Hello Civic Family,

It’s almost show time! In our final preparations for our 2025 Gala we ask that you read the following carefully and thoroughly. We are looking forward to the culmination of our season and hope you are equally excited to see the show next week.

Civic Dance Center Gala 2025 Performance Information

We need your help!

We need 2-3 parent volunteers per class to help backstage. Many of our youngest dancers have never performed an it is important to have your support to ensure they are safe, calm and poised when it is time to go on stage. It is also important to make sure the dressing rooms and backstage remain quiet and organized. Please sign up to help with any class you are able, even if it is not the class or cast in which your dancer performs.

Tuition

All unpaid balances are now due. If you are unsure of your balance, please contact Eric Ueberroth at (661)588-1056. You may pay your balance at the studio with cash, check, or credit card or by Venmo to Civic Dance @Erica_Ueberroth

Costumes

1. Please hang and steam all costumes as soon as possible.
2. Make sure you bring tights, including an extra pair, and leotards for warm-up and practice and anything needed for under your costumes.
3. Your head piece, including ribbons, tulle, or a hat must be securely attached with lots of hair color matching bobby pins. Snap clips can be used if they are hidden under the head piece.
4. Shoulder and shoe straps should be securely stitched. We do not want dancers distracted on stage by broken or loose straps. Please check costumes and shoes before each performance – they can become loose after a single dance.
5. If you need to wear an undergarment, please make sure the straps are your skin tone and not clear. Undergarments should not be visible or peeking out from under the costume.
6. Everyone must have elastic sewn on their ballet shoes with shoestrings tucked into the toe.
7. Ballet shoes must be in good condition – touch them up with polish or Calamine lotion. LABEL EVERYTHING you bring to the theater – costumes, hair pieces, shoes, etc.

Makeup

Full makeup, including red lipstick, should be applied before you arrive at the theater and worn to all final dress rehearsals and performances. This includes:

• Darkened eyebrows
• Brown eyeshadow
• Extended thin eyeliner beyond the eye
• Mascara
• Blush

Purchase a lipstick that will not smear on costumes. Best options include:

• Maybelline Super Stay Matte Ink in Dancer or Pioneer
• NYX PROFESSIONAL MAKEUP Shine Loud, Long-Lasting Liquid Lipstick in Rebel in Red
• Ruby Woo by MAC

No jewelry, shiny hair clips, or fingernail polish on stage. For those with pierced ears, one pair of clear rhinestone or diamond stud earrings only. Dancers with visible tattoos may be asked to cover them for the performances. Body piercings like nose, addition ear holes, or belly button rings need to be taken out for performances.

Hair

Bring all your own supplies including extra hair nets, pins, hairspray, makeup, a small sewing kit, etc. These supplies will not be provided and it is important each dancer has their own personal supply kit. Refer to the hair information handout that came with your dancer’s costume to know how your child’s hair should be styled for each dance. Dancers with buns must have their hair slicked with gel and hairspray – no bangs and no wispy hair. This rule is strictly enforced.

Hair for second act dances may vary.

Dancers who have drastically cut or dyed their hair after casting will not be allowed to perform.

Dancer Survival Kit

Each dancer should bring a small bag or makeup case to each dress rehearsal and performance packed with hair bands, hair nets, pins, hairspray, makeup, safety pins, bandaids, a small sewing kit. makeup remover, etc. It is always a good idea to have an extra pair of tights as they can be easily torn between changes.

Street Clothes

Every dancer must arrive and leave the theater in their street clothes and shoes. DO NOT WEAR ANY BALLET, TAP, JAZZ, MODERN, HIP HOP COSTUMES OR SHOES IN THE PARKING LOT! You will change into your costume in your dressing room.

• If your dancer is only in the Jazz, Tap, Modern, and Hip Hop portion of the show, they should stay in their street clothes. After checking in with the backstage mom, these dancers will be escorted to the balcony to watch the ballet portion of the show. At intermission, the backstage mom will take the dancers downstairs to change into costumes.
• If your dancer in the ballet portion only, they must change into street clothes so they can watch the second half of the show from the balcony. No dancers will be allowed in the audience in their costumes.

Food and Drink

No food or drink allowed in the audience. Harvey Auditorium is a historic Bakersfield theater and it is not allowed. We recommend you and your dancer eat lunch or dinner at home before arriving. If your dancer needs a small snack, please make sure they are nutritious and not messy. Do not send anything that could stain or cause messes.

• Snacks and water may only be consumed at the designated backstage tables in the shop.
• ABSOLUTELY NO EATING IN COSTUME. If a dancer needs a snack after getting into costume they must wear a coverup with no part of the costume exposed. There will be a limited amount of large button up shirts at the backstage tables available for use.

Pictures and Video Recording

For the safety of your child NO pictures or video recording during rehearsals or performances will be allowed. Flashes from these devices can temporarily blind your child, distract or disorient your child, and/or cause your child to trip or fall and get hurt. Also the light emitted from these devices are extremely distracting to audience members. Abstaining from taking pictures during rehearsals and performances allows you to be in the moment and appreciate your child’s milestone. It is also respectful of the choreographers, fellow performers, and audience members. Pictures and videos can be taken before or after rehearsal and performances in the front of the theater or backstage.

Professional digital photos and videos will be taken for each performance and will be available for purchase.

No pictures or videos in the dressing room.

Safety

Do not bring any money or valuables to the theater.

Please instruct your dancer to never leave the building without you. They must wait inside the building to be picked up – not in the parking lot. It is very important that dancers are instructed not to wander around the building, inside or out. Please have your dancer go in pairs to the restroom and do not go to their dressing rooms alone. This is a very large building with many doors to the outside; we want our dancers to be safe!

A Note to Dancers

Please stay with your own group in the dressing rooms and backstage. The backstage moms need dancers to be at their designated area, ready to dance, and not wandering around backstage or in other dancers’ dressing rooms. Even after you have performed your dance, stay with your group!

Rehearsals

Be on time! A rehearsal scheduled for 6:00 means to be dressed, warmed up, and ready to dance at 6:00, not walking in the door at that time.

• Dress rehearsals at the studio will be full hair and costumes.
• Dress rehearsals and performances at the theater will be full hair, stage makeup, and costumes.
• Please note that there is not backstage supervision during theater rehearsals, and parents of young children should plan on remaining at the theater with their dancers or coordinating with another parent from your dancer’s class to help supervise your child.

We know that the rehearsals the last two weeks before the show can be extremely long, but we feel that the hours that your children spend in rehearsals provide them with a valuable learning experience. At these rehearsals, the younger and/or less experienced dancers can benefit from watching the advanced level dancers at work and, most importantly, comradery that develops when dancers work together to create a worthwhile show.

All rehearsals are closed rehearsals.

• Do not invite any guests to come to rehearsals; they will be asked to leave. This includes bringing friends backstage or in the dressing rooms. If you have a younger dancer, you should plan on staying at the theater with your dancer during rehearsals. While we have parents sign up to supervise and help dancers backstage for performances, there is no supervision during rehearsals. If you cannot stay, please touch base with another parent who is staying to be in charge of your dancer.

Rehearsals may run over time. When we make rehearsal schedules, we are guessing as to how long each rehearsal will take. Although we try to make allowances for problems, we sometimes still run long. We apologize for the inconvenience this may cause, but please be patient. We are working hard to do a good job for your dancer and you. Some common problems that cause us to run over include:

• Dancers not arriving on time and delaying our start.
• Too much noise backstage or in the audience causing us to pause the rehearsal
• Costume changes not working
• Technical problems, etc.

No one may leave a rehearsal until they are specifically excused by the director(s). After we do a “run-through,” everyone must be present to listen to notes (corrections, changes, etc.). It is very unfair to the directing staff and other dancers when individuals leave without permission when work still needs to be done.

Performances

We will be applying a colored bracelet to each parent as they check their dancer into performances; this bracelet will need to be worn and shown to each backstage helper when parents go to check out their dancer. It is important to remember that backstage helpers do not know every dancer or parent, and we are doing our best to keep our dancers safe at all times. We appreciate your cooperation with this process.

Dancers must arrive prior to cast call to check in and get in costume (please note the rehearsal schedule). Dancers should arrive in street clothes and shoes with all stage makeup applied and hair show-ready. The only people allowed backstage are the dancers and those who have volunteered to work backstage. Parents who are not volunteering backstage for performances must dress their young dancer in the dressing room, find their designated class/group parent volunteer, and leave. Dancer should find their group and backstage parent helper before heading to cast call together.

After parents have dropped off their dancer, they must go outside and around to the front of the theater and enter through the front doors with a ticket. Doors will open 1 hour prior to performance time. Dancers will not be able to sit in the main audience area during the performance, but will be allowed to view the second half from the balcony after they have changed into their street clothes.

Dancers will remain with their class throughout the entire performance. Parents will not be allowed to leave mid-performance to collect their dancers until intermission. Parents who have let the backstage helper know that they will pick up their dancer at intermission will go back around the building to retrieve their dancer. Dancers with street clothes will be able to watch the second half from the balcony, and then may be picked up from backstage after the performance has concluded. Not guests will be permitted in the dressing rooms.

DO NOT EMAIL for any last minute emergencies at the theater!

Call one of the following administrators:

Ann: (661)332-7642, Esther: (714)319-0320, Milissa: (661)364-8504, or Christie: (661)805-1569

Backstage Parent Information

Thank you for volunteering to help supervise our dancers during our performance. Backstage parents keep our dancers calm before the show and ensure the safety of the backstage area. We appreciate your help in making the show run smoothly and seamlessly.

1. Bring a large quilt or blanket for dancers and a chair for yourself to sit on backstage. Dancers will be gathered in the “Green Room” prior to the performance and while they wait to perform.
   • AM show backstage parents should have their area ready by 11:30am
   • PM shows backstage parents should have their area ready by 5:30pm
2. No sugary drinks or food in the “Green Room.” If a dancer has a snack, it should be eaten at the food tables. Absolutely no food may be eaten in the costumes, including candy!
3. Feel free to bring crayons, coloring books, or other small quiet activities for your dance group. All items should be labeled and areas cleaned after the show.
4. You will be given the check-in sheet after all dancers have signed in for the show so that you have parent contact and other important information.
5. Parents should drop their Gala ballet dancers off to the backstage parent fully ready in costume with hair and makeup complete.
   • Touch base with each parent to ensure they have signed in their dancer.
   • If the dancer will be picked up, please let the parent know that their dancer must be picked up immediately after the first portion of the show ends. Please note that this is a quick, 15 minute intermission.
   • Dancers with a ticket are able to change into street clothes and watch the second half of the show from the audience with their parent(s)/families.
6. Little dancers should be escorted to the restroom well before they are due to line up for their dance as needed. Please do not send dancers to the restroom alone!
7. Keep track of all dancers and ensure they are not running around backstage or wandering to other groups. Dancers should be warmed up, focused and ready to dance. Note the order of the show and ensure your group is ready to go several dances before they go on stage. After your dancers’ scene, you will return back to your backstage area. If they have another dance, escort them to their next backstage parent. They will then become the responsibility of that backstage parent. Some dancers will have quick changes, so keep in mind those who need to rush upstairs to change after your dance or those you will be receiving from other dances.
8. No dancer should change out of their costume until the end of the performance. Immediately after your group exits from the finale, please escort the dancers to the dressing rooms to change after your group exits from the finale, please escort the dancers to the dressing rooms to change into street clothes or into their next costume if they are in the second act.
9. Dancers may only be picked up by the person who is wearing the security bracelet during intermission or at the end of the show. Thank you for helping us to protect our dancers!

Please Note

At the end of the first half of the show, backstage parents are free to leave only if all their dancers are in the second half OR all their dancers were picked up by parents during intermission. If you are planning on leaving, but have a dancer remaining, please make sure you have transferred the names of those dancers to the Jazz, Tap, Modern, Hip Hop parent check-in sheet. Backstage parents may not leave if they have any remaining Where’s Waldo Dancing Now? dancers after intermission, but will instead supervise them in the balcony and then check them out backstage after the show.

Do not hesitate to reach out to Christie Chambless at (661)805-1569 if you have any questions or concerns. We are very grateful for your help!