After reading postings such as the two above. I ask myself how can it be possibly accepted. Especially the part where people with little experience are teaching. I think that in the US in some studio they have gone about as low as is possible to go. I don't think this would work where I live. Here a person teaching would first have to pass a Level O examination. Even then they would not be allowed to teach unless a Qualified Professional was present. It is easy to find out who are qualified and who are not. The qualified Professionals are listed for all to see and are required to keep their membership up to date.
But there is no law which makes it illegal against the law to declare yourself a teacher of ballroom dancing. Not for instance like an electrician.

Yes, Serendipidy, it is unfortunately accepted.

Remember, in the chain studios, you pay for the steps you learn... trust me, I go to one myself. Yes, you are paying per hour, but you are only allowed to be taught certain syllabus steps in the program you have paid for. Hence, you can take someone with no dance experience, teach them those few steps, and make them teach it to beginners.

My friend was paired with a new "instructor" at the studio I attend. She has been taking lessons for a year, and has paid a total of $7,500 so far. After her lesson, this "instructor" was pulled aside by another instructor and was told that he was not doing the underarm turn in the waltz correctly! Even my friend noticed he was doing something wrong. Go figure.

Thanks for the feedback. One instence in particular down in my neck of the woods is, a "Professional Instructor" has suggested thousands of dollars for lessons and now can not be found. I am aware of the chain studios MO, I worked for one for a short time and witnessed these things first hand. I ca not say that I agree with them, but in their defense there are options,other instructors, not renewing packages or even asking for a refund. Chain studios are known all over the world and will usually give a refund to avoid damage to their reputation. They may not want to and you may have to push a little, but usually they will. The ones I was refering to are just using dance as a tool to lure people in. They are literaly running away with peoples money.
L

I have seen similar discussions on this website in the past year, and they all make me feel fortunate that I have gone to a private studio the past four years. I was well aware of the chain studios and how they operated from experiencing that during the disco craze of the late 1970s.
At the private studio, I have been able to keep my costs down while also learning advanced steps in a near-private setting (only two or three couples), but not having to pay more for those sessions.
The only thing I wish I could do is just buy, say 10 lessons, and use them when I'd like. But the studio won't let you stretch lessons from one 8-week session to another. That's the only drawback, because sometimes my job can take me out of the loop for weeks at a time.

Oh dear, now running away with people's money... wow. These people should be searched and jailed!

That makes me feel a little better about my situation... although I will still ask for a refund for the rest of my package at the chain, and I'll see how that goes. Then (as you are dheun) I'm going to a private studio. Personally, I don't agree with the tactics the chain studio uses to get people "hooked" on them.

I don't know if this robbery but it seemed like a bait and switch at an indy studio.

The owner had been teaching a beginners' progressive ballroom class for many months at $55 per person for 5 group classes. After a number of "semesters" people moved to bronze level class. No beefs, I liked the teacher, etc though there was some repetition of topics.

Partway into my second to last beginners semester, the owner announced she'd be teaching a different class and started having substitutes teach us. One sub asked *me* how to dance a simple waltz twinkle and said she hadn't danced for a year. Then we were assigned a "student teacher" who thought we should work on East Coast Swing every class.

Yeah, it was only $55 but I felt like I had been conned, especially since the subs were so bad. That was the last time I went to that studio.

We went to one of the big chains for over 5 years. After 1 year, even though we were in the bronze program, we spent a lot of the lesson time on silver technique. When we had our Foxtrot and Waltz evaluations for Bronze levels, we danced silver Waltz and Foxtrot. We experienced a lot of teacher turn over, but they always made sure we were pleased with our new teachers. Twice they gave us a another teacher. One time the person they had a us try was pretty bad and they did not charge us for the hours.

Our teachers were really focused on optimizing our improvement and our learning new dances. They allowed us to have a lot of input into what would be done during our lessons.

Where I live. On the last Saturday in January after the Xmas break. I will be taking my granddaughter age six to her first ballroom dancing class. Without any form filling we will turn up and pay the six Dollars at the door. If she likes it we will be there every Saturday morning from then on. If a week is missed there is no charge for that week. Dont you wish it were the same where you are.
Myself last night I heard that a studio was teaching a sequence foxtrot call the Feta Foxtrot. I went and learnt the dance and spent the rest of the evening practising the above mentioned with a variety of partners. The cost for two hours was Ten Dollars . They new that I was only there to learn the one dance and know thatI may not be there next week.
The dance incidently is well constructed and unlike most sequence dances does stay in rhythm and in phrase . Parts of which I might use in my normal Foxtrot.

It's quite possible to do the same thing in the US. Nearly every independent studio has group classes that you can take without doing anything else; usually you have the option of paying per class or signing up for a month at a slight discount. They also usually have drop-in classes that do a one-time lesson on a particular dance, often before a party. Depending on the area, group classes cost between $5 and $15 per class.

It's only when you take private lessons that it becomes more pricey, but I'm sure the same is true where you live.

You can always ask if the teacher has ISTD or equivalent certification vs. chain certification.

OB