July 2024 Newsletter
Greetings
I would like to first thank all of our dancers, seamstresses, volunteers and parents for our successful 2023/2024 season. It was a pleasure dancing with everyone and I am excited for another season of fun and learning! I would also like to thank all of you for the lovely gifts I received after the recital, the flowers, chocolates and gift card were all very thoughtful and I was touched to receive them. I would also like to extend my congratulations once more to all of our dancers on their first recital. I am exceptionally proud of everyone’s hard work and performance this year.
Sewing Class
Our sewing class this year is open to everyone who would like to learn. Classes will be held on Saturdays from 11:00-12:30, and our first class will be Saturday, July 27/2024. Sign up is not necessary, however if you will be requesting to borrow any of the required tools, you will need to reach out to Gwendolyn prior to the class date in order to ensure that the requested equipment will be available for your use. Each class will require you to bring specific tools and/or equipment for each of the topics. Please review the curriculum and required equipment for each of our classes below.
Class 1 (July 27/2024): Planning Your Project
Required Materials:
Pattern
Measuring Tape
Regular Scissors (e.g. for paper or crafting)
Notebook and Pencil
Class 1 will focus on planning your first project. We will cover the basics of different materials, their uses, and how to select the appropriate fabric for your project. We will also learn how to take our measurements and select the appropriate size. We will learn how to read a pattern envelope and make our shopping lists for what each participant will need to complete their project, including a discussion of the required materials for your next class. Lastly, we will begin cutting out our pattern in preparation for the next class.
Class 2 (August 3/2024): Starting Your Project
Required Materials:
Pattern Envelope with Cut Pattern Pieces Inside
Measuring Tape
Fabric Scissors (NOT craft scissors – must be purchased from a fabric supplier)
Dressmaking/Tailoring Pins
Fabric
Pattern Transfer Materials (i.e.. chalk or transfer paper and roller)
Class 2 will focus on preparing our materials to sew with. We will discuss pattern markings, how to read them and what they mean. We will learn about fabric concepts such as nap, bias and salvage, and how they impact our project decisions. We will pin our patterns to our fabric and begin cutting our fabric in preparation to sew.
Class 3 (August 10/2024): Critical Sewing Skills
Required Materials:
Pattern Envelope with Sewing Instructions Inside
Fully Cut Fabric Pieces
Thread Matching your Fabric
Fabric Scissors
Dressmaking/Tailoring Pins
Sewing Machine
Class 3 will focus on the critical sewing skills that you will need to complete your project. We will read our pattern instructions together and begin to assemble our projects. We will learn important sewing concepts related to piece pinning, seams, hems and other skills. Most patterns require the use of an iron, but you will not be required to bring an iron with you. There will be an ironing station set up for use by participants.
Classes 4 & 5 (August 17 & 24/2024): Open Sewing
Required Materials:
Pattern Envelope with Sewing Instructions Inside
Fully Cut Fabric Pieces
Thread Matching your Fabric
Fabric Scissors
Dressmaking/Tailoring Pins
Sewing Machine
Notions as required by your pattern
Classes 4 and 5 will be open sewing sessions for participants to continue working on their pattern with the presence of our instructor to answer your questions and assist you in progressing in your project. These classes will not have any theoretical or presentation component, it will exclusively be focused on sewing.
Class 6 (August 31/2024): Alterations and Finishing Your Project
Required Materials:
Pattern Envelope with Sewing Instructions Inside
Fully Cut Fabric Pieces
Thread Matching your Fabric
Fabric Scissors
Dressmaking/Tailoring Pins
Sewing Machine
Notions as required by your pattern
Our final class will focus on finishing your project. We will discuss alterations for fit and hand stitching. We will attempt to finish our projects during this class, but ensure that everyone has the skills and knowledge to finish their projects if they have not yet completed it.
Choosing Your Project
For your first class, you will be required to select and purchase a sewing pattern for the project that you wish to complete. For the first class you will only require your pattern and we will discuss everything else you will need for your project as part of the class. Most pattern makers (e.g. Simplicity, Butterick, McCalls) will have a selection of patterns labeled as “easy”, “beginner”, “learn to sew” or similar. For your first project it is recommended that you select a pattern with one of these labels. Patterns are widely available online and in stores where sewing materials are sold, such as Fabricland and Len’s Mills. Some suggested patterns are available on the St. Anne’s Sewing Club website to help you choose a pattern that you will be interested in sewing, but that is also realistic to finish as a project during our course.
First Annual Dance Shoe Exchange
This August at the end of the month before the beginning of the next dance season, St. Vitus Catholic School of Dance will host its first annual Shoe Exchange. A “Shoe Exchange” is an opportunity for parents to buy gently used shoes and dance clothes and to sell their own shoes and dance clothes which they no longer need.
If you would like to participate in the Shoe Exchange as a seller, please bring each item you would like to sell in an individually sealed ziplock bag, with the price you are asking and the size clearly labeled on the outside of the bag. If you would like to accept e-transfers for items that you will sell, you must be present on the day of the Shoe Exchange to confirm receipt of funds so that items may be taken.
On the day of the shoe exchange, individuals purchasing may bring cash for any items, or may e-transfer funds with the instructions of any sellers who are present.
The date is tentatively scheduled for Saturday, August 24 from 12:30 to 3:00 PM (after sewing class).
Registration for our 2024/2025 Dance Season
Registration for our 2024/2025 dance season is open! Everyone is welcome, and as last year, classes are free for anyone who attends Mass at St. Mary’s Catholic Church, any friends or family of anyone who attends Mass at St. Mary’s Catholic Church, and anyone who volunteers with us. Classes are offered on a per-interest basis, and the class schedule is released on August 1/2025. Students are encouraged to register early to ensure that the classes they are interested in are scheduled for them.
The 2024/2025 season will also see some new classes being offered:
Dancing Tots will be offered for children 2-3. This class will not be discipline specific and will focus on musicality, body awareness and co-ordinated movement. This class will be 20 minutes long, rather than 30 minutes. Dancing Tots will be invited to dance on stage with their instructor.
Lyrical dance will be offered for dancers aged 7 and older. Lyrical dance is an offshoot of Jazz dance which incorporates ballet and interpretive elements, and is often focused on using dance technique to interpret a story or theme. Students next year will have the opportunity to elect to pursue Lyrical in place of or in addition to other dance disciplines.
Adult Jazz will be offered for adult dancers if there is sufficient interest. The discipline of adult dance classes may be changed if all participants agree. Timing of the class will be negotiated between interested participants. The adult class will not perform at the end of year performance in order to give everyone a chance to watch their children on stage. This class will be just for fun and exercise!
Registration for the 2024/2025 dance season will be open until October 2024. You can register online on our website
Bulletin Board Setup Social
Sunday, August 11, 2023 after mass, we will host our second annual Bulletin Board Social. The dance school will be taking down the existing St. Vitus Catholic School of Dance bulletin board’s material in the basement of St. Mary’s Church in Linwood, and setting up a new bulletin board with information about our school including the schedule, our mission statement and more! Anyone who is interested in helping us take down the old board, and assisting with designing and putting up the new bulletin board is invited to participate. Materials will be provided by the school and any dancers, parents, seamstresses, volunteers and parishioners are encouraged to join us for a fun and social event setting up our new bulletin board.
Last year we had such a fun time setting up the bulletin board that we extended the bulletin board setup social over three weeks. Extension of the bulletin board setup will be possible based on interest. I am looking forward to dancers having another opportunity to decorate a new board and express their creativity.
Open Trial September Classes
For the month of September, and until registrations formally close after the first week of October, anyone interested in dancing who is unsure of whether or not they want to continue for the year, or who would like to try their feet at a new style of dance, are invited to come out to any of our classes. During this time, we will have more relaxed class dress requirements. If you are interested in tap dance you are invited to borrow a pair of tap shoes from our borrow bin to attend classes without purchasing shoes of your own. Ballet and jazz shoes can be used interchangeably for ballet, jazz and musical theatre classes, or clean indoor running shoes can be worn to classes for students who are attending to try before making a registration decision. Students may attend in non-baggy athletic clothing until registration is closed.
We do, however, have some important restrictions. Students who have not submitted a registration form with emergency contact information are asked to attend class while their parents remain on the church premises. Dancing without shoes in socks or tights will not be permitted for any classes, as this presents a slip risk that is likely to lead to dancer injury. Dancing in bare feet will, likewise, not be permitted for any classes, as this presents a risk to dancers’ toes getting pulled, blistered, or otherwise injured. For these reasons, dancers who arrive to class with no form of safe footwear will be asked to watch class rather than participate in it.
During this time, students will begin to learn their choreographed warms ups, stretches as well as fundamental technique for their age and experience level. Students will begin learning the dance routine the class will perform on stage near the end of September or the beginning of October, depending on class progression. We request that students who intend to continue participating in dance classes for the year purchase appropriate class attire as soon as possible, and at a minimum by the formal closing of registrations. We recommend students have the required footwear for the classes they intend to participate in for the year as soon as possible for optimal practice experience, but are required to have the shoes they will wear on stage by January of 2024 at the absolute latest. Attire and footwear requirements for each dance discipline can be found on the class requirements page of our website.
If you are not sure yet about attending classes, join us during our first month to try our classes to see if you would like to stay and dance with us for the year!
Important Dates at St. Vitus Dance School
July 27: First sewing class
August 1: Class schedule for 2024/2025 season posted online
August 11: Bulletin Board Decorating
August 24: Tentative Date for Shoe Exchange
August 31: Last sewing class
September 7: First day of classes
Have a safe and happy Summer vacation, I look forward to dancing with all of you in the upcoming 2024/2025 season!
God Bless,
Gwendolyn Witecki
