Soar Creative Arts Center's Blog

Walk By Faith

Sat, 07 Mar 2026 16:43:29 GMT

Year 11 Theme!!!

The theme for our 11th year will be “Walk By Faith!” Our Scripture comes from 2 Corinthians 5:7, “For we walk by faith, not by sight.”

When I think about this Scripture, it makes me reflect on what a life of faith looks like. Hebrews 11 dives into faith. It tells us it is confidence in what we hope for and assurance of what we do not see. It then lists Old Testament legends that lived a life of faith.

However, it goes on to explain that these warriors only saw “the promise” from afar. What promise was this? Jesus, who would come and die for our sins! By our FAITH in Him, we have the Holy Spirit living inside of us and we have the hope of Heaven!

I want my life to be marked by faith:

When I don’t know what God is doing, to trust.

When life feels shaky, to firmly believe He has a plan.

I want God to take me, my family, and Soar further than what we could ever do on our own, so we can point to Him!

This upcoming year, you will see us tie this theme in with images of maps and compasses. You will hear many songs about continuing to move along! May each of our lives be walked out in faith, even when we cannot see!

How Registration Works

Mon, 02 Mar 2026 17:48:10 GMT

We have been having a great 10 ^th year! I cannot believe it is almost registration for summer and fall! Here is how our registration works:

- Current students will receive registration forms in the middle of this month. Turn it in and during the week of Easter, our office manager will contact you to schedule your registration appointment.

- New families can call or email us ( shannon@soarcreativearts.com ) beginning March 30 ^th to request a registration appointment. We will get your name, phone number, and some information on the student. We will also call these families during Easter week to schedule the registration appointment.

-Registration appointments begin April 14 ^th . We schedule these by how long the family has been at Soar. These appointments are 20 minutes and we focus on the family to make sure we get them registered for any summer or fall classes they are wanting to take.

-We open up online registration on April 22 ^nd for anyone that didn’t schedule a registration appointment.

-At the appointment, be prepared to tell us what class (including the day and time you are choosing) they are enrolling in. You will need to pay any that apply: summer classes, registration fee for fall, and/or fall art material fee. We can’t hold anyone’s spot without payment.

- You can view our summer classes at https://www.soarcreativearts.com/summer-2026

-Our fall dance, tumbling, and art classes are also listed on the website.

Recommendation – Classes fill up quickly. I would not wait to register for fall as we can’t guarantee there will be openings. The only exception is those auditioning for competition. They don’t need to do a registration appointment unless they are taking summer classes or fall art.

We are looking forward to year 11!!!

2026 Competition

Mon, 16 Feb 2026 01:59:54 GMT

We are interested in competition! What should we do next?

We are currently in the middle of our competition season! We have 37 beautiful dancers that compete in our regular competition team and on our hip hop crews this year. However, we are already setting our eyes on next year's teams too.

Do you have a child that dances everywhere she goes? Do you think she would benefit from additional training? Here are the steps that are recommended for those considering auditioning for next year's teams.

Sign your child up for our Competition Training Camp. This is being held on Saturday, Feb. 28th. Miss Hope, our assistant competition director, leads the students in the skills that we look for at auditions. She also teaches a small combo to help them learn how to pick up choreography quickly. Sign up at https://form.jotform.com/253356170226150
Attend the parent information meeting on Wednesday, March 18th at 5 p.m. Mrs. Ashley will discuss the training and organization of all the teams. Time and financial commitments will be discussed also.
If auditioning for the team, you only need to schedule a registration appointment if you are taking summer classes or fall art classes. If your child does not make the team, they are guaranteed a spot in our recreational dance class.
Auditions are on Saturday, June 20th. Head over to our competition website page to learn more. https://www.soarcreativearts.com/company

Here are a few things to consider with auditioning:

Your student should have some dance training before auditioning. This program is meant to challenge dancers and increase their ability, but they should already have had lessons in the style they are auditioning for.
Not everyone makes the team. The older the student is, the harder it is to make it because they have to blend with our experienced dancers.
Placement on teams is only slightly dependent on age. The biggest component in placement is their ability. This means that younger students may be on higher teams than an older student that doesn't have the same skills.
Being on the team is a commitment. There are attendance requirements. Students who are enrolled in many things (school extracurricular activities, cheer teams, dance teams) need to look to see if these will conflict before auditioning.
Competition training is hard work. Students are expected to work on it outside of the studio.
If you would like to discuss my (Mrs. Ashley's) thoughts on your child auditioning, please send me an email at ashley@soarcreativearts.com. I would be glad to tell you what I view as your child's strengths, where they need to work, and things they can do to improve.

Competition teams can be a great place for your child to grow! We strive to create an environment that both challenges and encourages our students! We hope to see you soon as you learn more about Soar's competition program!

Legacy

Tue, 25 Mar 2025 23:26:07 GMT

Going Into Year 10!!!

We are making preparations to head into Year 10!!!! 10 years – I estimate close to 800 students have taken classes with us! Sometimes, it feels like it flew by, but in other ways I feel each of those days. When we opened in 2016, my children were seven and five. Now, they are finishing up high school!

All of this has led to our Year 10 theme, “Legacy.” The Scripture we will be using is from Psalm 1:3, “That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither-whatever they do prospers.” This scripture is my hope for our students and for the studio itself. That the morals and Scripture based teachings we have tried to give our students will continue to grow in their souls. We hope they would be like a tree planted by the water and thriving.

Another purpose behind this is that Soar is more than any one person. It has been a blessing watching previous Soar students be trained to be teachers. Miss Hope and Miss Sara were some of our first students. This past year, Miss Laney completed her internship. We are excited that two student assistants who have assisted for years are being promoted to teachers. The first is Lauren Linton. Lauren took art classes for five years with us. She has opened her own art business, Linway Visual Arts. She has spent the last two years assisting classes at Soar, subbing when needed, and hosting one day clinics. We are excited to see her become our art teacher for this summer and next year.

Miss Emily Jones has danced with Soar for the past 8 years. She has been a competition dancer for multiple of those years. She will be teaching one preschool class and one beginner class next year. She is already an assistant that our younger students love!

Raising up teachers from within our studio helps to ensure that they teach with the same values and quality you have come to expect from Soar. This also helps us spread our branches even further. We hope you are a part of year 10 with us and a part of our “Legacy!”

Most Asked Questions About Competition

Thu, 20 Mar 2025 21:12:01 GMT

Does your daughter dance everywhere she goes? Does she talk about wanting to perform more?
Can she focus and isn’t afraid of putting in the time and effort for what she wants to accomplish? One of our competition teams may be a great fit! Here are the questions I get asked the most!

Which of your two teams do you recommend for my daughter?
So, we have two teams – the regular competition team (trains in ballet, tap, and jazz) and the hip hop crew (takes a comp hip hop class and a recreational hip hop class). If you are looking for your child to be a well-rounded, diverse dancer, go with our regular competition team. If they love hip hop and can’t stand ballet, go with our hip hop crew.

How many hours/days do they train?
The regular competition team takes 5 classes (ballet, tap, stretch and strength, choreography, and progressions). This ranges from 3 to 4 hours per week. They come to Soar two days per week. The hip hop crew takes an hour and 15 minutes worth of class, one day per week.

At what age do you recommend my child audition?
Students ages 5 through 18 can audition. It is easier to make the team at a younger age. Once the student is about 12 or older, they have to match the skills of what our current team can do.

My child can’t do a split (or any other one skill). Do you think she will make it?
We are not looking for one particular skill. We have a sheet of skills for the regular competition team that they are judged on. We are also looking for their ability to focus and learn choreography.

Besides dancing, is there anything else you look for?
If they’ve danced with us before, we do take a few other things into consideration. This is how the student has participated in past classes, what their attendance was like, and also did the family usually pay on time. Competition takes more of a time and financial commitment. If a family had trouble in our recreational program, this will only put more strain on them.

What level will my child be at?
This is completely dependent on what we see at auditions. This includes how many students audition and the skills the student can do. Please note that age is only a small factor on what group they are in in competition. We are mostly looking at skills and maturity. This means a younger dancer might be at a higher level than someone of an older age.

My child participates in another extracurricular activity. Will this conflict?
That is solely dependent on the two schedules and how involved they are. We have had competition students run track and compete. One has been able to do school volleyball and compete. However, we do have attendance requirements. If you are too busy, please consider not auditioning as the team will be relying on your student.

Can my child do a solo?
Regular competition students have to have one year of comp experience before being eligible. Hip Hop Crew students need two years of comp experience before eligible. Solos are one of the hardest areas to compete in because of the number of entries. There are additional fees and rehearsal times for solos.

What are the financial commitments?
We ask that you come to our parent interest meeting to get more specific information. This will be held on April 3rd at 6 p.m.

What can I do to help my student prepare?
If the student is auditioning for our regular team, attend our Training Camp. This is on Saturday, April 5th. For ages 5-10, it is from 1-1:45 p.m. For ages 11-18, it is from 2-2:45 p.m. This is $25 per student. We will go over the jazz technique that we look for.

If your child is auditioning, a registration appointment is not required unless the student is taking summer classes or fall recreational classes. We will cover much more information at the parent meeting. We hope you attend.

To Live!

Fri, 23 Feb 2024 15:26:10 GMT

Welcome to Year 9!

I can't believe we are about to enter our ninth year of business! We are crazy excited! Each year, we pick a new theme. That theme is reflected in the shirts we design, songs we choose, and Bible devotions that we have with our students. Our past year themes were:

Creation
Stand
We Have This Hope
Reach
The Race
For Such a Time as This
The Elements
Thy Word

And now, our ninth year will be "TO LIVE!" It comes from Philippians 1:21. The Scripture reads "For me to live is Christ and to die is gain." This year is a pivotal year in my personal life. My oldest child will be a Senior! Many of you have watched Laney grow up in the studio. I am so proud of the young woman she has become. I find myself thinking about what things do I want her to know during her last year of homeschooling - how to manage a bank account, cooking skills, driving skills... But more than any of that, I want her to know God will guide her. I want both of my children to put God first in all their decisions. I want them to know that we are living for more than what you see on this earth, but for our eternal home in Heaven.

I want them to make the most of their time here! To really live! I do my best to be an example to them. Besides taking time to read my Bible, go to church, and seek God, I try to have experiences! From riding rollercoasters I'm scared of to swimming with dolphins! I don't know about you, but I don't want to have any regrets when this life is over. I want to say "I lived," and I want my children to be able to say the same thing.

I hope this year's theme encourages you to pursue Christ. I also hope it reminds you to really LIVE your life!

How Registration Works

Fri, 16 Feb 2024 00:22:34 GMT

Registration for summer and fall is approaching! What do you need to know to be ready?

The new year, 2024, is in full swing! But before we know it, summer will be here and that means registration begins soon! To help out everyone, especially new families, we’ll be talking about how Soar does registration. Before we get started, here’s some basic information:

First, let’s talk about what we offer.

We offer classes in dance and tumbling. Our dance program runs the entire year from August through May, while tumbling is a month-to-month commitment. Both dance and tumbling start at age 2. In dance, we teach a variety of genres including ballet, tap, jazz, hip hop, and musical theater. We strive to teach excellence in technique while keeping songs, moves, and costumes modest and age-appropriate. In tumbling, we teach the beginning of acrobatic skills such as cartwheels, front rolls, and handstands. We encourage our students to grow in each of these skills, and challenge them to continue to build on the skills they already know.
We also offer classes in art. Our art program goes by semester. Fall semester runs from August through December, and the spring semester runs from January through May. In the fall, art begins at age 6, but for the summer we are offering art classes for 3-4 year olds that are more crafts focused. We teach several drawing and painting techniques such as shading, grid-work, pastels, watercolors, and more. We also teach students the different techniques of famous artists and encourage them to expound on those techniques with their own style.

Second, let’s talk about some changes to our summer session.

Normally, we have done a 5-week long session with classes happening once a week. However, we learned that due to summer vacations, some families could not attend all classes. To prevent more confusion and inconvenience, we have decided to have several week long camps throughout the summer months. For instance, one of our first dance camps, a jazz class called Let’s Go to the Movies, meets every day of the week of June 10th-13th.
We are offering tons of different options such as Ballet Princess/Ballet Clinic, Hip Hop Camps, Tumbling camps, and more. For art, we have camps such as Painting Fun, Learn to Draw Animals, The Places We Will Go (which focuses on landscapes), and Exploring Shape and Form in Drawing. Again, each of these camps happens for only one week during the summer for all age groups to help plan around vacations and life.

Third, let’s talk about how registration works.

We do our registrations by 20-minute appointments. This helps us focus on the family in front of us so there’s no need to rush.
Returning families will receive an appointment request form to turn in that lets us know what classes they are interested in for summer, fall, or both. During Easter break, we will call each family that has turned in their form to schedule the appointment. Returning family appointments begin Monday, April 8th. Please note that the appointment will be scheduled based on how many years the family has attended Soar.
New families interested in signing up can either email or call us to let us know they would like to make an appointment. Please email our office manager Shannon at shannon@soarcreativearts.com with the following information: Student’s name, Parent’s name, phone number of the parent, classes you are interested in enrolling in, and if you are interested in summer, fall, or both. We will start taking new student registration appointments beginning March 5th. New family appointments begin Monday, April 22nd.

Fourth, let’s talk about what you need to know for the appointment.

All summer and fall class information is on our website! You can follow this link here to find pricing, days, times, and other important information: www.soarcreativearts.com .
At the appointment, you’ll choose all classes you want your child to attend, fill out a registration form, and sign our policy form (which we will also give you a copy of). If you are signing up for any fall classes, you will receive a payment sheet that lays out what is due each month.
Please be prepared to pay all that apply: Summer tuition, registration fee, and/or fall art material fee. With all card transactions there is a 4% card processing fee, but if you pay with cash or check, there is no added fee.

To stay up to date on registration days and times, please ask to be added to our email list. You can also go to our contact page on our website to get brochures mailed to you. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to call or email us. We are thrilled to be looking toward year 9 at Soar!

Changes

Thu, 14 Dec 2023 16:47:59 GMT

Learn of the upcoming changes coming to Soar!

As Soar is in its 8th year, we have definitely had to make changes along the way. We have added and expanded classes throughout the years. We now have a series of new changes coming along that we feel are best for Soar.

The most unexpected change is that we are stopping the music department at Soar. For the past three years, we have found it difficult to maintain music staff and our music numbers have been continually declining. For the spring, we only had around 20 music students sign up. It just became where it was not economically feasible to continue with music. We feel our time should be devoted to the programs that are continuing to grow. We will still be offering dance, tumbling, and art.

Dance and tumbling are our biggest department at Soar. We will be expanding this for the fall. We are planning for three Beginner classes as these always fill up. We also plan on making a recreational Teen class. This would be for ages 12 and up. It would be a combo ballet, tap, and jazz class. It is meant to be the next level up from our Intermediate class. Lastly, we have always made our Hip Hop Crew minimum age be 8 years old. We will be lowering this to age 5.

Our summer session will be different. In the past, we have done each class once per week for a total of five weeks. This summer, we will have more of a camp format. There will be a different theme on select weeks and the classes will go from Monday through Thursday afternoon. Ideas we have include Animal Drawing Week, Hip Hop Week, Tumbling Week, etc. The goal is that more students will be able to participate without interrupting other summer plans they may have.

We are currently still enrolling for spring art classes. These start on January 9th. We also have openings right now in Tumblling Tots. Information about next summer and fall will be released around February!

5 Things to Know About Dance Competition

Tue, 13 Jun 2023 17:39:59 GMT

Auditions are Saturday, June 17th

Our competition auditions are just a few days away! We are looking forward to our 8th season as a company! We have been blessed to watch our students grow and continue to excel! Here are five things that I would like you to know about our team:

1. I highly recommend students trying out at a young age. When they are young (5-7 for competition team or 8-10 for hip hop crew), we are really just looking for ability to focus, passion for dance, and ability to pick up choreography. When they get older, we are looking for more things especially how they fit with our current students that have been training for years. It is easier to get on our team at a younger age. I hear many people say they may let their kids audition when they are older. Many times, they are missing their opportunity because their peers have started from a young age.

2. Being on our teams is kind of like being on an all-star sports team. We are looking for the best of our studio. Attendance matters. If a student misses a set number of rehearsals, they must schedule paid for private lessons. This is not for you if your student is in nine extracurricular activites and can't be at our rehearsals.

3. Most regular competition students at Soar train two days per week. There are places that will train your child 40 hours per week, but we are not one of them. We keep all our competitions in Louisiana and Mississippi, so we don't travel very far. Our students have went on to win titles, be captain of dance teams, and excel in dance, but we do put a limit on what our studio is willing to do.

4. Our students and parents are encouragers. Most people outside of our studio imagine dance competition as a Dance Moms episode. Actually, our teachers are not yellers. We do need to be firm sometimes and have asked students to step out of the classroom if they are completely disrupting a class, but we don't scream at them. Our students are taught that we are all on the same team and need to encourage each other. They know their placement at competitions is three people's opinions that can change at the next competition. I frequently say that all I care is that they do their best. It is just a plastic trophy anyway!

5. Things you can do to help your child for auditions - Arrive 15 minutes early. View our website competition page and make sure your student wears the right attire and that they have the correct shoes. Remind them that not everyone will make it, but to have a good time. Students should be willing to try new things and have a good attitude.

All competition team and hip hop crew information can be found at https://www.soarcreativearts.com/company .

2023 Registration

Wed, 11 Jan 2023 20:38:31 GMT

Learn how our semester and registration process works!

This week, we have been bombarded with families wanting to register. This blog post will share how our semesters run and how registration works.

Soar is divided into three departments: dance/tumbling, music, and art. These departments are broken up different ways:
-There is a 5 week summer session that includes each of the departments. This is the perfect way to try something without a long commitment. Summer runs the last week of June through July. We do not offer any type of make up lesson during the summer. We also do not discount tuition if a student will be out for a class. Please consider these things when enrolling.
-In music and art, it is divided into two semesters - fall (mid-August through beginning of December) and spring (January through May).
-In dance, our regular year classes run from mid-August to the end of May. We stop enrollment by the beginning of October to ensure we can get the students' costumes and that they will be well prepared for recital.

A few things to consider when enrolling:

We do not offer refunds. Please take your time to make sure what you are enrolling for will fit your schedule. This means that if your child enrolls in a summer class but then chooses not to attend, you will not be refunded.
Please plan what you are enrolling in because it affects our staff and other students. We usually have several students that end up on waiting lists. If you drop your spot after our enrollment closes, those on waiting lists cannot get a spot that semester. This also leaves openings in our teachers' schedules.
Many people choose to enroll in a summer class to see how a student likes it before enrolling for a longer time period. Even though this works for many, please remember that classes fill up quickly and you may not get the time slot you want.
Those auditioning for our dance competition team and hip hop crews (June 17th), only schedule a registration appointment if you are taking summer classes or are also enrolling in music and art in the fall. Even if your student does not make the team, we guarantee them a recreational dance spot.

How registration works:
1. In March, our summer and fall classes will be announced. Our current students will submit a paper that tells us if they are returning for summer and/or fall.
2. During Easter break, our staff calls the current families that have submitted the form to set up a registration appointment. Registration appointments are scheduled based off of how long a family has been at Soar. For example, families that have been with us since Soar started seven years ago will get first choice. IF A RETURNING FAMILY DOES NOT RETURN THEIR FORM OR SET UP THEIR REGISTRATION APPOINTMENT, THEY WILL USUALLY BE SOME OF OUR LAST TO REGISTER.
3. Registration appointments are done with our office staff. It is a 20 minute meeting where parents pick their student's classes. We also give you our policy and communications booklet. A payment form is made so families know what money is due and when. Please plan on paying those which apply: the registration fee, fall art material fee, music curriculum fee, and/or summer tuition.
4. In April, we will begin collecting names and numbers of new families that would like a registration appointment. We will call them during the Easter break to set up their registration appointment. The first day a new family can register is May 1st.
5. It is usually not until mid-May that people can just walk in and register.

My biggest point I want to make clear is that our studio fills up fast!!! We have many people say they "can't get in Soar." Yes, you can, but you have to do it when we are registering and do it quickly.

Please know that we run things this way for efficiency and to make sure we are organized. We do not offer online registration because it would be extremely difficult to get our 270 current enrollments registered this way with our multiple departments. Please stay up to date by asking to be added to our email list. You can do this by emailing our office manager at shannon@soarcreativearts.com. You can also go to our Contact page on this website. By filling this out, brochures will be mailed to you when they are ready at the end of March. Please let us know if we can answer any other questions by calling or emailing us. We are planning big things for our 8th year!!!

Should Your Child Audition for the Competition Team?

Thu, 07 Apr 2022 23:10:43 GMT

At this time of year, parents start asking our opinion if a student should audition for our competition team. Here are some ways to know:

1. Is dance “their thing?” Does your student dance everywhere he or she goes? Do you hear “watch my new step” often? These are clear ways to know that your student has a heart for dance.

2. Do you have the time available? Dance competition students have certain time requirements. Even though we offer a certain amount of excused absences, they are expected to be in class most of the time. Our competition team trains a minimum of two days per week from August through May. Competition doesn’t usually work well if they are involved with multiple other activities.

3. Has your child had training in what they are auditioning for? If your student is auditioning for the regular competition team, they should have at least one year of taking ballet and jazz classes. If they are auditioning for hip hop crew, they should have at least a year of hip hop classes. We are looking for students that are excelling in these areas.

4. Does your student focus well? Kids will be kids, but to get a dance ready for competition, we need students that can focus.

5. We highly recommend students audition at an earlier age. The best age to audition is between 5 to 8 years old. This is the age many students start competing. When they get older, it is harder to make the team because they need to have more skills. However, we always have a few students that make it at older ages.

We are welcoming students that are interested in the team to come to one of our competition showcases. This showcase will show students how a competition class operates and they will see dances that competed this season. This will be on Monday, April 25th and Monday, May 2nd from 5-5:45 p.m. (younger students) or 6-6:45 p.m. (older students). We are only taking four parent/student pairs for each one, so sign up at the front office. Competition can be a very rewarding experience. Don’t hesitate to message me if you have specific questions about the teams. Additional details can be found at https://www.soarcreativearts.com/company .

Changes Coming in 2022!

Wed, 23 Mar 2022 21:54:18 GMT

As we prepare for our summer and fall classes, see what new things are coming!

We have been in overdrive preparing for our summer and for next fall. Our website has been updated to reflect all times and tuition. We are waiting on our brochures to arrive. Here are changes coming for the future:

1. In art, Mrs. Janine will be leaving Soar. We are so thankful for the care and expertise that she has brought to our art program. Mrs. Jessee will be taking this back on. She was our first art teacher at Soar. We will only have one section of each art class so make sure to get in early.

2. Mr. Dylan will not be with us after this semester. He will be completing his student teaching for his college degree. We wish him all the best.

3. You will have four music teachers to choose from. Mr. Sean teaches all levels of piano. Mrs. Jolie teaches voice. Mr. Fidel teaches Levels 1 and 2 of piano. Mrs. Jessee will teach a few guitar lessons in the summer. In the fall, Mrs. Jessee will teach guitar and voice.

4. Miss Stephanie will be with us in a limited capacity next year. She is working on getting her masters degree in dance. She is currently looking into several programs that she has been accepted into. Miss Stephanie will be brought in to choreograph a few of our competition solos.

5. Mrs. Ashley, Miss Lauren, Miss Hope, and Miss Sara will be your dance teachers. Miss Hope is being promoted to our assistant competition director also.

6. Our hip-hop classes have exploded in growth. To keep up with the increase, we are splitting our age groups up more. Hip Hop Bop will be for ages 5-7. Hip Hop 1 is for ages 8-10. Hip Hop 2 is for ages 11-13. Hip Hop 3 is for ages 14 and up.

7. The majority of things we offer will have the same prices – costumes, music classes, music recital fee… However, due to an increase in our expenses, we had to raise the prices on a few things: Some dance and art classes were raised by $5 to $10 per month. Our registration fee was raised by $5. Our dance recital fee is rising but this is to provide a digital copy of the recital that each student is in. This fee will now be built into the dance recital fee. Our Congratulations Notes will still be a fundraiser to help our dancers with the recital fee. It is still our goal to provide a quality fine arts education at a price that our families can afford.

8. Our children’s piano curriculum may be changing. This is due to not being able to get the regular curriculum from the publisher. We have a back up plan, but this will be based on availability.

We are looking forward to an incredible 7th season. Be looking for a new blog coming soon that will explain next year’s theme, The Elements!

How Registration Works

Mon, 28 Feb 2022 00:44:23 GMT

Registration is approaching! Time to get ready!

When Soar began six years ago, we would just set a few registration dates and simply have families come register. In our fourth year, we had some unexpected things happen. On our first registration, the line started to be about twenty people long an hour before we opened the doors. I was shocked! I walked outside and asked what everyone was doing. They explained that they were trying to get certain times or book with a particular teacher. That registration day was overwhelming to our whole staff. We worked as fast as we could, but we knew we had to find a different way to register.

Covid actually brought about the new way we register. Going into the year after Covid, we started setting registration appointments. It was done to not have so many people in the building, but also so we could focus on one family at a time. I love this way of registering because for twenty minutes we get to focus on one family. We get to explain classes and find a schedule that works for them.

Currently, we are finalizing our summer and fall schedules. At the end of March, we will have our schedule published on our website and we will have brochures ready. At the end of March, our current families will receive a registration handout. When they turn this in, we will book registration appointments the week after Easter break. Appointments are made based on how long a family has been at Soar. Those that have been with us for five or six years get priority. The next registration days are for those with us for three to four years and then we continue working our way down from there.

For new families, we will start accepting emails on April 18th to make registration appointments. These appointments will begin on May 4th for new families. Many of our classes are offered at multiple times. If you are new, it is usually helpful to be flexible with scheduling. We currently have 280 enrollments at Soar. If only one 30-minute music time will work for you, there is a good chance it may be taken by the time you register. We continually update our Facebook and website of when classes fill up.

Side note – Our community is growing. Many extracurricular programs are filling up faster than ever before. Don’t wait until August to get in the programs. Start researching now.

What to do if you are interested in getting into Soar for the summer or fall? Go to our website, https://www.soarcreativearts.com/contact , and fill out the contact form. This information will allow us to put you on our email list and we will send you brochures when they are finished. You will get reminders of when registration is taking place. I would also follow us on Facebook and Instagram. We regularly post there. We are excited about going into our 7th year. God has been so faithful through this journey. We are excited to watch all He accomplishes through Soar.

How Our Departments Are Set Up

Sat, 15 Jan 2022 22:09:33 GMT

How long are the classes? When is registration? And more...

Wow! It has been a long time since I updated this blog. A lot has happened in our fall 2021 semester - Hurricane Ida, Covid measures, shipping issues, and changing some of our staff. In the midst of all that, we had our highest enrollment with approximately 280 enrollments. There has been no extra time to write.

Currently, we are receiving lots of phone calls regarding registration and how our classes work. So I decided to write a blog to detail how our departments are organized.

Summer Session - During the summer, we offer a 5 week session in all departments. This is the perfect time to "try it out" and see if it is something your student enjoys without a big commitment. For dance, you will have to invest in the correct attire and shoes though. In music, you will have to also purchase music curriculum. For art, materials are covered in the summer tuition. Summer classes run from the last week of June through July.

Dance - Our dance program runs the length of a school year (mid-August to the end of May). We have two divisions of our dance department. The first is recreational. Students do not need previous experience. This is for the students who want to learn the fundamentals of dance, but like a more laid back approach. The second is our competitive division. Students are able to audition on June 18th for our competiion team, hip hop crew, or both. Students must be ages 5-18 at auditions to be eligible for our competition team. They must be ages 8-18 for our hip hop crews. This is for dancers that already know the basics and are looking for a more serious approach to dance.

A common question I get asked regarding our dance program is why I won't take new students in the middle of the year? Well, for the first 10 weeks of the dance year, we focus on technique and dance education. By October, we are picking recital music, ordering costumes, and working on recital choreography. If I would take students after October, we would be scrambling to try to get their costumes in and they would have missed learning the steps being taught slowly. The teacher would also have to redo their formations.

Tumbling - Tumbling is our only department that is a month to month commitment. You can join this at anytime as long as we have space available. You only need to give us two weeks notice to stop the classes. Tumbling students just work on skills. They do not perform in our recitals.

Music - Our music department has two semesters - fall and spring. Fall runs from mid-August to mid-December. Spring runs from January through May. For music, families choose their 30 minute time slot when registering. The student comes for that same time each week. For the first 8 weeks of the semester, the student is learning music theory and technique. Then, they pick with the help of their teacher a music piece to play for their end of semester recital. We always say our music department is "pace-based." This means we move at the pace of the student. This allows us to base the speed in which concepts are taught by how the student is learning the information.

Art - Our art department is set up similar to our music program with two semesters. A theme is picked each semester that the students' projects are based around. For example, one semester we did a Louisiana theme. The students learned to paint a pelican in front of a sunset. They also worked on sketching a pier in the bayou. We always focus on an artist during the semester too. In the semester just mentioned, the students learned about John Audubon. Students work with a variety of materials from Prisma colors, charcoals, pastels, acryllic paints, and much more.

The goal is for our summer and fall 2022 schedule to be announced at the beginning of April. We will set up indiviudal 20 minute appointments for families to register. It takes a week and a half to get our returning students registered first. We will open up new student enrollment in May. During the registration appointment, our staff will be able to focus on the family they are meeting with to make sure class requirements are understood. Please note that classes fill up fast. It is not always possible to give you your first choice in class times. If you choose to wait until when fall classes begin in August to register, many times classes are at capacity.

I hope this post helps explain how Soar's departments and classes are organized. We are thankful to have a good reputation in our community and we look forward to continuting to teach students to use their gifts to glorify God in the future.

What is Competition All About?

Thu, 10 Jun 2021 01:35:59 GMT

Auditions are Saturday, June 19th!

Most people instantly think of the show Dance Moms when they think of competition dance. They think of hours upon hours of rehearsal and screaming. Well, our competition team is different!

First, students audition on June 19th by age groups. Our competition team is for ages 5-19 and they train a minimum of two days per week in ballet, tap, jazz, flexibility, and choreography classes. Our other group, our hip hop crews, are for ages 8-19. They train a minimum of one day per week and only compete in hip hop. We do have students that are on both teams.

We will have our lobby televisions showing the auditions. We are looking for students to have prior training. The biggest things we are looking for is ability to focus, ability to pick up choreography, and potential. Unfortunately, not everyone makes the teams at auditions and the student may need more lessons. It is also easier to make the teams when the student is younger. The older they get the more skills they need to have.

For those that are selected, there is a mandatory parent meeting the following Friday. At this point, families are told about all time and financial commitments. You are not signed up for the team until you attend this meeting and sign our competition contract.

The competition team participates in a four day master class at Soar in July. They also attend one convention and three competitions. All group dances are taught during their regular class time during the week. Only those selected for solos and duo/trios have regular rehearsals on Saturdays. Our hip hop crews are only required to attend the three competitions.

As a mother that has two children that compete, I can say there are some very rewarding elements:

-The student develops confidence in their abilities.

-The student learns to work as a team.

-Families enjoy time together at the competitions.

-The students are given opportunities to work with some of the best in the business.

-Our students get used to being onstage and performing. This translates over to other areas of their lives.

If you are thinking about it but not sure, feel free to email me at ashley@soarcreativearts.com . I would be happy to give more details and discuss the students’ abilities. We hope to see you on June 19th at auditions. All times are on our website under Summer 2021 !

Fifth Year Complete!

Fri, 04 Jun 2021 05:50:54 GMT

Looking back over the last year...

Each year, I love writing in our blog. It is normal for me to post at least six posts a year! Not this year! I managed to get one made at the start and this one at the end of our fifth season. Yep, that sums up the year – crazy busy! We entered the year excited to start back, but hesitant with what the year would bring with Covid-19 restrictions. We prayed that the Lord would be with us each step of the way.

With the exception of parents waiting in their vehicles, nothing felt different for our students. Classes were smooth and provided some normalcy for our families. The big difference came for our staff. Navigating a company through restrictions was challenging, but we did it!!! Here were some of our big accomplishments:

· Our competition team went to one convention and three competitions. Some of these events only allowed two guests per student. We had to enter together (100 of us including students, guests, and teachers). I would joke and say a small miracle occurred because everyone arrived on time and followed the rules!

· Competitions were following a block schedule. At one competition, we competed all 15 of our dances in 45 minutes. Talk about an endurance test! Our kids still performed well and received many overalls.

· The week before our December music recitals, the quantity of guests was reduced by our governor. 60 of our guests and students offered to move to another date for us to comply. I’m still thankful for the support!

· I think our greatest accomplishment came in the form of the May recitals and galas. Usually, we do four events at the end of our year. This year, we did EIGHT! This required double the amount of planning and hours from our staff.

I’m glad that the number of cases of Covid have been decreasing. I’m thankful that restrictions are easing and families are feeling more confident coming to class. Most of all, I’m so thankful to God for getting us through this season.

We are looking forward to our upcoming summer programs and events:

· Summer classes begin June 28th. We are at the studio on Tuesdays from 4-6 p.m. registering! We are excited to say we will have approximately 160 students participating.

· Dance Competition Team and Hip Hop Crew Auditions are June 19th. This is a great way to challenge the dancers who love performing and who thrive being pushed.

· In mid-July, we have our dance master class session. Four guest instructors come in to work with our dancers. We have Mr. Ector and Mrs. Carmen from Studio G, Mr. Skylar from Break the Floor Dance Company, and Mrs. Jamie from Jamie’s Performing Arts Studio. This is mandatory for our competition dancers, but is welcome to our dancers and the public.

· Fall classes begin August 11th. Please know that many of these classes are at or close to capacity. Please register early to ensure a spot for the fall. We are looking forward to sharing our 6th year with you!

Start of Fall 2020

Wed, 05 Aug 2020 20:59:21 GMT

Ways to get ready for our 5th year...

Soar begins fall 2020 classes on August 10th! We are blessed to have approximately 225 enrollments going into our 5th year of business. We are so thankful for our families' support especially after coming out of our two months shut down due to the Coronavirus. We will continue to take new enrollments if a class is not full through the middle of September. Below are a list of details and tips that will help all of us make this a successful start to our new year:

The first week is BUSY! Our parking lot is full and our lobby is active. Already be expecting it! It always slows down in a few weeks when everyone has settled into their classes and gets more familiar with their schedule. Please have your child come in no earlier than five minutes prior to their class.
Students will check in with Mrs. Cheryl at the front desk this year. We will also ask them to sanitize their hands.
We will have our banner up in our lobby for the first week (like the one in the picture featured). Make sure to get a few pictures of your student's first day at Soar. Tag us in any social media post with #Soar2020. It helps us find the pictures!
Once you get your pictures and your child is off to class, we are asking parents to wait in their vehicles. We need to comply with the government mandates and keep our building capacity down. If your child is young or is uncomfortable without you in the building, we invite you to stay in the lobby as they are getting adjusted. We have taken out lots of our lobby seating.
Students who are ages 8 and older, plus parents, are being asked to wear a mask in our lobby and hallways. Students are allowed to take them off in the classrooms. We have one exception to this - Our art teacher, Mrs. Misty, has an autoimmune and heart condition. We are asking students in Drawing 1 and 2 and students in Painting 1 and 2 to please keep their masks on. If your student has a medical condition that doesn't allow for this, please just let us know.
Dance families, please put your child's name in their dance shoes. When a class of preschoolers change dance shoes, sometimes things can get misplaced.
Music families, students will get their curriculum or music binder on their first day. Please have them bring this back and forth to class. All music students have an assignment sheet that goes home with them. This helps you know what they should be practicing. If you forgot your child's music time, please follow this link - https://www.soarcreativearts.com/music-schedule .
Art families, your student will receive a sketch kit on their first day. This should come back and forth to class with them. Also, please hang on to your favorite five projects they create. These will be used at our end of semester art gala.
August tuition is due on your child's first day of class. I know our front desk staff will be busy. To avoid waiting, you can pay by your emailed invoice also.
Please come inside to pick up your student.
Remember that you will receive a weekly email from Soar. That is the best way to stay on top of everything we have going on. We are looking forward to a blessed year!

Competition Team Changes for 2020

Tue, 21 Jan 2020 18:59:31 GMT

New Things to Come...

Soar has a phenomenal dance competition team. These students train in ballet, tap, jazz, lyrical, and contemporary. They take additional classes in progressions (leap, turns, and jumps) and stretch and strength. They are required to train two days per week, but many of them choose to take additional tumbling and hip hops classes. Our families are able to make this program work for each of them individually.

The program has always been divided into divisions: mini, junior, and teen/senior. As the team has grown, I’ve found it difficult to decide which division each student should be in. For instance, if they come in with a strong ballet background, but have never taken a tap class, it is hard to make ALL of their classes fit into just one division. It is also hard to make a new competition dancer fit with girls who have been training for years simply because they are the same age. For these reasons, next year, we will not use the different divisions. Instead the dancers will be given an individualized schedule based on where their technique is in each genre. They will also be cast in two group dances that the staff feels best suits them. This will also help transition years where a student is getting old enough to dance with the next level of dancers, but still may need a few more basic classes to refine their technique.

It may be a little different for our returning competition students next year because they won’t attend every class with the same group. However, in the long run, I think this individualized plan will benefit the dancer. Auditions will be a little longer as we will also have a ballet section to help determine the correct classes for them.

Another change that is happening is we are bumping the audition age down by one year. Students can now audition if they are 5 years old at the day of the audition (July 11th).

We are also excited to announce that we will be forming a Hip Hop crew. This group will attend dance competitions with us and compete one hip hop dance. The members of this group will have to take one recreational hip hop class and attend another hip hop choreography class. This will have a separate audition time. It will be broken up into two age groups. Students will need to be between ages 8-18 to audition for the hip hop crew in July.

I realize this is a lot of information to take in. A parent informational meeting to discuss all of this will take place at Soar on Tuesday, March 3rd at 6:45 p.m. Information such as time and financial commitments will also be given. We hope you will join us!

The Ripple Effect

Wed, 18 Sep 2019 14:39:25 GMT

Before I start this, let me first state that this is not written for a particular family. I really don’t have anyone in mind. It is simply a post from years of experience in this industry.

I feel like we are living in a time when many parents are wanting to always make sure their child is pushed. Every year, I’m confronted with people asking for their child to bump up a level or to another age bracket. I’ve had people ask for their three year old to play guitar or their six year old to dance with the 8-11 year old age group. Almost always my answer is the same – no, we keep all students in their correct age group and we do not start private music lessons until they are six.

If I allowed students to bump up, a ripple effect would occur. Let’s play out this scenario. I let a student who just turned 7 into my 8-11 dance class. Next, my 11 year old’s parents will feel the age span is too big and will request to go up to the 12 and up group. Then, my 16 year old student will want to know why she is dancing with an 11 year old! Craziness! The same thing would happen in our art department too.

In music, we have three reasons for not starting them in private lessons until they are six. They need to be a beginner reader to learn lyrics or read the curriculum. For piano and guitar, we are wanting their fine motor skills to be more developed. You need a certain amount of finger strength to make the guitar chords. Lastly, they will need to be able to focus for a 30 minute lesson. We certainly do not want to waste anyone’s money when we can’t get their student to listen.

However, we do have ways to push students that are excelling. Every July, we have our dance competition auditions. These students are broken into groups based on their ability and age. These students train at least twice per week and attend conventions and master classes with amazingly talented teachers and choreographers throughout the nation. In music, we have a class called Rhythm & Notes for our 4 and 5 year olds. Here they learn notes on a staff, rhythm, and how to sing with live accompaniment. It gives them a jump on the game before they can enter their own private lessons. In art, we can schedule private lessons with our instructors. This way students can focus on one area they are wanting to spend more time on.

To conclude all of this, I believe as parents we need to teach our children some valuable lessons. There will be times in classes that they will be the best. In those times, they should be a leader and model for the younger students how they should behave and work in the class. There will be other times that they are the youngest or less skilled. During those time, they should soak up everything they can from their teachers and more advanced students. Both seasons are teaching them lifelong lessons.

I hope your time at Soar is rewarding. If you would ever like to talk about the classes your student is in or how they can be pushed individually, I’m always happy to schedule an appointment!

What Are You Investing In?

Thu, 08 Aug 2019 01:06:02 GMT

On to year 4...

We are only a few days away from going into our 4th year! I immediately have two thoughts: “Where did my summer go?” and “Yay, I’m so excited!” Yes, they kind of conflict. For me, we finished recitals in mid-June. Then, my family traveled for my husband’s ministry. That’s where the picture is from. Right after that, we jumped into summer session with 160 students! We had competition auditions, multiple teacher trainings, and tons of fall registrations. As I type this, I’m currently working on my solo competition numbers.

It takes a lot to organize Soar and make sure all the pieces are fitting together. Let me be the first to say IT IS ALL WORTH IT! If your student is one of our 245 enrollments for the fall, let me say thank you! We work super hard to make sure your child gets a quality, Christian arts education.

Here’s what you are investing in and what we thoroughly try to put into our students:

1. Developing their gifts - There is a way to use every gift they have to bring glory to God.

2. Confidence – I love watching shy students come out of their shells. We use every chance we can to speak life giving words over these young people.

3. You can’t take it away - A child’s toy will last a season. However, when they are taught something, it stays with them.

4. Additional opportunities for their future – A family recently shared that their teenager, who takes music lessons with us, was invited on their church’s praise team. Wow! That’s a win in my book!

I also have a request to make. Pray for us! God has always guided us at Soar. We continuously have new questions to answer. Do we expand? Do we stay just like we are? Do we add new programs or just focus on what we have? Do we open another location? So, ask God to continue to give us wisdom.

Also pray for our entire staff. All of Soar’s staff balances their position with other things. Many of our instructors are finishing their college degrees. Many of us have families. I even homeschool our two children (I must be crazy!). Some of the staff are worship leaders or hold other jobs. Ask the Lord to refresh each of us on a daily basis!

We truly are looking forward to another year. If you ever need to speak to me, the best way to reach me is by email, ashley@soarcreativearts.com . Thank you for choosing us! Your investment will be well worth it! Classes begin Monday, August 12th!

Something Special

Sun, 14 Jul 2019 19:58:26 GMT

Learn professional info and quirks of our staff!

I can’t believe we are preparing for year four at Soar! It has gone by so fast! Soar has thrived for three reasons:

1. God overseeing every detail!

2. This staff amazes me!

3. The families at Soar are truly great!

I want to focus on point 2 – our staff. For the fall, there are a total of 15 staff members that make Soar so special! I would like to tell you a little about each of them. It includes both professional information and fun quirks about each of them.

Music Staff

· Mr. Taylor Mack has been on staff for two and a half years. His laid back, encouraging attitude makes him able to work with both children and adults very easily. Mr. Taylor graduated from the New Orleans’ Seminary last spring. In between classes, you will find him singing in the lobby or talking about Star Wars!

· Mr. Cole Sullivan has a year left before he finishes his music degree from the New Orleans’ Seminary. Mr. Cole is very diverse as he can teach piano, guitar, banjo, and voice lessons. You are sure to notice his tattoos and calm manner!

· Mr. Caleb Dykes taught last semester at Soar. He has the ability to bring instruction to a basic level or to challenge advance students. Mr. Caleb does a lot of traveling between attending the New Orleans’ Seminary and leading worship in Kentwood. He is also recently married.

· Miss Jessee Yantis is currently our only female music teacher. She is also one of our art teachers. She is one of those crazy gifted people that is awesome in multiple things. Miss Jessee is known for her different hair colors and love for the Lord.

Art Staff

· Read Miss Jessee’s information above.

· Miss Marley Besse will be teaching Creativity, Art Introduction, and Drawing classes. Marley’s own art creations will blow you away. She loves all things Disney and connects with our students in a very easy manner.

Dance/Tumbling Staff

· Miss Maddie Mizell started with Soar at it’s beginning. She is our awesome tumbling teacher. Miss Maddie takes the position seriously and tends to be one of our firmer teachers. She knows in tumbling that if the student and instructor are not on the same page that injury can occur. Once you get know her, you will find someone who puts her best into everything she does.

· Mrs. Amanda Lightfoot is a former LSU Golden Girl and former Honeybee for the NBA Hornets. She has the stamina and technique to push our competition dancers. She spends her free time with her husband and two young sons.

· Miss Lauren Simpson works with our Preschool and Beginner students. She has the energy to keep up with those little darlings. Miss Lauren also works as a paraprofessional in the school system. You can often “hear” Miss Lauren teaching before you see her.

· Miss Kaitlin Thomas was a former Soar student who spent years assisting classes before becoming a teacher herself. Miss Kaitlin assists tumbling and hip hop. She lead teaches competition progression classes and elite recreational classes. Miss Kaitlin’s personality is pretty serious, but before long she is joking with the students. Miss Kaitlin strives to get the best out of her students.

· Miss Lindsey Hooge is a former competition dancer and collegiate dancer. Miss Lindsey’s strongest genre is ballet, but she is diverse and can also teach hip hop, jazz, and tap. Miss Lindsey’s cardio warm-ups get our students’ endurance up quickly. Her goofy personality makes her a joy to be around.

Owners and Administrative Staff

· Mrs. Ashley McGlothren – that would be me! You will find me everywhere at Soar – checking in on classes, helping at the front desk, chatting with parents, or teaching my own dance classes. I’ve trained at multiple dance schools, was captain of my high school and college dance teams, and went on to teach and choreograph at other studios before Soar. I still choreograph most of our competition dances and teach the adult dance classes. I have no spare time between homeschooling my two children and Soar. LOL!

· Mr. Thomas McGlothren’s title is COO (Chief Operations Officer) at Soar. He is responsible for the everyday operations of Soar and the logistical parts of our events – sound tech, building props, and making sure the facility is kept up. He is the glue that makes this place keep going. You can also find him playing music at area churches with the Riverside Revival Band.

· Mrs. Cheryl McGlothren has always been part of our administrative staff. She currently works our lobby position where she watches student get to their parents and helps students who arrive late get to their classes. She helps with communication to our families and with measuring for costumes. She is the heart of our studio.

· Miss Shannon Payne is our office manager. When you call Soar, this is normally who you speak to. She handles our accounts and correspondence with our families. We love her willingness to learn and how she truly enjoys her position at Soar.

· Mr. Brent McGlothren handles keeping Soar clean. He also helps out at our registration and events in any way needed. If he picks on you, it means he likes you. We appreciate his willingness to help.

On top of all this, we have student assistants that team up to help too. I’ve recently started saying, “it doesn’t take a tribe, it takes an army!” I’m so thankful for Soar’s army!

As We Grow...

Fri, 24 May 2019 20:46:56 GMT

the best way to communicate with us.

In 2016, we started Soar. Our two front desk receptionists would answer about two calls per evening, but it was pretty quiet. I personally handled every inquiry we got from our website, every email that came in, and every message that came through Facebook. Sometimes in my urgency to make this company work, I would call or message people back from my personal cell phone. I would even respond during my personal time including Sundays.

Most of our families got comfortable with my personal touch. Yet at the end of last year, I knew it was starting to become a problem. I was in the middle of our music recital and I was getting messages from our dance parents about the recital later that evening. I was receiving several texts about what side the part of the dancers’ hair was supposed to be on or which door should they enter from. I had to focus on what I was doing and never had a chance to message those parents back before they arrived at the theatre.

This year, when we grew by 90 families, the amount of messages grew too. I often will get several messages per night from my personal Facebook account or by text when a student won’t be in or will be late. I am often seeing these messages at the end of the evening because I’ve been teaching my own classes or managing Soar’s classes and students.

So, I’m trying to lay down some basic ground rules about communicating with us at Soar.

1. The quickest and best way to let us know about a student being absent or late is by calling us during business hours. It is also great to leave us a message on our answering machine because we check this as soon as we get in.

2. When it comes to questions like “what time do the students arrive to recital,” “when is the art gala,” or “what costume should a dancer arrive in first,” make sure you have checked your recital handbooks and recent handouts. 99% of the questions we get have been answered in your paperwork. We also send out regular emails about upcoming events.

3. Next, our office manager who is in the above picture, Shannon, has an email through Soar. Her email address is shannon@soarcreativearts.com . You can message her at any time, but she will only reply when she is at Soar. She will, however, answer emails more frequently when we are around recital time.

4. Tommy will also start helping me manage Soar’s Facebook Messenger account. General questions can come in this way too. Tommy also has a Soar email account – thomas@soarcreativearts.com .

I know there are times when you will need to talk with me. The best way to reach me is through email which is ashley@soarcreativearts.com . However, please allow 24 hours for me to respond. I’m always happy to set up times for phone calls or meetings. I love our Soar families and try my best to chat with them every chance I get.

We always want Soar to have that family friendly feel, but it is important for me to have boundaries with Soar. It is not fair to my family for me to always be messaging someone about Soar when it is my day off. I also want to make sure that we are seeing your messages in an appropriate amount of time.

Lastly, please know that our staff scales back a good bit after the recitals. The last two weeks of June, we will only be in for two hours on Tuesdays. During the month of July, we are only in the office on Mondays and Tuesdays. It may take us longer to get back with you. On behalf of our staff, this is our personal time to recharge before we begin another awesome year.

Thank you for understanding that this in no means is our way of saying don’t contact us. Instead, it is putting things in the proper channels for us to make sure we are answering every question and handling things in a proper way. As always, thanks for your support of Soar.

Tips for Ticket Sales and Registration

Tue, 16 Apr 2019 17:32:13 GMT

Ways to make these two days go easier...

Some of our biggest events for the year are approaching quickly. This coming Thursday, April 18th is our ticket sales day at the Columbia Theatre. Then, on May 3rd, returning students get to register for the summer and next fall. New families get to register beginning May 17th. I wanted to give six tips to help you navigate these days:

1. The best way to get tickets in my opinion is to wait until after 12 p.m. on Thursday and go to the box office. This ensures that the lines won’t be as long and you will still be able to get tickets without additional convenience fees that the theater charges. Please remember tickets are non-refundable. There is nothing I can do if Grandma changes her mind about not wanting to come or if you purchase tickets to the wrong show.

2. For dance recital tickets, do not delay in purchasing them. The Columbia Theatre seats approximately 830 people. We have 70 dancers in the recital. We are expecting the dance recital to sell out. At this point, I highly doubt there will be seats for purchase the day of at this recital. Again, there is nothing I can do if we sell out and you haven’t purchased your tickets. We’ve been announcing ticket sales day for over two months.

3. I often get asked where is the best place to sit. It really is a personal decision. I don’t like heights, so I always sit on the floor. The loge area is considered the preferred seating but it is more expensive. Also, the outside seats of Row A in the loge has a door near it that guests often walk through.

Remember that children 2 and under who are sitting in a lap do not need a ticket. Last, I find those with long legs usually do better near the aisle to stretch out some.

4. With the music recital, there is a lot of equipment on stage. With floor seats, it is impossible for us to promise a clear view from your seat to your student. Balcony seating works best to see the entire stage. Also, if you purchase our video, there is direct feed to our videographer ensuring quality sound.

5. Soar has come a long way from our first registration where 35 people came. Last year, I was surprised to see a line forming 30 minutes before we opened. If you have certain time spots that you need (especially for music), you may still want to line up early. For families that are involved in several classes, this is a good idea too. However, if your child is just in one dance or art class, please just leisurely come at your time spot. New families come in on May 17th. We don’t hold a spot for anyone. You are required to pay for the summer session when you register. If you are enrolling in fall, be prepared to pay the registration fee, August tuition, and any curriculum or material fee that comes with the class. If you miss registration day, simply see our front desk at regular business hours. They can get you registered.

6. We have merchandise on sale at registration. You can order car decals, extra registration shirts, leotards, dance bags, and music bags. These items do not come in to close to mid-September. We quit selling these items at the end of August for the rest of the year.

With all of these events, preparation is key. We treasure our families and do our absolute best to keep you informed, but it is up to you to follow our recommendations. We are looking forward to seeing how God will continue to use Soar in the future! Thank you for being a part of our journey!

Preparing for Dance Competition Auditions

ashley@soarcreativearts.com (Ashley McGlothren) — Fri, 08 Mar 2019 19:08:00 GMT

Tips to know if your child is ready

We’ve entered March! This is when the questions start about our dance competition team. “Do you think my child is ready?” “What are the financial and time commitments?” Well, you’re in luck. This blog will give you some more information!

My first recommendation if you are interested in competition is to let them audition early. To be honest, it is easier to get on the team the younger they are. If you enter our beginner recreational class and our mini competition class, their abilities seem to be about the same. However, as they increase in age, you can start seeing a big difference in our older recreational dancers and competition dancers. They’ve simply trained more and have more stage experience. When they are young (5-8 years old), we are looking at their flexibility, focus, and ability to pick up choreography. After these ages, we are looking for them to keep up with our already established team. For example, by the time they are 15, they need to have all their leaps and be able to hit or close to completing triple pirouettes. That’s tough!

So, how do you know if this is right for your child? Let me ask a few questions:

· Do they dance everywhere they go?

· Do they love shows like World of Dance?

· Are they usually excited about going to their dance classes?

The answers to these questions are good indicators. My next suggestion is to bring them to our Training Camp on April 6th. It is a laid-back class with me where we cover what we access at auditions and how the audition process goes. We put this class on the lobby television. Parents are usually able to see if their child can keep up.

A good thing about our team is that even if they make it, parents attend a meeting where all costs and time requirements are laid out. Parents know exactly what they are getting into before joining the team. For some approximate information, students train about four hours per week. They attend three competitions (with Mobile being the farthest away) and one convention. A new competition student only competes two group dances. Tuition ranges from $95-$105 per month. There are extra hip hop and tumbling classes that are optional. Costumes cost around $85 each as we add custom elements to them. There is also a four-day master class session in July at Soar they must attend. The competition team does not take over your life. However, it is hard for students to be very involved in other activities as they often conflict. For example, I would not recommend them playing sports at the same time they do this. That being said, we do have competition students who have molded art and music lessons at Soar around their competition rehearsals.

If you are still unsure, set up a time to talk to me. I would be happy to give an honest assessment of your child’s strengths and where they could improve. Last reminder, students must be 6-19 years old by December 31, 2019 to audition. Auditions are in early July at Soar. Visit our Facebook event to learn more details about auditions. We also have a page on our website devoted to information about the competition team.

Even though this blog was about competition dance, this may not be right for your family. Our studio cares about our recreational classes just as much. You just have to find your fit!

Continuing to Soar

ashley@soarcreativearts.com (Ashley McGlothren) — Wed, 13 Feb 2019 04:28:48 GMT

Additions and Changes You Can Expect to See Soon.

Hi everyone! I’ve been hard at work trying to finalize the summer and fall schedules. It is quite a task to get a schedule together that suits our families, while accommodating the needs of all our instructors.

It has also been a time for me to step back and make sure all the business portion is being handled properly. This blog will share some changes that you will see this summer and next fall. In an attempt to just be open, I will also include reasons why we are making some of these changes. Please know that our heart is to always serve our families.

Change 1 – We will have 2 Young Authors Classes this summer. Mrs. Beth Vinyard has an English degree and is a gifted teacher. One class will focus on students going into grades 3-5, who are struggling with their writing. The other class is for more advanced writers going into 5th-7th grades. The class will be on Monday and Tuesday evenings in July. Students will get a total of 10 classes. The course is $100.

Change 2 – We are having a few teacher changes. Mr. Caleb, one of our music instructors, is getting married in May. His fiancé’ is finishing college in Hattiesburg. The couple will be residing there at first, so he won’t be returning to Soar. However, Mr. Cole will be able to teach banjo to any of Mr. Caleb’s current students. Also, Mr. Dakota will be finishing his master’s degree from Southeastern. As his future plans are still a little unclear, we know he will definitely be with us during the summer. However, we are not currently scheduling him for the fall. We wish him the absolute best in all his future endeavors and are so grateful for all he has brought to Soar. We are currently interviewing for one more qualified music instructor. Mr. Taylor, Mr. Cole, and Miss Jessee will all be returning on staff. In addition, we are adding one more dance teacher to our staff. Miss Hayley Farace, who has been a competition dancer and assistant for years, will be teaching one of our preschool dance classes next year. It is a joy to watch students become teachers!

Change 3 – Our administrative staff is changing too. As Soar has grown, I felt it necessary to have someone working along side me with emails, our accounts, and so many other clerical parts to make Soar run efficiently. Mrs. Cheryl has another job that did not allow her to increase her hours at Soar. I have hired Shannon Payne, who you will see around Soar soon, as our office manager in the fall of 2019. She will slowly be learning all the ins and outs of Soar. Mrs. Cheryl will move to the lobby assistant position. Mrs. Vicki will not be returning with us. Again, we appreciate all that she has done for Soar and wish her nothing but the best.

Change 4 – In the summer and the fall, the Rhythm & Notes class we offered when Soar opened will be returning. This is a 30-minute music class for 4 and 5 year olds. They will work on concepts such as beat, tempo, singing, and reading music. Those enrolled in the fall will sing two songs in our music recital.

Change 5 – We are dividing our art program up a little more. Our Creativity class will now be for 5 and 6 year olds. We are offering a new class called Art Introduction for 7 and 8 year olds. They will learn techniques in both drawing and painting to help them choose which course they would like to continue on with from there. Drawing 1 and Painting 1 will be for 9-11 year olds. Drawing 2 and Painting 2 will be for 12-14 year olds. We will now offer Drawing 3 and Painting 3 for 15 year olds through adult. We stick closely to the ages for which class a student is in. If the student is advance, we will find ways to challenge that student in their class.

Change 6 – All fall tuition will be the same as last year. However, there are three small places we are increasing the prices on during our 2019-2020 year. Our dance costumes are currently $65 for recreational costumes. To be able to cover the tax and shipping rates for these costumes, we are having to raise each costume to $70. Also, we currently charge $12.50 for each piano book. The manufacturer raised their rates. We will need to charge $15 per book. Lastly to cover the Columbia Theatre’s fees, ticket prices will be rising by $1 in 2020.

Please know that we work hard to keep the prices down so our families can afford being a part of Soar. We also feel it is important to be open and honest with our families. Be on the lookout for our summer and fall schedules that will be released soon. We look forward to continuing to provide a quality, Christian fine arts education.

We Have This Hope

ashley@soarcreativearts.com (Ashley McGlothren) — Sat, 29 Dec 2018 19:42:23 GMT

Theme for Year Three!

I never want my Christian faith to come across as fake. I never want it to seem like a list of do’s and don’ts that I am supposed to follow. Instead, it is a relationship with my Heavenly Father. So, through Soar, I choose to open up and share the pretty parts and the struggles of this journey. Our recital themes come from these experiences.

Year 1, the theme was “Creation.” It was about celebrating God’s creations, becoming a new creation in Christ, and the creation of Soar. Year 2 was “Stand.” I shared about my mom’s ongoing battle with dementia and choosing to stand on God’s Word. This year the theme is “We Have This Hope.” Hebrews 6:19 tells us that Jesus is our Hope and is an anchor for our soul. He steadies us when everything around us is shaking.

In November 2003, Tommy and I’s world got shaken to its’ core. We wanted children early on in our marriage. We saw them as a gift from God. At 12 weeks along in our first pregnancy, I lost the baby. First came the grief. Next came anger. Last came the questions:

-How could the God I loved and trusted allow this?

-What good could possibly come from this?

Some thought I shouldn’t question God, but I believed God could handle my honest questions. We would walk through the world of infertility for several years after. In 2007, we had our daughter, Laney. In 2009, Ethan came. Those years of struggle and waiting taught me several lessons:

1. God does love us, but He doesn’t always do things according to our plans. Ouch!

2. Sometimes our hardships soften us to see when others are hurting.

3. There are some questions that won’t get answered this side of eternity.

4. Every season comes to an end. There are better days ahead! We have HOPE for our future!

I clung to this Scripture through those years: Psalm 27:13 says “I would have lost heart, unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of God in the land of the living.” This Scripture was a promise to me in the years of grief that God was still good and to have HOPE for my future.

I pray that our recital message ignites HOPE in you that God has a plan no matter what you are facing! He does see you and He does care!

Why I Love Our Art Department

ashley@soarcreativearts.com (Ashley McGlothren) — Fri, 09 Nov 2018 18:55:41 GMT

Valuable Experiences

We are finishing up our first semester in our art department. Soon, we will have our first art gala, where our students get to display their work. We are working hard to make it a special day that celebrates their accomplishments. We have a caterer coming with finger foods and we are planning an art activity for the whole family to participate in.

I’ve been taking some time to reflect on this new department at Soar! And I’ve come to the conclusion that I ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT! It’s so different than some of our other departments. Dance and tumbling are very fast pace and active. Music is very individualized to the student. Each of those are great, but art offers its’ own special part.

If you go into a Creativity class, you will see students' imaginations running wild. Instead of always being told to do it exactly one way, they are encouraged to make it their own. They’ve made horses out of pool noodles and rode them throughout Soar while wearing a bandana. Watching these “cowboys” and “cowgirls” ride free made the whole lobby laugh. It was a blast! Creativity students also explored the colors of the rainbow and talked about God’s promises. I appreciate this class so much simply because there was no perfect way to make their own creations.

The atmosphere in our older drawing and painting classes at Soar was very unique. Do I dare say it was on the therapeutic end? In a society that rushes from one thing to another, students would explore a technique and often take weeks to finish their creation. Many times, the classes would be silent as they took their time making their projects just as they envisioned. Other weeks, like-minded students and teachers would chat about their days or even sing Disney songs as they worked away. I’m SUPER IMPRESSED by what they created. I’ve seen them grid out portraits and draw profiles of people. I’ve watched painting classes mix their own paints to get the right shade they were looking for. They explored warm and cool colors in their projects. We even had one of our own students win the library contest to design the new library card. The students have grown from week to week.

Miss Jessee and Miss Marley have done more than just teach art techniques. They have formed a culture where it is great to love the Lord and the students express themselves through art.

We believe in this department so much that we have created two more sections of Creativity 2 and Drawing 1 on Thursdays to meet our ever-growing student base. We welcome new families to tour our facility and even observe a few minutes of a class. It is a beautiful thing to watch how God is taking each of these departments and making each something very special!

A Beautiful Sound

ashley@soarcreativearts.com (Ashley McGlothren) — Wed, 24 Oct 2018 16:37:32 GMT

Changes to our voice program

Letters and emails have been going out lately about some changes we are making in the spring for our vocalists in our music program. I know many people are resistant to change, so I wanted to have a heart to heart talk with those enrolled or looking into this program.

The change is that in the spring only, our vocalists will continue their 30-minute private lessons, but they will also have five group classes scheduled throughout the semester. During their group classes, they will learn how to sing their parts and work on harmonizing. More experienced singers may be asked to do small solo parts in the group number. Singers will not be doing a complete solo by themselves in the spring recital.

So, I’m here to answer why we are making this change. I want to begin with what a great opportunity this presents to our vocalists. Yes, they are doing great with each singing a solo, but we are closing up opportunities to them if we never teach them to perform with a group. These group practices will require their ear to develop. They will have a chance to study a song to find their part (soprano, alto, etc.) Plus, let’s talk about how awesome it will be to fill the Columbia Theatre stage with a group vocal performance. It is going to present a whole new dynamic to our recital.

In the group rehearsal, their regular vocal instructor will be leading the class. This way they are able to practice in their private lesson individually what they will be doing as a group. Lots of thought has went in to this to see how we can continue to increase our quality of instruction.

Next, I want to let you in to the business and management section of this. Last year, we had approximately 34 numbers performed at the spring recital with everyone performing solos. The recital was a little over two hours. We sold under 300 tickets. As a company, we were just breaking even on our music recital. Our dance recital because it is done with groups sold over 650 tickets. This semester, we had 80 music students. This left us with some decisions to make. We could either find a less expensive location for the music recital or make some changes to how we formatted our music program. We knew it wasn’t possible to change our piano and guitar performances. As a staff as we brainstormed, we saw so much positive from combining our singers. It would provide a new learning opportunity without extending the length of our recital by hours and hours. We probably will still need to have two music recitals this spring. We are waiting to see our spring enrollment numbers before making that decision.

What I want you to see is that every decision we make in Soar’s departments goes through lots of scrutiny before we implement it. We have the best in mind for our students and our fine arts school. Each vocalist will continue to perform solos in the fall. So, before you say, “I don’t like that change,” give it a try. See what wonderful new skills your vocalist will gain.

Also, we are adding policies that say you must complete the semester and you must perform at recital. This again is a change to protect Soar itself and our staff. Unfortunately, we had enough people drop classes that we felt these policies were needed.

If you have any questions, I’m happy to set up a time to speak to you. Don’t forget we will be closing ticket sales on Saturday, November 3rd. Current students can sign up to keep their current music spot the week of November 5th-10th. Current students and siblings can enroll in a new spot the week of Nov. 12th-17th. We are opening enrollment up to new families on Monday, Nov. 26th. I’m so excited with how this year is going!

Change Is In the Air

ashley@soarcreativearts.com (Ashley McGlothren) — Mon, 08 Oct 2018 03:01:33 GMT

Staff additions and class changes!

It has been a hot October so far! I’m dying to feel a little bit of fall and start wearing long sleeves and boots. I’m holding onto a glimmer of hope that a cold front will drop down this week.

Just like the weather, Soar is making a few changes also. The first I want to talk about is a new instructor, Mr. Caleb Dykes. Mr. Caleb will be coming on in the spring to teach banjo, guitar, and piano. He will have class openings on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings. He is worship leader at Taylor Creek Baptist Church in Kentwood. He is also finishing his degree studying music and worship at New Orleans Theological Seminary. I encourage you to look at our Facebook videos of him playing banjo and leading worship. All of our current music teachers are staying with us for the spring and are keeping their same time schedule.

The next change will affect our vocalists for the spring. One of our goals at Soar is to always look for ways to improve all of our departments. As we love each of our vocalists performing a solo piece for the fall December recital, we felt we could grow our vocalists more by teaching them how to sing with a group in the spring. Students enrolled in voice lessons for the spring will continue to have their 30- minute private lessons, but those wanting to participate in our recital at the Columbia Theatre will also have 5 group classes per semester. The dates and times of the group classes will be given when the student registers. Each group will perform two pieces at the Columbia recital. The group class will be led by their normal instructor.

In the past, we have charged a $15 material fee to voice students. In order to compensate our instructors for these group classes, vocal students will now pay a $40 material/group class fee at the beginning of the spring semester. By conducting our classes like this for the spring only, students will get a chance to learn how to sing their parts (soprano, alto, etc.) within a group. Some of our more advanced students may be asked to do solo sections within the piece. Most group classes will occur on Saturday afternoons. We are looking forward to growing our vocalist in this new way. They will still have their solos in the fall. Piano and guitar classes will continue as normal for the spring.

The last change is that we are adding two new art sections. Our Creativity 2 class and our Drawing 1 class were at capacity this semester. Miss Jessee will continue to lead teach those two classes. However, we will offer a second section of each of those classes on Thursdays in the spring. These Thursday classes will be taught by Miss Marley, who has assisted all of the art classes this semester.

Please view our newsletter at www.soarcreativearts.com/newsletter regarding dates of registration. The website has been updated with the new Thursday art times. Thank you for always praying for us as we go through new changes!

Closing Enrollments

ashley@soarcreativearts.com (Ashley McGlothren) — Mon, 24 Sep 2018 18:04:44 GMT

Why we stop accepting new enrollments so early in the year.

And that's a wrap...
Music and art fall enrollment has been closed for a few weeks. Tumbling is full. We just completed dance registration for this year. Some caring moms recently asked me why I would stop enrolling for dance so early in the year when many other studios will accept students way later. To them, it didn't seem to make much business sense. More students is better, right? WRONG!

QUALITY is always better. Our fall music recitals are in early December. If we were to take on a new music student now, my instructors would have to have them ready to play a piece in approximately 8 lessons. What do you think that would come out as? A hot mess! We currently have 80 music students. Our number one priority is to provide quality lessons to each of them and to make sure our three music recitals (in which we serve 600 guests) are excellent. We get calls daily from those asking to still enroll. We kindly say that we will resume registration in November for classes that run from January-June.

In art, the lessons build upon each other. If a student were to join us now, they would be six weeks behind. They would have less pieces to present at the art gala. By stopping enrollment, we also ensure more time the instructors get to know those students individually. I never want to be where a student is just another number. It is taking us longer to know each student by name because there are so many more of them, but we will get there!

Another thing we do at Soar is offer small class sizes. In art, we only accept 10. In dance and tumbling, we only accept 12 per class. My reason is that smaller numbers result in more personalized instruction. When class sizes are huge, students feel lost in the shuffle and have no connections. My theory is when they feel known, cared for, and see the growth in their abilities, they stay with us for years!

We close dance earlier than most studios because of one of my personality traits - I admit it! I'm a planner. I like all my ducks in a row. This is why each group class with over six students has an assistant in it. Our staff has already picked all recital music. It has been edited and costumes have even been picked out. When ordering close to 300 costumes, I need to be this detailed. I couldn't image taking on a student in February and praying that the costume that has been selected is not on back order so I could get one more. That's too much stress for me!

In our growth, I'm making one more decision I never thought I would make. We often get calls to offer private lessons in one of our departments from someone that is not a Soar student. Even though I appreciate that they thought of us, I would rather devote time we have for privates to our own students. Summer camps and weekend trainings will still be open to the public.

It's crazy to me to watch our growth. At our first registration, 35 people showed up! Now, we stand with 240 enrollments and 16 on staff! If that is not a God thing - I don't know what is! We are still the same studio. We are founded on God first, quality instruction, and a love for our students. Thanks for being with us!

When Less Is More

ashley@soarcreativearts.com (Ashley McGlothren) — Tue, 28 Aug 2018 18:46:19 GMT

Too much of a good thing is still too much...

For the last two years while owning Soar, my own home has acted as our warehouse. We still have bathtubs, crowns, and maracas in our garage from last June’s recital. We are storing round tables that were used at the music recital. And now, in my bedroom is December’s music recital’s center pieces. Yes, I was one of those crazy people buying Christmas décor in August at Hobby Lobby. It’s the perfect time to get all the stock I need at 40% off!

However, my home is FULL! We’ve started the cleaning out process. I have to ask myself “When was the last time it was used?” and “Am I sure I will use it again?” The piles are being sorted into throw away, sell, give away, and keep. I’m sure I’m not the only one that has been through this.

As I’m going through this, I’ve started thinking about our Soar families. Can I give some loving advice? Some of you have your schedules as full as my house! You’re rushing like crazy trying to fulfill your “to do” lists. Please don’t let lessons at Soar become a hardship for you. We have lots to offer, but you don’t need to be in every part of it (unless it fits for your family.)

When choosing what to be a part of at Soar, ask yourself some questions:

1. What is mine or my child’s passion? It is perfectly fine if this passion changes through time.

2. Does this class fit in our time schedule and are we financially able to do it? This is essential in staying happy with us and us not being a burden. Every year, a few people drop when the costume fees or music recital fee come due. This is why we give you your entire bill up front, so you know what you are getting into.

There are also some things that need to come before Soar. These things even come before Soar in my own life:

1. God. I say often that we are not here to take the role of your time with God and going to church.

2. Your family. Families are so often going in a million different directions. Make sure you have time for family time.

3. Your child’s education. You need to consider how your child is going to get homework done if they are at Soar for multiple hours on multiple evenings per week.

If those things are in line for your family, then we can serve as an extra blessing. Sometimes, simplicity is best. It ends up helping us because now your child has had time to practice their instrument during the week. They have had time to review their dances or practice their art work.

Now, let me put a disclaimer in – We do have some families that can manage multiple enrollments several times per week easily. The children are relaxed, prepared, and happy. (I’m not sure how y’all do it. Lol)

This post is not to discourage you from participating at Soar. It is to help you balance things, so that we serve as a blessing to you. Hopefully, when we can choose the important things to keep (in our homes and in our schedules), then we can be more effective in what we are doing!

Things To Know For the First Week

ashley@soarcreativearts.com (Ashley McGlothren) — Sun, 05 Aug 2018 19:34:30 GMT

So much going on!

Monday, August 13th, we kick off our fall classes! I’m super excited to welcome back all of our returning families and to meet all of our new families! We have been growing rapidly and currently stand at approximately 205 enrollments. We are the same business that we always have been – God first, loving staff, and providing a quality arts education! Yet, there are a few changes:

· We changed the teacher on a few of our dance classes. One of our staff got a great opportunity and won’t be able to be with us as much. (I’ll share it as soon as I can.) Miss Kaitlin will be taking on our elite recreational and working with our minis and juniors on their choreography. Mrs. Amanda will be taking on hip hop 2. We just added another dance teacher, Lindsey Hooge, who at first will be assisting us on Mondays and Tuesdays. That’s her in the picture. �� She is a junior elementary education major at SELU. She grew up in the world of competition dance and danced at the collegiate level too. Make her feel welcome!

· I’m sure our returning families can tell you that my husband has been a part of this from the start. He has run all technical aspects of our music recitals, built numerous props, ran errands, and supported me with every piece of this. Soar has grown to a point where I needed him full time in this. So, he is finally getting an official title -C.O.O. (Chief Operations Officer). Basically, he will help keep our building going and help me manage all of the events we put on. It’s kind of a jack of all trades position. You will be seeing him a good bit more.

· Miss Jessee is still our lead art teacher. This summer, we brought on Marley Bessee to assist the art classes. They worked great together as a team, so Marley will be remaining with us. This puts us with 15 on staff and 3 dance assistants!

Here are things I would like you to know as we approach our first week:

· Transitions are always busy. With six rooms in operation, we have worked to stager when classes begin and end. However, when dropping off your children expect for the parking lot and lobby to be crowded. We even have two staff members working in the lobby to ensure students get to the correct classes and leave with their parents. We ask the parents to please come inside when dropping your child off and when picking them up. Parents are welcome to stay or leave while their child is in class.

· When the student arrives, they will wait in the lobby. The teachers will then come get them. Teachers take roll in the class, so there is no need to check them in in the lobby area.

· All music curriculum will be distributed on the first week. Please have your child bring this to class weekly. Art sketch books will be distributed on the first week too.

· For students taking tap, please make sure to “scratch up” the metal taps on the bottom of the shoe by moving it against concrete. This helps the shoe not be so slippery.

· Label everything – dance bags, shoes, music books.

· We will have a merchandise sheet going out on the first week. This gives you the opportunity to purchase Soar decals, bags, extra shirts, and leotards. The last day to place your order is August 31st. Please submit all forms to Mrs. Cheryl at the front desk.

· This is the biggest one – We ask that parents do not enter the hallway that leads to our classes. The windows to each class are not tinted. Therefore, the students can see out. Too many people in the hall will lead to students not being able to focus. We know you want to see your children. Therefore, the dance rooms will be broadcast on the TV once per month. Parents will be welcome inside the music studios and art studio for the last ten minutes on the last week of each month too. This is the perfect way for you to see their progress with the teachers being able to maintain the students’ focus. Please respect this.

· Here is our watch weeks for the fall:

Large dance room: Aug. 20-25; Sept. 17-22; Oct. 15-20; Nov. 12-17; Dec. 10-15

Small dance room and invitation into music studios and art studio: Aug. 27-Sept. 1; Sept. 24-29; Oct. 22-27; Nov. 19-24; Dec. 17-22.

We are looking forward to a FABULOUS 3rd year!

This Christian Walk

ashley@soarcreativearts.com (Ashley McGlothren) — Fri, 20 Jul 2018 13:50:09 GMT

From here to there...

I’m pretty sure that people I went to high school or even some of college with are surprised to see me own a Christian fine arts school. To be honest, I’m surprised myself! I was not what you would call the ideal role model during those years of my life. Actually, my senior year of high school when someone tried to read a piece of the Bible to me, I not so politely let them know that I led a better life than them and didn’t need any of what they were selling. Thank God for multiple chances!

Fast forward a few years later, I was very good at going to church on Sunday, but doing whatever I wanted with the rest of my time. Yet, I was drowning. I knew something was missing. At the age of 21, some friends invited me to a play at a church. It was around the time of the Columbine school shooting and the play was based around the topic. One of the students was good in school and with people, but had no relationship with God. That character was me. That night, I made a decision to not just know God existed, but to let Him lead my life. I started reading my Bible for myself and got involved in a local church. Within six months, I had met my husband at church and we were married. It was definitely a whirlwind time in my life.

Yet, God took all the years I trained in dance and my husband’s music background to form Soar. Don’t put us under a microscope because you will find imperfect people that God chooses to use. We are sinners, just saved by His grace.

I share this piece of my story for multiple reasons:

1. For those in my past, thank goodness God is still in the business of changing people.

2. For our Soar families, it doesn’t matter what denomination church you go to. We want to partner with you to point you and your families toward Christ. Our goal is to see people using their gifts for Him.

3. For those that don’t understand words that I used like “saved” and “grace,” I want to first kindly recommend that you start reading the Bible like I did. I recommend a NKJV Bible because it is easy to read. I started in Matthew. Also, if you want someone to talk with about it, I would be glad too.

Let me also say Soar is not a church. We can’t take the place of a church. We are simply another resource to come along side you to provide a Christian fine arts education. We are looking forward to Saturday’s registration.

Preschool Class and Tumbling Tots Readiness

ashley@soarcreativearts.com (Ashley McGlothren) — Thu, 05 Jul 2018 22:45:09 GMT

How do you know if they are ready?

I remember when I enrolled my daughter in her first preschool class. Because I was teaching at the studio, I tried to put her in at 18 months. Within ten minutes, I knew she was not ready for this. She ran up to the mirror and kicked it when she didn’t get her way. She got the first sad face by her name for the dance year. We tried once more, but she just refused to listen.

The next year, we tried again. I held my breath and sent her in the room with her dance bag. Wow! What a difference a year made! She could sit on her spot and follow directions. She truly enjoyed the class and now at 11 years old, dance has become her passion.

Yes, we start our tumbling tots class and preschool class at two years old, but it depends on the child when they are ready. Here are some basic questions to judge if your child is ready:

1. Can they follow instructions from you and others? They will need to copy the teacher’s steps. If they have a hard time listening to you, they are not going to do better for us.

2. Can they sit for two minutes? Our classes move fast and actively engage children. However, there are times each class that the teacher will work with a child individually or in groups of two. Your child will need to sit while being monitored by an assistant.

3. How will your child handle leaving you for a 30 or 45 minute class? If they have severe separation anxiety regularly, hold off on enrollment. It becomes really hard to have moms in the class with their children and we only allow this for a class or two.

Moms, I fully support you “trying” our program out for your young ones. After a class or two, you will know if they are ready or not. Don’t try to force it! You want this to be a wonderful experience for your family and we want the same. If you are uncertain, I would be glad to set up a time to speak with you. I’m looking forward to our 3rd year!

5 Reasons to Choose Soar!

ashley@soarcreativearts.com (Ashley McGlothren) — Tue, 12 Jun 2018 23:59:06 GMT

Let’s be honest! You have lots of choices when it comes to you or your child’s extracurricular activities. This post is to not put down on other places, but to simply share what makes us special. These five points are designed to help you make an informed decision by knowing who we are and what we do! So, here are the top 5 reasons to choose Soar:

1. We are Christ-centered. Our families sign a policy saying they know that we are a Christian studio. It says that we will often pray and do small devotions with your child. We seek for all that we do to honor the Lord. This belief filters through our departments by the type of music we use and the art projects we create.

2. We have something for all age levels and interests. At registration dates, I smile as I watch one sibling take dance, while another may register for guitar lessons. This past registration, I watched a grandma, mom, and two children, each sign up. Dance, tumbling, guitar, piano, vocal, painting, or drawing – we have you covered!

3. The instructors are top notch! You will often hear me say, “I love my staff!” They are warm, friendly, and highly qualified! They truly love what they do. Another plus to our music department is that you get to select your instructor! Some students stay with the same instructor for years, while other students change it up each semester. It’s up to you and there are no hard feelings amongst the staff!

4. Our dance department believes in modesty. Dance has gotten a bad name. It is often associated with inappropriate costumes and questionable dance moves. However, our gentlemen in the audience never have to look away during our dance recitals. We don’t use any two-piece costumes. The choreography is tasteful and classy (even in hip hop.) 80% of the music is Christian. 10% is instrumental and the other 10% is Broadway/musical theatre.

5. We know our students. We make it a point to learn each of our students’ names and get to know their families. You or your child are not just another enrollment. The staff takes the time to speak with you!

So, here is how to see us in action. First, our music and dance recitals are Saturday, June 16th at the Columbia Theatre. Buy a ticket on the Columbia Theatre’s website and you can see firsthand what we do. Second, watch some videos on our Facebook account. Third, try us out this summer. It is not too late to register. Our summer classes begin on July 2nd at our new, larger location across from the Hammond Airport. Since we are moving, you have to set up an appointment to register. You can reach me at ashley@soarcreativearts.com . Thanks for considering us!

Is Dance Competition Right For Your Family?

ashley@soarcreativearts.com (Ashley McGlothren) — Fri, 11 May 2018 20:28:25 GMT

My Personal Letter To You

On July 7th, we are holding dance competition team auditions. With this approaching, our families always ask for more information. So, this is my personal letter to you!

The first thing I get asked is “do you think my child is ready?” My reply is usually something like this: First, the younger that they audition, the easier it is to get in. When a child is six years old, we are looking for some flexibility, attention span, personality, and a foundation of the basics such as a single pirouette. When a student auditions at 15 years old, they need to be able to match my Senior dancers, which many of them have been competing for around 7 years. With an older dance, they need to be able to perform harder skills from the start like double or triple pirouettes, various leaps, and harder choreography that is taught fast. It is much harder to make the team the older the student gets because we don’t have as much time to train them.

The next questions are usually about time and financial commitments. As far as time, the competition students are only required to train two days per week. Many add on additional classes like tumbling and hip hop. This is a place we differ from many other competition teams. Many teams train at least four days per week and have all day weekend practices. Most of these teams compete at a higher level than us. My students are very talented and work hard, but they compete at an intermediate level while being able to have a life outside of dance.

Our competition team does have more financial responsibilities. Because they train longer than our recreational students, the tuition is more expensive. It is still less than $110 per month. They have to purchase a competition jacket and make up kit. We also add custom hair pieces and rhinestones so the costume fee is higher too. The biggest expense comes from the convention and competitions. All of our competition students participate in one weekend convention and three competitions. On occasion, there may be a fourth optional competition. Most of these are held in Baton Rouge or Biloxi, but some can be in Hattiesburg or Mobile. There are competition fees and most of our families have hotel expenses.

However, just like I give my recreational students their exact bill at the beginning of the year, I do the same for my competition team. They know exactly what they are getting into at the very start.

My own daughter who is 11 has been competing since she was 6 years old. I find that it has brought many great experiences to her life. It has instilled a confidence in her that she has no problem performing for crowds up to 500 people. She has learned to win humbly and lose graciously. She knows the value of hard work, both personally and as a team. Our family as a whole has enjoyed traveling to new areas and making our competition weekends into mini-vacations. If you would like more information, first visit our Company page on our website. Next, I would be glad to talk to you about any other specific questions you may have.

Please know that here at Soar, all our students are valued. It doesn’t matter if they come just for 45 minutes of tumbling or if they are enrolled in five hours of lessons per week. For us, it is about seeing each individual child grow!

There Are No Guarantees

ashley@soarcreativearts.com (Ashley McGlothren) — Thu, 12 Apr 2018 05:17:04 GMT

The ins and outs of getting into the new building.

Wow! What a week…and it’s only Wednesday. It’s 11:45 p.m. when I’m writing this. The framework is going up on the interior of the new building. It’s so exciting to watch the floorplan that my husband and I came up with for Soar 2.0 (that’s what my husband calls it) become a reality! I often have to catch my breath thinking of what we are trying to accomplish.

The new arts center will have 2 dance rooms, 3 music studios, an art studio, 2 BATHROOMS, and finally an office. Yet, the reality of getting into this building is that it takes a lot of hard work. Coordinating with the contractor and shopping for all the new items we need while we continue to finish this year requires working more hours than I care to count. This whole time, we continue to homeschool our children and bring one of them to therapy. I laugh when my husband and I finally talk most nights at midnight and say, “What do we have to do tomorrow?”

Why do I share all of this? First, I want our families to know the reality of what it takes to build this. Many people think that owning your own business means you make a ton of money and don’t do much. It’s just not true. It takes years of building. Years of pouring into your passion and believing it will work! Second, I want to look back one day and read this. I want to smile on the first day of classes in the new building and remember that this hard time was all worth it.

I titled this “There Are No Guarantees” because it is true. There are no guarantees something will work when you step out in faith. Yet, at the end of the day, I want to say I had the guts to step out and just believe God would catch me. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve calculated as much as I can on the business end. I’ve prayed and believe this is where God is leading. Yet, there are so many unknown variables that I can’t calculate. What I can calculate though is that my God has never let me down. Even in life situations where I didn’t get the answer I was praying for, I still believe that He has always had a plan and purpose.

As we finish out this crazy month with training camp, our last dance competition, and registration, we will continue to work as hard as we can to do our part, but we will watch God continue to put all the pieces together – the staff, the families, the building. It is all His!

(By the way, it’s now Thursday!)

Adults Classes

ashley@soarcreativearts.com (Ashley McGlothren) — Fri, 16 Feb 2018 16:14:58 GMT

We Are Looking For You!

If you can’t tell yet, we have been putting a lot of focus into growing Soar and reaching new people. We love what we have at Soar – fantastic teachers, wonderful families, and an environment that points to Christ. We have targeted three areas to grow in for next year:
1. New art program
2. Increase our dance competition team
3. ADULTS!!!!

When my mom first retired, we looked for something to get her involved with. We called Hobby Lobby and a few places to see what kind of art classes they had. To our surprise, there were not a lot of options. She could join a gym but she wasn’t the exercising type. This was my first experience that started me thinking that Soar could offer some things for adults.

Starting this summer, there will be a drawing class for adults. Since it is just a five week summer session, high school students will be mixed in too. It will be a great time to just try it to see if you are interested. Adults can also sign up for music classes in the summer. We have already had a few adult students that have taken vocal and piano lessons and we loved having them.

For the fall, there are a few options. Adult Painting and Adult Drawing will be offered. I’m super excited about teaching an adult tap and jazz class. Don’t worry! There won’t be any costumes or recitals. At almost 40 years old, I don’t want to put sequins on and hit the stage! It is simply to learn no matter what level you are at and enjoy time with other adults. Lastly, adults can also register for 30 minute private vocal, piano, or guitar lessons. It doesn’t matter if you are a beginner or more advanced, we can pair you with the right instructor.

The only stipulation on any of this is we have been asked if we will have childcare. Since our front desk workers will be focused on handling the office duties and making sure students are getting to the right locations, we cannot have additional children in the lobby that they have to watch. It is a safety matter.

We move into the new building across from the Hammond Airport on July 1st.
If you would like additional details, request a brochure on the home page of our website. Thanks for sharing and helping us grow our adult programs!

Stand

ashley@soarcreativearts.com (Ashley McGlothren) — Mon, 12 Feb 2018 00:43:20 GMT

2018 Recital Theme

This year, both of our recitals will have the same theme, “STAND.” I wanted to explain where the theme comes from as it has a very personal meaning for me. STAND has three meanings.

Sometimes, life can knock us down. Strained relationships, crushed dreams, loss of a loved one, health concerns…each can take the wind out of our sails. John 6:33 tells us, “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” We are going to face stuff! We are also told that our battle is not here: “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”

So, how do we overcome all of this “stuff?” Ephesians Chapter 6 goes on to list the parts of the armor of God. It includes truth, righteousness, gospel of peace, faith, salvation, and the Holy Spirit. Did you notice that not one piece of that is things we can do on our own? Each part is only what God can do, but it’s up to us to put it on!

My mom started having signs of memory loss about five years ago. Doctors kept saying it was related to other health issues and would get better. Our family could tell it was only declining. To attempt to manage her condition, in the last year, we have had home health aides, assisted living care, multiple hospital stays, memory care units, and now she is headed toward nursing home care. The whole situation has been more than I can bare more than once. It’s a situation out of my control and I lose her more each day. Yet, God’s Word tells me to STAND! So with this theme, I encourage each of you to STAND even in the midst of your circumstances. To let God guide each of us through unknown territory and to let His peace that passes all understanding carry us through!

STAND has another meaning. Our education system has taken God and often the arts out of school. One of Soar’s missions is to put both of these back in our families’ lives. Instead of just going along with the flow, there are times we need to STAND for what we believe. This includes bringing up our children to know the truth and also living it out in our own lives. I pray we are a people that will STAND for what is right!

Lastly, STAND is about unity. We as a people are much stronger when we STAND together. The world wants to tell us what divides us, yet God is telling us what unites us – We are each His children. I hope our performances reflect these meanings and it is good food for your soul!

Wishing you many blessings,

Ashley McGlothren

Crazy Excited

ashley@soarcreativearts.com (Ashley McGlothren) — Tue, 06 Feb 2018 19:04:26 GMT

New Facility and New Department Coming Soon

When we knew we were going to be moving into a new facility for next year, the first thing we knew we wanted to add was an art department. We started by brainstorming of what classes we wanted. We knew for sure that we wanted to encompass more than just children. After consulting with people in the art field, here are the classes we have settled on beginning next August:

· Creativity 1 – This will be for 3-5 year olds. Every week or two, they will finish a new project. They will use a variety of materials and mediums to have exposure to a variety of art techniques. It will be a 45 minute class.

· Creativity 2 – This will be for 6-8 year olds. It will follow the same pattern as Creativity 1, but will be more in depth and focus on more details.

· Drawing 1, 2, and Adult – We are breaking the divisions by age group. Level 1 will be for students 9 through 12 years old. Level 2 will be for high school students. The adult class is for people from 18 to 99 years old. We know that the classes will have students of many different ability levels, but it will be a place the students can work at their own pace.

· Painting 1, 2, and Adult – Painting will have the same age break up as drawing. Students will not need to bring their own paints as there will be a material fee to provide that. All works will be done in class. The class will focus on 3 or 4 pieces per semester.

Next, the big question – who will be teaching it? If you have ever seen my stick figures, you know the answer would not be me! I have always said that I believe God provides the right people. I started interviewing and speaking to different artists and art teachers over a month ago. We interviewed many highly qualified individuals. After we would speak, I kept getting the same response – “I think it is an awesome thing you are doing but I’m not the right person for the job.” Well, that was easily weeding the field down! This past week, we met with Miss Jessee Yantis. Immediately, there was a connection. She had the same Christian values as us. Her personal art pieces were incredible. She knew how to work with a variety of materials and could share that knowledge with others. She was also comfortable teaching a large age range of students. Oh and an added bonus point, she is a crazy gifted guitar teacher too! I offered her the job on the spot. She took a few days to pray about it and I’m excited to say she will be joining us next year! Wahoo!

These classes will be offered on Monday and Tuesday evenings next year. We have just started working on scheduling. My plan is to have our fall schedule and pricing ready by March. Returning students will be able to enroll beginning in April for any classes. In July, new students will be able to register. Of course, there will be limits to how many we take in a class, so plan on registering early. We are also trying to see if we can fit a few art classes in over the summer too!

s anyone else just as amazed as me at how quick this all has unfolded? We realize that it is God moving this. So, we will just keep giving Him the credit and try our best to be His hands and feet! Please share this blog and help us start getting the word out in our community!

For We Walk By Faith, Not By Sight

ashley@soarcreativearts.com (Ashley McGlothren) — Tue, 06 Feb 2018 19:04:26 GMT

Expansion and Growth

The first week of this new year, I knew we had a problem. We were quickly running out of room to put all of our students! Some parents and I would giggle at me putting my hand on the wall and asking God to expand our boundaries, but I was really serious. I knew something had to change but I wasn’t sure where to go. My current landlords were going to be building a new facility right where we currently are. However, there were some things with where the bathrooms would need to be placed and parking that just weren’t sitting right with me, so I started looking for alternatives.

The first place I looked was Colony Square by Salad Station. It was out of price range. The real estate agent that handled Colony Square asked if we minded looking at something else that might work. My husband, kids, and I headed to this location. It was on Airport Rd. across from the Hammond Airport. We looked at one that was already built, but we didn’t want to “make” something work. Then, we toured the new buildings.

My husband and I went home and started playing with floor plans. This location was bigger at 3000 sq. ft. than any other location we considered. It was in the price range we were looking at too. My first question was “Would our families that live in Livingston parish still come?” I learned it would only extend their commute about five more minutes. Every family I asked their opinion about the location said one of two things: 1. “It is actually closer for me.” 2. “We will go wherever you go.” Wow! We have some great families.

I was still on the fence for a while. It was a big leap of faith to commit to 7 years of being at this location. In October, our family flew to Disney World. On our return trip, there was a thunderstorm brewing. We had to go through some clouds and I could not see out of my window for a few minutes. It made me nervous. In that time, God gently whispered, “You need to trust the pilot.” I knew this meant that with this leap of expanding I was going to have to trust the One True Pilot. Only He can guide it and make Soar continue to be successful.

The last thing that sealed the deal was when I was told that the current landlords were not giving me the option to renew my lease where I was. This was only God closing one door to open another.

Today, we signed the lease. The new facility will have two dance rooms, three music booths, an art room, and the best part-two bathrooms! My husband will be sharing an office with me for his marketing company also. We are working on opening our art department up in August of 2018 also. We are still ironing out the details, but we are leaning on having creativity classes for younger students to explore a variety of materials, drawing classes, painting classes, and even adult classes.

Here’s where we are going to need help. We will be doing two fundraisers to go towards our new location. Please participate as they come up. They will help us with getting our sign, barres, and mirrors relocated and with purchasing additional music equipment. Also, tell your friends about us. The best compliment is a referral. We won’t open the new location until July of 2018. Even more, I ask for your prayers. Ask that God will continue to send the right instructors and the right families. Pray that we stay in the center of His will.

“For we walk by faith, not by sight.” 2nd Corinthians 5:7