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 and pay your tuition here.  It is also a place to check the CAPA calendar. Nutcracker and June Show 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 (open 3:45-6pm on weekdays and 9-1pm Sat.), or email us at capa@capadance.net   The studio number is 925-376-2454. Doyle, AJ, Nancy & Deborah take care of the office. If you need to talk to Joan or Doyle directly and they are not present, you can always email them as they check it daily, or call Doyle’s cell at 707-738-6548.

EMAIL:  We communicate with CAPA families mainly by email. It is very important for us to have a current email address 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. If you need to know how to do this, check with Doyle. Please read all our emails carefully.

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

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

CLASS CHANGES:  To add, drop or change a class at CAPA you must submit a registration change online or manually fill out a registration form and turn it in to the office. No changes can be made without notifying the office in writing. 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.  To drop a class or classes, CAPA requires 30 days notice.

ABSENCES:  If your child is going to miss a scheduled class it is important that you notify us either by email or phone.

HOLIDAYS & NO CLASS DAYS:  A list of the days that CAPA is not in session is on the calendar here.

JUNE SHOW:  Every year we have an end of the year June Show. The dates for this show are published on our website at the beginning of our school year in September. There are six shows during the show week and your child will be scheduled to perform in at least two of them. To perform in the show your child must attend both dress rehearsals and all assigned shows. You will be charged a $20 costume deposit at registration for every dance that your child will do in the June Show, and the balance of the costume cost will be assessed later. Refunds will be given on the deposits if we are notified by December 31 that your child will not be participating. After December 31, no refunds will be given. It is very important that you notify the office and your teacher if your child is not going to participate in the June Show even if you miss the December 31st deadline. If you do not notify CAPA you will be required to pay in full for all costumes ordered for your child.

SHOW TICKETS:  All seating for the Nutcracker in December and the June Show is reserved by assigned ticket, which are available for purchase online.  Detailed ordering instructions are sent out via email prior to the show. Please note that if your dancer will need to occupy a seat at any of these performances you must purchase a ticket for them.

ENSEMBLE AND BALLET COMPANY PARTICIPATION:  If you are interested in getting your child going in one of our performing Ensembles or Ballet Companies please contact the director, Joan Robinson 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. All children who dance with CAPA during the summer receive the benefit of priority registration for the Fall. This is beneficial since CAPA’s classes fill up very rapidly in September.

THE CAPA EXPERIENCE:  To give you an overview of a child’s options and progression at CAPA the following is presented.

There are basically two tracks at CAPA.

1. About 25% of our children come to take technique classes only. These children will perform in the June Show with their classes (with the exception of Ballet 3 and higher ballet technique classes).

2. Most of our children go through the following progression:

Beginning as early as 2 yrs 9 mos, they progress through Tiny Dancer, Intro to Dance, Beginning Dance and Young Dancer (each of these years has them dancing 1 hr/wk of which ½ is Ballet and ½ is 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/Jazz 1 if taking those classes.

Of course we accept children who have no dance experience and insert them into our school at the appropriate level.

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.

At the Ballet 3 level they are eligible to be selected for their first Ballet Company.  That company 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 and Joan