What You Need to Know About Being on a Dance Team at Starlight

Your daughter has attended an audition at Starlight and has now been offered

a place on a competition team. They are jumping up and down with

excitement but are you? Here is some information on what is involved when

you are on a competition team at Starlight.....

There are up to 8 teams in total, divided by a mixture of age, skill and

competition preference. These teams are named using the colours of the

rainbow and a silver lining. (Red, Yellow, Pink, Green, Orange, Purple, Blue and

silver!). The youngest team is the red team.

Drama:

There will be none! If you have any issues please come to Shelly or Linda

straight away. If we know about an issue, we can address it. At

competitions, please ensure we all sit together as a team and support

and help each other (parents and students alike). Please be respectful

and inclusive to all dance families, especially those on your team or you

will be asked to leave.

Affordability:

There are costs involved in being on a competitive team;

Annual Starlight Registration:

This is a fee of €25 to cover insurance, membership and administration

fees. This is paid every September.

Weekly Fees:

There are different fee options for each student, ranging from €35 to

€55. There is a 10% sibling discount. Class fees are not paid for term

holidays; (Christmas, Easter, Summer), or if we take a bank holiday

Monday off. Class fees must be paid in cash (not sum-up, not Revolut,

not bank transfer) by the Saturday evening before the week begins.

Otherwise, there is a late payment fee of €10. Class fees are paid by

placing cash in an envelope labelled with student’s name and ‘week

beginning & date’ and placing in the letterbox at the reception desk.

Fees can also be paid monthly in cash. Please note that the weekly fees

will still apply if for some reason there are less classes in any week due

to, for example a competition falling on a Friday or a Saturday. Fees will

balance out by the end of the year due to extra showcase rehearsals or

extra competition rehearsals. Previously, some parents were counting

hours and requesting €5 refunds if they were one class short in a week.

The weekly payment is the annual team fees divided by the number of

dance weeks in the year.

Note:

Weekly fees need to be paid, regardless of sickness or in-term holidays.

This is because the teachers and the bills still need to be paid at

Starlight, even if you decide not to attend. Remember this is an annual

fee divided into weekly payments.

The only exceptions to this are:

• Dancer admitted to a Hospital ward (no fees)

• Close family bereavement or major illness in family (no fees)

• Dancer in a cast and unable to attend class while cast in on. (No

fees)

The Grey areas that always arise and where class fees are still due:

• Sprains or strains or minor injuries: The dancer should attend

choreography classes to learn while watching and fees will still be

due

• Distant relative bereavement, fees will still be due

Class fees are non-refundable and cannot be carried to the following

week.

Uniform:

Team Dancers need the Starlight uniform in order to attend competition

events. The uniform can be purchased from Malley Sport (ask for details

at reception). The order portal opens 4 times per year and takes 6 weeks

to arrive. Items can be purchased individually; leggings, t-shirt and jacket

would be the minimum requirement. There is a charge of €8 per

garment to add a name and we strongly recommend that you consider

this. The uniform should also be worn to classes and workshops.

Costume Rental:

For each event, Starlight will rent each Dancer the required team or solo

costume at a charge of €10/€15/€20, depending of the value of the

costume. This fee includes the washing and any repair of costumes.

There is no penalty or fine for damage to the costumes. This is covered

in the costume rental fee. Blinged costumes are usually in high demand

and are given out on the basis of who pays first. The costume(s) will be

given to the Dancer before the event (not for in-house photoshoot) and

need to be returned to Starlight on the competition day.

Competition Fees:

Starlight attends several different competitions annually. The fees vary

from event to event from €20 for a day (this will be the competition that

most teams attend), to €110 for a weekend event! Starlight does not

add any money to these fees, nor do we get commission from the

organisers. We get free entry on the day. There is usually an annual

event registration fee for each competition and then a fee per dance.

There can be optional fun workshops and improvisation on the day that

are charged separately.

WLDF (World Lyrical Dance Federation) have an initial registration fee of

€15 and then an annual registration fee of €10. This is paid via an online

WLDF app on your phone.

Please do not be put off! Please see below for fundraising suggestions.

N Number of annual events:

The dancers who opted for the lesser number of annual events will

attend no more than 4 competitions per year. The remainder of the

dancers will attend 6-8 team competitions in the year. There will always

be the option to attend more competitions for solos/duos/trios but this

is optional. There will be an annual Starlight Showcase and all dancers

are expected to perform at this event and this will involve the rental of

more than one costume (possibly 4).

Chat:

A group chat is set up for each team so that members can communicate

about fund-raising or car-pooling. Any questions regarding the events

can also be posted here and answered by other parents as well as

teachers. There is no need for every parent to attend every event, once

you all take turns and be fair with each other.

Event Calendar:

This will be posted on the studio wall and in each group chat in

September each year. If a dancer cannot attend a particular

competition, a sub will replace them for that event once you give at

least 6 weeks notice.

Travelling (Does not apply to the dancers

participating in 4 competitions per year):

Throughout the year, there may be competitions that require an

overnight or a weekend stay. When the Dancers’ families get to know

each other, one parent could bring 2 dancers or Shelly and 1 parent can

bring a small group. In this case the other parents would pay the teacher

and adults flights and accommodation (if needed).

Event Fund Raising:

We suggest that each team appoint a leader and organise at least one

bonus ball event annually. This is based on the bonus ball for the lotto

on an agreed date. The 47 numbers are divided between the team

members and sold to friends and family at €10 a number. The prize

money is agreed in advance:

e.g. 47 numbers @ €10 each = €470. If the prize for the bonus ball on

the agreed date is €170 then €300 goes into a kitty for the team. This

money can be used to pay for competition fees or team costume rental

or even team pancakes on competition day! Participating in fundraising

is optional, but remember, if you do not get involved, you will not

benefit from the fundraising. If you change teams, your portion of the

team fundraising will move with you to the next team. If you leave, the

money stays with the team. This money must be used equally and fairly

for the team members who did the fundraising.

Attendance:

The Red team must attend a minimum of 7 classes per week and

everyone else, a minimum of 9 classes per week. This will involve

attending Starlight 4 times a week.

Classes for each team will include:

Tap

Jazz

Ballet

Modern

Team choreography Class

Acro

And may include:

Kicks, leaps & Turns (Invite only)

Commercial

Second Acro

Speech & Drama

Super Squad

Special comp class when coming close to a competition, performance or

showcase

Note:

While we respect all of the other local dance and acro classes, we will

expect our team dancers to train solely with Starlight Academy. Two of

the reasons for this:

1. Starlight Acro is taught in a specific way to facilitate its insertion into

our choreography.

2. Other schools can take credit for our students’ wonderful skills by

posting them on social media as if they trained the student to this

level.

Multi-Genre:

We have an a-la-carte menu of classes on offer at Starlight and we

encourage team Dancers to embrace more than one style of dance. This

will broaden the Dancers’ horizons and improve their performance

techniques.

We hope this information is of benefit to you and is not too off-putting! We

hope you decide to join the team, but if you feel this is too much at this time,

please continue to attend our recreational classes.

Remember, you can always drop in for a chat. Just drop us a text and we will

arrange a day and time.

Many Thanks

Shelly and Linda

0862646777