Parent Demonstrations

At the end of every school year, the Claire School of Dance offers two types of Parent Demonstration. For children in the Early Childhood Program, Creative Movement  2 or 3, parents are invited to attend one of the last two classes of the year.   The teacher will lead students through a regular class to show parents what the students have learned over the course of the year. The class ends with parents taking photos of the teacher and class together.

Students in preballet and above (Kinder and older) participate in the Annual Recital. The 2024 recital will be held Sunday, May 19th, at the theatre of St. John’s School.  The theme of the 2024 recital is The The Black n White Ball.

Rehearsals for the The Black n White Ball  (also known as “the recital”) begin in February.  Information sheets and permission slips will be available for download from the Claire School of Dance website starting January 13th and are due by February 3rd. Parents are asked to let the teacher know if they have a conflict for the performance date as the number of students will affect the choreography for the performance piece.

Run-through rehearsal for the entire cast will be 1-4 p.m. Saturday afternoon, May 18th at our Grace United studio.   PERFORMANCE GUIDELINES will be emailed to parents and can be downloaded from HERE.

There is a $200 performance fee for The Black and White Ball. ($250 for those in two dances.)  This helps cover the considerable cost of the theater, costumes, and professional services. We do have a scholarship fund to ensure that every child is able to participate. The fee includes two free tickets to the performance.

We will ask for volunteer moms to sit with students during the rehearsal and performance.

What Parents Need to Know

  • Click here to download the  2024  Black n White Ball Preliminary Guidelines for Parents.
  • Click here to download the 2024 Permission Slip.
    • All students enrolled at the Claire School of Dance at the primary level or higher are given roles to perform in Black n White Ball.
    • Participation is on an “opt out” basis. Parents must notify the office VIA EMAIL or written communication by February 3rd if they do not wish their child to participate. Failure to notify the office that a child is “opting out” may result in the assessment of the performance fee.
    • There will be a $175 performance fee for each performer. ($225, if student does a second dance.) This helps cover the cost of costumes and other performance expenses. Each child receives two free tickets as part of her performance fee.
    • No child will be denied the opportunity to perform due to lack of funds. A scholarship fund is available to help cover the cost of the performance fee.
    • Scholarship requests should be made by February 3rd.
    • Payment of the performance fee is due by February 3rd.
    • Some costumes remain the property of the Claire School of Dance. Most costumes and props will go home with performers.
    • In order to respect the time of parents, most rehearsals will take place during regular class times.
    • There will be one general run-through rehearsal Saturday the 18th, the day before the performance. This run-through will take place at our Grace United studio. ALL performers MUST be present at this rehearsal as it will be the only time all performers rehearse together.
    • The general run-through rehearsal will take place 1:00 to 2:15 p.m.
    • Some students may be scheduled for “spot” rehearsals the morning of Saturday, May 20th. That schedule will be announced by March 25th.
    • We ask parents to make the recital commitment carefully. There are NO recital fee refunds and last minute changes to the number of dancers performing is EXTREMELY disruptive to the children performing. Thank you for your consideration.

On the day of the show:

    • Parents leave their children at the theatre 9:30am Sunday morning, with a bag lunch.
    • All children will be under adult supervision at all times. Children are welcome to bring books and crayons.
    • The performance starts at 2:00pm and runs about one hour.
    • Flash photography is NOT permitted during the performance.
    • We will have a professional photographer both backstage taking individual and class portraits as well as taking photos of the performance. Parents will be sent a link and instructions on how to order photos.

    Tickets, bouquets, and DVDs:

    • Tickets are $10 for children and $15 for adults. Tickets go on sale May 5th.
    • Ticket orders may be picked up  at Grace United during the run-through rehearsal Saturday afternoon or during the Sunday morning drop off at the theatre.
    • Bouquets are a lovely ballet tradition. CSD offers a special performance bouquet for $20. Sign up sheets will be posted in the waiting rooms. Orders may also be emailed to our office. Bouquets can be picked up at the box office one hour before the performance.
    • DVDs are $30. Orders must be placed by May 24th. The recording will be mailed to the parent home address.

    St. John’s Theatre has 600 seats – plenty of room for all your friends.

  • We look forward to an all American experience of  The Black n White Ball!