Dance It Up! April Newsletter

We're so proud of our Dance Jam performers for doing such a wonderful job opening for Aristocats Kids at Apple Tree Arts! This annual tradition of performing in collaboration with Apple Tree has been a great opportunity for our dancers to get more time on stage. They danced their hearts out in two wonderful performances on March 7 and 8 at Grafton Middle School.

Dance Jam is a non-competitive performance group for kids who love choreography and are eager to learn new dances. They have extra opportunities to get on stage throughout the year. Dancers as young as 6 are welcome to join Dance Jam. If your dancer is non-stop dance like we are, we'd love to have them in Dance Jam! Come check out all the dances they've learned this year in the Our World Is Dancing showcase on April 17! They will also be performing on the infield at a Worcester Bravehearts game on June 6th, at Fitton Field on the Holy Cross campus. Use the QR code in the image to order tickets for a fun Friday night baseball game and support our Dance Jam dancers! Then, get ready to cheer them on as they open the show for each of our Spring Recitals.

We had SO MUCH fun at Western Night! We hope you'll join us for our last Friday Night Party of the season: A Night at the Zoo! on April 11.

You're Invited! Come see our performance groups shine, and see what makes Dance It Up!'s non-competitive mission different and wonderful.

Where: Robert R. Jay Performing Arts Center at St. John's High School, Shrewsbury, MA

When: April 17 at 6:00pm

Who you'll see: our amazing performance groups of many genres! Dance Jam, Senior Irish, Ballet Variations, the Junior Ballet Ensemble and Senior Repertory Ensemble

Order your tickets today!

Classes will not be held on Thursday, April 17. Students not performing in the show, who have a cancelled class on April 17, may claim one free ticket to the show! This is a great opportunity for younger dancers to see a performance from the audience and then to join us on the stage at the finale to dancer with our performers!

Our spring recital, "Vacation Vibes," sold out both planned shows in record time! In order to accommodate all of our dance families and to avoid limiting tickets, we are restructuring the recital day to create 3 performances. We know you will want to know how this affects your plans for the weekend and want to communicate all of the details about rehearsals, which shows your dancer is performing in and how we will provide tickets and seating for the new show schedule.

• The dress rehearsal schedule for June 7 remains unchanged
• We will send out individual recital confirmations on Wednesday, 4/2, with your new show schedule
• All families will need to (RE) order tickets to the shows they wish to attend with the new schedule!
• You have not been charged for your original ticket request, please review the "Classes in Each Show List" to determine which shows you want to attend
  
• Your place in the original ticketing queue has been preserved, we will assign seats using the time stamp from the form that opened on March 1
• The new ticket order form is now open - please double check the new "Classes in Each Show List" to confirm the show(s) your dancer is performing in

The information packet has been updated and is online to help with questions about arrival times for dress rehearsals and performance, instructions on hair, jewelry, and makeup, and ordering information for flowers and lunches! Everything you need to know about recital is found on our website at https://www.danceitup.com/2025-spring-dance-recital

A few lines celebrating you dancer are sure to bring a smile to their face. Examples:

• Zack, We love you and are so proud of you! You have become such an awesome dancer! Have fun in your third recital! Love you to the moon and back! Mom and Dad
• Congratulations Caroline! Your beautiful dancing brings us so much joy! We are so proud of what you have accomplished this year both on and off the stage! Love, Your family!

Business ads are available in several sizes, from business card size to full pages or covers. We can use your artwork, or help you design the perfect ad that represents your business.

The Business Ad Form can also be used to include a personal message to your dancer with a picture in our program. Please choose a quarter page or larger ad for your photo message. Submit your photo and text and we'll make it special for your dancer.

Save the date for your special Party Class event! Party Classes are on the same day as your regular Dance 'N Play® class - on Saturday, June 14, at 9:00am.
Dance 'N Play® dancers are also welcome to attend our recital costume photo day, Saturday, June 7, at Sutton Memorial High School.

We are excited to invite dancers from DIU and the surrounding communities, grades kindergarten and up, to participate in our annual holiday tradition, “Not Just Nutcracker.” The dancers will tell the story of Tchaikovsky's beloved Nutcracker ballet, with classical and modern arrangements of the music to include jazz, tap, hip hop, contemporary, and acro dancers too! If you've seen the ballet before, you're in for a surprise. Even if you have seen Dance It Up's production, there's always something new to discover and enjoy! Because of the many genres of dance and music we include in these unique productions, and also because of the creative twists the show takes each year, we lovingly call it "Not Just Nutcracker". We hope you'll consider joining our Nutcracker family! Auditions take place June 11 and rehearsals begin on September 6. Find more information and register at www.danceitup.com/nutcracker

New for 2025 - Performance seat assignments will be made in the ORDER IN WHICH STUDENTS REGISTER for the NUTCRACKER AUDITIONS. Students must be registered for fall classes before auditioning for Nutcracker roles. If you register for Nutcracker without first registering for classes, we will adjust your Nutcracker timestamp to reflect the date you registered for fall classes. Students may only audition for Nutcracker roles in dance genres for which they are enrolled.

Add the Adult Latin Dance class through your Dance It Up! account. Add yourself as a student and complete the registration steps. Our referral program applies to this class, too! If you have a friend, new to Dance It Up!, that wants to join you for this class, tell them to contact the office after they register to let us know to apply a referral credit to your account. We know you're going to love this dance experience!

When Miss Kaylee isn't in the studio pursuing her passion for teaching dance, she can be found chasing her other dreams: performing and choreographing. As the director of the Massachusetts-based Collective Moments Dance Company, Kaylee works to blend dance with mindfulness practices while advocating for mental health.

Whether presenting her own work with her company or dancing with others throughout Boston, such as Evolve Dynamicz and Exceptional Dance Company, Kaylee immerses herself in various dance forms. She lives and breathes dance in all its forms and feels honored to share her passion while connecting with others.

Here at Dance It Up!, Miss Kaylee works with Miss Ashley to teach tap in our Thursday Fundamentals I/II classes and teaches tap, jazz and contemporary classes to the Dance Prep through Senior Prep I levels. Want to join a class with Miss Kaylee this fall? Register for the Musical Theatre dance class for ages 7-13, she'll be teaching on Thursdays, 4:00-5:00.

Miss Kaylee loves challenging her students to be their best and we know you'll see how much they love working with her when you see them on stage in "Vacation Vibes" this June!

Read more about Miss Kaylee's dance journey and see all of the bios for our fabulous teachers on our website!

Office Hours:

Monday 2pm-7pm

Tuesday 9am-7pm

Wednesday 3pm-7pm

Thursday 3pm-7pm (closed 4/17 for Our World is Dancing! Performance)

Saturday 9am-1pm

Email: danceitup@danceitup.com
Website: www.danceitup.com
Location: 36 North Main Street, North Grafton, MA, USA
Phone: 508-839-1648
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/danceitupinc