Folklorama Scholarship Opportunity

Dear Dancers & Parents,

 

As many of you already know Folklorama is celebrating their 50th Anniversary this year and our founder Samuel McConnell was one of the founding members of Folklorama.  One of the many benefits of our continued membership in Folklorama is the Mark & Dorothy Danzker Scholarship for Excellence.  Several of our dancers have been recipients of this wonderful scholarship and we encourage all dancers who qualify to consider applying.  Please see below for more details!

Thank you,

 

McConnell School of Dance

 

 

Hello Folklorama Members,

On behalf of Matthew Sobocan, Chair, Scholarship Committee, we are pleased to announce Folklorama’s continued support of the Mark & Dorothy Danzker Scholarship for Excellence.  This annual award of excellence for the preservation of ethno-cultural heritage is presented to students who demonstrate an active involvement in their culture through volunteer work, employment or contributions to a cultural activity within Manitoba.

Five post-secondary scholarships of $1,000 each and one post-graduate scholarship of $2,500 will be awarded to students between the ages of 17 and 25 who are enrolled at or have been accepted to a post-secondary school in Canada.

The application forms and reference guidelines can be found on our website.  The deadline to apply is Tuesday, April 30, 2019 at 5:00pm.

If you have any questions, please email Richele Philippot, Executive Assistant, at rphilippot@folklorama.ca to learn more about this exciting opportunity.

Best regards,

Maclean Boyd
Member and Festival Services Coordinator

Folklorama - Workshop Update

FOLKLORAMA - UNITED KINGDOM PAVILION 2019

Due to extenuating circumstances, our 1st workshop on Saturday January 26th will be cancelled.  To make up the time, we will hold a longer workshop schedule on Saturday 23rd, 2019 (afternoon).  More details will follow.  Our apologies for the inconvenience to anyone's schedules and thank you for your understanding!

We are pleased to announce our 1 week allocation has been confirmed Aug 4th - 10th, 2019  ( RBC Convention Centre )

MONTHLY WORKSHOPS

• Sat, Jan 26 CANCELLED
• Sat, Feb 23
• Sat, April 13
• Sat, May 11

WORKSHOP PRACTISE SCHEDULE

4:30 - 6:00 PM - Beginner, Novice, Preliminary, Performance Level 1 & 2

5:30 - 7:00 PM - Intermediate, Adult, Performance Level 2, 3, 4

Please note, times will be altered to afternoon schedule on Saturday February 23rd.  Level 2 Performance Division & Recreational Preliminary dancers should attend both scheduled workshops, if possible.

VOLUNTEERS

Our pavilion is run and organised by our Instructors, MSDSA Board members, dancers, parents, and friends of the organisation.  It's an incredible amount of work for those who chair the various areas of the pavilion (Coordinator, Finance, Food, Bar, Volunteers, Entertainment, Bus Tours & VIP's, Cultural Area, and more) For some, the work begins in September and becomes a full time job in the summer months coming up to the festival.  The pavilion requires 100 - 150 volunteers per night in order to run successfully and fulfil all the requirements from Folklorama. We cannot operate the pavilion without the support from our dancer's parents, family, and friends and we appreciate the work everyone does to help us sponsor one of the largest and most successful pavilions in the festival.  

• We ask all dancers to please provide at least 6 hours of volunteers from friends or family for each of the 7 nights of the festival.  

ARE YOU INTERESTED IN ORGANISING AN AREA OF THE PAVILION?  

We are still in need of several chairs to help run the various areas of the pavilion and we need YOUR help!  if you haven't already done so, please contact us to sign up.  We cannot proceed with the pavilion unless we have all departments chaired.  Thank you for your support.

Your support is greatly appreciated by our school, Student's Association, and our dancers.

Parent Viewing Day Reminder

 

PARENT'S VIEWING DATES

A reminder, it's Parent's Viewing next class!

Since September we have been working hard with your children to learn their Irish dance steps, correct technique, and the love of Irish dance.  Now it’s time for you to get a first-hand glimpse into what happens in your dancer's class. We are excited to announce our first Parent Viewing Dates for 2019!

Recreational Division

Saturday, January 19th, 2019

  9:30 - 10:00 AM Beginner / Novice / Preliminary Classes as scheduled (no viewing)

10:00 - 10:30 AM Beginner / Novice / Preliminary Soft Shoe (parent viewing)

10:30 - 11:00 AM Novice / Preliminary / Intermediate Hard Shoe (parent viewing)

11:00 - 11:30 AM Intermediate Soft Shoe (parent viewing)

11:30 - 12:00 PM Intermediate Class (no viewing)

Wednesday, January 23rd, 2019

5:30 - 6:00 PM  Beginner / Novice Classes as scheduled (no viewing)

6:00 - 6:30 PM  Beginner / Novice Soft Shoe (parent viewing)

6:30 - 7:00 PM  Novice / Preliminary Hard Shoe (parent viewing)

7:00 - 7:30 PM  Preliminary / Intermediate Soft Shoe (parent viewing)

7:30 - 8:00 PM  Intermediate Hard Shoe (parent viewing)

8:00 - 8:30 PM  Intermediate  / Adult Classes as scheduled (no viewing)

  

Performance Division

Tuesday, January 22nd, 2019

5:30 -  6:30 PM  Team 1 & 2 classes as scheduled (no viewing)

6:30 -  8:00 PM  Team 1 -  4 (parent viewing)

8:00 -  8:30 PM  Team 1 - 4 classes as scheduled (no viewing)

8:30 - 10:00 PM Team 3 & 4 classes as scheduled (no viewing)

 

Please mark the dates on your calendar so you don't miss the opportunity to watch your dancer's progress in class!  

To make the experience a positive one for everyone including parents, teachers and especially the dancers, we have a few general do’s and don’ts suggestions.

Here are the do’s…

Do attend! The doors will be open and you're welcome to stay for the entire viewing session. It's alright if you arrive late, please come in!  In some cases, classes will be combined.

Do share with your dancer how excited you are to see what they’ve been up to and to show off their new skills. Write parent viewing days on the calendar, set a reminder in your phone and let your dancer know that this is a special opportunity for you to see what they’ve been working on.

Do take photos and videos, but please be respectful of teachers, other dancers, and parents who may not want their photos and videos posted on social media. Focus the lens on your child – you’re here to see them!

Do save your comments and questions for the teacher until the end of class.  You will have an opportunity to discuss any concerns you have with the instructor then!

Do participate if asked. Some teachers may have organised something for the parents to join in with and we promise it will be fun!

Do listen to the teacher’s corrections of your dancer and others as well – this will help you understand what your child is working on in class and encourage them to practice at home.

Do recognise that an audience may be intimidating for some dancers and be very positive and supportive to all students throughout the viewing. The best way to do this is to smile! 

Do clap for all of the dancers at the end of class! They’ve worked very hard and deserve some applause.

Now for a few don’ts…

Don’t check your phones or other electronics. Use them to take pictures and videos but please wait until after class to check your emails, take a call or respond to text messages.

Don’t be a distraction. Talking to your child, correcting your child, speaking over the teacher or asking your child to pose for a picture are all distractions to your dancer, the other dancers, the parents and the teacher. We want to show your dancer’s maximum potential to you and we can’t do that if they’re distracted. This is your turn to sit back, enjoy and let your child do all the work!

Don’t stay away because you have an older dancer – viewing week is not just for our littlest dancers and your dancer (no matter their age) may be just as excited to show you what they’ve been working on in class.

Don’t bring your dancer’s siblings and extended family in to watch. Viewing takes place in the studio and with too many people, the studio may get very tight. While we encourage just parents to attend parent viewing we absolutely encourage aunts, uncles, grandparents and other family members and friends to attend the year-end recital. As a reminder, if younger children must attend, be sure to bring an activity to keep them occupied so not to disturb the dancers.

Don’t chat with or whisper to other parents during the class, if you have a specific concern speak with the instructor privately away from the other students and parents.

Don’t bring food into the room, but not to worry, water or covered coffee mugs are fine. 

Don’t be surprised or intervene if your child receives a disciplinary instruction during the class (i.e. asked to stop talking or to pay attention); every class comes with its own expectations and structure and the teacher will remind students of this when necessary in the context of the added distraction of an audience.

Don’t give disappointing glances. Everyone learns differently and every dancer in the room will have their own strengths and technique they need to work on. Try to remember that they are working very hard and some steps and techniques will take longer than others.

And Don’t Forget…

We look forward to seeing you at Parents Viewing Dates!

Thank you,