Ok, so bear with me mamas even if you dont think this is a big deal for me it is now and its getting on my last nerve. I just need to vent.
I enrolled my daughter in ballet 2 months ago, I guess they have a performance twice a year and I was told I would have to pay for the 75.00 costume which I imagine is already marked up (which seems normal to me). I paid the costume fee at the same time we enrolled, now I get an email from the school saying my daughters performance fee is late! What performance fee? I was never told there was a performance fee, it wasnt ANYWHERE in the registration forms and now I have to fork out 75.00 plus the late fee 20.00 extra asap. What?? Sorry but I dont just have 95.00 dollars on any given Thursday to toss out. That is just not realistic for us now, we are on one income and the monthly tuition for the class at 54.50 is already a stretch for us, however I understand things cost money and nothing is free. We also have to mandatory buy tickets for the performance at 15.00 a ticket which I imagine would go toward the expenses? I dont know if I am being unreasonable and maybe if I would have known earlier I could have made a more informed decision to enroll or not. But with leotard, shoes, tuition, registration, and that costume fee I have already spent close to 250.00 in two months. Now an extra 95.00? It just seems a lot to me. This might be what everyone spends, I dont know but I wish I would have known sooner. Any imput would be great. Any mamas with kids in ballet are these expenses comparable?
TIA
www.addance.com ###-###-####
Registration fee per family $40
monthly dance tuition $55
Costume $60
recital/performance fee $40 per family ( no ticket sales)
We do Small recitals each show last 20-30 minutes at Bishop Lynch high school.
Im not sure if she is still dancing but we would love for you guys to try us out for a free class! Call me if you have any questions!
Thanks, A. Dalton
We don't do ballet, but this seems extreme! I wouldn't spend that amount! Even when we had our daughter taking personal horse riding lessons it was only $120 a month for 12 hours. To me, it seems like these people are raping your income playing on parent's heartstrings b/c you know you have to support your kiddo!
My daughter is in dance class and the fees they are asking you to pay are not unusual. We've been at two different studios and at both places we paid tuition, recital fee and a costume fee. What is unusual, IMO, is that they are charging you a late fee for not paying the recital fee on time. I would definitely be asking why they are doing that and I also don't understand if you are paying a recital fee why then do you also have to buy tickets to the performance? The recital fee is used to cover the costs of putting on the recital, the rental fee for the auditorium, hiring of sound/light technicians, clean up, etc.
Both studios my daughter has been at, in all the literature it was very clear what fees would be paid and when. You do have the option, again in our experience but I've also seen this in my research of other studios, of not performing in the recital. Your daughter would still attend class and learn the dance she just wouldn't go to the recital. If you do that I would assume that you wouldn't have to pay the costume fee or recital fee. I would definitely talk to the owner or director of the studio you are at about the late fee and see if they'll waive it.
Hi C.,
I own a dance studio and I can tell you these fees are standard but the amounts seem very marked up to me. Our studio does charge costume fees and recital fees. Our costume fee is the same $75 for a ballet class so this fee is comparable to most studios. The recital fee seems like a lot though especially when you are required to also buy tickets. Our recital fee is $55 per student and you can bring as many people to the recital as you would like to without an added cost of tickets. Also every fee and date is stated in a contract that is signed when parents enroll their children. I hope this helps. I know dance is an expensive activity but if your daughter loves it the experience is worth the cost. Just be sure to shop and compare studios in the future because most don't come out and tell you the recital and costume fees up front.
This is right. My daughter has been dancing since she was 3. Just about all dance studios charge a costume and recital fee. Some will let you choose if you want to participate in the recital or not. Some studios will charge you a ticket price for coming to the event, but there are some that won't. Some will charge for a program at the recital, some will not. It just depends on the studios.
Here's my youngest (5yrs) fees for 2009-
recital $80 (family fee)
costume $80
Combo class (ballet/tap/jazz) $95 monthly
My oldest is on the company team. Monthly fee $200.00
Let me just say dance is a very expensive activity!
My daughter is in ballet and tap. I paid $200 for her costume which they gave months in advance notice and also had a candy sale to help pay for the costume's. This was due in December. Our recital fee is $68 which is due in March. I have not heard whether we have to pay for admission but I assumed that that would be included in our recital fee. All of it is expensive but thankfully we have had plenty of notice and have not had to pay everything at once. My daughter is only 3 so I may or may not do the recital next year since it is voluntary. I guess we'll just see how she does this year because I don't know if she will even go out and dance in front of that many people. :) I would definitely talk to them about the late fees and get them to waive that because it doesn't sound like you were given any notice. Hopefully when you see her up on stage it will all be worth it. Good Luck!
Hi-
I don't have any experience with Ballet. But, I can say as a small business owner, I use contracts and I have everything spelled out for my customers- prices, what service is provided, etc... I respect my customers and don't want them to be surprised about any part of my service.
Did you sign a contract or do they have a brouchure with everything listed (prices and due dates)?
In this economy, I would think that they may be flexible as they would want to keep you as a customer.
I would just talk to them and explain that you honestly didn't know about all the fees and can they please go over everything with you so that this won't happen again.
Just my two cents.
