Congratulations to everyone who performed showcases last Thursday, get hype for more performances at our second event this week!!! PC: Lizzy Xiong
Hi team,
I’d like to extend a special welcome to our new team members, I’m so excited for you to join our community this semester! As for returning team members, we’ve got a big week coming up with our final recruitment push leading up to Guys’ and Girls’ Night on Saturday! This Week at a Glance is pretty long, but there’s a lot of important info so please take the time to read it all the way through :)
Some things for new members:
- What is Week at a Glance??? I’m glad you asked! Week at a Glance (WAG for short) is our weekly newsletter containing information about all our upcoming events for the week, including lessons, practice space, socials and much more! Week at a Glance is your best source for all things MBDT, so please take the time to read through it thoroughly to ensure you don’t miss out on our events. Our lesson and practice schedule sometimes deviates from normal to accommodate special events, so please check the schedule below before turning up at the CCRB! Don’t worry if you don’t understand everything in this newsletter right now, you’ll find out a lot more about how the team works at Guys’ and Girls’ Night on Saturday, which is also a perfect time to ask any burning questions you have about the team!
- Lessons this week: We’ve got three awesome beginner classes running this week on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Check out the schedule below for more details :)
- Check out our newcomer guide! The password is in the email you just got with the link to this page. Click here to access.
- Join our Facebook group! It’s the hub of our community where we post event reminders and announcements during the week. Check it out here, and just hit request access. Make sure you’ve added your Michigan email address to your Facebook account or you won’t be able to join the group, there’s instructions about how to do this here (if you aren’t a Michigan student please contact ballroom-exec@umich.edu and we’ll sort it out).
Some things for everyone:
- Guys’ and Girls’ Night is this Saturday! Get ready to get dressed up for a night of camaraderie and dancing as we kick off the semester in the best possible way. Come eat, drink, and welcome our new members in this team-wide event you’ll be talking about for days to come. Some people on the team like to dress up for the night (girls in cocktail/going out dresses, guys in a nice shirt and slacks) but this is completely optional! Private event information to follow on Saturday via the paid membership email list. You must pay your $60 semester dues to attend Guys’ and Girls’ Night!
- Dues: If you haven’t paid dues yet this semester, the deadline is this Saturday (September 28th, aka Guys’ and Girls’ Night!). Here are the payment methods we accept:
1) Venmo: username is @UMBDT, please include your full name and uniqname with your payment
2) Check: made out to “Ballroom Dance Team”, give to any board member
3) Cash: give to any board member, be sure to get an email receipt
4) PayPal: friends and family to ballroom-exec@umich.edu, expect a fee
of ~3% if you haven’t linked your bank account. Please include your full name and uniqname with your payment
5) Card: find the team treasurer Colin or president Lizzie, 3% processing fee
Some things for returning members only:
- Recruitment: This is our last week to recruit newcomers to build a strong future for our team, so please come out to our free lessons on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, dance with people and make them feel welcome to the team!
- Competitions: our competition schedule for the semester is available here! Please fill out the interest survey so we can plan transportation and accommodation for the upcoming semester. The deadline to complete the form is this Friday (9/27), if you don’t fill it out by then we won’t reserve a hotel room for you at OSB :( Questions about competitions? Contact your lovely Away Comp Chair Natalie Fox (natfox)!
- Bronze American Lesson: our first Bronze American lesson will be next Monday 9/30 7-9pm at Steve and Susan’s studio. Anyone on Pre-C and above is eligible to attend, so mark your calendars and get ready to learn some more advanced American moves!
- A, B and C team reminders: upper-level team lessons will be cancelled on Thursday and Saturday this week as S&S are out of town. Also, please read Madeline’s email about team teaching assignments and fill out the form at the end by this Friday (9/27).
Your team board are always happy to answer your questions! Find info on each board member here, and you can contact the whole board by email at ballroom-exec@umich.edu or using this form on the website
And now the schedule…
Monday 9/23
9.30-11.30pm: Open Practice at DTS
Tuesday 9/24
9-11pm: Free beginner Hustle and Bachata Lesson! Come learn/brush up on your favorite social dances in preparation for Guys’ and Girls’ night. Location: CCRB 3275
10pm-midnight: Open Practice at DTS
Wednesday 9/25
9.30-11.30pm: Open Practice at DTS
Thursday 9/26
6-8pm: Standard practice space in the League ballroom – please note we’ll do a practice run for showcases at 7pm
8-10pm: Our second big recruitment event! Invite your friends, wear your ballroom apparel, dance with some newcomers and cheer your teammates on as they perform their showcases!
No DTS, come to the League event instead!
Friday 9/27
Pay your dues ready for Guys’ and Girls’ Night!
Think about all the exciting comps you want to attend this semester and fill out Natalie’s form here! If you are on A, B or C team, read Madeline’s teaching email and fill out the form at the end. Deadline for both these is today!
Saturday 9/28
4.30-6pm: FINAL Free Newcomer Lesson! Come join us for the last free lesson, taught by Steve and Susan. After this lesson, team membership is required to attend the lessons so be sure to pay dues! Cash, check, card, Venmo, and Paypal are all accepted at any of the lessons this week.
8:00pm – ???: Guys’ and Girls’ Night!!! Join us for the best night of the semester, and welcome our new members. More information, times, and locations will be sent out to our paid email list, so be sure to pay dues by Saturday!!!
Sunday 9/29
Your ballroom team membership comes with a FREE membership to the ballroom club! Just ask at the club front desk for your card. The Ballroom Dance Club meets once a week on Sundays and provides a relaxed, social environment to learn ballroom alongside the wider Ann Arbor community. You do not need to be a student to attend club. It’s a great opportunity to attend an additional lesson (if the three lessons this week weren’t enough) and get some help from upper-level team members at Open Dance. Club is in North Quad Rm 2435 this week. For more information about Club, check out their website here.
| 5-6pm: | Advanced American Waltz |
| 6-7pm: | Beginner International Rumba <- Newcomers come to this one to learn a new dance! |
| 7-9pm: | Open Dance |
Looking further ahead…
Save the date for the Ohio Star Ball aka OSB aka NATIONALS!!! OSB is the most fun competition of the year and we’d hate for you to miss it, so save the date for November 23rd-24th! Lots more info coming later…
Happy dancing this week, and to our new members: welcome to the team. 🙂
Lizzie
President, Michigan Ballroom
