Audio Transcript
Hi! It’s Ruth. I’m here at your Silver Creek Clogging Dance and Movement Center in Silverton, Oregon; the home of Dance Classes that Make Kids HappyTM.
This is What’s Happening at Silver Creek Clogging, the week of December 7th.
Yes, it is December and, with the coming of December, I’ve really felt a sense of hopefulness; both within myself and from other people around me. It’s been really amazing to feel that sense of hopefulness. I know that there are still challenges ahead for us but, to feel that sense of hopefulness, in the larger community around me and within myself, has been a boost to my spirit. I hope that you are feeling a sense of hopefulness, too.
Before we get into all of our studio information, updates and announcements, I want to give you a heads up that we are going to be doing an in-depth look at our studio values in the near future.
In case you don’t know, Silver Creek Clogging has a set of studio values. These values guide everything that we do here, at Silver Creek Clogging.
They guide the events and activities that we host and participate in. They guide what we do in classes, our class curriculum. They guide our conduct expectations, of our students and our families. They guide everything that we do here, at Silver Creek Clogging, and one of the really cool things, the things I really like, about these studio values is, that they’re a journey. They’re a journey for our studio, as an entity. They’re a journey for our teams/individual classes. They’re a journey for our individual students. They’re progressive and, at the same time, they’re cyclical; so, they guide what you do as an individual dancer, as well as what we do as a studio. So, they’re just really, really cool. I like them. They’re more of a journey. Principles that we follow, values that guide us.
So, I’m going to give you a little brief introduction to our studio values, just so you kind of have an idea of what’s coming up, but we will save the in-depth look for the future.
So, quick introduction to each of our studio values.
The first value is joy. This is our first value because it truly is the foundation of everything, the common thread that runs through everything, that we do. That joy that you feel in your heart, deep inside of you, that connects you with who you truly are, that is the heart of it all. That’s the foundational value, that’s the seed, that with it grows everything else.
From there, our second value is community. For us here, at Silver Creek Clogging, for you as our students and our families, community starts with each individual and radiates far beyond our studio walls. Each individual dancer carries within them positivity, encouragement, support; not only to themselves but to their teammates, to others in the studio (dancers and family members in our studio community), and then the wider community as a whole.
And, community is so important for a lot of reasons; but, one of the most important reasons why this is a value, that we want to guide us, is because, we truly believe that together we can accomplish great things.
Yeah, we can accomplish much more together than we can as factions or as an individual so, together we can accomplish great things.
Our third value is courage. And courage is what’s deep inside of all of us. It’s that deep, internal strength that helps you to do hard things, and helps you to do things that sometimes are even a little bit scary. And, to develop that courage is so important to us. We want you to develop courage. We want you to feel safe and that you can dare to dream and that you can stretch yourself. So, we have put things into place to foster a studio environment in which you can feel safe to stretch yourself, where you can feel safe to dream, where you can grow your courage muscle; because, dreaming and being courageous is so important. That’s where the possibilities begin; that dreaming and stretching yourself.
Our fourth studio value is challenge and each individual dancer’s challenges are unique. We know there are going to be highs and lows all along the way and that, through the challenges, you as a dancer will grow. Through goal setting, through trying hard things, that’s where the real growth comes.
So, we know that as you achieve your goals, as you take on those challenges, that’s when you will discover what you’re capable of. You’ll do something that you think is so super hard but, you’ll tackle that challenge and you will achieve that goal and you will continue to tackle the next challenge and achieve that next goal and then you’ll be looking back and thinking, “Oh, my gosh. When I very first started clogging, chugs were hard. Now, look what I’m doing! I am doing more than I even could imagine. I am capable of more than I dreamed of.” And, that’s not only for you as a dancer, but for you as a team. As your class/team and as our larger community, as a whole. So, those challenges, goal setting, working on those hard things; that is so, so important.
Our last and final value is growth. So, here, at Silver Creek Clogging, it’s important to us to focus on your growth; not just as a dancer, but in other areas of your life. So, we really want to foster a positive, team-focused, empowering environment; we really want our instructors to provide student-focused coaching and mentoring; and, also, it’s really important to us that we are providing quality dance education. So, that is our definition of growth.
And, with this, joy, and community, courage, challenge – all of that – that journey that you’re on, as a dancer, that is the groundwork; the groundwork is laid for you to grow for a lifetime here, at Silver Creek Clogging.
So, those are our studio values. Again, those are what guide everything that happens at the studio; everything we do here. They guide how our students conduct themselves, and they’re also reflected in how our students conduct themselves, and reflected in what we do here at the studio.
So, those are our studio values and I’m really looking forward to going into a little bit more depth on those values in the coming weeks, to share with you a little bit more about what we stand for, and the values that drive us, and that we follow. So, there we go.
Now, into the information and announcements. We really only have one main announcement and that is the competition entry deadline.
Competition entry deadline is Thursday, January 7th; and that is the competition entry deadline for both Portland (the first weekend in February) and Boise (the second weekend in February). So, we’ve talked a little bit in class, over the last few months, about competition. Individual students and individual teams are working on material for competition. The only class that is required to participate in the Portland competition is Team Dynamite. Everyone else, it’s optional. So, we’ve already we’ve been talking about that in class. We’ll talk a little bit more, specifically, about that in class and then, families, you can kind of discuss that as well.
The sign up form is linked in your email, so please check that to get the sign up form and, of course, let me know if there are any questions. I know that between now and the 7th we have a two-week break from classes so, if you want to turn that in early, please feel free to do that and we will get that in on the 7th.
Also, please know that, if you turn your signup forms in after the 7th, there will be extra fees, the competition entry fees go up in price, as time goes on. So, in order to get the lowest fees, you’ve got to turn those in on the 7th. So, if you don’t turn them in on the 7th (on or before the 7th), there will be additional fees incurred.
On to our calendar and upcoming events. Next week, super fun, we’re going to wear your ugly holiday sweater or t-shirt to class. You can dress up in some holiday fun attire, anything you want, it should be really, really fun. I’m excited to do this, it’s the first year we’ve done it and let’s have fun with it; because, then the next two weeks (the week of the 21st and the 28th) we don’t have any classes. So, let’s live it up, have fun next week, and go out on winter break with a celebration.
Even though we’re closed for two weeks of classes on winter break, first Friday in January is on New Year’s Day; so, we are going to have a New Year’s Day, first Friday workshop. It’ll be earlier in the afternoon and just look for more details on that. Should be fun. Celebrate the new year with clogging.
Let’s see, oh, Saturday, January 9th is our Discover Clogging workshop. This is for brand new, never having been clogging before, students. It’s our introductory class, or our trial class. So, for anyone who wants to try out clogging, please spread the word to your family and friends, and let them know that this is their chance to give clogging a try.
You can share the link that’s in your email, or you can just tell them to go to silvercreekclogging.com/discover, for enrollment and other information.
Also coming up January 16th, it’s a Saturday, please keep this on your calendar. It’s our winter showcase recital. This is where we get to showcase what we’ve been learning this fall. It’s a little more relaxed event and it should be fun. Of course, we will have COVID protocols in place, with limited audience size and so forth, so just be prepared for that. And, the details are coming up soon.
And then, as I mentioned earlier, we have competition in February, the first two weekends in February. So, the first weekend (Saturday, February 6th) is our competition in Portland and then the following weekend (Friday and Saturday, the 12th and 13th of February) is competition in Boise. So, please keep those on your calendar.
And, that’s what’s happening at Silver Creek Clogging, coming up. With that, here is to hopeful dreams and hopeful expectations for the future. And, of course, here is to happy dancing.