Update from October 7th

Hello Nutcracker Families,

It is definitely a rainy Saturday out there right now, but we are excited to see everyone in the studio to start rehearsing Walk Street and Finale. Please make sure you double-check the new schedule and make sure your dancer is here on time.

The only thing due this week is curls. If your dancer needs curls and you have not taken care of this yet, you were sent an email earlier this week. If we have not seen your curls and approved them by the end of today, your dancer will be color-matched and you will be charged $30 for new curls. Thank you for your attention to this.

There is nothing due next week. YAY!!! That being said, program ads are due the following week. We currently only have 2 program ads. Dancers love seeing their pictures with a loving message in the program. Please, please, please consider putting an ad for your dancer in the program. This is a great keepsake for the 30th year!

Viktor would like everyone to know that ticket sales are low this year so far. Please advertise on social media, at work, at church, at local businesses, and pretty much everywhere that a potential audience member will be. Our dancers do not want to dance for an empty audience. Thank you :)

It will soon be time to put together gift bags for our professional dancers. Please consider donating an item to these bags. The professionals really love getting a special treat when they arrive and feel truly appreciated by this gesture. Once you have purchased your item, feel free to bring it to the studio. Thank you again!

The Little Studio Assistant spot is still empty for this week and next week. This is very important and unfortunately, those of us who are in the studio already have other responsibilities. Please consider donating 2 hours of your time to help the dancer be ready to rehearse with Viktor.https://www.signupgenius.com/go/5080B4FA4A62AA1F49-44746712-rehearsal#/

Unfortunately, the rain canceled our marketing event for today. The good news is it's rescheduled for next week! We also have the Art Walk on October 22nd and First Friday in November! The two dancers who attended last night had so much fun that they stayed even longer than scheduled! This is a great way to get the word out and sell tickets. Please consider signing up and helping out.

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/5080B4FA4A62AA1F49-44742522-market#/

Your dancer will be bringing home tights today. Please make sure you put them in a safe place until the show. They should not be worn until Friday, Dec. 1.

I think that is all for this week. See everyone later today!

Viktor, Kelly, and Marie

Update from September 28th

Hello Nutcracker Families!

Thank you all for placing your tight orders! Tights have been ordered and will be distributed during a future Saturday rehearsal. If you have not paid for tights yet, please do so as soon as possible.

1. T-shirt and sweatshirt orders are due this week. Viktor would like every dancer to purchase at least 1 shirt to use as a walking advertisement.

2. If you have a dancer who is an Angel, Party Girl, Little Doll, Big Doll, or Clara, make sure you are either bringing in your curls for us to check or you are having your dancer come get curls matched to their hair color. Curls are $30 and can be purchased at the time of the hair matching. Remember that this form is only on paper, there is no online form.

3. Program Ads will be due in the near future. So far we only have 2 ads for the program. This is a great way to highlight your dancers and show them your support. This is also great for small businesses! These ads are what pays for the program so we need all the support we can get. Jill Marhevka designs all of the ads. If you know that you are going to do an ad for your dancer please don't wait until the deadline to submit the form and picture to Jill. This way she has more time to get all of the ads designed and doesn't have a ton at the last minute. https://forms.gle/yjL4ZA3LeJzUAF1d6

4. Sell, sell, sell tickets. There will be a sheet at the attendance table for each dancer this week indicating how many tickets you have sold so far. Please make sure you get that when you sign your dancer in.

5. First Friday and Market Saturdays: Letter From Adonica Spolum

Greetings Nutcracker Families,

VYIBA is organizing Central Market Advertising Events and First Friday Events to spread the word about our Nutcracker performances coming up in the first weekend in December.

On September 30 and October 7, 2023 we would like to have dancers dressed in their best performance attire standing outside of Central Market at 23 North Market Street. Each volunteer would be responsible for a 45 minute time slot that you can select at https://www.signupgenius.com/go/5080B4FA4A62AA1F49-44742522-market

On October 6 and November 3, 2023 we would like to have ballerinas dressed in their best performance attire placed in front of the Ware Center at 42 N Prince Street. Each volunteer would be responsible for a 45 minute time slot that you can select at:(Sign Up Genius Link) https://www.signupgenius.com/go/5080B4FA4A62AA1F49-44743790-first

We are planning to hold another event for the Art Walk on October 22 from 12 - 4 pm, so keep that in mind if the above events don't work for you. The sign-up for that can be found with the First Friday sign-ups.

Please dress your dancer in a ballet recital costume that you have at home. Girls should have their hair in a bun with a hair piece or crown. Be as eye-catching as you can possibly be! Footwear can vary between regular shoes or old ballet slippers. If it is too cold to wear a costume, please wear VYIBA T-shirts and jackets or Nutcracker T-shirts.

Each dancer should be accompanied by an adult who will help by distributing fliers and magnets that advertise the show. Bags with magnets and fliers will be available at our advertising station. Just look for the 7 foot tall nutcrackers and the VYIBA Nutcracker Banner and you will find me and your supplies.

Thanks in advance for your support of our advertising event.

Sincerely,

Adonica Spolum

6. New Rehearsal Schedule for October 7, 14

https://docs.google.com/document/d/16Cd_H29lRdr4LLY77HJtzaGAkmV_E972dlIJok1l3dM/edit?usp=sharing

That's all for now!!

See everyone on Saturday,

Viktor, Kelly and Marie

Update from September 23rd

Happy Saturday Everyone!

This email is going to have requests from a few of our chair people in it. Please read all the way to the end.

1. There is a new schedule for this week. Please check the schedule carefully and make sure your dancer is in the studio 15 minutes before his/her first role is supposed to be warming up. Once a dancer has arrived at the studio for rehearsal, they should not leave until all of his/her roles are finished. If a dancer has a long break and is commited to returning to the studio on time for his/her other roles, they are permitted to leave with a parent. The parent must come up to the studio and sign them in and then sign them back out when they return. Thank you for your understanding with this new policy.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1poXjbrAa7JqB4jIAI6WtiwNHlJVLYikq3Fj2-0AOCic/edit?usp=sharing

2. Tight orders are due tomorrow! You should have received an email from us if you did not complete this order yet. All dancers MUST purchase a pair of tights for uniformity on stage.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdttXXr3OV1DU024cy2qxqN-Xhi82n_dk9ORVKiSXK4KK5jwA/viewform?usp=sharing

3. Apparel orders are due next week. Viktor would love for every dancer to purchase a t-shirt or sweatshirt to wear around town, school, or pretty much anywhere. The t-shirt was designed by our own Lilly Spolum and is a very detailed design this year. The t-shirts and sweatshirts help advertise the show and create a memory for your dancer all at the same time. While I'm on the topic of t-shirts, please make sure you checked the spelling of your dancers name on the spreadsheet from last week's email.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf7NsFJQZ8lTnrcojEvmt6EgMIifA7yNKCRvfB27Jgy7vlSWg/viewform?usp=sharing

4. Sell, sell, sell tickets. There was an advertisement in the Lancaster Newspaper this week. There will be many other advertisements in the newspaper, but the data from past years shows that most people hear about the show from dancers and their families. We are currently under where we were this time last year on ticket sales. Share the link with family, friends, teachers, doctors, random people from high school that you haven't talked to in 20 years. Social media is a great place to share the link. PLEASE tell people to PUT YOUR DANCERS NAME ON THE FORM. There are people submitting the form and writing "my grand daughters are in the show", "niece is in the show"... you get the idea. We do not have time to contact every person who submits a ticket order. If there is not an actual dancer name on the form, it will get marked as a public sale and no one will receive credit for it. Remember.... there is a prize for the top 3 ticket sellers!!!

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScnBub-s_LQTCK8HIQ6eqsgAhU0GaN7fTLZB1N8WwIsnuZPDg/viewform?usp=sharing

5. Facebook - There are only 32 members in the "VYIBA Nutcracker 2023 Participants". Please search the group on Facebook (if you have Facebook) and join this group to get many more reminders than we can put in an email. Also, if you would like to be tagged in photos that are posted daily, please add your Facebook Name exactly as it appears on Facebook and we will try to tag you when your dancer is in photos. You can do that in the name spreadsheet next to your school/school district.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1a_azlOlzc0Ky_0XEsyr05d0Fqi42cLMedE77lL7sCFQ/edit?usp=sharing

6. First Friday and Market Saturdays - These are advertising events. An email will be coming tomorrow about these events. We would like everyone who is not taking classes on Fridays and Saturdays to try their best to participate in at least one of these events. Please read the email carefully when it comes and use the Sign-up Genius to sign up for one as soon as possible. Thank you in advance for your attention to this!

7. Volunteers in the studio - We would like to encourage everyone to try to volunteer during rehearsals at least once. The only 2 jobs we have during rehearsal is the little studio assistant and the attendance table. We are happy to help you, but we desperately need the help, especially after 2 pm. Most of our current volunteers have been doing it for multiple weeks now and most are parents of older dancers. A lot of our older dancers are done rehearsal by 4 pm so we are in need of volunteers for the later timeslots. Please go to the website: https://vynutcracker.wixsite.com/vyibanutcracker/sign-ups and look for a timeslot that would work for you. We greatly appreciate it! It takes a village!!

Thank you for reading all the way to the end of this email!! I know it was a long one. Last but not least, please remember that all trash brought into the studio should leave with your dancer. Also keep in mind that GUM is NOT permitted in the studio. Viktor had to ask multiple dancers to spit out gum last week. Gum in a dance studio is just looking to be a disaster. Please do not allow your dancer to bring gum.

See everyone later!!!

Thank you,

Viktor, Marie and Kelly