WELCOME TO DANCING GROUNDS
K8 PROGRAMS 

A message from our Youth Programs Manager, MacKenzie Rosenberg:

Greetings and salutations new and returning DG Youth Company families! I would like to welcome you all back to another great year with Dancing Grounds. Consider this page your cheat sheet for all things youth company related. Feel free to bookmark this page for your reference throughout the Fall and Spring. I’ll be your main contact for you during registration process and while programming is underway.

MacKenzie “Mr. Randall” Rosenberg
Tuesday-Friday, 9am - 5pm | Saturdays 8am - 1pm
Direct: 504-656-9048 | Email: mackenzie@dancingrounds.org
Dancing Grounds - 3705 St. Claude Ave., NOLA 70117

I also wanted to let you all know that I will be officially leaving Dancing Grounds for new experiences and adventures at the end of December! It is a bittersweet move for me, as DG has been my family for the last decade and in the same moment, I am excited as I can guarantee you that this baton is being passed with every ounce of care for all of your children and we will have some new people to introduce you to and some exciting staff updates to announce. For now, let’s kick off an incredible semester!

Fall 23/Spring 24 Orientation Materials for Parents

DG Youth Company - Saturday Company Classes

Program Dates:
Saturdays from 9:30am - 12pm
October 7th - May 4th**

Fall 23’ Dates: October 7, 14, 21, 28 | November 4, 11, 18 | December 2, 9 Spring 24’ Dates: January 6, 13, 20, 27 | February 3, 24 | March 2*, 9, 16, 23 | April 6, 12, 20* | April 27th OR May 4th** No class dates: Nov. 25 | Dec 16, 23, 30 | Feb 10, 17 | Mar 30

*March 2nd - Performance at 504k (tentative) | April 20th - French Quarter Festival performance(tentative)
**Apr 27th or May 4th - NO Jazz Festival Performance (tentative; waiting on confirmation)

Studio Location and Address
DANCING GROUNDS STUDIO ADDRESS: 3705 ST. CLAUDE AVE., NOLA 701117

Weekly Parking & Drop Off/Pick-Up Information

  • Drop off on Saturdays begin at 9:15pm

  • Please park your car legally on St. Claude or the side-streets when dropping off or walking your students.

  • DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCE DROP STUDENTS OFF FROM THE TRAFFIC LANE OF ST CLAUDE. If you are unable to walk your student in from around the corner or a parking spot, text Mr. Randall before arrival and we will send someone to walk your student in. STUDENTS WILL NEVER BE RELEASED TO A VEHICLE IN THE TRAFFIC LANE OF ST. CLAUDE.

  • Please do not block any of our neighbors’ driveways (even for a short time!) on adjacent side streets.

  • Please do not drop off from inside parking lot on St. Claude and Independence.

  • Day 1 and Everyday Needs for Attending Students

  • Breathable fitness/dance clothes (no jeans, restrictive clothing)

  • Sneakers for Hip Hop (EVERY WEEK) | Modern class: no footwear needed, but be prepared to dance BAREFOOT

  • A personal water bottle every week.

    (DID YOU KNOW? Our in-house water dispenser uses reverse osmosis filtering and will be safe given upcoming salinity increases.)

  • Students 10 and under are asked to leave mobile devices at home - students 11 and up can bring for recording practice videos, if allowed by parents.

    Parent Expectations

  • LATE ARRIVALS, ABSENCES, EARLY DISMISSALS: COMMUNICATE! COMMUNICATE! COMMUNICATE! Your student is an important part of our performance group, if your child needs to leave or will not be present, please let us know ASAP so our teachers can make plans to get your child caught up when they return.

  • SPRING SEMESTER ONLY: A student that misses more than three days of any class is ineligible to perform in the next performance. –
    See examples below:

    Ex. A student misses three class days OR final rehearsal prior to a performance (Feb 24 or April 13) 
    Student can attend but will not perform in final showcase.

    Ex. A student arrives at 10:45 three days; makes Hip Hop but misses Modern class
    Student will not be in next Modern performance; still allowed to perform in Hip Hop piece.

  • Check BAND (more info below) and/or your email after 5pm on Thursdays before classes for any important updates or memos from the Camp Director about the next day/week.

2023-2024 Youth Company Staff & Faculty

Youth Program Manager:
MacKenzie “Mr. Randall” Rosenberg

Tobias Griffin
Team Flex (Ages 7-10)
Hip Hop

Hannah Forstall
Team Flex (Ages 7-10)
Modern/Contemporary

Kristal Jones
Team Pointe (Ages 11-13)
Hip Hop

Kesha McKey
Team Pointe (Ages 11-13)
Modern/Contemporary

NOT PICTURED: Joi Dupard, DSC Intern and Team Pointe Teaching Assistant

COMMUNICATION: Setting up the BAND APP

Over the course of the semester we will be using the BAND app to send out important updates and class/rehearsal videos. Inside the app also contains a full calendar for your child’s Spring Semester.

  • We require that every student has at least one parent/guardian representative in their classes BAND group. We also highly recommend that any other adult who will be regularly picking up or dropping of your student joins and/or can access the group to receive these updates. Students with cell phones may also be added to their group’s BAND app with permission from parents.

  • All parent communications will be communicated through the BAND App and can be responded to via comments. If you have a direct question for Mr. Randall, please text him at 504-656-9048.

  • If for any reason, you are unable to join your child’s BAND group, please email mackenzie@dancingrounds.org to set up an individual communication plan for your child.

You can also log in and access BAND from a computer!

STEP 2: Click the button for your student’s group to download BAND and go directly to your child’s BAND group.

Health and Wellness Safety Guidelines

Updated 5.26.23

  • Pre-Testing is no longer required for non-vaccinated students

  • Masks are always optional for staff and students

  • If your child is sick, we ask that you do not send them to programming until they've received a COVID test with negative test results. If your child shows symptoms during camp, families are required to send back a negative test before the child returns to class. Disposable tests are always available at Dancing Grounds

  • In the event that a teacher, intern or student tests positive for COVID-19, all families will be notified immediately and classes will be canceled for the following class to allow families time to get tested before returning.

DG Parents take first Adult Class for FREE!

Sign up for the Adult Class of your choice on our Dancing Grounds app and use the discount code “DGPARENT”
to take your first drop-in class for FREE!

General Dancing Grounds Information