‘Tis the season.
Excitement is filling the air, peppermint is replacing pumpkin spice, and spooky is being replaced by picture-perfect lights. ‘Tis the season!
Prestige loves the holidays. It’s a time to be with our loved ones, celebrate with our friends and family, enjoy music, lights, and giving. We are right here beside you, celebrating, decorating, and maybe even indulging in a little extra baking. Chocolate calendars, fluffy socks, hot chocolate, and fires. We are battling the cold with fluffy sweaters and socks, strapping on the skates, or going out to the hill with our sleds. This is the time of the year when we get to see our family and friends from far away, we get time off from work and activities to simply revel in each other’s company.
At the dance studio, ‘tis a busy and exciting time. We are doing special performances, walking in parades, and well underway with our intensive choreography. We will be in the Mahogany and Auburn Bay parades—where we invite all Prestige families to walk with us—and we keep trying to think of new, special ways to indulge our dancers that want to eat, sleep, and breathe dance. We have coffee mugs, team jackets, shirts, water bottles, and the perfect cuddling blankets for sale in our offices that allow our dancers to say, “We are Prestige” wherever they go.
The Joy Of Dance
All throughout the year, we have been focusing on how to bring the joy of dance to our Prestige family, but it rings especially true during this season. We are planning for the year 2019, and setting goals. As always, with goals comes reflection of the year before. For us, ‘tis the season of self-reflection.
So, what does Prestige Dance Academy reflect upon as 2018 comes to a close?
You, the community.
The people that are a part of the studio and a part of our city are what makes us who we are. It’s you that makes us constantly strive to be better—and not just in the dance world. Our eyes are opened to the struggles that our community faces every day. We know that, for some people, “’tis the season” may mean something different.
It can mean loneliness. It can mean stress. It can mean long hours, hungry bellies, and putting on a smile to pretend that everything is ok. We know that circumstances can change rapidly and that it takes a lot of bravery to ask for help. Sometimes it’s hard to admit when we are down and out. When people do finally open themselves to help, there are various organizations that they can turn to, but—especially in the holiday season—the demand for these services is high. Most of these programs are run on a volunteer basis, and the funds are low. There are so many needs, big and small that go unmet during the holidays.
This is why Prestige Dance Academy wants to find more ways to help and be present in the community all year long. So far this year, we have done performances at The Children’s Hospital and the Auburn Bay Retirement Home. This season we will have donation boxes at both the Auburn Bay and Westhills locations. One of these boxes is dedicated to The Calgary Food Bank, an organization that helps prevent more Calgarians from going to sleep hungry for Christmas. The other box will be for The Women’s Shelter, a safe haven for women and children fleeing domestic abuse. Through our help, and the help of our amazing Prestige dance family, we can make at least one person’s Christmas a little bit brighter.
For those of you that feel stressed throughout the holidays, we would like you to know that you aren’t alone. You have a community to turn to in your time of need. We challenge you to seek help when you need it, and to give where you can—even if all you can give is your company and a smile. Our hopes are that you join us this season; join us in our celebrations, our joy, and our reflection.
‘Tis the season, after all.
Do you have ideas of where you would like to see Prestige in your community? Would you like to walk with us in the parades? Let us know! From all of us here at Prestige, Merry Christmas! We can’t wait to see you in the new year.