Frequently Asked Questions

Can my child try a class before we register?

Yes, you are welcome to come try your first class for free. Please contact us to inquire about a time.

*Please note a trial class is subject to class availability (our regular classes run from September to June) and registration is first come, first serve. If your dancer is older, depending on their experience, we may request you come to the studio for a short program placement assessment.

How many students are in your classes?

Our maximum class size ranges from 8-14 students. We have a teacher and teaching assistant for our Minis,

Pre-Primary, and Primary ballet classes.

When do classes start and end? What holidays does the studio close for?

The dance year works like a school year, running from September to June, with a break through the summer. We start the dance year the week after Surrey Schools go back and end regular classes right before our June dress rehearsal and show. You can click here to see our Important Dates page, which is kept updated with all the important dates you need to know. You can even mark in your calendar when the year end dress rehearsal and show are!

Where can I park?

We have three designated Mi-Cher parking spaces (spaces numbered 214), located to your left upon entering the parking lot. There are an additional 1 VISITOR and 2 SMALL CAR spaces you can park in. There is also some parking available along Croydon Drive, but please use extreme caution in crossing the road, as people tend to go very quickly around that corner.

Should my dancer practice at home?

Yes, our teachers can always tell when dancers have been practicing at home. Make sure any practicing is done full out and with proper technique - muscles remember how things are practiced.

Will I be able to watch my child dance and perform?

Yes, there will be three opportunities to watch your child throughout the dance year. There will be open house before Winter Break and Spring Break to watch classes and a live year end production performance at a theatre.

Do I have to buy a ticket to watch the year end production?

Yes, renting the theatre for our dress rehearsal and year end production performance costs thousands of dollars. The tickets cover this cost.

How many dances will my child have in the year-end production? Can my child have a solo in the show?

Your child will have a group dance for each class they have per week. For example, if your child dances three times per week, they will have three group dances in the year end production.

Only the dancers' whose home class is our most senior class have a solo dance in the show. For example, the dancers who are enrolled in three Advanced 2 ballet classes per week, will each have a solo in the show.

Do you offer exams?

Yes, at Mi-Cher Dance Academy, we believe an exam is a great goal for your child to work towards. We offer Royal Academy of Dance Children’s and Vocational ballet exams.

Does my child have to take a ballet exam?

We are happy for your child to have the opportunity to take a ballet exam, but it is not mandatory. When it comes time for registering for a ballet exam, if your child's teacher feels that they can be ready for an exam, you will receive an "Intent to Enter" form with information on what taking an exam requires. For those who do not want to take the exam, they will continue with classes as usual. At a certain point (when the dancers get older) they would need to take an exam if they wanted to be able to do any further exams, but we would let you know all the details regarding exams and prerequisites at that point.

Successful completion of a Royal Academy of Dance Graded ballet exam, gives the student a certificate, mark sheet, and medal pin.

For Royal Academy of Dance Vocational ballet exams, successful completion would earn BC School credit. You can see here which levels apply to which grades and credit value: https://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/datacollections/course_registry_web_search/search-result.php?txtDBAName=*Royal%20Academy%20of%20Dance*&lstCourseType=2936

How do marks work for RAD ballet exams?

For RAD syllabus work and exams, the goal is to train well-rounded dancers; this requires working on both areas of strength and areas that have room for growth. For the year end production, our goal is to give the dancers choreography that shows their strongest dance qualities so the dancers look their absolute best on stage. Whereas, an exam is meant to evaluate the dancer's ability and level of proficiency in all areas of applicable ballet technique.

When looking at your dancer's RAD ballet exam mark, it should be thought of differently than a school grade mark. In school, where you may be aiming for an A (e.g. over 80/100), for a ballet exam, this mark is much more difficult to achieve.

The mark students can attain is divided into 6 categories: Standard not attained (0-39), Pass (40-54), Merit (55-64), High Merit (65-74), Distinction (75-84), and High Distinction (85-100).

This exam mark is divided into 10 sections (10 marks per section, to equal 100). When the examiners give a mark for each part, there are many factors that contribute to that mark. Here is what the numbers mean:

0 No work shown

1 extremely limited ability to achieve the elements assessed

2 very limited ability to achieve the elements assessed

3 limited ability to achieve the elements assessed

4 adequate ability to achieve the elements assessed

5 fair ability to achieve the elements assessed

6 fairly good ability to achieve the elements assessed

7 good ability to achieve the elements assessed

8 very good ability to achieve the elements assessed

9 excellent ability to achieve the elements assessed

10 exceptional ability to achieve the elements assessed

For example, if a dancer was consistently good in every single area of the exam, they would achieve a 70/100, which would be High Merit.

Why does my child need to take Intermediate Foundation for more than one dance year?

As your dancer gets older, the ballet levels get harder and require more hours of training and practice to achieve and prepare for an exam. Around the time dancers get into the older levels, they also are typically growing and reaching puberty, which often requires the dancers to build more strength and re-learn how to move their body in some ways.

The Royal Academy of Dance has a number of recommended hours for each level. As you will notice, the number of hours of recommended practice time greatly increases for the older levels. They also note that the learning rate of individual students will vary, and the length of exam training for each student is at the discretion of the teacher.

Does Mi-Cher work with the Canadian Tire Jumpstart Program for financial assistance? Is there a form to complete?

We have had students use the Canadian Tire Jumpstart Program in the past. The student’s parents complete the application; we just let them know that our legal business name is Mi-Cher Dance Academy (2021) Ltd. If the application is approved, we receive a cheque directly from Jumpstart and apply it to future class invoices.

Here are some links that may be helpful:

Information for who qualifies and the application: https://jumpstart.canadiantire.ca/pages/individual-child-grants
Jumpstart Frequently Asked Questions: https://jumpstart.canadiantire.ca/pages/faq