TDC February Monthly Newsletter

February at TDC has been jam packed. We have been hugely focused on our show work as we draw closer to our annual show, celebrating 10 years of dance at TDC. Motivated to finish routines and work on all the planning in the background, we have been shining in our pieces, choreography and working as a team.

We have trained together at our helpers day, shared the love on Valentines day, welcomed new pupils to new classes, continued our 10 year celebrations and danced together.

Please enjoy our February Highlights, show standouts, class stars, and look ahead to a few more busy months in our count down to the big day... Show day!

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What we got up to in the Month of February…

Enrolment closing

The beginning of February we closed our doors, and paused all enrolment for new and existing pupils. This meant many of our pupils had to make the decision to commit to this year show which we are so grateful for the support we have received. We have also welcomed many new pupils who again have decided to be a part of the show we are so excited to experience this journey with all our stars and thankful to have so many dedicated people around us. 

Closing enrolment has meant we have been able to finalise numbers for routines and show costumes which has meant we have been very busy behind the scenes at TDC headquarters. Show prep as in full swing this month, we have managed to finalise most of our choreography for the show pieces. We have also managed to secure many of our costumes and themes, and all of our new and existing pupils have been thriving, working really hard as a team and having so much fun with all our new content. Our enrolment will reopen after our show season is complete, giving our pupils the opportunity to try new classes before moving up into new age groups or just to start something new before the summer holidays.

Costume Hire and Show Prep

Costumes

The start of February, finalising show numbers, and having our wonderful pupils commit to our 2025 show performance, meant it was time to start thinking about themes and costumes! We were very eager to get this process started to get the best possible looks for our TDC stars, as we know most of the time our pupils are most excited for what they’re going to be wearing on the big stage. Costume fees were finalised on the 7th of February. Within a week our busy staff had managed to costume over 90% of all of our routines which may have made TDC history for the most organised we’ve ever been! Though we are revisiting a lot of old themes, or songs that we have done in previous shows, to celebrate our 10 year anniversary, we wanted to make sure that our costumes stood out as something new and cool that all our dancers will love. We can’t wait to see some of our picks on the big stage. The team are working hard in classes to finish off routines to match these wonderful costumes , as well as organising costume extras, amazing props, and very cool surprising costume extras and accessories. 

Show progress

With costume secured it’s time to get the head down and finish off these routines. For most of our classes we managed to complete all of our choreography in the month of February which has been a very challenging and rewarding time. All of our pupils are looking absolutely amazing and thriving every step of the way.

MT classes have been working really well on their choreography and are now able to focus on their lyrics ahead of their recording session on the 16th of March. Our junior girls have been working really hard on remembering choreography, most of the junior classes managed to finish their routines early on, in the month of February and have since been working on their performance with their moves and now starting to learn to do the moves with little teacher and helper assistance. Our inter pupils have been blowing their teachers away with their ability to pick up complex moves, their routines really have a wow factor this year and some of the choreography is on par with senior level, we are so proud of the level in which our pupils are working across all classes and excited to see all of their routines finished and start being cleaned ready for show season. Our senior girls, as always, have amazed us with their beautiful technique, almost all of the senior routines are complete and they are now able to focus on other special features that they will be participating in within the show. The seniors, having now finished their routines, have been challenging themselves to work more on their performance, feeling more comfortable and confident in their moves and have all been working hard out with classes to perfect their choreography which has reflected in their performance during class time. Some of the seniors this year have also been challenged to create their own solos, duets, and small group performances to be featured in the 10 year anniversary show, as part of their lyrical performance class on a Wednesday night. The girls in this class have absolutely blown us away with their talent and confidence, the ability they have developed as choreographers for their self and others has been a real learning experience and we can’t wait to see it shine through in these routines. 

Happy Valentines

This year we had the pleasure of having Valentine’s Day fall on a class day. Our Valentine’s Day spent at TDC was filled with Love and getting to know our pupils even more. We shared with our pupils what was special about the day and how important it was to do the things we love and appreciate the people we love. We got to know more about the people our pupils love and how we can appreciate one another, while sharing something we love doing. It’s so important to do the things we enjoy and are passionate about this is something we talked about on Valentine’s Day and what we loved about TDC and about dance and gymnastics. We hope you all had a love filled day.

Birthdays

As always, we had some birthdays to celebrate this month. We always appreciate when pupils want to spend their special days with us. We love it even more when pupils bring us some special treats to to share. Happy birthday to all our February pupils we hope you had a wonderful day whether you spent it in class or with your loved ones at home. Special mention to Hope, Kendall and Neve, our dancers who joined us on their birthdays this month, dedication at its best we are blessed to share the day with you!

Celebrating Ten Years

As we have mentioned over and over again this year celebrates our 10th year of TDC. Last month we shared some of the special memories that have been on our mind in preparing for this year show. We continue to share and celebrate some of those memories and some of our social posts and in classes this month. We have been talking a lot with her pupils and classes about some of the memories that have made TDC who we are today and why we have decided to do some of our themes in this year‘s dances. We have had some of our lovely senior girls come and help our junior Lyrical class as a reminder of how much we have grown since the beginning of TDC, as well as reminding our senior girls how far they’ve came and giving our junior someone to look up to. It’s been beautiful as teachers to watch this interaction between dancers, especially knowing we have taught some of a senior girls from junior age.

Some of the themes of the show are throwbacks to things that we have visited before for example, our tiniest stars in the Saturday morning baby class are doing the crazy frog which was one of our favourites back in the day, this class is crazy enough before we put on this song, and they have been absolutely loving it. We also looked back at the history of TDC to inspire some of our show content. By dedicating some of the performances to songs that have a lot of meaning to us at TDC, having themes like our own experience through lockdown - teaching and learning dance through the screen, we also would never forget to pay tribute to one of our original TDC dancers and have dedicated a few performances in memory of our Catriona, and the significance of Rainbows and transition dance company from the start. Sharing some of these stories with our new and younger pupils has been a really special time in class and we are so glad to be able to have these memories and stories to tell. We can’t wait to take you on the journey of our history and all that makes us special in our performance this year. Let’s do THIS! #Tenacity

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Helper Training Day

Our dancers don’t often get time off so of course when they have a day off school they still make the decision to come to class and even spend a full day with us doing additional training. This month we invited some of our pupil helpers to come to the studio and participate in a helpers training session. Teamwork, leadership and family values being the theme of the day, we took our dancers through basic training of how a dance class should run. We discussed again all the values that we share at TDC, we discussed how important it is to help others and be kind and how important it is to have, and to be, a role model. The girls that joined us on the day learned how to lead warm-ups, command a class, basic first aid measures and how to help teachers out during class. They took part in a team building exercise and worked on their confidence speaking in front of a room of people. All of the girls that joined us excelled and we had an amazing fun filled day growing and learning together. Since this session classes have been a lot easier for our staff having an extra helping hand at their side, the girls have been beaming with confidence, leading class warm-ups helping others and even shining more in their own classes. We really are blessed to have some wonderfully kind and beautiful pupils in our school. Thank you again to everyone who came and spent their day off with us, and then came back for their classes later on in the day, no rest for the wicked. The session ended with our helpers graduating from helper training and being awarded with a certificate of achievement. Well done TDC superstar we are so proud of you and the role models you are becoming.

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Class Standouts

Another amazing month of striving to be our best, with new content being constantly shared with our pupils, they really are embracing the pressure of show prep, and growing as dancers every week in class. We are so proud of the progress and teamwork our dancers are showing, it takes a village to continue to better ourselves with every show, with that being said we have some hard working pupils who have really been catching their teachers eyes this month, who deserve some recognition for their courage, determination and spirit. #tenacity

After helper training, we have seen an improvement in all our helpers and we are super proud. Hope and Lauren have taken on the role of such confidence, as it helped to maintain cleaning the toilets by replenishing the bathrooms with toilet roll and blue roll without being asked. Sophia has also been a standout for us as she has such a beautiful connection with many of our young pupils in class. They all look to her for leadership, comfort and affection. We love to watch all of their faces light up in her company.

Emma T has been a junior standout as she is super confident in her dances, answering ballet terminology questions, teaching the whole class the French name for the move!

Ava in our advanced acro has really stood out with her determination to work on her skills, never giving up and looking amazing in her routine.

Lauren has continued to be an asset to her classes, she is always helping the teachers remember their moves she never misses a beat and has been given a first dance captain role this term.

Aurla has been amazing in classes. She is leading by example with her great listening ears and ability to remember all her routines.

Rhea has been a ray of sunshine in our Junior commercial class. This little superstars face lights up every time the music comes on and she knows exactly what she’s doing which is an amazing achievement for such a young dancer.

Our new seniors on a Thursday night, you know who you are, have been a joy since joining us this year. We have been amazed by their ability to pick up content at this level and speed. And have been so glad to have their energy and determination join our team, they have been an asset to the routine, and can’t wait to seen you shine on stage with us for the first time.

Ava and Hope recently rejoined our junior lyrical class, this routine was more than half way done when they joined and the girls have managed to pick up all of the choreography and add their own flair to the routine in just a few weeks. The girls have both shown dedication and a real love for dance which we have absolutely loved watching. Well done girls.

A senior Elle with her passion and hard work has been awarded a special part and solo feature in her lyrical dance this year, this was a hard decision for our teacher Ellie as many of the girls shined in this section but it was clear Elle's spirit and sheer love of dance would come through on stage come the big day.

Our intermediate hip-hop dance has been a smash with our dancers this year. Amy S has been thriving with this choreography, finally coming out of her shell dancing full out and bringing all the attitude we need for this style of dance.

Aaliyah has improved massively in her stretching skills class on Friday nights. From rejoining us this term, the improvement of her technique in her handstand and cartwheels has been amazing and we are so proud of her progress.

Chico and Sparkles had some adventures in February. Summer and Emer took home the bears from our Tuesday Junior classes. They both have worked super hard in classes. Summer is new to TDC and is a little Gem, she works hard, has great listening ears and is a joy to teach. Emer is doing amazing in classes, Junior is a big challenge being only 4 years old, but she continues to work hard and shine bright.

Aspen also looked after our mascot this month with help from her little sister. Aspey has blown us with her beautiful technique at such a young age, she is filled with determination to be her best and learn new things, she has been challenged with having a special feature in one of her dances, her beautiful lines are sure to blow the audience away.

Well done to all our amazing pupils this month, you have all done us so proud, with your progress in this years show prep, your dedication, your kind caring nature sharing values and TDC history, and showing your Tenacity. Dance together, dance forever.

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Show Ticket Sales

As you will be aware, we are now more than a week into March. Though this is a February blog we wanted to mention our ticket sales on the 1st of March, as this has been a very busy stressful month at TDC headquarters. We were completely overwhelmed with the support of our tickets going on sale and can sympathise with the frustration many of you may have felt when looking to buy tickets this year. This was a very hard day for all of our staff as we worried not all of our supporters would be able to come and see their TDC star on our show day. But with hard work, determination and tenacity are fearlessly leader Emma has managed to work extremely hard behind the scenes with the team at our venue to secure everybody who has asked, with a ticket. We cannot thank our parents, supporters, and pupils for their continued support. The show being a sellout has completely blown as away and we are so excited to share everything that we have achieved not only this year but in the 10 years of TDC. Thank you again.

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What's coming up at TDC

Looking ahead to our 2025, we have some important dates ahead to keep in our diary. We have so much to look forward to, we cant wait to see what progress we can make together as a family.

On Stage Rehearsal 

It is crucial for all show participants to attend the rehearsal at our venue, The Beacon Arts Centre. This rehearsal will follow the same procedure as classes: parents should drop off their children at the designated time slot and return for pick-up. While parents are welcome to wait in the coffee shop in the foyer, they are not allowed into the auditorium. This rule is set by The Beacon Arts Centre, and we appreciate your cooperation. Please refer to the schedule below for your allocated rehearsal time.

SUNDAY 30th MARCH – BEACON ARTS CENTRE

 Please see below times for rehearsal:

10 - 10.45am – BABIES

10.45 – 11.45am – PRE SCHOOL

11.45-1.45pm – JUNIORS

1- 6pm – INTERS

1– 2.15pm - BOYS

1– 6pm – SENIORS

If you child only attends acro they will be required during the boys rehearsal time 1pm - 2.15pm on 30th March.

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Recording Session - Musical Theatre

 Our recording session is just 1 practice away...

Sunday 16th March, for ALL Musical Theatre Pupils.

It is so important for the children who attend our Musical Theatre classes to know the lyrics to the song/songs they are performing for the show. Lyrics have been sent out via our parents WhatsApp group therefore we would appreciate your support in encouraging your child to practice these regularly throughout the weeks before the recording session.

Times & songs for each session are below;

Junior MT (singing in the rain & walking on sunshine) – 11-12pm

Inter MT (Stick to the status quo – high school musical) 12-1pm

Senior MT (Oh My God you guys – legally blonde) – 1-2pm

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Show Rehearsal - TDC Studios

Sunday 4th of May

We will have another full show rehearsal post on stage rehearsal to ensure we are show ready. This will be held at TDC and will be one of our last practices for the show, attendance is so important. Times will be the same as our on stage rehearsal in March.

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Show 2025

Our 10 year anniversary show TENacity will be on Saturday 17th May and Sunday 18th May @ The Beacon Arts Centre in Greenock. A sold out performance!

As we prepare in class and as staff BTS, we ask all our pupils and supporters be doing the same at home, reading through our Show information Pack for all important information you need to be show ready!

Now is the time to make sure you have all the correct footwear for your childs classes, dance shoes NEED to be broken in prior to a show performance. Please get in touch if you have any questions about shoes or any costume/show extras, all information is in our dance show information pack.

We are still looking for show helpers, the more the merrier!! Please sign up to help us on show day through the website, events page. We need your help, please let us know ASAP, if your able to work together to make this our best show yet! Helpers meetings and assignments will be made soon. Thank you to all those already signed up to lend a hand.

We are accepting orders for our Tenacity show T-shirts for our 10th annual show 2025! Branded with our TDC logo on the front and our 2025 show T-shirt on the back. These are Limited edition, available to order now! Suitable for the finale of our show and in classes.

Please note these are not available on our website, they can be ordered through our socials and contacts or at class! Personalization is not available on these T-shirts! payment can be handed in a sealed envelope to class with your pupils name and size, or via bank transfer after getting in touch.

Show T-shirts are £20 each and are available in the following sizes:

✨Children’s sizes - age 3-4, 5-6, 7-8, 9-11, 12-13✨

✨Adult sizes - small, medium, large, XL, XXL✨

Get in touch now, as stock and sales are limited.

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Thank you for your continued support, and being a part of our Dance family. We are so proud to be coming into a new year with such amazing and talented dancers and dedicated, hard working pupils. This year is so special to us celebrating 10 years, both looking back and looking forward to all we achieve as a Dance School #TENacity. It's time to get excited.

Thank you for reading through this months Newsletter. Can’t wait to see what next month will bring. Let's do this TDC.