Brief Notes about Saturday

Dear all,

Please note

• The music room is for Adults and Swallow. The choir room for Butterfly and Rabbit. Pandas may use it too. There are no mirrors there. You need to bring your own mirrors.

• Butterfly and Rabbit students will see your names on the spot. That is the place for you to put your costumes.

• When our program is finished, we need to exit quickly. Please do not change there. Just get our stuff and leave. We must clear out by 9:55. Otherwise, we'll get fined.

Thanks and see you tomorrow!

Xiwei Chen

READY for RECITAL!!!

Dear all,

How exciting, it is THE day this Saturday! Please read this message carefully for all the important information.

• No classes in the studio. However, please do not arrange extra activities for your children in the morning. They are going to have a long, busy afternoon into late evening. Let them rest well and feed them well too.

• Warm up at home. Put hair up into a bun. Put on makeups. Come in your first dance costumes and have others ready.

• Arrive at the theater by 2:50. The door opens at 3:00 and we start our dress rehearsal right away.

• Bring food for your dancers. We'll bring water and bananas but can't provide other food. You may not have time to go out for food after the rehearsal. Everyone must be in the theater by 6:00.

• Makeup, makeup! Makeup is a very important part of costumes. Without or not having enough makeup, the beautiful features of your child will be washed away in the strong lights on the stage. Makeup includes foundation, blush, eye liners, and lip sticks.

For your convenience, we do have flowers in the lobby so you can purchase for your dancers. April Rain T shirts are on sale too.

Let's work together to have a beautiful, wonderful, and successful recital gain!!!

Thank you!

Xiwei Chen

Updated Recital Program

 1. A Thousand Red Flowers千红 （Butterfly）

2. Flowers and Butterflies花与蝴蝶 （Panda）

3. By the Creek (Dai Ethnic) 在水边 （IrisWang，Michelle Huang，Claire Deng）

4. A Village Girl山村小姑娘 （Alyna Lee）

5. Raindrops 雨点（Butterfly）

6. On the Grassland (Mongolian) 草原儿女（Swallow）

7. Graceful (Classic) 柔美 （Adults）

8. Flying Fairies (Dunhuang) 飞天 （AimeeKeller，Samantha Gargano）

9. Jasmine茉莉花 （Rabbit）

10. Drifting Clouds (Xinjiang) 白云 （GraceBrown）

Intermission

11. Calligraphy水墨畅想（Swallow）

12. Peacocks (Dai) 小孔雀 （Rabbit）

13. Tango with me探戈 （Adults）

14. On the Horseback (Mongolian) 小牧民 （AnyaLoo, Isabella Shi）

Growing up with April Rain 成长 (Video/Slide Show)

15. Horizon (Mongolian) 天边 （Jenna Han）

16. Wind 风 （Rose Morgan）

17. Tibetan River (Tibetan) 扎西德勒 （Butterfly & Rabbit）

18. You are my Sun / Star太阳 . 星星 （Panda & parents）

19. Awards

 

Essential Info about Recital 4/16

Dear all,

Please save this message for your reference. It contains lots of important information for the recital.

On 4/16:

Do not go to the studio. No classes there. 

Theater: Brentwood Christian School 11908 N Lamar Blvd, Austin, TX 78753. On Lamar, you'll see the sign as Brentwood Christian Church. Turn in. The theater is the first building on the left by the parking lot.

Time: Everyone must be there at 3:00. Do not be late!

Arrive in your first dance costumes, hair up in a bun, and have makeup on. 

Dress rehearsal starts right away by the program order on the stage, testing out the lighting and sound system and everything else. The rehearsal may take about 2 hours. Only Panda will rehearse their 2 dances back to back so they don't have to stay there for that long. 

Best is to bring food and drink with you. We can't provide food because of the school regulation but parents can. Volunteers are more than welcome. If you go out for food, you must be back by 6:00. You may need to fix your hair and put up more makeup. 

Performance starts at 7:00. 

Change area: There are 2 rooms, the music room (be careful with the music instruments) is for Adults and Swallow, the choir room is for others. We'll set up a screen on the stage side as you may have to change right there.

Dance Order: Check the revised program. Make sure that you know which dances your students are in.  

Students must stay with your team class all the time. Here are the class moms to keep the students together, take them to and off the stage:

Panda: Debbi Keller (Katie's mom), need one more volunteer please

Rabbit: Sunny Xu (Michelle's mom), Yan Zhang (Isabella's mom)

Butterfly: Carol Duncan (Ella's mom), Dianne Harwood (Allie's mom)

Swallow: Lisa Nie (Jenna's mom)

Adults: Guess you don't need a mom ^_^

Please let me know for any questions or suggestions.

Let's have a wonderful, successful, and happy recital again!

Thanks!

Xiwei Chen

Please DON'T MISS CLASS THIS SATURDAY!!!

DDear all,

Please do make the class this Saturday! It is the last practice time before the recital. Each group will finalize the curtain call and practice, practice...

If you didn't get the 2 free tickets last Saturday yet, please remember to pick them up this Saturday. Also, hope that each family can purchase at least 2 more extra tickets for your folks.

Attached is the revised flyer. Please help spread it. You may print it out and post it somewhere or put it up to your facebook, Wechat, and anywhere else. Let's try to bring people in. It is our big time. Our students have been working so hard for it. Let's give them the greatest support!

Do not bring costumes to class this Saturday but do try them on at home to make sure that everything works. Label each piece too!

Again, come with the hair up into a bun. Hair is SO important that we must practice on how to make it stay good for the whole time.

I'm sending more detailed information for the recital 4/16 in the next email. Please do check it out.

Thanks and see you all this Saturday!

Xiwei

Lost and Found: Look!

These items were left in the studio last week. Please email Ms Chen if any of the things belong to your daughter. 

Thanks,

Carol

CHANGE to Sunday's performance plan

Dear all,

The event organizer rescheduled a few times and finally let us visit the site this afternoon. To our dismay, it is not going to be in the main auditorium but in the children't center where there's a big room with no stage. Therefore, we have to change our plans accordingly. It's all my fault that I assumed the big stage when I just heard about the church's name. I'm very sorry for any inconvenience that this change may bring to you.

Because of the limited space and lack of place to change, we have to cancel the Panda and Adults performance and reduce the dances to only these:

1. Calligraphy (Swallow, Aimee, Samantha, Hewetts)

2. Jasmine (Rabbit)

3. Horizon (Jenna Han)

4. Drifting Clouds (Grace Brown)

5. Raindrops (Butterfly)

Please be there by 2:30. Come dressed in costumes. We can put on makeup in the big room but there's no other rooms for us to change.

Parking is no problem. Come to the children's center. You may check out their campus map here: http://www.riverbend.com/new

I'm sorry again. Thank you for understanding!

Xiwei Chen

Recital Tickets!

Dear all,

The tickets will be ready to distribute this Saturday. Each family will get 2 free tickets. 

The tickets are $10 to public. People can buy it online at www.aprilrainchinesedance.com

$5 for April Rain students to purchase for your family and friends. 

Please help spread the news and bring in lots of audience! Let's give our dancers as much encouragement and support as possible!

You may purchase the tickets this Saturday. To order in advance, please email to Sophy at:

sophylovelife@gmail.com

Thank you!

Xiwei Chen

This Sunday 4/3 Performance

Dear all,

This Sunday 4/3, we'll perform at the Riverbend Church, 4214 N Capital of Texas Hwy, Austin, TX 78746. If you cannot make it and haven't told me yet, please let me know now. We have only this Saturday's classes to make arrangement accordingly.

Arrive at the church by 2:15. The event starts at 3:00 and our performance time is about 3:30 - 3:45. We will take the time before the event to walk on the stage and get ourselves ready.

This is a great opportunity that we can take not only as a performance but also as the dress rehearsal for our recital. Time is limited. I first intended just to put up the group dances but have to include 2 solos so that Butterfly and Rabbit will get enough time to change costumes. Please check the dance list below and let me know if you have questions/suggestions.

Thanks!

Xiwei Chen

1.       Calligraphy 水墨畅想（Swallow）

2.       Jasmine 茉莉花 （Rabbit）

3.       Graceful (Classic) 柔美 （Adults）

4.       A Thousand Red Flowers千红（Butterfly）

5.       Peacocks (Dai) 小孔雀 （Rabbit）

6.       On the Grassland (Mongolian) 草原儿女 （Swallow）

7.       Raindrops 雨点（Butterfly）

8.       Flowers and Butterflies花与蝴蝶（Panda）

9.       Tango with me 探戈 （Adults）

10.     Horizon （Mongolian）天边（Jenna Han）

11.     Drifting Clouds (Xinjiang) 白云（Grace Brown）

12.   Zha Xi De Le (Tibetan) 扎西德勒（Butterfly & Rabbit）

This Saturday's Classes 4/2

Dear all,

No need to bring in costumes this Saturday. However, DO come with your hair up into a bun! At the dress rehearsal last Saturday, the most problematic thing was the hair and hair pieces. 

Let's practice on putting up the hair. Make sure that the bun is good enough to last for the whole time! Don't let the hair get loose and drop the hair pieces and ruin the beauty of the dances!

Please still get your costumes ready at home. Try them on to see if you need to alternate some. Label each piece. 

Thank you!

Xiwei Chen

Dress Rehearsal THIS SATURDAY!

Dear Butterfly class,

We'll have our first dress rehearsal this Saturday 3/26 in the studio. I'm sending this email to each class for the specific information. If you have students in different classes, you'll receive it more than once.

Please come with your hair done and NOT in your costumes. We'll practice the dances in the first 30 minutes wearing regular dance clothes. Then we'll change into costumes before rest of rehearsal. Makeup is not necessary, 

Hair: put up into a bun. No bangs, no loose hair. Bring bobby pins to secure the head pieces.

Costumes: Including from head pieces to shoes. Write your name on a tape and stick it to every piece of your costumes. Put each set of the costumes in separate plastic bags and write your name on them. You must be able to grab the right costumes and change in a very short time, like in 5 minutes.

ALSO: NUDE TIGHTS

Your children will need to wear nude color tights. I believe most of you have them already. If not, you may find them at Target or Walmart. 

Be aware that we'll have to change in the same room. If you feel uncomfortable, you may wear a nude color body suite or bring a big towel as a cover.

Below is the draft program. Please let me know if you have any questions or suggestions.

Costumes to bring: Red Flowers (blue), Tibetan. Will bring you the just arrived contemporary dance (Raindrops) costumes. If you haven't paid and didn't get the costumes yet, please remember to bring the payment.

Everyone please do make the class! Not much time left for the recital. Let's put on our best dances!!!

Thanks and see you then!

Xiwei Chen

-----------------------------

PROGRAM 2016 RECITAL

1. A Thousand Red Flowers千红 （Butterfly）

2. Flowers and Butterflies花与蝴蝶 （Panda）

3. By the Creek (Dai Ethnic) 在水边 （IrisWang，Michelle Huang，Claire Deng）

4. On the Grassland (Mongolian) 草原儿女（Swallow）

5. Flying Fairies (Dunhuang) 飞天 （AimeeKeller，Samantha Gargano）

6. Tango with me探戈 （Adults）

7. Horizon (Mongolian) 天边 （Jenna Han）

8. Jasmine茉莉花 （Rabbit）

9. Drifting Clouds (Xinjiang) 白云 （GraceBrown）

10. Raindrops 雨点（Butterfly）

Intermission

11. 水墨畅想（Swallow）

12. On the Horseback (Mongolian) 小牧民 （AnyaLoo, Isabella Shi）

13. A Village Girl山村小姑娘 （Alyna Lee）

14. Graceful (Classic) 柔美 （Adults）

15. Peacocks (Dai) 小孔雀 （Rabbit）

16. Wind 风 （Rose Morgan）

17. Zha Xi De Le (Tibetan) 扎西德勒 （Butterfly & Rabbit）

18. You are my Sun / Star太阳 . 星星 （Panda & parents）

19. Awards