I am new to dancing. Taking lessons at an AM studio. I am near the end of learning basics. Have no clue about how to go about the next level. Do I choose the dances and how many dances I want to learn? Can anyone give me advice about fees? Are fees based on per dance or per lesson etc? I would like to know what to expect when this discussion takes place with the instructor so that I can have questions ready. Seems they want a decision on the spot and offer a one time decide now discount. What would be considered reasonable fees? What is the going rate? THANKS!

After the end of my basics, my bronze I level consisted of 35 privates totaling about $4100 with all discounts they wanted to give me. That's about five dances. That's about $117 (after discounts) per lesson. Since then it has gone up to $137 per lessons. I don't count the group classes anymore because after you acquire a certain level of skills, you kinda need classes that get progressively harder and held on a regular basis. The group classes for my level are far and few in between. I'm lucky if it's once a month. They don't have group classes in all the dances I'm taking either. I guess they want to guide you towards learning via private lessons. My advice is if you like it there, go ahead and sign up but don't sign up for any long term contract, no more than 20 lessons. Since you're still relative new at this, the 20 lessons should give you a better idea of what their program is about. Also keep in mind that during the first half of your program, they'll teach you new things and then the 2nd half they'll work on polishing off what you've learned. (none ot this is on the contract). Usually what they'll teach you on the bronze I level are just steps and not much technique or cuban hip motion, rise and fall, continuity, etc.., unless you are a quick learner AND you sign up to take a lesson with a coach; that'll cost you twic as much. Basically, you'll be paying about $130 for 40 minutes with the coach and you'll also be paying for your instructor's time as well even though your instructor is not teaching you anything.

Then once they got you on the hook, you find out that it's no fun just taking group classes and attending friday night classes. So they entice you to do a showcase or a competition, but in order to do that you'll need a choregraph routine, etc....bla, bla, bla. $$$$$$$$$.

I wished some one had informed me about their practices sooner or told me about this message board. It could have saved me a lot of money. I still have about 5 lessons left with them and then after that I'm going to an independent I've alreay found that's much better as far as more experienced instructors and dancers and better prices. It's about $75 per 50 minute lesson with a high placed competitor at one of the major national competition. Group classes are $10 each and they are usually a monthly series. Parties are $10 each. Atmosphere is different though. Not as cozy as AM though.

I dont live in your country. But reading through the threads most of you want to dance and not just lessons. I think I would get a few people who were interested hire a hall and run my own practise sessions. Turn it into a club, none profit making. Who knows what it might lead to. You might be able to hire a professional to take a class
I will add this. Every Tuesday night there is a Argentine Tango practise night. None profit making . Three hours for $5. The ballroom is a proper dance venue at one of our local bowls club. With insurance how do they manage to keep the price down. Easy.The $5 entry fee makes you a member of the Bowls Cub. There insurance covers the dance night. Of which there are two other dance styles, either a dance or classes on other nights. With the price of admission so little people drop in on there way home from work for an hour or two. There is a bar in a room which is equall in size to the ballroom Being now a club member it can be used. Or if you like watch dancing with the Stars which is on a Tuesday here, and then pop up the steps for for a bit of a dance.

What dances you pursue depends on what you see yourself doing with your dancing. If you want to do competition or show dancing, or anything along the lines of what you see them doing on the TV shows these days, your choices would be very different than if you're learning for an upcoming wedding.

If you're not sure what you want yet, the "sampler platter" isn't a bad approach, as it establishes a good foundation all around, and gives you time to try a little of everything before committing to one particular style or another.

Assuming your goals are socially oriented (weddings, nightclubs, etc), I would opt for a mixture of dances that include some basic ballroom & Latin, but that also include today's popular styles, such as Salsa, Swing, and Argentine Tango.

Your AM friends are going to push for at least the "main 6" dances in their book: Waltz, Tango, Foxtrot, Cha Cha, Rumba, and EC Swing. This isn't a bad set to start with, as it establishes a good technical foundation. All of them are relevant to social dancing, with the possible exception of Tango, which you won't do much of in today's social scene. I would probably ditch that one in favor of authentic Argentine Tango, and then add Salsa, and perhaps one more Swing style later on (either WC Swing or Lindy).

A lot of this depends on how much time you expect to put into your dancing on a weekly basis. With only one lesson a week and no additional activities (individual practice, practice parties, etc), you might want to scale back to just the essentials -- no more than 3 or 4 dances to start, and only the most relevant to your goals. With two lessons a week, or with one lesson combined with another 1-2 hours of other activities, you can afford to spread things out a bit more.

After about two months, you'll probably begin to figure out what you like and what you want to do with it, and the choices may change. But this is a good way to start. PS -- if you're in Europe or Australia ignore everything I've said, dicth AM and go to a school that will teach you International style.

The discussion will essentially be a sales pitch, so be prepared for that. There's nothing wrong with that... They have a product they want you to buy, and they're going to do their best to convince you it's worth the money. But just like when you buy a car, you need to understand this fact and be prepared for it.

I'm actually a supporter of the chain schools, and I think they play a very important role in the ballroom dance community. There are certain types of students for whom I think they are the perfect solution. So I'm not going to tell you not to buy lessons from them. They might be just right for you. Just realize that you do pay a premium for them, so you shouldn't buy the lessons unless you have carefully considered your options, and have decided that they are just right for you.

Remember during the sales pitch that you are not obligated to purchase lessons on the spot. You can give it some thought and come back later if need be. No matter what they tell you in the office, no matter what incentives they give you for buying lessons on the spot, you can always come back later if you're not 100% sure you want the product. And they'll still give you the same "deal".

The other thing you can count on is a pitch for more lessons that you had expected. They'll talk about purchasing blocks of 20, 30, even 100 lessons at a time (depending on what the laws allow in your state). A lot of people buy more than one lesson at a time -- perhaps 5 or 10, just to make accounting simpler. But more than that is excessive, and totally unneccessary. So if they give you the pitch about needing to "plan" more lessons, just tell them "Great. Plan 100 lessons, and I'll buy 4 of them now". There's no justifiable reason to enter into a contract for more.

One more thing: If AM is not the perfect solution for you, make sure you ultimately tell them "no" because you've found a better solution. Do the research and find a studio that is right nor you. Otherwise you will have given up a dream or a hobby you wanted to pursue simply because the price wasn't right. The only reason you should quit dancing is because you've decided you don't want to dance anymore.

I hope this helps. Good luck and happy dancing!

Sincerely,
Jonathan

In our community the going rate for teachers certified by ISTD or CDTA at the "Member" level is around $60 per hour and includes floor fees. It's years of work to get to that level. There are 4 levels: Student teacher, Associate, Member, Fellowship.

We have an AM opening here in February. They are "auditioning" people who would like to teach in January. In other words the teacher will be one class ahead of the student. If you're paying $137 for 40 minutes make sure you get an experienced and competent instructor.

In our somewhat local area we have one person charging $150 an hour but he was a finalist at Blackpool.

Vancouver had the World 10 Dance Championships about 2-3 years ago. One hour lessons with Mischa Cigoy, who was World 10 dance champion the following year were $100. Darned if I'd pay AM $137.

OB

The regular rates at my studio are $70 for adults. For under 18 it is $35. With visiting coaches, it varies since it must cover travel, hotel, and then more if they come through a comp organizer. Donald Johnson and Kasia Kozak are about $120. Allan Tornsberg was $160 (he judged at a local comp). Peter Eggleton has a condo nearby, so he's $85.

Oh wow

I'm so relieved to hear that I'm not the only one paying thousands of dollars for dance lessons!
I actually go to Fred Astaire. The first "real" package I bought was the social dance package, which basically allows you to become a good social dancer (not very picky on tecnique) and that was a 6 month program for about $2500 which included one hour lesson (it may actually be 50 or 55 minutes) a week plus some group lessons and a good amount of parties.
While I was in the middle of this program, my instructor suggested I move to the Bronze level so that the lessons left (about half) would be used towards this goal. That was almost $5000 and it's for one year (so basically the same hourly fee as the social program.
If you calculate that, while including the group lessons and parties, it definitely comes to less than $100 per session. And I'm learning 9 dances (plus, sometimes a few others on the side)

So it seems strange that AM charges $137 per lesson. I thought that AM and FA were about the same.

In the end, you have to look at your instructor's fees, not only comparing them to other instructor's fees, but to their qualifications, experience, and teaching skills (check out and talk to their students for this one). The fees can be deceiving.

"You guys really pay through the nose. I might be justified if you are being taught by the very top coaches and for the pupose of competing."

I've been thinking about that, and my conclusion is that dancing costs the same amount regardless if you do it halfway or all the way.

If you try to just walk in and take a few lessons, you pay fairly high rates and may not get your money's worth. If you get really involved and lean where to go for the best training, you will still spend a lot of money, but you will get so much more value for it because you will be connecting with outstanding teachers at a level of detail which you just can't do as a casual student. But only if you also choose to spend a lot of your time and energy to be a dedicated student.

So experienced heavily inovled dancers look at the prices beginners are being asked to pay in many places, and feel that they are unreasonable. But at least for the lessons (overpriced competitions are another story) we are having to come up with the money to pay more than you do - we are just getting more instruction for our money, and more out of each bit of instruction. It's not like you could just trade our teachers for yours - not that they wouldn't give you a chance as a student because they certainly would, but because you'd have to decide that you wanted to be that kind of student.

I read with interest the notes on fees, and agree with the one who said if you are serious it will cost you over all about the same. I parted company with AM about a year ago, I was in low cash flow and AM would not allow me to "pay as I go" any longer. Actually it was good for me. Since I'm not interested in competition but becoming a good and varied social dancer I reached out found different venues, and got some new partners I wouldn't have had otherwise. I find a lot of teaching out there to be only one mode. I thnk texts and DVDs are a good supplement to learning, but nothing is as good as a good teachers that you groove with, and more thn one teacher is good because you get a different perspective from a different teacher. I do think that contracts are not good, and one can do better with independent studios, but AM is good for those timid souls who are just getting their feet wet. I didn't start dancing until I was 63 and was scared to death at first, the socials at AM got me past that. So now I'm planning my own 3rd Annual Birthday Dance party.

Vern