Students must register for all classes in advance, online, in person, or by mail.  Payments may also be dropped off in the secure drop box located outside of the main office. Registration will remain open through the first week of classes in each semester length session. Classes that reach maximum enrollment before this time will be closed to additional registrations and a waitlist will be started. If a class has low enrollment, all participants will be notified by email about the cancellation and students will be allowed to select an alternative class choice, be issued a refund or credit. If you have registered for a class and will be unable to attend please contact MCA prior to the program start date, refunds are possible, but subject to an administrative fee or deposit in special cases. Please contact: mca@smumn.edu for details or questions.

Placement for classes is at the discretion of the instructor. Students will initially be placed in an estimated level based on past experience and age. The first week of class is used as an opportunity for instructors to observe and evaluate students in class to determine the appropriate level. If a level change is needed, instructors will make this change within the first two weeks of the semester. Age based classes are based on the age of the student as of Sept. 1. Formal evaluations take place during Fall and Winter sessions for students in Level I or higher classes in Ballet, Jazz, Modern, Hip Hop, and Tap. Additionally Tap & Jazz for Kids and Boys Dance are formally evaluated. With advanced communication, instructors will be happy to evaluate and give feedback to younger dance students if desired.

Dance Division Dress Code

Ballet:

Students Identifying as Female – pink tights or appropriate skin-toned tights, pink ballet slippers/pointe shoes or appropriate skin-toned shoes, and a black leotard, hair pulled tightly off the face and neck in a bun.  A ballet skirt may be worn for pointe and variations classes. On Saturdays, students may wear a ballet cut leotard in a color of choice.

Pre-Ballet for 4 & 5 Year-olds and Beginning Ballet female students are also invited to wear pink or white leotards and simple ballet skirts, pink tights or appropriate skin-toned tights, pink ballet slippers or appropriate skin-toned shoes and hair pulled tightly off the face and neck in a bun.. 

Students Identifying as Male – white t-shirt, black leggings/tights or shorts, and black or white ballet slippers (dance belt required for teen and adult male dancers). 

Gender Non-conforming Students:  fitted black t-shirt or leotard, black tights or leggings and black ballet shoes (dance belt as appropriate)

Modern:

Students Identifying as Female – Any colored leotard. Leggings, footless tights and or biker shorts may be worn and hair pulled off face and neck. No shoes needed, this class is taken barefoot.

Students Identifying as Male – Any color plain (no logos or design) t-shirt, dance pants, leggings, or shorts. Compression shorts and dance belts are required for teen and adult male dancers, respectively. No shoes needed, this class is taken barefoot.

Gender Non-conforming Students:  fitted black t-shirt or leotard, footless black tights, leggings or jazz pants, and well-fitted socks (dance belt as appropriate). No shoes needed, this class is taken barefoot.

Creative Movement, Dance Adventures, My Grown Up and Me, and Boys in Motion:

All students: Movable clothing (not too baggy so as to hinder the instructor’s view of the student’s body lines), bare feet, hair pulled off the face and neck.

Tap:

All students: Movable clothing and oxford style tap shoes. Hair is to be pulled off the face and neck.

Contemporary Dance and Jazz:

Students Identifying as Female – Any colored leotard, black tights, leggings, or dance pants, black jazz shoes, jazz sneakers, or ballet slippers. Hair pulled off the face and neck. 

Students Identifying as Male – Any colored t-shirt, dance pants or leggings, and jazz shoes or jazz sneakers. (dance belt as appropriate)

Gender Non-conforming Students:  fitted black t-shirt or leotard, black tights, leggings or jazz pants, and jazz shoes or jazz sneakers, and hair pulled off the face and neck. (dance belt as appropriate)

Conditioning and Progressing Ballet Technique (PBT) classes:  

All Students – Any colored t-shirt or leotard, dance pants or leggings that can be pulled up to the knee if needed, and bare feet.  Hair will need to be secured very high or very low on the skull so that the dancer can lay flat on their back. 

Dance Technique for Boys:

Students Identifying as Male: White t-shirt, black leggings, tights, or shorts, and black or white jazz shoes or ballet slippers.

Gender Non-conforming Students:  fitted black t-shirt or leotard, black tights, leggings or jazz pants, and jazz shoes or jazz sneakers, and hair pulled off the face and neck. (dance belt as appropriate)

Irish:

Movable clothing (not too baggy as to hinder the instructor’s view of the student’s body lines), shorts or leggings are preferred, and Irish soft shoe Ghillies. Black ballet slippers are acceptable for beginners. Irish hard shoes are also required for dancers in Irish III & up.

Hip Hop

Movable clothing as desired. Hip Hop students wear clean tennis shoes or jazz sneakers. Hair pulled off the face and neck.

Adult & Other Specialty Classes

Oxford style tap shoes required for Clogging and Teen/Adult Tap students. Ballet slippers or jazz shoes for Teen/Adult Ballet. Barre students can be barefoot. Hair pulled off the face and neck.

MCA classes requiring attendance more than once a week should be registered for as the entire class package. Attending only a portion of the required days will not allow the student to receive the full curriculum. If a student must miss certain classes, the instructor must be informed. After speaking with their instructor, students may attend a different class in lieu of their regularly scheduled class. Students needing specialized schedule including pro-rated tuition will be charged a $15 administrative fee.

Observation of Dance classes is allowed only Observation Week and Demonstration Week.  Classes are otherwise closed for observation. Observation of Music and Theatre Division programs will coincide with performances and concerts. Visit our event listing for observation dates.

Students who have taken classes with MCA in the past and are interested in continuing their education may apply for an Apprenticeship.

Apprentices are responsible for assisting the instructor with several tasks including: the participation in each assigned class, individual demonstrations for the class, and acting as a class leader, and any and all additional responsibilities listed in your agreement.

Students who serve as apprentices with be rewarded a discount off their own MCA tuition. The tuition discount amount is that of the class that you apprentice for. This discount will be credited to your account and will be applicable for a year. Apprentice credits will be applied to student accounts prior to any other discounts.

If you are interested in applying for this unique privilege, please email us at MCA@smumn.edu for an application.

  

Cotter High School students who also participate in MCA dance classes and performances are able to track participation hours (MCA will validate) and turn them in to count towards Physical Education graduation requirements.

Students in their junior and senior years of high school who participate in Post Secondary Education Option may also take selected MCA classes for Saint Mary’s University credit.  For details, contact your high school counselor.

MCA’s music program is also accredited by the National Association of Schools of Music & the Dance Program “Healthy Kids Approved” by Winona Health.

  

Make a Payment

Tuition Packages, Policies, and Payments: installment dates changed to: Tuition must be paid in full at time of registration for all students whose semester tuition total does not exceed $150. For students or families whose semester total exceeds $150, a $50 payment must be made at the time of registration. The remainder of the tuition may be paid in two installments on or before:

Fall Session: Sept. 15th & Oct. 15th  Winter: Jan. 15th & Feb. 15th   Spring/Summer: May 15th and June 12th

A $5 Finance charge will be added to late payments. Full refunds will be made on any classes canceled by MCA due to low enrollment. Written requests for refunds due to student circumstances will be honored in relation to  remaining classes and are subject to a $15 Administrative Fee. Payment plan options exclude private lessons. Private lessons must be paid in full be scheduling lessons. Intermediate and advanced students can also explore apprenticeship opportunities in exchange for tuition credits. 

Tuition packages/ Discounts

Family Budget: Families with two immediate family members or more enrolled in an MCA class of any division receive a 15% discount off the family’s total tuition. Discounts are applied to accounts after apprentice and Refer-a-Friend credits and may not be applied to private lessons, camps, one day workshops (unless otherwise noted), or free programs. 

Dedicated Artist: Any student who registers for classes in 3 disciplines during one session(such as ballet, modern and musical theatre or tap, guitar class and Choose your own ARTventure) receives a 15% discount off their total tuition. Discounts are applied to accounts after apprentice and Refer-a-Friend credits and may not be applied to private lessons, camps, one day workshops (unless otherwise noted), or free programs.

University Student Dance Connection: If you are currently enrolled in a university or college, present your student I.D. when registering and receive a 50% discount off your total MCA dance tuition. Not applicable for private music or dance lessons.

Saint Mary’s students and students in their junior and senior years of high school who participate in Post Secondary Education Option may also take selected MCA classes for Saint Mary’s University credit.

Other ways to Save:

Refer-a-Friend: Are you already a member of the MCA family?  If you have been a member of the MCA community in the past two years and you refer someone else who might enjoy joining us we will thank you by crediting your account with $10 good towards any MCA programming. Credits will be made only after a paid registration is received and referral is recorded at time of registration. Current MCA families can receive up to $100 per session in referral credits, but only one per credit per registered family. Refer-a-Friend credit’s will be applied prior to any other discount is applied to an account.

Adult Dance & Wellness Discount:  Parents who have a child/children enrolled in an MCA dance class may enjoy any of our adult course offerings at a reduced fee of $20 for a class. This is limited to one class per parent during the semester in which the student is also registered. This discount is still available to families who qualify for Family Budget and Dedicated Artist Discounts but the discount is not applied to the $20 fee.

Apprentice Opportunities: Students (generally 12+) who serve as apprentices with be rewarded a discount off their own MCA tuition. The tuition discount amount is that of the class that you apprentice for. This discount will be credited to your account prior to any discounts and will be applicable for a year. If you are interested in applying for this unique privilege, please email us at: mca@smumn.edu

Dedicated Artist, Family and University Student Dance Connection tuition discounts or packages may not be combined; however, the most advantageous discount will be applied when determining tuition totals for each student or family. All credits such as Apprentice and Refer-a-Friend Credits will be applied to accounts prior to any other discounts or scholarships.

Please use this link to make a payment on payment plans and balances.

Families with two immediate family members or more enrolled in an MCA class of any division receive a 15% discount off the family’s total tuition. Discounts are applied to accounts after apprentice and Refer-a-Friend credits and may not be applied to private lessons, camps, one day workshops (unless otherwise noted), or free programs. We encourage families to take advantage of early bird specials by registering by May 1st for camps. Parents of children (or paying Grandparents) do not forget to take advantage of our Adult Dance & Wellness Discount for Parents of MCA students.

If you are currently enrolled in a university or college, present your student I.D. when registering and receive a 50% discount off your total MCA dance tuition. Discounts are applied to accounts after apprentice and Refer-a-Friend credits and may not be applied to private lessons, camps, one day workshops (unless otherwise noted), or free programs.

Saint Mary’s students and students in their junior and senior years of high school who participate in Post Secondary Education Option may also take selected MCA classes for Saint Mary’s University credit.

Parents who have a child/children enrolled in an MCA dance class may enjoy any of our adult course offerings at a reduced fee of $20 for a class. This is limited to one class per parent during the semester in which the student is also registered.

The MCA scholarship fund is made possible by the Hiawatha Education Foundation and Minnesota State Arts Board. Scholarships range from 15%-100%, with an average of 35%-60% off fees. They are awarded to students or families based on financial need for classes, camps, and workshops. Unfortunately, at this time private music lessons are ineligible for assistance. Students or families wishing to apply for a financial need scholarship may do so by having their parent or legal guardian complete this scholarship application. You will also need to fill out a class registration form either online or a paper copy, marking the box indicating you are applying for scholarship. This will assure that your spot is saved while decisions are being made. Scholarship applications are due by  May 15th for Summer Classes & Camps (May-mid-Aug), August 15 for Fall Classes (Aug-Nov) and Dec. 15 for Spring Classes (Jan-April) . Applicants will be notified of their award after the financial board has met. If the Board is unable to meet and notify prior to the start of a program, students can still attend classes they are registered for.

Click here to fill out our online scholarship application!

If you or someone one you know would like to help make arts education possible for aspiring artists in the Winona, learn how you can make a difference.

For snow and other related weather cancellations, MCA follows the Winona Area Public school schedule, if WAPS school or after school activities are cancelled MCA will not hold classes, private lessons may be held dependent upon instructor and student agreement. One snow day is built into each class session and is not required to be made up, but may be depending on instructor and space availability. We try when possible to email a notice to students in addition to posting it on our Facebook & twitter accounts.

When an instructor is sick or unable to teach a class, MCA will do everything in it’s power to find a qualified substitute for that class, if that is not possible, a make-up class will be offered. In the rare case that a class a make-up is not able to be scheduled, an option to attend alternative classes may be offered or an account credit will be issued to students.