Questions, answered

Book a placement visit. A dancer joins a class with a teacher watching, and the teacher tells you which stage fits. Wear a leotard and tights or practice clothes; socks are fine for the first visit.

Start with how much time your family wants to give. The recreational track is one or two classes a week with no audition. The company track is three to four days a week, is for ages 9 to 18, begins with an audition and includes a few regional events. A placement visit helps; so does the programs page, which sets the two side by side.

A stage is a step in the order a dancer learns, by age and by skill. A teacher moves a dancer up at a session break when the steps of the stage are done calmly and in order. The levels page lists what each stage covers. Both tracks use the same stages.

A leotard and tights, or a fitted top and leggings or shorts, with hair up and off the neck. Ballet slippers for ballet, tap shoes for tap, clean sneakers for hip hop. The family policies page has the details by class.

A grown-up waits nearby for ages 3 to 5. Every session has a watch week, when families sit along the wall and watch the class. On other days the door stays closed so dancers can hear their teacher.

Costumes for the May recital are ordered in the winter and billed before the show, one for each class that dances. The recital has a production charge for each dancer, and guests need tickets. The company track adds an audition charge, entries to regional events and travel for those that need it. Our figures are on the registration page.

One afternoon in late August. Dancers take a class with the company teachers and learn a short combination. We are looking at how a dancer listens and works in a group, and letters go out the same week. A dancer who isn't offered a place is welcome on the recreational track, and may audition again.

Three to four days a week from September to May, with class on weekday evenings and a conditioning class on Saturday morning. Rehearsals before the May recital and a few regional events a season come on top of that, most within a few hours' drive.

We ask your written permission before we share any photo of your child, on this site, in newsletters or on social media, and you can change your answer at any time. We never put a child's name with a photo, and the photos on this site are examples until we replace them with our own.

It depends on the track, the stage and how many classes a week a dancer takes. The how tuition works page explains each part, and our figures are on the registration page.