Welcome to the CAPA family!

We are delighted you are joining us and look forward to providing a wonderful learning experience for you or your dancer.  You will quickly learn that CAPA is a special place, where students learn not just a love of dance, music & movement, but also teamwork, discipline and life skills that will benefit them for the rest of their lives.

CAPA WEBSITE:  This is a wonderful resource for you. Many of your questions can be answered by checking this site. You will register for your classes here.  It is also a place to check the CAPA calendar. Nutcracker and June Showcase info lives here. Please make a habit of going here first to see what is going on. Studio policies reside here, and when you register you agree to the policies stated on this site.

CONTACTING CAPA:  We love to talk to you in person. Drop by the office or email us at capa@capadance.net. Email is the best and quickest way to get a response, but the studio number is 925-376-2454 and we will return your call as soon as we can. If you need to talk to a manager directly and they are not present, you can always email us as we check it daily, or call Doyle’s cell at 707-738-6548.

EMAIL:  We communicate with CAPA families almost exclusively by email. It is very important for us to have a current email address in your profile that you check regularly (this email address is also your username for our customer portal to access your account). Please make sure your computer does not block CAPA group email.  Please read all CAPA emails as they often include important information.

TUITION:  Click here for CAPA’s tuition & payment info.

DRESS CODE & SHOES:  Click here for appropriate attire & shoes for the various classes & levels.

Helpful Info for Primary or “Littles” Classes 

**BEFORE CLASS: If you arrive early for class, we ask that all students wait in the lobby with their parents before class. They can look at dance magazines or practice their steps in the lobby while they wait. Please don’t allow dancers or siblings to run around unattended in an open studio….we can’t be responsible for any injuries that may occur in a non-teacher supervised space, and it’s super important to us to keep all the kids at CAPA safe.

**DURING CLASS: Please limit watchers in our smaller lobbies so that we do not have disruptions to the classes being conducted. See studio care and sibling section below.

**SHOES: Parents please double knot the students ties on their ballet shoes (you never need to untie ballet slippers to get them on and off). Please remove the ties from tap shoes and replace them with “tap elastics” if the shoe does not already have them (we sell tap elastics in the office for just a few dollars). This will help us dance more and tie shoes less

Helpful Information for All Classes

**STUDIO ENTRANCE: Please make sure to enter and exit all Studios through their associated lobbies. Studios A, B, & C lobby doors are around the back of the shopping center (behind the Rheem Theater). The Studio D entrance is on the Park Street side, thru the Studio D lobby. Do not attempt to enter any Studio through any non-lobby Studio side door - even if the door is open for ventilation. We cannot allow street shoes on our delicate dance floors, and it interrupts the current class to have students trying to enter via the side doors directly into the dance rooms.

**TAKE A PAIR, LEAVE A PAIR: We have a bin of, “Take a Pair, Leave a Pair” used dance shoes in the Studio B lobby. If you need tap, ballet or jazz shoes, please feel free to take whatever fits! When your dancer outgrows their shoes, please also fee free to donate them to the bins. Please rubber band your donated shoes together so that they are easy to match.

**TIMELINES: We try hard to have classes begin on time at CAPA. It’s important to arrive when class begins so your student gets warmed up and is able to settle into the class.

**SIBLINGS: are welcome to watch! Parents, please keep them away from doorways for their own safety, and if they are doing a loud activity or yell please do move them so class is not disturbed. Please do notice if the younger sibling is trying to open the door to the classroom and if so, move them away. Do not allow them to scatter toys on the floor or run around. Please maintain quiet.

**DROP OFFS & PICK UPS: If you drop your young student off and then leave, please let the child know in advance. Kids get really upset when their parent isn’t there and they haven’t been told. Please pick up your dancer on time - our teachers have other classes to teach - if you are running late, your student should come (or be brought by the teacher to) the Studio A lobby to wait for you after class ends. Please drive CAREFULLY in the parking lots. If you are waiting in your car for your dancer, please park your car and walk to the studio entrances / lobbies - we do not want dancers running in the road or past other parked cars.

STUDIO CARE: No street shoes, heels, food or liquid (other than water) on Marley dance floors. No touching mirrors. No horseplay in studios. No pulling on or hanging off the ballet barres. No eating or drinking (other than water) in the lobbies and discard all trash in the proper receptacles. If you have food trash, please discard in the trash bins outside - we want to avoid critters. Take care to bring all of your belongings home with you after class. We have a lost & found in Studio B dressing room, check often as we clean out quarterly. Bathroom etiquette should be followed - do not flush anything other than toilet paper. THANK YOU!

CLASS CHANGES:  To add a class at CAPA you simply register online via our website.  Classes with openings have a “Register” button to the left of the class listing on our schedule page.  We require a 30 day notice for drops, which must be requested in writing via email at capa@capadance.net.  No changes can be made to an existing schedule without notifying the office via email at capa@capadance.net.  This is extremely important since we must maintain a database from which we note attendance and perform important tasks such as ordering costumes for your children.

ABSENCES:  If your dancer is a member of an ensemble or ballet company, please notify us (via email or phone) of all absences with the reason for absence. You do not need to notify us if your dancer is not a member of one of our performing ensembles or ballet companies.  We understand that conflicts arise and that perfect attendance isn’t always possible.  You may take a make-up class in any alternate class of the same type and level within a month of the missed class…just let the teacher know you are there for a make-up, no need to schedule in advance.  If your dancer is a member of our performing ensembles, ballet companies or production groups, you can find our attendance requirements here.

HOLIDAYS & NO CLASS DAYS:  A list of the days that CAPA is not in session is on the schedule page under “Important Dates” here.

JUNE SHOWCASE:  Every year we have an end of the year June Showcase, in which all classes perform (with the exception of ballet levels 3 and up…those dancers are eligible to be in a ballet company that performs in the show).

SHOW TICKETS: Tickets for the Nutcracker in December and our June Showcase are available for purchase online via Eventbrite.com.  Detailed ordering instructions and dates are sent out via email prior to the show. Please note that if your dancer will wish to occupy a seat at any of these performances, you must purchase a ticket for them as well.

ENSEMBLE AND BALLET COMPANY PARTICIPATION:  If you are interested in enrolling your child in one of our Performing Ensembles or Ballet Companies, please contact director Joan Borchers. Summer classes are a requirement for Ensemble and Ballet Company participation. An additional fee is required to participate.  This fee is set at the beginning of each year.  See the Ensemble section of this site for more information.

SUMMER SESSION:  We have an 8 week summer session beginning right after the June Show. The curriculum is abbreviated and less formal than the regular year. Ensemble & Ballet Company dancers are required to fulfill specified summer requirements. 

The CAPA Experience

Here is an overview of a student’s options and progression at CAPA:

Beginning as early as age 3, they progress from Intro to Dance (45min class, movement based), to Beginning Dance (1HR class, 1/2 Ballet 1/2 Tap) and then Young Dancer (1HR class, 1/2 Ballet and 1/2 Tap).

At about the 2nd Grade level they enter our level one classes (Ballet 1, Tap 1, Jazz 1) and are eligible for their first performing ensemble if they have fulfilled the summer dance requirements of 7.5 hrs of combined ballet & tap in the Young Dancer Plus class. This is the Daisy Ensemble. The dancer is required to take the Daisy class and at least the Ballet 1 class and is encouraged to continue tap with Tap 1. Some also take Jazz 1. The Daisy Ensemble prepares them to be the Angels in the December Nutcracker, and they also begin to learn theater dance. They also perform in the June Show with their Daisy group and Ballet 1 - and Tap 1 and Jazz 1 if taking those classes.

Each year the dancer advances as the teachers deem appropriate to higher levels of technique and ensemble. All placement decisions are made by the Director, Joan, and recommendations of the dancer’s teachers.

At the Ballet 3 level they are eligible to be selected for their first Ballet Company.  That company (Aurora) performs in the Nutcracker and June Show.

A child may also progress up the Ballet Company track only, without entering performing ensembles.

At the nine to ten year level the ensemble dancers become eligible to be selected for the Production Groups. These higher level performing groups work together under Joan’s choreography to develop wonderful, large group theater dances. These children also do neat things like performing in the main theater on a Princess Cruise or at Disneyland.

At CAPA we are committed to help your child develop into a wonderful dancer, and we are also there to help your child develop the strengths of commitment, teamwork, perseverance, friendship and respect.  Welcome to the CAPA family!

– Doyle, Joan, and Cathy