Registration

Free Trial Class

• To schedule a free trial, you will need to create an account and register online. 
• You will not be billed at the time of registration. (unless you are a returning dancer)
• All new students are allowed ONE free trial class.
• If you would like to try more than one class you may pay for an additional class, provided there is space available in the class you wish to try. 
• If there is an opening in the class you request, we will schedule your trial the next available class. 
• You will have a 3-day grace period to DECLINE the spot before billing and policies take effect.
• You will be officially enrolled after your 3-day grace period if we do not hear back from you.

Prorating Tuition

• We prorate tuition if starting or stopping mid-month. 
• All other months are charged in full and tuition is due on the 1st of each month.
• Holidays are already worked out in your class average of the year. We do not prorate for holidays or personal absences.
• Some months may have 3 classes, and some may have 5. We do not charge less or more in those situations. The class averages out over time.
• Remember, you are paying to hold the spot in the class, not the class itself. 

Late Fees

Tuition is due on the 1st of each month. We do allow a 5 day grace period for you to make your account current without any additional late fees. Any unpaid tuition on the 6th of the month will be considered late, and your account will be subject to a $10 late fee.  Should your tuition fall behind more than 2 months we reserve the right to suspend your participation in classes until the account is up to date. 

Payment Methods

We accept Visa, Mastercard, cash, of check. We do require a credit card at the time of registration, but you can switch to cash or check after your trial if you wish. Your card on file will automatically be billed the first of each month for the upcoming month’s tuition. Should the first land on a holiday, we may charge your card on the closest previous business day. Any returned checks will be subject to a $10 fee.

Credit Card Transaction Fees

A 2.75% transaction fee is applied to all credit card payments.  You do have the option to pay any fees by cash or check.  

Cash/Check or Zelle

We do accept cash or check. Checks must be made out to SMALL FRY DANCE CLUB and not PCPA or Principal Arts, please. If you would like to move from automatic credit card payments to cash/check or zelle, please contact our office and we will give you our Zelle information and make the changes to your account.

2023-2024 Tuition Rates

Cancellation Policy

We require a 30 day notice when stopping enrollment and billing. Your 30 day notice will begin when we receive your cancellation form. CLICK HERE

If you have multiple classes, and only want to drop one class, you will still need to submit a 30 day notice for the one class, or any number of classes you wish to stop.

All dancers still enrolled through recital will be automatically dropped at the end of June as we enter our summer break. You will need to re-enroll when we announce registration has opened for the following season. New season’s will typically start at the top of August, with registration opening sometime mid to late July. 

NOTE: Informing your individual teachers that you are dropping is not considered a cancellation. Teachers have a lot of responsibilities during class and may not remember to tell the office. Please use the form above or speak with the front desk in person. Thank you.

Make-up Classes

We do allow make-up classes. Each dancer gets one make-up class, per quarter, for the year (4 in total). A year being defined as Jan-Dec. Any unused make-up classes can roll over to the next quarter, but all reset to zero when the calendar year ends. Make-ups are contingent on availability in a particular class and date.

• All make-ups must be booked in advance – CLICK HERE
• Make-ups roll over each quarter but reset at the end of the calendar year.
• Any unused make-ups are forfeited if not used before your cancellation period expires.
• Make up classes cannot be used in lieu of tuition. 
• Make up classes may only be used if actively enrolled.

Make ups for holiday closures – Only selected holidays on days that fall below the class average (4 in a month for the year) will be eligible for a make-up class. We will include a note on closure reminders as to which holidays warrant a make-up visit. You will have 3 weeks to use your holiday make up time and then it will expire.  We will invite you to use the make ups at times where the lesson planning and show deadlines are more flexible and allow for a less consistent class group. For example, PCPA will not hold make ups in June as a high percentage of class time will be spent on fine tuning recital numbers.

Make up classes for isolated absences – (illness, vacations, other extracurricular activities, school functions) are limited to 1 make up class per quarter per dancer. 4 maximum for the calendar year. These do carry over from quarter to quarter but reset at the end of the year. Once the year ends the time expires.

Dress Codes

All dancers are expected to be in proper dress code each week. Teacher will give notes about dress code includes attire, hair, and footwear. Warning will be given for dancers that fail to comply. Multiple warnings may result in your dancer being asked to sit until dress code is correct. If you need help purchasing any dance gear, please ask our office.

We offer a shoe exchange program where parents can donate gently used shoes. Families may also borrow shoes as needed. You can request shoes through our front desk and we will check if we have shoes that match the size you need.

Extended Absences

If you expect to be gone from class(es) for multiple weeks, please let the office know. If you intend to return and keep your spot, you do not need to do anything else. We will just see you when you return. If you wish to not be billed while you are away, you will need to submit a 30 day cancellation notice. Please make sure to submit this in time for your absence. Please understand that if your class has a wait list, your spot will be offered to the next family in line when your cancellation is complete. 

Low Enrollment Classes

When we launch a new class there may be a period when enrollment is low. In some cases, if enrollment is low for an extended period of time we may consider dropping the class entirely. Should this occur we will try to give the families 30 days notice so they can find another class on our schedule.

In The Classroom

Rules in the class will be enforced by all teachers and staff. All rules are in place for a reason. Some rules are for your dancer’s safety, and other rules are for the class to function smoothly. Please respect the rules and the teacher’s authority in enforcing rules. If you have questions of concerns, please direct them to the office staff. 

• Arrive on time. Dancers that miss the warm up or are more than 15 minutes late will be asked to sit and watch for remainder of class. This is for your dancer’s safety and to avoid injuries. Sitting and watching class is still beneficial and better than not attending class at all.
• Attendance. Regular attendance is key for all participants and is  required in order to participate in shows and competitions. This is a team activity. Your class and instructor are counting on everyone to be in class and on the same page each week. Excessive absences may result in being removed from shows or competition.
• Dress code. Be sure to read our dress code page. Dancers not in dress code will be given a warning. If dress code becomes a recurring issue we may ask your child to sit until their attire meets the dress code. Shoes, dancewear, footwear, and hair should all be correct. Dress codes are both for your dancer’s safety, to help them be successful in a particular style, and for teachers to be able to see proper body alignment. If you are on a performance team, you have additional dress codes. Please check with our office staff if you are unclear about your requirements. 
• Water. Please remember to bring your water bottles to class. Teacher will let dancers know when it’s time for a water break. We have a fountain on the first floor if you wish to refill water bottles before or after class.
• Restroom Breaks. Ideally, they should not be needed. Please have your dancer go to the restroom prior to class. Class is only 60 min long, if they have gone before class they should be able to wait to go again until after class is over.

INJURIES  

As with any physical activity, Injuries may occur from time to time during class. Our staff will do their best to keep all children safe. Should your child get injured during class we have first aid kits, and ice packs on hand to comfort them until they are ready to rejoin. If an injury is more serious we will contact parent/guardians and send dancers home to recover. 

• Accident reports will depend on the severity of the injury but some defining factors will be:; inability to return to class (same day), excessive bleeding or pain, an injury that requires a doctor’s visit, child’s demeanor/mood/response.

Non Compliance with Rules

While we have never had to give out more than a verbal warning, please be assured that we do take excessive rule breaking seriously. Continual rule breaking will result in being sent home, or removed from the program entirely. Should we feel that any individual purposely put other dancers in harm’s way in a serious manner, we may skip ahead to remove that individual from the program without a warning. 

• First incident happening will result in a verbal warning. Warning will be documented and must be acknowledged by parents and directors.
• Second incident happening will result in a written incident report and a meeting with the family.
• Third incident will result in removal from the program. 

Lobby Rules

Our studio has two lobbies where families are welcome to sit and relax while they wait for their dancer to take class. Just like with classes, we have rules in place to keep everyone safe and comfortable while in the spaces. In general, we ask you be courteous to others. We love that families congregate and hang out in our lobby. It creates a great sense of community beyond our studio. Please observe the following rules to keep the space feeling comfortable and to not distract dancers who are in class.

Distractions
First and foremost we ask that you please not distract your dancer(s) while they are in class. Please do not open the classroom door to give your dancer a note. Let the teacher manage the classroom. No parents are allowed in the class unless invited in by the teachers. Our younger groups tend to dance (mostly) in studios A & B, which have two way mirrors. You can see your dancers, but they can’t really see you. This is a happy medium that allows you to observe class, but give your dancer a sense of privacy. Also, please do not let siblings that may be watching to tap or bang on the glass during class.

Noise Level
Our lobbies are meant to be quiet spaces, but they do tend to get loud during our busiest times of day. Please do your best to keep noise levels to a minimum. If you have to take a phone call, please step out into the hallway, stairwells, or outside the building.

Running
There is no running allowed in our lobbies, or common areas of the building. Remember we are in a large building shared by many professional tenants. Please be courteous, particularly during business hours.

Windows and Doors
As stated above, please keep little ones from banging on viewing windows or doors.

Food and Drink
Food and drinks are allowed in our lobby areas. Dancers who take multiple classes are welcome to bring their dinners and eat with their peers. We ask that everyone please clean up after themselves. Also, please do not bring any common allergy foods, like nuts, to the studio.

Water is the only drink allowed in the studio spaces themselves. There should be no food in the dance studios.

Furniture
Please do not move the furniture. If you need to, please make sure to place it back where you found it. Please do not allow younger siblings to climb furniture.

Viewing Windows
Studios A, B, and C have large viewing windows. We have seating arranged so that you can watch from a close distance. We ask that you please not move the chairs right up to the windows. This is for two reasons. First, it blocks the view of everyone behind you. Second, and more importantly, it creates a safety hazard to have chairs lined up to potential exists in the event of a fire. The current configuration of seating was approved by the San Mateo Fire Dept. They asked we keep lanes open to fire exit routes.

Be Respectful of Building.
We are one of many tenants/businesses in the building. This includes both a State Senator, and State Assembly person, as well as our landlord. Please be respectful of the building/parking rules. When walking down hallways please keep noise to a minimum. We want to keep a good working relationship with our neighbors and landlord.

Hallways and Common Areas (outside our space)

• No playing in the halls.
• No running in the halls.
• No screaming in the hallways.
• No soccer in the hallways.
• No dancing in the hallways.
• Please use the halls to walk from one studio to the next if need be.
• Dancers, students, siblings need to be at least 7 years old to move through the space unsupervised.
• Any child 6 and under should be accompanied and supervised when moving through the building. This includes hallways, common space, bathrooms, main lobby, studio d lobby, changing room, parking lots, the parking garage, the elevators, and the stairwells.    

STUDIOS NOT IN USE  

• Studios that are not in use are closed.
• No free play in studios during pre/ post class time or wait time.
• Children and students should not enter closed studios at any time for any reason.

SUPERVISION

• Children 7 and under should be supervised always when in lobby and or common space.
• Children 8 and older can move through the space independently (for example drop off for classes or multiple classes in a row) but office and teacher should be notified ahead of time.  Child should also be aware of policies and be able to follow the studio/building rules independently.
• If a parent, nanny, family member, or friend is going to be unexpectedly late for pick up our staff should be notified as soon as possible.  If this happens excessively, incident records will be initiated.  Steps included are outlined in the incident record section of the policies found below.
• Any adult bringing your child to and from class is also responsible for these policies.
• Should one of our teachers or staff members witness a child under the age of 6 unsupervised the child will be returned to the main lobby and parents contacted if not found in the process. This incident will be documented, recorded, and become the start of incident records for the family/child.  

RIGHT TO REFUSE SERVICE

We always have the right to refuse service should you or any member of your family not follow these studio policies.  Our policies are in place for the safety of all participants in our programs, their families, and individuals and businesses with whom we share the building and must be agreed to and followed at all times.

PARKING RULES

• Monday – Friday 9am – 5pm you may use El Camino, Jasmine Street, Barneson Ave, Borel Ave., and the rear parking lot accessible through south driveway on El Camino.
• After 5pm and on Weekends you may use all the above, plus access to the underground lot. You will receive the code upon registration. Please note any cars without a parking permit in the underground lot during regular business hours are subject to being towed.
• You may not park overnight in the parking lot.
• Please be courteous and keep an eye on your kids when you are walking through parking areas. 

NOTE: After 5pm and on weekends the entrances, and garage gate may close and lock. You will need a code to access them. You will receive this code upon registration, please be sure to read it, and save it somewhere you can easily access it.