Absences & Make-Ups
HPSD offers students up to four make-ups per class each 16-week, two make-ups per 8-week session, or one make-up per 4-week session for absences that were excused in advance. Please familiarize yourself with the details of our absences and make-ups policy below. If you have any questions regarding the protocol for having an absence excused or scheduling a make-up, please contact the office!

General Absence & Make-Up Policy & Protocol
As a courtesy, up to four excused absences per class are eligible for make-up each 16-week session (two per 8-week and one per 4-week session), but dancers who do not participate in one of our special programs are not required to make-up their excused absences. If you wish to schedule make-ups for your excused absences, please be aware of these aspects of our absences & make-ups policy for the general student body:
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Absences that are not excused in advance are not eligible for make-up.
To have an impending absence excused, fill out our new Excused Absence & Make-Up Request Form (also linked at the top of the page), call the office at (773) 493-8498 - leave a voicemail if your call is not answered immediately- or email admin@hydeparkdance.org. Tell the office administrator your dancer's full name, the name of the class from which they will be absent, and the date of the impending absence. As long as your call was received, your voicemail was left, the request form was filled out, or your email was sent prior to the absence in question, it will be considered excused in advance.
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Make-ups cannot be scheduled in classes that are already at capacity.
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Make-ups can be taken in any class of the same level or a lower level as the missed class. For example, a dancer in Pre-Ballet III may take a make-up in Pre-Ballet II or Pre-Ballet III but not Ballet I.
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Make-ups should be taken in a class of the same type whenever possible.
If this is not possible, these absences can be made up in a class of a different dance type at a comparable level, so long as that class is not at capacity. For example, a student in Breaking I would not be able to make up an excused absence in Breaking II or III, as these classes are of a higher level than the student's placement. Instead, this student may take a make-up in Studio Hip Hop I, Modern I, Jazz I, or Ballet I.
- Make-up classes must be confirmed by the office before students may attend. Confirmation may be given verbally over the phone or via email from an HPSD administrator.
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Excused absences are eligible for make-up during that same session only.
Absences excused in the fall session are no longer eligible for make-up during the winter/spring session, winter/spring for summer, etc.
Absence & Make-Up Guidelines for SPECIAL PROGRAMS Students
For dancers in our Special Programs - company dancers, scholarship students, and teacher assistants - it is essential that any absences from class be excused in advance and then made up at some point that same session in order to remain in good standing within your program.
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Absences from regular classes may be excused by the office. See above for the excused absence and make-up request procedures via the request form, email, or phone call.
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Absences from teacher assisting duties should be directed to your cooperating teacher. Please notify cooperating teachers by email with at least 24 hours' notice whenever possible and CC the office (admin@hydeparkdance.org). Little Dancers Program Director Jane Sawyer (jsawyer@hydeparkdance.org), who oversees the Teachers' Assistants program, should be copied on these emails.
- Requests for excused absences from company classes, rehearsals, or other requirements may be sent through the absence & make-up request form or via email to artisticteam@hydeparkdance.org. We also recommend getting in touch with Company leaders directly to provide more information about the absence. See your Company materials for level-specific Company leader emails.
All absence and make-up information should be recorded in the student's Special Programs folder for monitoring and review during the class year.
Absences from Performance Workshop-Related Obligations
