DCE COVID-19 STATEMENT A/O: 4.6.2020

Dear Dance Champs Elite Families:

Our Dance Champs EliteFamily (DCE) deeply understands how unbelievably challenging this time is for us all, and we are hoping that you are all safe and healthy at home during this challenging and uncertain time that we are ALL going through with the COVID-19 global pandemic.

We want to take a minute to thank you for your support and patience over the past few weeks as we navigate these uncharted territories. We know the hard work, dedication and time we have all put in to prepare for an amazing season, and sadly this has been interrupted for us ALL with the outbreak of the COVID-19 virus!   Like the rest of the world, we are following the mandates given by the Federal, State, and Local Governments, to take to control of the spread of this deadly virus! As you ALL KNOW— this literally brought the entire world and our wonderful Dance Competition Industry to a standstill. This unprecedented event is something that no Studio or Competition could have ever prepared for, especially at this critical time of year. It is not only unimaginable—it is surreal. Please KNOW, that we are ALL in this together, and we promise to do whatever we can to make this situation easier on you with a variety of options for you to work with! We are working tirelessly to reschedule all of our postponed competitions and we are committed to providing you with the fun-filled Dance Champs Elite Royal Competition Experience you are accustomed too!!

Like you, we are working diligently to support you, our Dance Family and trying our best to keep a positive attitude, while staying safe and trying to remain afloat. Every hour brings new and startling information. The many unanswered questions, plus not knowing, can create uncertainty and anxiety in all of us, especially in light of the minute-to-minute changes we continue to experience. Yet we can still avoid hasty and “fear driven” decisions.

The containment and social distancing measures put in place are severe, since this pandemic is fast moving, but we also know that the severity should help us “flatten the curve” so that we can get back to a “new normal” with on-site events as swiftly as possible. This is preferable to a longer term of social isolation. However, this does not remove the grave economic impact on all of us. And it is deep, and it is grave.

This situation goes to the financial heart of the sustainability of our entire world and certainly our Dance Community. Like many Studios and Parents, Dance Champs Elite is suffering the financial difficulties of this overwhelming virus.  Our commitments begin long before the last-minute government social distancing measures were imposed, we have to send deposits/payments, make purchases and sign contracts. The venues we booked are still holding our deposits, as well as, “in full” payments in anticipation of the rescheduling of our events.  Not to mention we have purchased all of our awards, merchandise, equipment, supplies and our contractual obligations we are committed too. 

Nobody predicted this instantaneous disruption of cash flow from Parent > Studio > Competition > Venue > Supplier, etc. It is unprecedented!  Deposits/payments were made from Studios to Competitions, on behalf of the Parents, and the Competitions placed those deposits/payments (on behalf of registered Studios) to those Venues/Vendors. Studios and Competitions provide young Dancer’s with a safe place to follow their passion and compete. These same Studios and Competitions are also responsible for the employment of many talented people to help make those passions a reality. These dedicated people rely on the competition season income to support their daily lives. Besides payroll to support these people, Studios and Competitions have additional seasonal expenses to continue operating in the off-season. Maintaining sustainable cash flow for Studios and Competitions requires relentless fiscal diligence.

YES! We are all in this together. We are supporting each other through this “New Normal.” We are sharing the pain, burden, and economic sacrifice required to weather this extraordinary period. This period of postponement is not ideal, but we remain composed and patient as we work through the challenges that lie ahead.

We will sustain this crisis and come out stronger on the other side. DCE is committed to supporting everyone to help us persevere together. We thank you for your patience. We thank you for your understanding. We thank you for the incredible outpouring of support from everyone is working together for one another.

Our Dance Community is part of our Royal Dance Family and like all families do when there is a challenge—we come together and take care of each other. DCE is working day and night to brainstorm and provide swift ideas and solutions to the ever-changing climate this virus has created.

With the current mandates of social distancing being extended to April 30, 2020 we are forced to postpone our upcoming April events.  As of now, almost every school district/venue is closed, and we are unable to get in contact with venue employees, making it difficult/impossible for us to secure a postponement dates for each event. Please trust, that our team is working tirelessly to get every event rescheduled and will update as information becomes available.

 

As of 4/6/2020:  All postponed events will be rescheduled to June/July, 2020:

 

♔ April 25^th– 26^th: Cape May, NJ Dance Competition – POSTPONED

♔ March 15^th: East Rutherford, NJ Dance Competition – POSTPONED

♔ March 28^th: Toms River, NJ Dance Competition – POSTPONED

♔ May 9^th– 10^th: Columbiana, OH – CANCELLED

♔  May 17^th: Queens, NY Dance Competition – SCHEDULED

♔  May 30^TH– 31^ST: Chesapeake, VA Dance Competition – SCHEDULED

 

Our sole focus is to provide our services to you and offer the most flexible options in doing so.  We understand that many of you would prefer a refund, however, as stated in our posted rules we do not provide refunds when the circumstance of rescheduling is beyond our control.  If we were to have cancelled the event for lack of registration or any other reason that was on our end, we would have gladly provided you with a refund as we have in the past.  We would normally not get into detail, but in an effort to be as honest and transparent as possible and hoping this will help you understand our situation, we will explain the reasons why we are unable to do so. Any of you who have previously attended our events, know we provide outstanding, high-end events at a very low rate, and do not compromise on anything for our Dance Family. When a Studio registers and pays, we consider that a commitment and count on them to honor their obligation and base everything regarding each event solely on that. In order to produce our events, we have many operating expenses that need to be paid for months in advance, venues, awards, merchandise, supplies, staff, equipment, rent, storage, etc., and being a newer EP, many of our events are on the smaller side of the spectrum, which makes the overwhelming initial investment of deposits/payments, pre-purchasing all awards, merchandise, equipment, etc. break-even or negative for us.  We donot have unlimited capital or years of profit sitting in our bank accounts in order to issue refunds.  We are not “keeping” your payments, we are crediting your account in order to stay in this business that we have grown to love very much.  We sincerely hope that you understand our predicament, as we understand yours and we are trying to make this unprecedented situation we are all in as mutually painless as possible.  We sincerely hope you will be able to attend one of our rescheduled events, however, if you are unable to do so, below is a list of options we are happy to offer you.

 

♔  Transfer your registration to the new event date!

♔ Transfer your registration to another event date, location within this season or our 2021 Season!

♔  Graduating Seniors:  For any Studio that has a graduating senior we will refund the Senior Dancers paid fee directly to the parent.  We ask that all Studios send us an email and give us the Dancers Name; Parent Name and Address and we will issue refunds to them and adjust your account credit accordingly.

 

DCE offices are currently closed due to the recommendations made by government and health officials in our state. Communication will be limited during this time so please bear with us as we work to respond in a timely manner to all Studio inquiries.  We do ask that you email us with any questions or concerns you may have and do not post any comments on our social media/marketing platforms.  You can reachus at info@dancechamps.net 

Again, thank you for your support and patience during these unperceived times. This has been so tough on everyone who is part of our Dance Community.  We are truly heartbroken to have our 2020 season interrupted and these unfortunate challenges forced upon us all. We are going to do everything within our power to get back to normal as quickly as possible, so we can give your Dancers, especially your graduating Seniors, the opportunity to shine on the Dane Champs Elite Stage!

We remain committed and will continue to communicate as frequently as additional information becomes available.   We are sending you all our heartfelt thoughts and prayers to you and all of your Dance Family, please stay positive, focused, united and safe! 💜👑💜🎶💜

Lovingly yours,

Dance Champs Elite Royal Family

 

 

ADDITIONAL EVENT PRECAUTIONS

We have decided to take additional precautions when our evens resume to provide the most safe and enjoyable experience as possible when joining our Royal Dance Family: 

We will be proceeding with the following updates:

 

• Essential Spectators:  We would like to please ask that each dancer is accompanied by no more than one (1) to two (2) essential spectators for these events. In the best interest of the elderly, we ask that elderly spectators please refrain from attending and only attend if necessary.

• Dedicated Auditorium Sections: Based on the number of Dancers a Studio has registered we will designate seating areas within the Auditorium for each Studio. We request that everyone associated with a Studio (Dancers, Parents, Owners, etc.) remain in their assigned sections.

• Backstage Area: We ask that only the performers and one studio representative come to the backstage area for each performance.

• Costumes:  We will still have dressing rooms available for those who wish to change costumes for entries, however, studios will not be penalized if they choose to perform in one costume for the competition or Studios may choose to have all of their dancers wear black leotards and black booty shorts or something uniform-like if they opt not to wear their costumes. We do request that all dancers come in full makeup and hair.

  • If utilizing the Dressing Rooms, please limit your time and the number of people, so that too many are not congregating in confined spaces. 

• Award Ceremonies: As always, Awards Ceremonies are optional, and we encourage studios to consider sending up limited representation on stage.  The Awards will be announced by our Emcee to celebrate and acknowledge the hard work of the dancers. The Studio Director may pick up all the awards for their studio at the end of competition.

• Merchandise Sales:  Our merchandise booths will only be accepting credit cards this upcoming weekend in hopes of reducing the spread of germs through cash transactions.

 

We ask for everyone’s participation and to please take all necessary precautions:

• Wash Hands often for at least 20 seconds.

• Please stay Home if you are sick.

• Cover your coughs and sneezes with a tissue, dispose of immediately.

• Avoid touching eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed hands.

• Clean frequently touched surfaces and objects daily (most importantly your phone)!

 For more information ​go to the CDC’s website