Mother Daughter Ballet Class?

I would definitely be interested in this, but as the other moms have said, it would be way too expensive for me. I would love it for bonding time with my toddler, but I don't think a recital would be necessary. I would feel kind of silly doing a recital, to be honest. Good luck and keep us posted, if you decide to go ahead with it.

I think it would be fun, but I could never pay that much. That is more than I pay for child care, my car payment, or groceries. Maybe rich people could afford it, but we make over 125 k a year and we couldn't even begin to touch that.

I love the idea and would be inclined to sign up but oh my, why SO expensive, $160 a week? My daughter takes two hours of ballet per week at an excellent studio and we only pay $100 per month (plus a $100 ballet company charge which we pay once a year.)

Bravo to you for thinking of new things to offer!

A few thoughts that occur to me as a "ballet mom" of a 10-year-old dancer:

Prices aside (more on those below), it sounds like a good idea for the 2-5 year old set, but I am not so sure about ages 6-10 being as willing to do this with their moms. Kids are getting more self-conscious onced they hit school age, and by age 10, they likely would not be very willing to do a beginner class in most anything with a parent; you might do better to offer an "older beginners" class for kids that age, without parents, but perhaps with a title that doesn't have "beginners" in it....For a girl to start ballet at age eight or 10 is late in some cases, but of course not too late! I love the idea of encouraging girls that age to go ahead and start, and not worry about the fact that other kids have taken ballet for years already. Having them in a class entirely composed of kids their own age who are at the same, starting level is a great idea.

As for the cost -- I do understand that it's for, effectively, four hours of instruction a week (two hours mom, two hours child). And instructors must be paid! But still, the prices sound very high for something being promoted as an introductory activity. Around here (and we're in an expensive area where people expect activities to be costly), those prices would not fly, especially nearly $1,000 for a six-week class for kids as young as 2 to 5. As someone else noted, if the parent is mostly looking for a fun activity to try something new with her child, that price would be prohibitive compared to other activities she could do.

I also don't know that for a parent-child introductory class you really need a recital -- that extra cost could be lopped off. You may have some moms/daughters who would love to perform in front of other folks while others would be very balky (especially the moms!). Just a thought.

Also, if you want more business, consider offering a parent class in modern, jazz, Zumba, whatever. Our dance studio does some parent classes in jazz and yoga that attract a steady core of women, most of whom I think are parents of kids already at the studio. If you can offer it at times when their own kids are in dance class, even better -- the moms will feel they are getting exercise and using the time well while their kids are in dance classes.

Let us know how it all works out. Good luck with whatever you try!

I really like the concept of the 2-5 year old class, but, wow, it would be cost prohibitive here. $960 could be a month's rent (or close to it) in the area I live, not to mention $2,544. Kids pay that much for classes at Pacific Northwest Ballet, the local premier dance school that can be difficult to get into.

Is there any dway you can cut costs? I fear you won't get many takers. A lot of the parents I know that would want to do this would either find it too costly, or they would find a similar class held at a community center or through music/dance school at the University.

If you ;lower the costs, you may have a good thing going. Good luck.

I have taken adult tap classes where my daughter dances and the price runs about 45 a month per class (same as the price for kids). We had a recital at the end of the year and even with the fees associated with that is was no where near your costs. Even if you have yours twice a week the cost is high. Maybe this is a typical rate where you live, I don't know.

Also, have you considered a separate class for the adults? When I first started tapping there was a lot of interest and within the first few weeks of class a lot of women dropped out. Each year it seemed less and less signed up. Just be prepared for that as well. I think someone had mentioned other classes like Zumba? This studio did offer yoga and zumba but having a gym membership already I couldn't see paying an extra 45 a month per class for something I could get already at the gym.

I am glad to see you trying to offer something like this for adults though, wish you the best of luck!

I love your idea! I am a dance teacher as well and have always thought this would be a fun class to do. I think you would have a lot of interest in the 2-5 age range, but not as much for the "moms" of the 6-10. Just my thoughts based on the moms I interact with here.

In my area, the prices you state would be very expensive. The studio I teach for charges the younger age group $55-65 per month for a 45 minute class. If they take more than one class, you add $20-30 dollars per extra class. Most end up paying about $55-$100 per month. Maybe where you live, the socio-economic level is much higher and therefore you can charge more? Not sure, but it seems awfully steep to me, especially if you have additional charges to fund the recital.

Good luck and hope you can get it going! Sounds like a lot of fun to me!

The dance studio in our area offers this for the wee ones. They have a great turn out. Good luck hope it works out great for you. My thoughts are have the mother daughter ballet class!!! :)

Great idea but way too expensive. Especially for little ones who will be taking the class just for fun. Our 3 yo currently goes twice a week to full day pre-school at a cost of $125 per week - 6 weeks equals $750 and that is for 72 hours of learning time total. I can't imagine paying $160 per week for 2 hours of instruction.
Same 3 yo goes to ballet class once a week for one hour with a great teacher at our community center - total cost is $60.
Make it cheaper and I am sure you will get a lot of people signing up!

Wow, my daughters studio has a mommy and me "short take" 6 week session for around $100. Great idea, especially for the older girls but the price seems way high!

The concept is cute, but $960 for a six week activity would put it WAY above other kids classes and probably keep most families away. Since you mentioned shoe rental... I'd take that out... Most people who sign up for ballet class are prepared to buy their own shoes (and really would prefer to). Not sure what else you could do but anything to get the price down.

It's a cute idea otherwise.

That would be expensive for me. I like the idea of a mother/daughter class -- how many classes would 6 weeks consist of? When my daughter took ballet it was something like $15 for a one hour class (if I remember correctly), so it would be $30 for two people for one hour, so at that rate it would equal about 30 hours for two people. That's 5 hours a week. So, if you plan to give them 5 hours a week of classes, then that would work out.

However, this is my thinking about the concept. A mother/daughter ballet class would be typically something mom would sign up for as a fun activity to do with her daughter, not as serious dance training. For a fun activity, I don't know that most people would want to pay $960. That's a little steep for most people. Therefore, I think you should keep your plan more flexible, perhaps having a mother/daughter rate that can be paid per class.

I agree with the too expensive posts - would definitely be the deal breaker for me. Except for mommy & me type classes, I think most moms would prefer an exercise-type class offering (pilates, zumba?) at the same time as their daughter's class so that there's more to do that sit in a lobby or car. I myself end up jogging while I wait most of the time! Good concept, though!

I would have loved this offering. I was a dance teacher when I was younger, years before children, and we have a full dance studio with barres, mirrors, and broadway posters on the walls. When my daughter wa young, we both danced at the same dance studio, but not together. However, I seriously thought your posting had the rates as a misprint. I thought at first you had added a zero to the $96 until I saw the next amount. You should compare prices with surrounding areas. Are those prices in line with the other classes you offer at your studio? we live in one of the richest areas in the world in Elicott City, with more than20 dance studio is in the area, and not one of them would charge that much. That is the monthly price of my son's tuition at The Goddard School for 5 days per week. That said, I think you would have a lot of interest, and could market it at area preschools, preschool circulars, and magazines, and even the local grocery stores.

while it seems like a kinda fun idea the cost is WAY WAY WAY out of my budget. I can't imagine it would be within too many peoples budgets.

Remove the shoe rental, ballet shoes can be bought at payless for $20 and you don't have to deal with anyone else's funky feet being in them.

I think it's a great idea, but I would not join due to the costs. I used to be an apprentice ballet teacher and my oldest daughter got lessons for free. My youngest daughter's dance classes are $10/wk and we have to purchase all the outfits. Her instructor lowered the costs due to the financial aspects of the community and the fact that the best dancers were sometimes the "poorest". She didn't want their gifts to suffer due to lack of funds.

Good luck