Weʼre raising £5,000 to invest in studios!
Signage, flooring, mirrors, big screen projection, benches, coat pegs, kitchen items, baby change facilities - not to mention building works!
CDC Dance Ltd is so excited to be in the process of securing a commercial premises to finally have our own studios!
We were left feeling very burned from our first experience of trying to lease a commercial property, but firmly believe everything happens for a reason and we're now absolutely on the right path. Solicitors are finalising the contract negotiations and the Change of Use Planning decision is due by 15th November.
The proposed premises is on Kings Heath High Street and although we love the fact that the vast majority of our dancers will walk to class, the site benefits from several car parks in close proximity. We'll have 3 dance studios kitted out with dance flooring, mirrors, barres etc, although 1 will primarily be used by the after school club and as a break out space for dancers. I want us to have either a facility to project or a big screen for when we're using syllabus DVDs or accessing online resources to support the classes; speaking of which we'll also have wifi. There's a kitchen adjoined to studio 1 - perfect for when we provide our party service, or serve refreshments during breaks/after class. In order to have a more flexible space, we plan to remove a wall between studio 1 & 2 and replace it with a multi fold, retractable wall. A corridor runs the length of the studios and we will have benches and coat pegs for the comfort of dancers/parents waiting and so that we don't have trip hazards in the studios. There are safeguarding/security measures in place on the door controlling entry/exit and keeping our dancers of all ages safe.
Best of all we have complete free reign over our timetable as it will be OURS! We can schedule the classes to suit us & move children up when they are ready, rather than when there's space. I can launch all the classes we want to ensure we reach all demographics, needs and abilities, enhancing our class offering diversity and allowing everyone to access and enjoy dance. I also promise, pinky promise, that there won't be any dog training inside our studios!
We completed the lease on 21/12/18 & internal building work is underway to improve and fit out the studios. We will delay our half term break until the following week to fit in with the installation timescale for the folding wall and move from St Agnes to our new venue. Classes will then launch in King Heath on Saturday 2nd March 2019!
I'm sure you'll appreciate all the effort that will go into making this happen and of course the cost (not to mention the thousands lost on the original venue). I am in the process of selling the first house I bought after moving out of my parents' in order to fund as much of this as possible but there will still be a way to go to cover everything we need. The quote for signage alone is virtually £3k.
Our dancers and their families have proven repeatedly what an amazing bunch they are, who love getting involved and helping to raise funds for a variety of causes - I can't tell you how much it means to us all in house and the organisations we have supported.
Over the coming months we will hold a variety of events at the dance school, starting with Halloween themed fundraisers in classes from 23rd to 29th October. Everyone will need to come in fancy dress, and we'll hold themed choreography competitions, games, carved pumpkins contests etc. In December we'll hold a series of festive events - a Christmas Disco with lots of different activities, games & prizes, followed by a mass sleepover party - we'll order in pizzas before settling down to a film watched on our new big screen projector. Then everyone bringing sleeping bags to sleep on the AcroPAD... Then the following week, we will hold our human chain cake relay, where we'll pass a cake along a chain of dancers/parents all the way from our current venue in Moseley, to our new studios on Kings Heath High Street! Our next event is going to be held on the last day of classes at St Agnes Church hall: a 12 hour sponsored dance, finishing up with a party to mark the occasion, after 7.5 years of classes there.
All donations/monies raised will be collected on our Just Giving fundraising page -
www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/cdc-dance-studios
Throughout all our fundraising efforts I'd like to track which dancer has raised each donation, with the intention that we will present a very special fundraising prize to whichever 3 individuals (or families) has raised the most - efforts will be commemorated at the studios forever when we name each of the 3 studios in their honour! So please ensure that anytime a donation is made, a message is left saying which dancer(s) it has been donated because of/in the name of.
Massive thank you for your ongoing support - we make a wonderful team at CDC Dance! #dancefamily
Miss Claire xx
Last Fundraising Target: £1,000 ...Utterly Smashed!
Tumbling Air Track to support our Acrobatic Arts training!
Massive THANK YOU to everyone who donated to our Halloween Fundraisers, our IDTA display week, & most significantly, our 12 Hour Dance-athon.
After costs, we raised an astonishing £2,790!!!
Every penny has been invested in the dance school
- we're loving our new mirrors, Therabands, yoga blocks & bricks. The new security lighting has made such a difference!
CDC Dance Ltd was offered a workshop with the creator of AcroPAD to sample the products & see what can be achieved. A cross section of dancers were invited to take part & we absolutely LOVED the range. Check out the pics!
Following the workshop, I placed an order for a 6m x 4m x 10cm floor & a 75cm roller (for executing skills such as back handsprings)... Making us the first dance school in the UK to have purchased AcroPAD !!! Can't wait for our products to arrive & to start using them in all our Acro classes.
I honestly can't thank you enough for your support!
#togetherwecandothis #dancefamily
Miss Claire xx
Taking the advice of Acrobatic Arts HO in Canada, I enquired about AcroPAD - a new product range targeting the dance and musical theatre industry. The concept of the range is to offer safe yet progressive support for students to master a wide range of skills and movements while using AcroPAD. This will provide them with the confidence to achieve technically correct movements without the fear of injury.
AcroPAD products are portable inflatable sprung floors and accessories that inflate within 30sec - 6mins depending on the size of the product and deflate in the same amount of time.
The aim of the equipment is to transition to a stage or studio floor. Due to the pads being inflatable you can make the surface harder or softer depending on the ability of the students. As the students experience and confidence grows you add more air and it becomes more floor like.
