Genia Johnson Dance Company, Inc

WOW!! What a great start to the season ....!

Fall is a busy time here at GJDC! Make sure to mark your calendars with all the important dates & events and come by the front lobby from time to time to get updates and important information or check out our new GJDC merchandise.

**Sign up sheets for the Christmas parade were put out this week in the lobby. Make sure to check it out!!

** Halloween Week is this coming week! Students can wear their Halloween costumes or pumpkin attire to dance class (optional) and enjoy treats at the end of class. We've had many parents ask if they can donate snacks and goodies for the week!! YES!! You can drop off during office hours or anytime next week!

A few reminders:

1. No food or drinks will be allowed inside the studio rooms (other than a water bottle with name clearly marked).

2. All shoes should have child's name or initials clearly marked on the inside, just in case they get mixed up or lost. Preschool age children should have ballet shoes tied in a bow and then tucked into their shoe to stop from tripping on strings or them being pulled out.

3. Please have younger, preschool age children use the bathroom right BEFORE you leave the house to come to dance or right before class starts. Once one goes.... they ALL want to go ... Our helpers/assistants have been spending a lot of time doing potty breaks. We want the kids to get as much out of dance class as possible and not miss any of the important stuff!! *They are, however, always very excited to tell us about what the handsoap smells like in there, the new hair tie they grabbed from the jar, or the cool new glitter body spray that they found on the bathroom table. :)

Tri-Cities Peoples Choice Awards 2022

VOTING ENDS 10/21 (TODAY) !!

PLEASE VOTE for GJDC and send the link to a family member or friend and ask them

to help out your dance studio home stay at the top of votes!!

Vote for Genia Johnson Dance Company, Inc. in this year's Best of the Best Peoples Choice Awards for favorite dance studio among your favorite tri-city businesses.

We appreciate all the family and friends that have voted so far!

Help us to keep our top spot for another year in a row!! We can't do it without your votes!

https://lnnusa.com/tri-cities-best-of-the-best/

GJDC September/October Students of the Month

We're super excited to announce our Sept/October 2022 Students of the Month! Our teachers and staff put their heads together and came up with an amazing group of kids who have shown great work ethic, great attendance and always on time and prepared, kindness to their peers, and who were polite and respectful to their teachers. A few may have stepped out of their box or did an act of kindness when no one was watching (but they were caught!)..... We are so proud of them and hope that, in this crazy time, your kindness, love and positivity will spread like your favorite Glitter !!

Jenna Bosher

Madelyn Burton

Kendall Rollings

Emersyn Snow

Maya Tinsley

** Stop by the office this week to grab a little something special from us and look out for our special recognitions on our FB and IG !

CONGRATULATIONS <3

Upcoming Dates:

Halloween Costume Week: October 24th-29th

Wear your Halloween costumes to class! (optional)

PARENTS! YES! We are definitely accepting snacks and goodies

for our end of class Treat Parties ! You are more than welcome to bring treat bags

or just a bag of fruit, candy, etc. for our Halloween tables or specifically for your child's class.

Halloween: Monday, October 31st

Studio CLOSED

Happy Trick or Treat & stay safe!

Withdraw Deadline: Monday, October 24th

Monday, November 7th - Costume Measuring will begin !! Please make every effort to have students in all of their classes in correct dress code. *This is available on our website.

Thanksgiving Holiday: November 21st-26th

Studio CLOSED

Colonial Heights Jaycees Christmas Parade: Tuesday, December 6th/7pm

There are NO studio classes this night. We encourage all families to

participate in the parade with the studio. We will have signups for parade dancers (9 & up), float riders (all ages) and after party goodies.

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/30E0B4FA9AD2AA3FD0-genia

Winter Break: *Wednesday, December 21st - Tuesday, January 3rd, 2023

Studio CLOSED

*Please note this may be different from school systems' winter breaks.

Classes Resume: Wednesday, January 4th, 2023

GJDC in the Community !

GJDC alumni, students and parents set up a face painting and tattoo table at the Touch a Truck event held on October 15th at the Richmond Raceway. The event was put on by the Junior League of Richmond and will support many community endeavors for the greater Richmond area. The kids had a blast and were able to give back to their community and support many great causes.

Over the past 5 years, GJDC has partnered with Soles4Souls, a non-profit organization that creates sustainable jobs and provides relief through the distribution of shoes and clothing around the world. Every fall and spring season, we hosted a shoe drive at the studio and donated in total over 300 pairs of shoes!! Unfortunately, the Richmond area donation center has closed down, but DSW has taken the spot of donation site. GJDC donated over 80 pairs of shoes yesterday in support of Soles4Souls. Thank you to all of the families who donated this past Spring season!

Colonial Hts Christmas Parade Info

The Annual Colonial Heights Christmas Parade is scheduled to be held on Tuesday, December 6th at 7pm. There will be no regularly scheduled classes at the studio this evening and we hope everyone will join GJDC or come watch and cheer us on!

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Can you believe it's already time to be thinking about Christmas ?! Our newsletter has candy corn on it!!! It feels like it was just 76 degrees yesterday !! (Oh, wait... it was....Crazy Va weather!)

We have SIGN UP sheets located in the front lobby.

Dancers: Must be 9* years old and (* or Teacher Approved) Jazz experience is recommended.

If you have questions about if your child is eligible, just give us a call/email.

There will only be 4 practices for parade, (11/12, 11/18,11/25,12/3). These are not technique learning classes, these are Choreography learning classes. It will most likely be chilly/cold outside and they will be in a costume/tights. Each dancer will have a parade fee of $35 (which includes rehearsals and costume rental ) and must purchase correct tights, shoes and any accessories needed on your own. This information will be sent in email after the 1 or 2 rehearsal, once we get an accurate count of dancers.

Why 9 years old to dance?! Safety. Period. There are thousands of people out at the parades. Dancers dance down the length of CH Boulevard (1-1.5miles).... There is sometimes a pretty decent waiting time as well before our unit pulls out, and once we start they must finish.....there's no where to go and there is no potty break mid parade...

Why Jazz? Because a lot of the choreography has jazz technique. This is a recommended requirement but if your child has taken numerous years of ballet, hip hop, modern etc or has skipped a year or so in jazz, but has kept up in technique...they will probably be fine. Our teachers/staff will be honest about if the Christmas parade choreography is a good fit for you. We want everyone to look and feel their best !!

We need float riders of ALL ages! We also encourage our students and dance family to be Float Riders. We have a Christmas theme decorated float that will transport our GJDC family down the Boulevard behind our dancing unit. Riders need to have a GJDC hoodie (pre-order/see below), a previous Christmas parade sweatshirt or a logo'd jacket. Hoodies are available for pre-order, please see the front office. It should be a fun, exciting night/afternoon for ALL! Please wear Black, White or Purple accessories!

More information will be available once we receive our packets from the City with details on our parade number and lineup information.

CHRISTMAS PARADE AFTER PARTY !

We will be holding an after party directly after the parade! Warm up with hot chocolate and treats! It's a super fun way to get into the holiday season after a fun night of parade-ing!!

Below is the Signup Genius for Parent Volunteers to bring treats/snacks to share and to help set up the event!! Reminder emails will also be sent out closer to time!

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/30E0B4FA9AD2AA3FD0-genia