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Legal
These terms apply when your child takes a trial class or joins a Cycle. They are written to be read once, plainly, before you book.
Effective
Classes are run by BesterTogether LLC, doing business as The Ballet Garden, of San Clemente, California. By booking a trial or enrolling a child you are entering an agreement with that business, and you confirm you are the child’s parent or legal guardian or have their authority.
A Cycle is a block of eight classes built around one imaginative theme. You enroll in the whole Cycle rather than class by class, because the story runs across the eight weeks and the class is built around a settled, familiar group.
Classes are deliberately small. Each class’s day, time, length, venue, and age range are shown on its page, and that page is the accurate source rather than anything written more generally elsewhere on the site.
Each class has an age range, and we ask for your child’s date of birth so we can check it. The range is there so the pace, the length, and the language of the class suit the children in the room. If your child is close to the edge of a range, write to us and we will help you choose.
A trial is a complimentary single class so your child can see how it feels before you commit to a Cycle. One trial per child, subject to a trial space being free in that class.
A trial carries no obligation to enroll. The participation and emergency care consents are still required, because your child is taking part in a real class.
If you cannot make a trial, please tell us as early as you can so the space can go to another family.
Tuition is charged per child, per Cycle, and covers all eight classes. A Cycle is $250. There is no registration fee and nothing to pay again each year.
You may pay the $250 in full when you enroll, or as two monthly payments of $125. If you choose the two payments, the second is taken automatically thirty days after the first — thirty days from when you paid, not on a calendar month boundary, so enrolling part-way through a Cycle can move it into a later month than you might expect.
Payment is taken securely through Stripe. Your child’s place is reserved when the first payment succeeds, not when the form is submitted; until then the space remains open to other families.
The price shown on the class page when you enroll is the price for that Cycle and will not change once you have paid, even if tuition changes for a later Cycle.
You may cancel at any time before the Cycle’s first class and receive a full refund, no reason needed.
Once the first class of the Cycle has begun, tuition is non-refundable. That is because the place was held for your child for all eight classes and cannot be filled partway through.
If you are paying in two installments and cancel before the first class, we refund what you have paid and cancel the second payment so it is never taken. Cancelling after the Cycle has started does not cancel the second installment: the full $250 is owed for a Cycle your child has begun.
To cancel, email jess@bestertogether.com before the first class. Refunds are returned to the card used at enrollment and usually appear within a few business days of us issuing them.
Tuition reserves your child’s place for all eight classes, whether or not they attend each one. Classes missed for any reason — illness, travel, or a day that simply does not work — are not refunded, credited, or made up.
Please still tell us when your child will be away. It matters to the class, and it means Jessica is not waiting for a child who is not coming.
If we cancel a class — illness, a venue problem, or anything else on our side — we will either add a replacement date at the end of the Cycle or credit that class’s share of the tuition toward your next Cycle. You choose which.
If we have to cancel a Cycle before it begins, you receive a full refund. If we cancel it partway through, you receive a refund for the classes that will not now take place.
Occasionally a date, time, or venue has to move. We will tell you as early as we can. If a change means your child can no longer attend, tell us and we will refund the classes they will miss because of it.
Before a first class you will be asked to accept two required consents and one optional one:
You accept them yourself when booking, and we keep a record of the version you accepted and when.
Please tell us about allergies, medical conditions, or anything else that affects how your child takes part, and keep that information current. We are not able to administer medication.
Please keep your child at home if they are unwell, particularly with a fever, an upset stomach, or anything contagious. A class this small is easily disrupted by an illness passing through it.
Your child is in our care from the start of their class until the end of it. Before and after, they are your responsibility, so please arrive in good time and collect promptly.
Because of the ages we teach, a parent or another adult you have authorized must remain on the premises for the whole class unless we have agreed otherwise with you in writing. We will only release your child to you or to an adult you have told us about.
A leotard and skirt, or simply comfortable clothes your child can move in. Ballet shoes are welcome but optional, and bare feet are fine. Any color. There is no uniform to buy. Long hair is best tied back, away from the face.
We teach gently, and a young child needing time to settle is a normal part of that, not a problem. If your child is unsettled and we cannot help them settle, we may ask you to step in for a few minutes.
Very occasionally a child is not ready for a group class, or their behavior repeatedly makes the class unsafe or unworkable for the other children. We will talk with you first and try to find a way through. If we cannot, we may end the enrollment and will refund the classes not yet taken.
We only photograph or film a child whose caregiver has given permission, and that permission can be withdrawn at any time.
Families are welcome to photograph their own child at the watching class that ends each Cycle. Please do not post images that include other people’s children without asking those families first.
Please leave valuables at home. We cannot accept responsibility for personal property that is lost or damaged at the venue.
Ballet and creative movement are physical activities. Even in a gentle class, with careful teaching and a suitable floor, there is a risk of trips, falls, strains, and other injury. By enrolling your child you accept those ordinary risks.
You are responsible for your child’s medical insurance and for any medical costs arising from an injury. We do not provide medical or accident insurance for students.
To the fullest extent the law allows, our total liability arising from a Cycle is limited to the tuition you paid for it. Nothing here limits liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence, for gross negligence or willful misconduct, for fraud, or for anything else that cannot lawfully be limited — and under California law, a release cannot excuse gross negligence or a violation of law.
Our privacy policy explains what we hold about your family and your child, why, and how to have it corrected or removed.
We may update these terms between Cycles. The terms that apply to your child are the ones in effect when you enrolled, and the effective date at the top of this page shows the current version. We will tell you before a change affects a Cycle you have already paid for.
These terms are governed by the laws of the State of California, and any dispute will be heard by the courts serving Orange County, California. Nothing here prevents you from bringing a claim in small claims court.
Questions before you book, or anything that comes up during a Cycle: jess@bestertogether.com. We would much rather hear from you early.