REHEARSALS
Members are expected to be at all scheduled rehearsals and performances. In the event that one must miss rehearsal, prior notice needs to be given in advance, DIRECTLY, to Drew, AT LEAST one (1) hour before the start of rehearsal. A simple phone call and/or voicemail are all it takes! Excessive unexcused absences will result in dismissal from the group. In addition, it is a known fact that certain members are involved in other activities, I.e. the WVU Colorguard. Due to scheduling conflicts, these individuals will be excused for being late to rehearsals that conflict. All other activities must be cleared through Drew, and an equal 50/50 division of rehearsal time must be adhered to. Example: If you have another activity that rehearses during the same time frame as EPC, you will be expected to split the time equally between the two activities. If the activity only meets on the same days as EPC rehearsals, you will be expected to attend one full rehearsal of EPC, or divide the rehearsal time evenly on both days. If the activity meets on days in addition to the regularly schedule rehearsals, I.e. every Tues & Thurs, you will be expected to be in attendance at the EPC Thursday rehearsals. Please be considerate of your fellow members and the staff!
As the season draws closer, as well as during the season, missed rehearsals will result in not being permitted to perform that weekend. However, all members are expected to attend all competitions, even under this circumstance. As former members can tell you, we make important adjustments and changes to the show weekly, based upon the judge’s comments from the previous shows. Plain and simple… you will not be allowed to march if you do not know your stuff!!!
Due to the fact that this activity takes place during the winter/spring months, it is inevitable that we will encounter inclement weather. This is the policy on rehearsals during such an occasion. If school is cancelled or there is an early dismissal due to weather, rehearsal will more than likely be cancelled... check the website! All decisions will be made by 3pm on rehearsal days. If school is not, rehearsal will take place. If the weather or road conditions worsen, rehearsal will be either cancelled or dismissed early, depending on the circumstances. Once the full group is compiled, a phone tree will be distributed for use during such occasions.
Regular rehearsals will take place at the National Guard Armory on the Mileground on Thursdays from 400pm-900pm (Elegance from 4P-630P/ Eloquence from 6P-9P). Members are expected to be dressed and in warm-up block at this time, which means arriving a few minutes early to change, get equipment, set the floor, etc. A rehearsal schedule will be distributed giving this information in detail, as well as rehearsal dates… Please keep this rehearsal schedule list handy. Any adjustments to the schedule will be printed and redistributed, and/or posted on the official Eloquence Website, http://www.freewebs.com/eloquencepc. The rehearsal schedule will be printed with updates and handed out periodically throughout the season.
The purpose of a rehearsal dress code is a very simple one. Rehearsals are a lot more productive when the group is dressed the same, much like in performance. This allows the instructional staff to focus in on the important things, such as body placement and equipment technique. All members are expected to wear the following to each and every rehearsal, unless otherwise noted. I would suggest bringing rehearsal attire to change into during cold weather.
Rehearsal attire is as follows:
***Black Bottoms- shorts, dance pants, tights, or sweats are all acceptable. ABSOLUTELY NO JEANS!!!! They constrict movement! UHS members should wear their gauchos from outdoor.
***Black Tops- t-shirts, tanks, etc. I would suggest short sleeve or tight fitting sleeves. No bulky sweaters, sweatshirts, etc. Again, they constrict movement.
***Hair is to be pulled back and secured away from the face, i.e. ponytail. If your hair is to short for this, I suggest a headband. It is very distracting and creates bad habits when you are busy fidgeting with your hair during practice… What you practice is what you perform!
***ALWAYS BRING YOUR GLOVES!!!!!
***Be prepared to dance barefoot… no socks! Toe straps and dance sandals are acceptable… keep in mind that these will not be worn in competition this year.
*** Most importantly…a POSITIVE ATTITUDE!!! Leave your drama and problems at the door!
Everyone will be assigned practice equipment at the beginning of the season. It is your responsibility to have it at every rehearsal! Come prepared! You wouldn’t go into math class without a pencil! I would also suggest keeping a roll of black electric tape in with your stuff… it makes life a lot more efficient!
Financial Obligations/ Fundraising
I am a firm believer in that money should never be an issue in participating in any activity. Eloquence has worked very hard to provide all of the tools of success with minimal cost to its members. Most independent programs charge their members over $1000.00 in order to participate! To understand the individual’s costs of running an organization such as ours, I did a breakdown of the costs, per student, to perform the show itself. This cost totaled out to be over $500.00, including all equipment, uniforms, and travel alone. However, we have worked hard to find alternative ways to cover these expenses. We are doing so through sponsorships, fundraising, and minimal costs from the performers. As I said before, cost should never be an issue in this activity! With this being said, the fees for participating in EPC are as follows. Each member will be expected to pay a participation fee- $400.00 for Eloquence members & $300.00 for Elegance members. This fee will be broken down into three payments: the first two are $150.00 each Eloquence members will pay a third payment of $100.00. These payments will be due on October 22, 2009, November 19, 2009, and December 8, 2009 (Eloquence). These fees will be used to purchase the following items:
Uniforms, Floor, Equipment, Bodysuits, Shoes, Gloves, Registration fees, Insurance, Wildwood registration/housing (Eloquence)
The bodysuits, shoes, and gloves will belong to the members and they will keep. All other purchases will belong to the program for reuse in the future. In addition to the fees, each member will be expected to participate in ALL fundraising efforts, as this is the key to us keeping costs so low.
Each and every member is expected to participate in all fundraisers. There will be a minimum set on each fundraiser, which all members are expected to sell. It isn’t fair to the rest of the group when only part of the group is funding the whole. Please be considerate!
Example: $250 GAS CARD RAFFLE
Cost per ticket: $5.00 each
Minimum to sell: 10 tickets
Total profit: If each member sold 10 tickets, with a total of 20 sellers, the profit would be $750.00
If everyone in the group sold the minimum… we just raised $750.00! Plain and simple… the more participation, the fewer fundraisers we need to do! With that being said, I am going to offer an additional option to those members interested. In lieu of participating in fundraisers, members may pay an additional $50.00 per month to cover their fundraising obligation. However, until this obligation has been paid in full, along with dues, ALL MEMBERS WILL BE REQUIRED TO PARTICIPATE IN FUNDRAISING!!!! Our goal this season is to have the Wildwood bus paid for by midseason, pay off all of our debts and start building a working balance. The fees to go to Wildwood are included in the participation fee for Eloquence- we will be fundraising to cover the cost of the bus to get there! I will be keeping track of how much each person has raised per fundraiser, and the remaining balance can be paid off at any time.This is a great opportunity to cut those costs!
COMPETITIONS
A complete competition schedule will be distributed and posted on the website as soon as it becomes available. The current schedule posted is a tentative lineup for the competition season. We will be attending competitions on the dates posted. All members are expected to attend all competitions through the entire season. If you have any conflicts with any of the competition days, this needs to be brought to the director’s attention immediately. While some show days are negotiable, Wildwood is mandatory in order to participate in Eloquence this year. Any members who cannot attend Wildwood will be required to march in Elegance PC.
Due to the fact that we are now an independent organization, we will be traveling to and from competitions using a carpooling system. The majority of our competitions take place in the Pittsburgh, PA area. We will be putting together a parent committee of drivers to transport members to and from all competitions. All high school students will ride together in parent vehicles. College members may carpool together or ride with parent drivers. High School members are NOT allowed to ride with college drivers UNLESS they have express written permission to do so on the day of the event. All members, drivers, and staff will be covered under our liability insurance, purchased for the organization. We will meet at a designated location prior to leaving for the show, and travel as a group both to and from the competition. This is how Eloquence traveled our first season of competition, and it worked out very well.
CODE OF CONDUCT
Everyone is expected to read and abide by the “Code of Conduct” set forth by the TIA Competition circuit. We have never had an issue with this before, and we are known for our professionalism and good sportsmanship. Failure to comply by these rules will result in immediate dismissal from the group, and possible further action taken, depending on the circumstances.
