4/15/20 EMAIL – A Call to Move Forward in Faith with MKS
Dear MKS Students and Families,
We know that so many families are dealing with a wide variety of life situations and needs right now. We are making decisions with limited knowledge of the future and doing our very best to balance safety/good health with offering the value that you have come to expect from My King Studio over the past 18 years.
CANCEL OR MOVE FORWARD?
We have been faced with options of just canceling or continuing forward in faith. Ultimately, I have sought God in prayer and seek to obey Him in all that we do in and through My King Studio. Our mission statement is as follows:
- To glorify God using the gifts and talents that He has blessed us with!
- To prepare dancers for ministry and professional dance.
- To offer dance classes that promote good health and enjoyment through the art of Dance.
In order to stay true to our purpose, we have chosen to step forward in faith and follow the mantra of show biz “The show must go on.” The disciples had no idea on Good Friday that Jesus would essentially say the same thing to them on Resurrection Sunday. What felt like a dead end to them was really a surprising opening to new life!
We teach, because we love to connect with our students, speak into their lives and provide them the opportunity to use their gifts and talents to “speak” to others through dance. We want God’s message of life and hope to go out this year, even if we have to do it in a way that looks different, is disappointing in some ways, and is not what we were hoping for. We continue to learn so much during this time, and we know that moving forward will teach us more. If we do nothing, there will be nothing to learn. The best we can do is focus on the positive and see what God will show us.
HOW TO MOVE FORWARD?
We have been looking at the options of postponing our full performance versus doing the in-studio professional recordings along with individual/group photos:
Postponing our full performance
· Pros
– Full performance experience in the auditorium as normal with all 5 shows
· Cons
– Extending out the school year through summer – asking for families to continue to pay for additional classes/keep employees paid
– Students growing/costumes not fitting
– Potentially putting our students and families at a health risk by asking them to come into an auditorium filled with 700+ people after weeks (and months possibly) of quarantine & social distancing. That is if we would be allowed into a facility in a timely manner.
– VS. –
Doing the in-studio professional recordings along with individual/group photos
· Pros
– Students will be able to perform their dances in costume, with hair done and light make-up, and gain experience in a recorded setting.
– We have a professional Videographer, Photographer, and the MKS Staff willing to put in (8) 12 hour days recording, photographing and rehearsing/performing with our students, because we do not want to miss the opportunity to help our dancers and tumblers shine this year!
– We are blessed with a facility that we have already begun adapting into a recording studio including lights, professional sound, and a backdrop!
– We can have students come in one class at a time for their photos, rehearsal time and video recording to reduce the amount of people in one space.
– We can set up a live-feed camera with monitor to show through the front door during the recording time for parents & family members to watch on-site.
– All participating families will receive free access to the digital recording of the full Dance Concert that can be shared with family members as part of their Dance Concert fee.
– We are working to find creative solutions for the show opener, Kingdom Dancer Finale, and Finale Dance.
– We will be able to end our 19-20 year on time if we can do this the first 2 weeks of June.
– God’s message will still go out to our families and into our community!
· Cons
– We miss out on the full experience in the auditorium this year. It is terribly disappointing for us all!
I wanted to share all of that with you, so that you will know we continue to take many factors into consideration when making decisions that affect hundreds of families that we serve. We know that there are even more factors not listed but want you to hear our hearts. And we know that although everyone will not be 100% pleased with what is decided, we hope that you will trust in our commitment to do the very best we can, given the circumstances.
WHAT ABOUT THE MONEY?
– THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONTINUED SUPPORT – WE CANNOT DO IT WITHOUT YOU!
We are in a position in the short-term to make some sacrifices on our end and continue working for our students in order to finish out this school year strong. Please remember that the studio is our livelihood as well as our passion, and I desire to employ the hard-working MKS Staff through all of this as is possible. I have been working tirelessly along with my staff since mid-March in converting our entire operation into an online experience and will continue to work with the same energy toward the best Dance Concert possible for our students and their families!
I know that many families are struggling and are unsure about the future, and we are incredibly thankful for the support so many families have already shown and continue to show – through prayers, words of encouragement, continued engagement with classes, and tuition as is possible.
– MAY TUITION
Regarding May Tuition, we are offering the same payment options as April. Please let us know if you would like us to change your payment status from what it was in April. We will send out emails soon to let you know in which category we currently have your family.
OPTION 1 – OKAY FOR MAY: If your family can pay the monthly tuition amount for your dancer(s), and this is the same option you chose for April, you do not have to contact us with any changes to your account.
OPTION 2 – 50% FOR MAY: If your family has been affected financially, you can still contribute 50% of the tuition amount for your dancer(s), and this is a change from your April tuition amount, please REPLY TO THIS EMAIL WITH YOUR DANCER’S FULL NAME and let us know that you would like OPTION 2 – 50% FOR MAY.
OPTION 3 – ON HOLD FOR MAY: If your family has been affected financially, and you need to put your account on hold for now, and this is a change from what you paid in April, please REPLY TO THIS EMAIL WITH YOUR DANCER’S FULL NAME and let us know that you would like OPTION 3 – ON HOLD FOR MAY.
Regardless of the option that you choose, all online videos & classes will be available to you and we will be including your dancer(s) in the modified Dance Concert.
Please email back (reply to this email or to [email protected]) to let us know NO LATER THAN NEXT FRI 5/1 if you would like us to make changes to your tuition amount for MAY. We WILL respond back to you via email. If you do NOT get an email back from us, please call us at 636-978-3321.
– DANCE CONCERT COSTUMES & FEE
Regarding Costumes and the Dance Concert fee, we are unable to issue refunds. We cannot return our costumes to the local company that produces our costumes. We are hopeful that by keeping our costumes, it will be a blessing to the hundreds of St. Louisans who work there. I have been working with this company for over 20 years, and they are generous and a huge support to the studios they serve. Please know that your costume is not just a manufactured item but represents real people who are in our community. In addition, we at the studio have also already invested countless hours in preparing the costumes – measurements, ordering, organizing costumes, etc. Costumes will be handed out the last week in April. (See below for details.)
The Dance Concert Fee this year will cover the costs of producing the show, and all participating families will receive free access to the digital recordings of the Dance Concert that can be shared with family members as well. It will also cover our other typical expenses for Dance Concert – staffing, props, staging materials, etc.
POTENTIAL TIMELINE FOR MOVING FORWARD?
Right now, we are hoping that if our community is doing a good job with the quarantine and social distancing, we will be clear to be back in the studio for the recordings in June. If so, specific schedules will be released soon, and our timeline is as follows:
Fri 4/24 – Thurs 4/30 Costume Pick-up at MKS – Costumes will be placed in your trunk to maintain proper social distancing.
Mon 5/11 – Sat 5/16 Virtual Class Rehearsals via Zoom – We are planning for these will be right around your regular class time on your regular class day. There will be slight adjustments, as we will be scheduling a full hour for each class.
Mon 5/25 – Sat 5/30 Virtual Class DRESS REHEARSALS via Zoom and/or possibly in-studio classes – depending on the situation in our world. Options will be available for families.
Mon 6/1 – Thurs 6/4 Dance Concert Week #1, Mon-Thurs 9am-9pm, 1 hour per class
Mon 6/8 – Thurs 6/11 Dance Concert Week #2, Mon-Thurs 9am-9pm, 1 hour per class
TBD Recording Time for Show Opener, KD Finale, and Finale
We will also be sending out information regarding VIP Early Registration for 2020-21 via snail mail along with Recommendation Forms very soon! We will be offering a different option to our families for this year. More details to come!
We pray that as we look to the future, your family will move forward with ours here at MKS! We are thankful for each of you and count the time with our students as precious. We will make it through this, and God-willing, will have a fantastic year ahead in 2020-21 – with a full Dance Concert!! Continued prayers as always and many blessings!
#MKSForwardInFaith
Jesus Reigns,
Michelle Revelle & the MKS Staff
636-978-3321