Questions to ask a potential dance studio?

[ZenMamaJen]

nak
DD really wants to take ballet. She'll be 3 soon, and I found a studio nearby that has movement classes starting at age 3. I know I've read some concerns other mamas have had and good questions to ask. But I can't remember them! They have a FAQs on their website, but they were about the dance floor, which I'm not terribly concerned about at this point.

TIA!

[velochic]

My dd is 4 now. She has been going to a gymnastics class for about 2 years now. This past winter she became very interested in ballet for a number of different reasons, so we looked into for classes for her. I realized that I knew NOTHING about this. Her gymnastics place offered "ballet". I found out (after some wasted money) that most dance studios/gymnasiums do not teach classical ballet. They are mostly for "cheerleading-shake-your-butt" kind of dancing or competitive tap, jazz, etc. I guess this is because many of the women running the studios are nothing more than former cheerleaders or failed gymnasts. Anyway, to make a long story short, I wasn't careful about finding out EXACTLY what dd would be learning, who her teacher would be (a 15 year old cheerleader), or the credentials of the owner. They called it "pre-ballet" and spent 6 weeks teaching her the "shake your bootie" routine to rap music. Dd was saying, "Did you like our dance, Mommy? Did you think it was sexy?" Talk about I realized I needed to know a little more if we wanted to continue this. I didn't do ballet or dance as a child, so I really didn't know what was out there (and I'm sure it's changed these past 30 years).

I did some more research and I found a class in the city that has the exact same "title" (creative movement/ pre-ballet) but with a different purpose. It is at the Russian Ballet Academy and is taught by a university ballet major (still a younger woman, but not a teenager). At these other places, their goal was to get the kids to do a routine at the end of 6 sessions. This ballet academy's purpose is to teach the children things like stretching, the 5 basic positions, posture, and graceful movement of the body. It's an ongoing, progressive ballet program. If dd has an aptitude for ballet, she'll advance and be taught by professional Russian dancers as she gets older. In the ballet classes (not this creative movement class) they also place children together primarily by ABILITY, not AGE (another important thing, I found out). There is a dress & hair code. They have ballet levels (I'm not sure why this is important, but I was told it is.) We're really just getting started, too, but those are some of the things that are the difference between a school of ballet and a dance studio that teaches dancing. Not saying you couldn't find a good studio that teaches ballet... I'm sure they're out there... but... well, that's my experience and I hope it helps you ask some good questions.

[nonconformnmom]

Velochic gave some very good advice. My almost-4-yo just completed her first year of dance class. This class teaches 15 min of ballet, 15 min of tap, and 15 min of gymnastics. She seemed to enjoy it and I thought it was okay. The teaching was definitely very good, they are skilled dancers and they are very patient with the kids.

The only thing I have a problem with is the emphasis on costumes and appearance. At the age of 3, I don't think my daughter should be pressured to "smile!" and to hold a pose for a photograph or to wear her hair to a certain standard etc. The costumes for the 3-year old girls were fine, but looking at those of the other girls in the studio, it looks like they escalate to a much more mature style than is age-appropriate, IMO, and many of the costumes are sexy/ revealing. Some of the dance numbers are not in accordance with my values either. For example, a group of 9 yo girls danced to a song called "Shop til you Drop" and it was all about a girl taking her allowance to the mall and trying to decide between all the clothes which ones to buy. :

So you might just ask to see photos of the recitals and take a look at the costumes and even the way they pose the girls, to get an idea of whether or not they push children to take on a more mature style than you are comfortable with, if that is an issue for you.

[Lil'M]

I checked out this thread because my girls really want to do dance but I also haven't liked what I've seen at some of the local dance studios. They have dance once a week at school and both want to do more outside of school. Primarily they want modern, jazz, hip hop, etc, not ballet. But I really don't want to sign them up for something with expensive, sexy costurmes, make-up, adult-like hip grinding, etc. I just really can't stand that scene or the people I know who are involved in it. Their school dance teacher works at a studio that is yoga/modern dance, and I think it is more what I am looking for but it is far away. So I'm going to keep looking.

[Ann-Marita]

Here are some questions I wrote some time ago. Some of this may not apply until your daughter is older, but are still considerations.

What kind of floor do you have? I've never found a "dance floor" in a studio that was bad. (ETA: I mean a floor surface that is sold for dance rooms.) I've found some that I prefer - I love floating wood floors. Plain concrete (or plain concrete covered by vinyl) is unacceptable to me, but I've seen that in some studios.

Request that a brochure be sent to you and/or ask about their web site.

What dance forms do you offer? I'd expect to hear ballet, tap, and jazz as basics. Hip-hop and pom-pom are usually less-serious classes. Some places offer world dance - several weeks at a time of dances from all over the world. Cool! But for older students, obviously.

What other (non-dance) classes do you offer? Gymnastics, cheerleading, theater classes and more are possibilities. Whether these answers are positive, neutral, or negative is up to you. Sometimes they will offer adult classes in something that interests the moms (like pilates, or jazz), and usually there is a bit of a family discount.

Who are the teachers? Their web site may have biographies. Ask about who will be teaching your child.

What is your studio's strongest dance form?

Do you require that students take ballet in order to take jazz or hip-hop? IMO, studios that allow students to take jazz or hip-hop without taking a corresponding ballet class are not as serious. Not that the quality of instruction is less, just that less-serious students will take there.

How do you assess the students' skill level, do you keep skill information on the students? I know of some large studios that keep records of what each student has accomplished, so that their teachers the next year know what they have learned. I don't think this is needed except in the largest studios. But, having skill sheets is also useful so the teachers are all on the same page, as far as what skills to teach the different class levels. Up to you whether this is important - most studios don't do it, but it's a nice bit of professionalism when you do find it.

Do you emphasize turn-out? This is a big red flag to me! If they force young dancers' (or even old dancers') bodies to turn out more than their hip structure will naturally allow, they risk injury.

Can parents watch the classes? A one-way window is ideal, so the parents can see what is going on, but the children are not distracted. A plain window is OK. If they don't let me watch, anytime I want, then I wouldn't send my child there.

Can parents hear the classes? Aha. This is touchy. As a parent, I wish that I could have heard what was going on in the classes at dd's previous dance studio. I would have withdrawn her sooner. As a dance teacher, I used to like not having to worry about the parents hearing me. Now, I teach in a room that is easily heard from the parent's area. At first, I didn't like it - it made me feel shy. But now it's OK. I've heard studio owners offer the excuse that "Oh, we can't afford what would be required (like a sound system?) to do that." But I would think that a simple baby monitor (with the "baby" side in the dance room but not next to the sterio speakers, and the "parent" side in the lobby) would be worth a try.

What performance opportunities are there for my daughter's level of class? Older classes? Where do they perform? In-class performances, shows at nursing homes, elementary or middle school cafeterias, high school auditoriums, high school gymnasiums (not my preference), fairs and more are all possibilities.

Do you have a video of a recent performace that I can watch?

Do your older students or dance team compete? In what dance forms do you compete? Ballet and tap are usually more serious; jazz, pom and hip-hop less so. And really, to me, winning competitions and having trophies is meaningless (with a few exceptions, where I KNOW the quality of competition).

During summer, do you offer regular classes or camps?

Besides registration fees and tuition, ask about costume fees, recital fee, contest fees, and admission to shows. They add up.

I've got a bunch more questions, but most of them are about the studios' dance team. Way too old for your dd.

But I haven't found a way to ask "Will you treat my child with respect, and use gentle discipline in class?" I mean, they are ALL going to claim to treat the dancers well. But the truth of the matter is that some don't.

SO, I would also recommend that you contact other AP moms in your area and ask if they have any experience with the local dance studios. Watch some of the classes. See if the dancers are leaving tired but happy, or just beaten down.

[tboroson]

: I wish I'd had this list of questions on hand when my daughter started her first year of "creative movement" this past year! I wasn't horrified by our experience, but I wasn't entirely pleased either. I'm looking for a new studio for next year, but we're kind of up in the air because now we're considering moving... I will definately use these questions to evaluate our next studio!

Anyway, the things that I didn't like about our experience this past year. They're mostly pretty minor compared to the issues above but, they bugged me and I'll be asking about them in the future. I've listed them in order of the one that drove me the most insane to the least.

1. Lollipops! It drove me crazy! 10:30 in the morning, and they're giving 3 and 4 year olds freakin' sugar. Worse, I fully agree with Alfie Kohn on this one. By the end of the session, Talia was truely dancing for the lollipop at the end. She'd completely lost sight of the joy of the dancing itself.

2. The recital was extremely overwhelming for a 4 year old. And, it was at a bad time of day - 2 in the afternoon. It was naptime for more than one girl in Talia's class, and they were all a little on edge. Her class was second on stage, but they had to stay backstage for the whole first act - maybe 45 minutes. The dress rehearsal was stressful, since she was trying to bang out each rehearsal quickly. I've learned that another studio does a seperate recital for the little kid's classes right at the studio, to relieve that whole stress thing.

3. Emphasis in class on character based themes. Reading Barbie stories, playing Disney music.

4. 1/4 of the class was given over to a "craft". I put that in quotes because it's not like they put her in a room with a piece of paper and some paint. Rather, it was "here's the foam pieces, peel the backings off and assemble them in this fashion". I had her there to dance, not to pretend to make a craft.

5. Cost of the recital costume. I had no idea what to expect, so I wasn't too shocked by $60. But, I've since learned that the costumes at other local studios cost *much* less. It's not that I couldn't afford the little bit of money, there was just a serious annoyance factor. The costume was no better than any of the cheap dress up costumes I've bought her.

[ZenMamaJen]

Thanks mamas!

I knew you all would have some great points for me to consider.
I think I'll see if they will let me watch a class for her age level.
This is going to be tougher than I thought!

[huskermommy]

Do you emphasize turn-out? This is a big red flag to me! If they force young dancers' (or even old dancers') bodies to turn out more than their hip structure will naturally allow, they risk injury.

Can parents watch the classes? A one-way window is ideal, so the parents can see what is going on, but the children are not distracted. A plain window is OK. If they don't let me watch, anytime I want, then I wouldn't send my child there.

Can parents hear the classes? Aha. This is touchy. As a parent, I wish that I could have heard what was going on in the classes at dd's previous dance studio. I would have withdrawn her sooner. As a dance teacher, I used to like not having to worry about the parents hearing me. Now, I teach in a room that is easily heard from the parent's area. At first, I didn't like it - it made me feel shy. But now it's OK. I've heard studio owners offer the excuse that "Oh, we can't afford what would be required (like a sound system?) to do that." But I would think that a simple baby monitor (with the "baby" side in the dance room but not next to the sterio speakers, and the "parent" side in the lobby) would be worth a try.

My thoughts exactly... I danced from age 3-15 and was forced to "turn out". We even did exercises on the floor where you lay with your tummy down knees turned out while another dancer sits on top of you and pushes your hips and legs down! OWW! Of course my teacher was extremely mean and always made us cry.

My daughter is 2 and we'd like to put her in ballet, but as I was reading I thought... Could I really leave her alone... Ummm quick think.. NOOOO! What if somebody said or did something to her like MY teacher did???? I could never ever live with myself. So to me, it would be important to be able to watch and hear!

Ann-Marita made some awesome points! Good Luck!

[~*max*~]

I would try to observe a class or two. That will give you the best sense of the studio.

Also, I would definately ask a lot about the end of year recital, if they have one. I thought my 4 yr. old dd's dance class was excellent, until recital time came. We spent over $200. on everything required (costumes, tickets, DVD, etc.), there were several mandatory evening rehersals, the show itself was in the evening, parents were encouraged not to go backstage. I went anyway, and am thankful I did. They were totally understaffed for the preschoolers. It was a zoo and unsafe. The whole experience has left me feeling very uncomfortable still. My dd loves her dance class, but next year we will not be doing the recital.

[claras_mom]

http://www.cecchetti.org/

Sometimes you'll run across a Cecchetti Studio, and they can be quite good for beginning ballet. When I was in graduate school, I was fortunate in accompanying ballet classes at a local studio (and there's something to watch for! a studio that commits resources to having live musicians). Because I was new to it, I started out with the Saturday morning classes of the littlest ones--3? They had to be potty trained and had to be able to pay attention for the 20 minutes or so the class lasted. It always struck me as a really positive experience; here are the things I remember as being good and that I would watch for in choosing a school for my dd, in no particular order:

- Live music
- Having both a main teacher and a demonstrator in the class--usually an older student who the little kids could follow.
- Emphasis on posture, learning simple steps (walking like a dancer, skipping, pony steps, etc).
- Dress code.
- No candy bribes! (yikes)
- Not forcing the body into unnatural positions.
- Having a curriculum to follow--with Cecchetti and other methods there really is a carefully thought-out grand plan.
- An observation area--in the studio where I worked, there was a big glass window in the wall, with benches for the parents to sit on and the door was kept open. Everything was completely transparent.