Does anyone know what it cost to compete, I was asked to enter a pro am competition my instructors fee seemed very high.

it varies- what is he charging per dance? is there travel/hotel involved? what about the ticket and event entry fees?

Look back through the past posts there are enough posts about competition costs for a small book.

Type the name of the competition you are going to into Google and see if it has a web site. Lots of competitions have web sites where they post the entry forms and pricing information. Actually, browse around the ndca.org web site to find their calendar, which points to the web sites of lots of competitions in different parts of the US. From there you can start to get an idea of what the costs usually are.

Thanks for responding to my question; I know what the entry fees are I was referring to his expenses, which do not include entry fees or hotel.He told me it would be 2 to 3 thousand for one day competition. Has anyone competed pro am and is this the rate they charge?

Thanks Tina

Well my teacher charges like a flat fee of like 50 bucks to dance with me, plus 10 per heat he does with me..thats all he has me pay for in addition to the entry fees.

Tina, different teachers charge very different rates for dancing with students at the competition. Her are the various situations I've heard of over the years:

Flat Fee Per Dance -- This is simple and straightforward, and is the most common fee structure in my experience. I've heard rates of between $20 and $60 per dance. If the competition involves travel, the teachers travel expenses are evenly split between all the students who dance with that teacher.

Flat Fee Per Competition -- This is also simple and straightforward. I've heard rates of between $100 and $10,000 per competition. If the flat fee is on the high end of the scale, it sometimes includes travel.

Sliding Scale Fee Per Dance -- Teachers who are trying to get their students to do a lot of entries sometimes do this. I've heard of one teacher who would charge $20 per dance, but the more entries you did the lower the per-dance fee would slide until it hit about $8 per dance.

Year-Based Retainer Fee -- This is not common in the USA, but I've heard of Pro/Am dancers in Hong Kong who do this. The student pays the teacher a retainer fee to do a certain number of competitions per year. This amount can be very very high, as there seems to be a lot of money in the Hong Kong scene. The most well-known case of this was in the New York Times this summer, where a woman paid her teacher something like $8million US for a multi-year Pro/Am contract.

In my personal opinion, I think the flat fee per dance + students evenly share travel expenses is the clearest and most fair. One of my teachers used to present me with an itemized bill for each competition, listing our entry fees, our tickets to the ballroom, his per-dance fee, and my share of his travel expenses (which were split between all his students who would dance with him at the out-of-town competitions). Based on my experience, paying your teacher $2k - $3k for a one day competition seems like a LOT, unless you are dancing with one of the absolute top pros in the country. If you're dancing with a former or current US finalist (or world representative), it could cost you as these teachers have the skill and reputation to pretty much guarantee getting their students to the top of Pro/Am. I know one such top-of-the-top teacher who charges a flat fee of $5k per competition. And his students have been the best over the years, winning national Pro/Am championships, so they are certainly getting what they are paying for.

By the way, my first Pro/Am competition was between two or three local studios, held one afternoon at one of the studios, and cost me about $150. More recently, I was paying entry fees + ballroom tickets + share of travel expenses + $40 per dance, which worked out to be about $650 for a large sanctioned local competition (so without travel expenses).

I recently had my first competition experience and found it very expensive. It was local so I didn't have to pay for a hotel (thank God) and I made my own costume (I am at the bronze level) so I kept expenses to a minimum. I was doing Pro-am so I had to pay for my instructor's time, which is only fair. I would definitely switch to Amateur if I could find a partner, let me tell ya!

One thing that really bothered me: I find it outrageous that competitors have to buy a ticket on top of entry fees!

Regardless of the expense, competing is amazing and I highly recommend it!!

V.

I remember my first comp- I did pro-am, standard only, and won 16 out of 20 dances (all contested). It was a great experience! You learn a lot tht first comp- dancing at one is sooo different than at the studio.

That said they had a great break for youths giving 20 entries free, so I only had to pay the fee to get in the ballroom and what my instructor charged.

You guys really pay through nose. If you lived here you would think you were in heaven. Going to a top coach at two lessons a week each of one hour duration would cost $140 thats for two people two hours. The competition entry fee is pay as you enter at about $20 to $24 . If you are one of the older competitors or a child the cost would be $12. no more to pay. A spectator will be the same amount. There are competitions about every three weeks. Some are small and the very big ones there are about six in one year. If a person was able to travell there are inter state as well. The above are all in one state only.
For your $24 or $12 entry you could dance in three styles from early morning till late at night usually about midnight. Pro/ Am is unheard of. Last week there was only one pair. What we do have is Individuals which means only one person wears the number. I could be dancing with a lady and she wears the number. There is no limit to what standard I am. I could be the best in the state and the lady could be a virtuall beginner. Again there are three different styles to compete in. Most do all three. Again there is no extra charges whether you are a competitor or a spectator. Most of the higher grade couples would probably have something like five lessons a week, especially those who compete in all three styles. Have Fun.