RA Dance Fitness

Terms and Conditions

Thank you for joining us at RA Dance Fitness, we’re looking forward to dancing with you. We’re dance school in East Devon, that is dedicated to inspiring children of all ages and abilities to progress in their dancing prowess. We aim to provide children with great dance sessions that improve their technical ability, build long term friendships, and above all have fun.

Rhiannon Annandale (RA Dance Fitness Principle) is committed to staying up to date with her own dance education knowledge, whilst delivering safe dance lessons to the pupils at RA Dance Fitness. Rhiannon has been committed to dance from a young age, both dancing and teaching. She began teaching 5 years ago whilst studying Dance and Psychology at university. Since then she has gone on to obtain recognised qualification from dance organisations; including the International Dance Teachers Association and Acrobatic Arts. Examinations will centre around the IDTA syllabus only, taking advantage of their range of genres and awards. However, not all the work we do at RA Dance Fitness is exam focused and have knowledge of other syllabi and opportunities will help create well rounded pupils.  


Commitments

We at RA Dance Fitness are committed to offering our students; a friendly, welcoming environment to learn to dance, great classes, performance opportunities, examinations, and plenty of life skills for them to hold on to forever. In return we expect our students and parents to uphold the following commitments;
      - To always be kind and respectful to RA Dance Fitness staff, other students and parents, as well as any buildings that we provide for dance class.  

      - To attend classes weekly, informing of any absences in advance. 

      - To come into class wearing clothing that is appropriate for dancing, including having hair tied back off the face. 

      - To pay fees on or before the due date.

Fees

Fees will be based on the classes that students are taking, and will be billed by the half term. The due date for these will be by the end of the 3rd week term, failure to pay may result in the child being refused access to the class until the fees (including the additional late fee, which is charged at £5 per week it’s late) is paid to RA Dance Fitness’s satisfaction. 


Prices below reflect the fees per class for 2022-2023:
30 minute private lesson - £10.00
45 minute class - £5.00
60 minute class - £6.00

Competition Team - Flat charge £300 for the year (non-discountable)


Fees are payable by the half term, even if your child will be absent for some classes. This allows us to hold a spot within that class for your child. We cannot hold spots for pupils without payment for the classes. They can be paid online using your card, through our invoice system that is sent to your email address. Other payment methods include cash and cheque, which the teacher will then mark against your name to ensure you don’t get any reminders of payments due. 


In the event that RA Dance Fitness has to cancel class for any reason, all effort will be made to reschedule that lesson. The rescheduled class may be in person at a different venue, time, or date than usual or online. If rescheduling is not possible refunds of the cancelled class value will be issued, if the class has been pre-paid. 


Additional charges and costs will be billed separately when they arise. These include but are not limited to; examination fees, costume fees, uniform costs, and performance expenses. 


Class Attire

During classes students will be required to wear clothing that is appropriate for that class genre. This is important in allowing the children to move as required. Uniform for class is required after the trial period and can be purchased via our online shop, we’ll then hand items out during class. Loose fitting clothing like jumpers or cardigans, may be worn in colder weather, however the teacher may request them to be removed in order to see the students posture and alignment. RA Dance Fitness branded t-shirts will be available but not required to be worn during class.


Hair within class should be kept off the face. It is suggested that for most classes a neat ponytail will suffice. For Acro classes the preferred hair style is for two french plaits, as this allows children to do rolls and handstands without fear of pulling their hair with their hands. Any fringes should be clipped off of the face in order of minimises distractions while moving.

Examinations

Some of our classwork will work towards graded examinations or medal tests. This exams will help students understand their own progress in dance, as well as be rewarded for all their hard work. Students will be entered at the teacher’s discretion, meaning students will only be entered into exams if they are ready to take them. Students who are not ready may be held back whilst others in their class move on to the next grade, as it can be unsafe to progress students onto harder levels when previous technique may be weaker. Additional students can opt out of exams if they do not wish to take part in them, students will still learn the graded examination syllabus and if the teacher deems them of a high enough standard, they will move up with any students who have chosen to do the exam. By opting out students will not be given the certificate and award for completing that grade.

Examinations will be under the International Dance Teacher’s Association framework which will allow multiple styles during the same examination session. Once the student has reached a high enough level these examinations do offer additional UCAS points and qualification that students can use towards university study if they wish to.

At examinations students will be required to wear set uniform. In most cases this will be black leggings and a black t-shirt. The footwear required for these exams will depend on the style but in most cases will be barefoot.

Performances

As dance is part of the performing arts, at RA Dance Fitness, we will seek out a variety of opportunities to have the students perform in events. These performances may be small scale events where only a few classes will be asked to perform, or school wide opportunities. As performance opportunities arise, we will aim to give an equal amount of chances to each class as long as it fits in with their current class work. Older students may be given these opportunities more regularly as they have the capacity to retain a lot more information at the same time.

When opportunities to perform, students and parents will be notified and classwork will build towards learning the routine/s for that showcase. At some events a costume may be required to be worn, where possible costumes will be reused in order to keep costs down. In some cases it may be possible to hire costumes from RA Dance Fitness to reduce costs to parents further.

When performing at an event we expect students, and parents, behaviour to be professional and respectful in order to solidify relationships with venues and organisations. We want to build a positive reputation in order to have those, and many more, opportunities again. 


Terms and Conditions

Physical Contact Disclaimer: Due to the nature of teaching dance at certain points within class it may become necessary for teachers to use physical contact with pupils. This could be for a number of reasons; to assist with teaching, to keep students safe, as part of choreography, or for social aspects of dancing. Any contact made towards towards from a staff member of RADF will be for a strictly professional purpose.

Photo Disclaimer: Photos and videos may regularly be taken during class to help students remember choreography, improve their dancing, or to update parents on student’s progress. These may also be used for marketing purposes of RA Dance Fitness, on both digital and printed media. RA Dance Fitness will never publish images alongside the full names fo students in them, in order to protect their anonymity. You can withdraw your permission for photos and videos to be taken at any time using the portal system. 

Inform of Illness/Injury: It is essential staff at RA Dance Fitness know of any illness or injuries the student may find impacts their performance during class prior to class starting. This ensures that staff can promote the safety and wellbeing of the child during the class. If the illness is contagious RA Dance Fitness maintains the right to deny the student access to the class, whilst they are ill, to protect the health of others within the class. 

Student Name Publication: At certain times it may be necessary for RA Dance Fitness to publish the names of students, which may be in the public domain (example; Show Programmes). When this is necessary no images will accompany these names.  

Notice for leaving: Should you or your child wish to stop attending classes, there must be at least a half term of notice given to RA Dance Fitness. This means telling staff before the last due payment date (usually 2 to 3 weeks into the half term) of the half term previous to when they want to stop coming. Telling staff of your wish to discontinue classes after this date will result in the need to pay the next half term of fees.