From: Jason Coleman <email address removed> Sent: Wednesday, 5 December 2012 9:53 PM To: sally <email address

removed > Cc: Staff Member 1; Staff Member 2; Staff Member 3<names removed> Subject: Reply Sally What an unfortunate circumstance u have created for yr family with your very aggressive and disturbing correspondence with my team! Oh.... And please keep in mind as u do that after dealing with 1200 parents during our rehearsals yours was the only complaint we had! Ironic that it wasn't even a complaint.... It was an attack! You may very well bulldoze and bully your way around the rest of your life but my passionate and dedicated staff do certainly not have to put up with it!! This mail will hopefully clarify for u exactly as I explained to your husband! Your mail tells us we are, in your own words "appalling" and that we do not consider the needs of family's!! You suggest we have no organizational skill, and even that an entire rehearsal schedule for over 600 participants is merely for my own personal enjoyment! If all this is true I would ask you why you want to return!! If any parts of your claims were true I would assume u would go and find a better service elsewhere? I would! Now, did u ever consider contacting one of the 14 full time passionate, dedicated and loving family (staff) to ask about the rehearsals or the time requirements? We are open and available 7 days a week! Did you contact us with any query considering that ***<name removed> has some Special needs or time constraints! No...... You chose to attack us rather than ask us! We are dealing with the family's of over 600 kids! Still *** <name removed> replied to your mail and answered, in detail, every point you attacked us on. You did not even acknowledge her reply. You chose to go straight to your own concerns and needs again! That Sally is just Rude! As was your bold writing and CAPITOL LETTERS continued !!!!! And ?????? Oh sally........Please! Now you seem to think that you get my time on this issue yet again! Your wrong! U lost that privilege when u attacked us with your negative, hurtful, and very untrue reflections of last weeks rehearsals......And then ignored our replies to Your aggressive claims! You are hardly working with us now are you? Your husband suggested in our meeting that he felt he was the mediator between you and us on this issue...... I actually saw him more as a messenger! The message was very clear! Apologize in writing for your mail and acknowledge the tireless work *** <name removed> and her incredible team do to deliver the high standards that we do. Please explain in writing that you understand her reply to your initial email, or possibly even that u don't understand so that she can clarify for you once again! Please acknowledge that your claims were personal offensive and unmitigated! If you cannot find it in yourself to acknowledge and work with my incredible team..... Apologize and respect..... Unfortunately... You are not welcome in my very amazing, exciting and loving environment that we have created as a family! A place that is changing the lives of so many young people in very positive ways! Including of course your own son.... Who in your husbands words... "loves his dancing and loves coming to MOD"!

Nothing has changed! That is where it stands! Your latest correspondence suggests This seems rather extreme, and unfair punishment for ***<name removed> who has done nothing wrong

Quite honestly Sally.... I completely agree..... Which is why for the sake of your sons' continued enjoyment and education you may look at the mistake and reflect! Look at the mistake u have made and fix it for the sake of your son! Its easy Sally...... apologize! You are being the aggressor and now playing the victim! You can't be both!

If it turns out you can't bring yourself to see the error of attacking people who live and breathe their work, people who wake up every day and do nothing else but consider the needs of our members, people who are truly passionate about our service. If you can't see that and apologize then it is you who is stealing the right for your son to be involved in all that positivity.....not me! The balls in your court! There is no, in your words, punishment Sally! I couldn't care less about punishment! But I truly do care about respect! And you have shown none! Your husband told me u would not apologize! So it seems he was right! He obviously knows you well! Does being this aggressive and this stubborn ever get you what u want Sally? Lastly and very importantly The Ministry of Dance has a very strict no bullying policy! Interestingly we wrote this for the kids.... Maybe u could check it out! It's based on three rules! Respect yourself, respect others and respect our environment! Have you? You may also like to check out out mission statement! It truly reflects us much better than your harmfull attack! Thats it! The last correspondence you will receive from us regarding this issue! It's up to you! And it's really easy! Good luck in your choice! I hope you make the right one! For ***s<name removed> sake!

Jason Oh........... One more thing!

My mother taught me........Assumption is the mother of most mistakes. She is a very wise woman!

Commentary: There was some back and forth email conversation here between myself and Staff Member 1 in an attempt to schedule a meeting with Jason. I received this email instead.

On Mon, Nov 26, 2012 at 8:41 AM, Sally <email address removed > wrote: Hi ***<name removed>. Congratulations on the show yesterday. I would appreciate it if you can let me know when Jason is available this week to meet. I understand he asked to meet with my husband ***<name removed> across the weekend and told him my son ***<name removed> was expelled from the Ministry unless I apologised for the content of my mail of 20/11/12.

This seems rather extreme, and unfair punishment for ***<name removed> who has done nothing wrong and I would like to discuss it further with Jason as soon as possible. Thanks & Regards Sally

Commentary: Staff Member 1 agreed here to try and schedule a meeting between Jason and I the next week. Instead of this, Jason instead pulled my husband aside after the Saturday rehearsal, where he was very aggressive towards my husband to the point that my husband felt Jason might physically hit him at one point - and told him that our son was expelled from the school unless I came down to apologise for the content of my mail.

On Fri, Nov 23, 2012 at 1:12 PM, Sally < email address removed > wrote: Hi Staff Member 1 <name removed>, Im actually in QLD until Sunday morning so I wont be able to meet with Jason tomorrow , but would be happy to arrange a time next week if that worked? My husband ***<name removed> will be bringing *** <name removed> to rehearsal tomorrow, hes aiming to get him there at 9.30am, but probably pick him up mid-afternoon instead of 5pm. Hopefully this will be enough time to give him an opportunity to do the full run through. *** <name removed> will also be at the Palais for the OH&S induction Sunday morning. Cheers Sally

From: Staff Member 1 [name & email address removed] Sent: Friday, 23 November 2012 12:30 PM To: Sally Subject: Tomorrow Hi Sally I am not sure of what your decision is currently regarding coming to rehearsals tomorrow, however Jason would like to have a meeting with you tomorrow afternoon if you are available regarding the email that you sent. Are you available approx 5pm tomorrow ??? Many thanks Staff Member 1 <name removed>

From: Staff Member 1 <name & email address removed> Sent: To: Wednesday, 21 November 2012 1:06 PM Sally Re: Organisation and Schedules for the End of Year performance

Subject: HI Sally

All kids are involved in the "Show Run", as this gives them an opportunity to learn the show and know how long they have until they perform. On Sunday the stage door is locked during the tech rehearsal and then closes from 5pm There is no opportunity for you to bring him half way through the show The show goes for 2.5 hours He is in the top of the second act however on show day we need them all back stage to ensure security and headcount is correct. Feel free to just bring him to the theatre on Sunday at the arrival of the tiny tots which is 4pm in which case he will then be able to speak with the other boys in his dressing room regarding the on stage requirements Or if you are happy for him to be at the tech rehearsal on Sunday he needs to be there at foyer registration at 10.30am in order to have his OH and S induction. Please just let me know thanks Staff member 1 <name removed>

On Wed, Nov 21, 2012 at 12:46 PM, Sally <email address removed> wrote: Hi Staff member 1 <name removed>, Thank you for your email & the information you have provided. I understand that it is a big production and of course want it to go well for all of the children including my own. From the remaining schedule below, unfortunately I still cant make any timing calls as to when to bring my son to rehearsals so that he doesnt miss any important sections for him. For example, where you say full show run I dont know how long the show is, or when in the show my sons dance is, so dont know whether it makes less difference for ***<name removed> to miss the first 2 hours or the last 2 hours? For Saturday and Sunday can you please clarify what time the show rehearsal is planned for and what time the numbers rehearsal are? With thanks, Sally

From: Staff Member 1 [email address removed] Sent: Wednesday, 21 November 2012 12:22 PM To: Sally [email address removed] Subject: Re: Organisation and Schedules for the End of Year performance Hi Sally Thankyou for your email and feedback. I am so very sorry that you find production week a waste of time as this is not what we intend to do for this week. The production week is to give the students a learning experience and to get them ready for their final big show for the year. Each rehearsal day we look at different aspects of putting on the show so that they are getting familiar working with the production team and of course of the show format that they will perform for you all at the end of the week. Each rehearsal day focuses on a specific outcomes: TUESDAY Full show run for Jason to view all the numbers We also introduce all the sets and props for the show We set the lighting we set their on stage positions so that when they go into the theatre they know what they are doing for safety and production requirements and we also look at the numbers that we need to spend some time with THURSDAY Full show run in costume with props This ensures that they know how much time they have between numbers and when they need to be side stage ready to go We also spend some time rehearsing all numbers and cleaning them to make that wonderful This show run is without Tiny tots and 6 and unders SATURDAY Full show run in costume for the entire cast This gives us a chance to look and finalise the show before moving into the theatre on Sunday They get another go at running their routine in the rehearsal space with costumes and props So that they feel comfortable in knowing what they need to do the following day SUNDAY

We do OH and S safety tours of the theatre they get to see what the lights will be like the stage set up and where their backstage area is They walk through all numbers and then we do a rehearsal with FULL sound and lighting which is very different to being in a rehearsal space As you can see from the above there is alot to get through when placing together a show like this. And when dealing with kids we need to take some time to ensure they feel ok. We have 4 days to place the show together with 500 kids and 1900 costumes and props to ensure they are safe, learning, experiencing and having a great time I understand that for some, as they are only in one routine, like yourself, that this is a long time for them to be in the rehearsal, and of course it is up to you as the parent to make the call as to whether or not they will be involved, or if they will attend the rehearsal. We have never made any rehearsal mandatory. We asked in the email that went out - should you not be able to make a rehearsal please just let us know - this way we can account for them on our security list. Sunday is the rehearsal that all must attend as this is the day that the kids understand the theatre and how this will work. The rehearsals prior to this get them prepared so that they are alert and aware of what is about to happen, get them comfortable and of course for us as the production team to place together the requirements of the show. This is particularly useful for our younger students as this can be a very daunting experience for some of them and we want this to be as wonderful and safe for them to enjoy. We always try to communicate as much as we can to the parents and this year, gave plenty of notice. I do understand that you have a whole family to look after and of course dealing with this is big and their bed time is important especially on a school night. We always respect the decisions of the parents within the Ministry and we are always here to answer any question or query that you have. All you need to do is ask us and we will help.

In regards to the dressing room - last evening we had a rowdy group of boys, so Jason merely had a good "boy" chat to them all about respect and the need to be well behaved while during these rehearsals. As you know, boys will be boys when altogether. Please do not feel that you need to be here all week I will now leave it up to you with what rehearsal you would like to bring him to, however please just communicate this with us so that we are aware and can account for him. As i previously mentioned this is supposed to be a joyous experience not a hindrance.

Please of course let me know if you have any further queries about this and I do hope that I have clarified it a little more for you many thanks

Staff member 1 <name removed> ---------- Forwarded message ---------From: Sally [email address removed] Date: 20 November 2012 22:12 Subject: Organisation and Schedules for the End of Year performance To: Ministry of Dance [email address removed] Hi there, I am driven to write to you tonight after having experienced 2 very time wasting rehersal days for the end of year performance both this evening and last Saturday to express my frustration and in an effort to ensure that the rest of the week does not follow suit. On both occasions there was no detail provided as to what the schedule was, and on both occasions, although the children were asked to be there for hours and hours, it turned out that they were needed for only a few minutes. I am frankly appalled at the lack of organisation and communication around these scheduled rehersals tonight I have just put my children to bed - 2 hours past their bed time on a school night for no reason other than MODs lack of organisation surely we can do better than this?? Please, please can MOD give some more consideration to the kids, and to the parents and for families who need to get children to and from these sessions, often with younger siblings in tow by providing more information as to what the rehearsal sessions are about, and some tighter timeframes as to what is actually required? My son said tonight that they did one dance for Jason - and spent the rest of the time sitting in the boys room waiting to get a pep talk from Jason who then promptly asked them all to apologise to the teachers for their behaviour! Apparently the child who had been doing the troublemaking earlier that Jason has seen wasnt even there! Honestly, who is this performance for the kids or Jason Coleman?? I have the following sessions marked on the calendar for the rest of the week, can you please advise asap via return mail as to what the purpose of the rehearsal is, whether they are mandatory or optional, and a schedule of planned activities. Thursday 4-9pm Sat 9-5pm Sun 10.30-5pm before the show. 18 hours between now and Sunday evening is simply too much for a 10 year old child who is only in one dance. I need to cut this down, so please let me know what is essential and what is not. Ill also go so far as to suggest that you need to give this information to all of the parents involved so they can make informed decisions as to whether they actually need to bend over backwards to get the kids there or not. Please let me know, Sincerely, Sally