await approval to leave early. Leaving rehearsal early to attend a social event, for example, will not be approved.

Foundation class: In addition to their mandatory team rehearsal class, all dancers are required to enroll by week #1 of the Fall session in one HADA Foundation Technique class for the entirety of each session (e.g. 12-week Fall Session). A foundation technique class include Ballet, Contemporary, Jazz, or Tap, or any other class that may be designated by the coach and studio director as a suitable alternative. Failure to enroll in and attend the required technique class on time, by week #1 of the session, may be ground for dismissal from the team.

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Absence Rules & Regulations

Allowable Absence Limits: In a given class session, other than Summer, you're allowed ONLY ONE absence from team rehearsal for a legitimate reason, as defined below. In a given class session, other than Summer, you're allowed ONLY TWO absences from your required Foundation Technique class for a legitimate reason, as defined below. Legitimate absence reasons include sickness, injury, emergency, death in the immediate family, mandatory school event, or an event crucial to the dancer's academic well being. Missing rehearsal or class to go to a social event or vacation or a sports practice, for example, are not legitimate reasons. During the Summer sessions, the team rehearsal class frequency is reduced substantially, where 6 rehearsals are offered; you're only required to attend 4; and billed for only 5. During the Summer sessions, the attendance requirements for the Foundation Technique class are to attend 6 hours of technique class. During the summer session, the team rehearsal class frequency is reduced substantially, where 6 rehearsals are offered; you're only required to attend 4: and are billed for only.

Reporting Absences: All non-emergency/sickness absences (e.g. mandatory school event) within the allowable absence limits must be communicated to the coach and studio director at least 7 days before the absence date. All sickness/emergency-related absences must be communicated to the coach and studio director as soon as the urgent circumstances leading to the absence arise. Communication to the coach and/or studio director to report absences must be made via email.

Requesting Exemption For Absences Above Allowable Limits: To obtain permission for non-emergency absences totaling more than the allowable absence limits, you must make a written request and submit supporting evidence to the coach and studio director by no later than 7 days before the anticipated absence date. For emergency/sickness/injury absences that exceed the allowable limits, you must submit your request as soon as the urgent circumstances leading to your absence arise. Approval for such absences is solely at the discretion of the coach and studio director. If approved, the team director will likely require you take a mandatory private lesson to learn the material covered during your absence. The fees for private lesson are separate from the team fees. Unapproved absences above the allowable absence limits will be grounds for dismissal from the team.

Responsibility For Learning Material Following Absence: When a dancer misses the team rehearsal class, they're responsible for learning the material covered by either working offline with a teammate, practicing on their own using the rehearsal video if one is available, or by scheduling a private lesson with the team director. If they opt to learn the material covered through a teammate or on their own, the team coach has the sole discretion to determine whether the dancer has sufficiently learned the material upon returning to the next class. Should the team coach deem that the dancer has not learned the material sufficiently, then the director may require you to schedule a mandatory private lesson, the fees for which are separate from the team's regular fees.

Makeups For Missed Rehearsal Class: Dancers who miss team rehearsal, within the allowable absence limits and with proper notice and approval, can attend regular classes at the studio as makeups. For everyone one hour of missed rehearsal class, you may attend a regular 1-hour class. All makeups must be made within the same class session during which the absence occurred, and do not roll over to future sessions and are not transferrable to other dancers. You must obtain a Makeup Card from the front desk before entering the classroom to attend the makeup class. No refunds or credits will be dur to you for missed team rehearsals. 

Costume Obligations: Parents and dancers are responsible for purchasing all required costumes, makeup kits, team T-shirt, team jacket, and any other accessories that the coach or studio director designate as mandatory. Parents and dancers are responsible for keeping all their costumes and related accessories in good condition and making sure not to lose or damage them. Parents and dancers are responsible for replacing and re-purchasing any lost of damaged items.

Hair & Makeup Obligations: Dancers, with the help of their parents when applicable, are responsible for learning and successfully applying the team director's instructions about costumes, hair, makeup, accessories, and any other costume or "team-look" related requirements. Hair and Makeup tutorial videos are offered to train the dancers and their parents on the specific team-look for each competition season.

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Team Gear Obligations

Parents are responsible for purchasing the Team Jacket, separate from the team's costume, which will be worn by all HADA teams at competition before and after performing. You may need to re-purchase such items whenever the dancer outgrows the current size, or when the team gear changes. Team gear may change annually, but will not change within a single competition season.

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Cancelations

Team rehearsals may be canceled due to inclement weather, loss of power, team coach’s sickness, scheduling conflict, or for any other reason as determined by the studio. In such cases, we will attempt to schedule a makeup class. But if that’s not feasible, we will credit your account for the value of the canceled rehearsal. If a makeup class is scheduled for an alternative date, you must arrange to attend the new date unless you have an emergency, ailment, or a major prior engagement that cannot be rescheduled. If you can’t attend the makeup, no credit will be made to your account.

Adjustments To Rehearsal Day And Time: The team’s regular rehearsal days and times may be changed from time to time for the duration of one or more sessions, typically for compelling reasons. The coach and/or studio director may first survey the parents and dancers to ensure that such proposed schedule changes work for the team members. However, in cases where the majority of, but not all, the team members are able to adjust to the new schedule, the team’s proposed schedule change will proceed as planned. The team members who’re unable to adjust to the schedule change will be exempt from the team and may return to audition at a later date once they’re able to attend the new rehearsal day and time. Priority for such auditions will be given to these team members over other auditioning candidates.

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Billing And Financial Obligations

Recurring Billing: Parents are responsible for providing a valid debit or credit card on file to use for recurring and all team-related billings. Parents are responsible for updating their card on file should it get canceled, expired or replaced. You may as well pay in-person or by E-Transfer.

Timely Payments: Parents are responsible for making all team and competition-related payments within the noted deadlines. All upcoming payments will be communicated to the parents ahead of time. Declined or late payments will incur a $25 late fee. Parents with more than three declined or late payments within the same year (September to August) will be automatically switched to an upfront-payment system, where all payments due will be required in advance and in full.

Forfeiting Payments For Absences Or Upon Termination: No refunds or credits will be issued for rehearsals or classes that were missed by the dancer. In the event that a dancer must be dismissed from a team either voluntarily or at the request of the coach or studio director, the dancer forfeits all monies paid towards the team or related activities.

Team Fees: The following are the fee categories associated with the team membership. These rates apply to teams only and are separate from Solo/Duet/Trio competition divisions, as those are relayed privately to members participating in such activities.

Please note that while we can outline our studio-related fees (e.g Team Dues, Studio’s Competition fees, etc.) with precision, we can only offer a range for other fees over which we have little control, such as costumes, competition entry fees, accessories, etc. To the best of our ability, we try to stay within the ranges noted.

Billing Method: All team-related billing, including the items outlined above, are to be charged to the dancer’s credit card on file. The studio sends out an outline of fee schedule and dates for each competition season, but the exact amounts and dates will vary from time to time.

Billing Items: 

Recurring Team Dues: Cover the weekly team rehearsal fees. The fees are prorated to reflect any days off or rescheduling for the team rehearsal. The fees are billed directly to the card on file on the first of every month.

Competition: Entry Fees: Cover the fees paid to each Competition on behalf of the dancer. The fees vary by competition.

Competition: Studio Fees: Cover the team director, staff, and administrative fees incurred by the studio in the course of managing and attending competition.

Costume Fees and Hair/Makeup/Accessories Fees: Cover the costume and “team-look” requirements beyond the basic attire, including the Makeup Kit.

Team Gear Fees: Cover the studio-specific warm-up jacket/top that all teams are required to wear to competition (before and after their performance), as well as a Team T-Shirt, which dancers wear to festivals or other events in which the teams are participating. The team gear may or may not change for every competition season. When dancers outgrow their size, they will be required to purchase a new one.

Stage Rehearsal Fee: Covers the offsite dress rehearsal we host before the first competition of the season. This rehearsal is designed to allow all our entires to run their pieces on stage before going to competition. The stage rehearsal is only applicable for beginner-level teams that don’t perform at the Fall recital.

Mandatory Private Lessons: Cover the fees for the private lesson required when a dancer misses class within the allowable absence limits but is determined to not have sufficiently learned the material covered during their absence (SEE ATTENDANCE section). Covers the fees for the privates lessons required when a dancer misses more classes than the allowable absence limits and is granted exemption to continue with the team (SEE ATTENDANCE section).