When I first began dancing I asked my teacher, an amateur dancer who normally taught computer science, what it took to dance competitively. His answer: two-hundred thousand dollars. Nothing about talent, nothing about dedication, which isn’t to say they aren’t necessary, but a serious dancer needed to be prepared to lay down serious money on his or her art.

Since then I’ve been pleased to discover that while it is perfectly possible to drop enormous sums of money on dance – and get quite a bit back in return – such figures are hardly necessary. Now, given the state of the economy, with people losing their jobs or having wages cut, many people are being forced to cut back on discretionary spending which, all too often, includes dancing. Read on to discover ways to trim your dance budget so you can keep on dancing – and improving as a dancer – throughout the recession.

Evaluation

As I said in my previous article, “Getting The Most Out of Your Private Lessons,” you need to decide what it is you want. We’re about to do some major resource adjustments and that means prioritizing, so it’s important to know what those priorities are. Are you a beginner who wants to join the ranks of intermediate or even advanced social dancers? Are you hoping to begin or continue competing? Do you want to perform? Do you just want to remain part of the dance community? As I discuss each method, think about which goals it will help and which goals it will hurt.

More Group Classes

Most social dancers began their dancing in group classes and still make group classes the focus of their dance education. If you’re trying to save money, those group classes are about to become the center of your world, if only because a $15 group class is a lot less than a $75 private lesson. Many studios will often give discounts on extra group classes because those classes function like a bus: it costs them the same whether all the seats are sold are not. Sometimes if you show up for one class you can get a second class at a reduced price, especially if it’s taught that same night. Taking advantage of deals like this not only saves time, but saves money on gasoline since you only need travel to the studio once.

For the serious cost-cruncher, if your studio offers a deal for unlimited group classes, consider it. Usually the cost is about the same as two or three private lessons for a month long pass. When you purchase such a pass, though, make sure you use it and be very careful about taking group classes at other studios or you’re effectively throwing money away.

If your studio doesn’t have enough classes to make such a deal worthwhile, speak to the studio owner. Many dancers are trimming their budgets leaving many instructors with holes in their schedules, holes that a new group class could lucratively fill if there is believed to be interest.

Private Lesson Alternatives

Serious dancers, whether competitive or social, know that private lessons are essential to improving. They also know that they are incredibly expensive: one private lesson a week at $75 each would cost nearly $4,000 a year! Many people, myself included, find the knowledge and ability gained is worth the cost but now, more than ever, it can be a difficult cost to justify even if the money is available but cutting out private lessons completely often has very detrimental effects on one’s dancing.

The easiest option is to reduce the number of lessons, perhaps going from weekly lessons to semi-weekly or even monthly. Another option is to purchase shared private lessons, where the instructor rotates among several couples, providing personal instruction then allowing each couple to practice on their own while working with the other couples.

A third choice is to switch to a cheaper instructor. Social dance instruction by certified professionals in the tri-state area runs from $60/hr to $221/hr. Price is not always an indicator of quality, though often higher rates are charged by more qualified teachers or may include other perks (the high price, for example, includes unlimited group classes and floor practice). Another option, especially suitable for beginners, is to train with an amateur rather than a professional. Many amateurs are capable of teaching the basics and can provide introductory training for as little as $35/hr according to one post on Craigslist.

Finally, consider changing the focus of your private lessons. Many teachers who only teach a specific dance, such as lindy hop, Argentine tango, salsa, or west coast swing, are cheaper than ballroom instructors who teach everything. It is possible to take a break from ballroom for a few months to focus on one of these specialty dances; when you return, you will find your partnering skills have transferred over and some other technical skills, such as spins, posture, timing, and lead and follow ability, have continued to improve.

Study Better and Often

Another way to save money is to improve the efficiency of what you’re already paying for. This is vitally important if you’re reducing your lessons or changing the type of lessons you’re focusing on. Your mantra should be, “The more I practice between lessons, the less time I need to review in my actual lessons.

You should plan to practice one hour for every hour of class time, and three hours for every hour of private instruction, in order to retain and develop your skills. Make this focused study time: set specific goals and work towards them. For example, if working on waltz begin with five or ten minutes of warm up drills, such as pushing off of your standing foot, doing controlled rise and fall, and box stepping with sway. Then give yourself one or two songs to just dance. Follow by reviewing the latest patterns you’re working on, then do those patterns with the techniques you’re working on; alternatively, if working on technique, identify those techniques then deliberately apply them to a variety of patterns.

Study can be done individually and with a partner, or even partners. Ideally, it should be done under all three circumstances to develop individual skills, apply them with a partner, and get another eye for feedback. If you have a regular partner, set aside time the two of you can practice together. If not, speak to another student about practicing together – if you meet right before class most students will be thrilled at the opportunity to have a regular practice partner.

Purchasing a written and/or video syllabus can be a phenomenal investment. Both the USISTD and DVIDA syllabi are available for purchase (note: if your studio does not make their syllabus available for purchase, as is the case with many chain studios, consider purchasing the DVIDA syllabus which was designed to be compatible with the syllabi used by those studios). A syllabus will make your practices much more effective by answering all the little questions that arise when trying to remember lessons such as how far to turn, when weight transfers occur, and so forth.

Cheap Comps

If there was ever a money pit in dance, it’s competition. Entry fees, pro-am rates, costumes, travel, hotels. All of these can eat away at anyone’s dance budget. $300 for a weekend is getting off pretty easy, and $8,000 or even $10,000 is not unheard of, and that’s without counting the lessons beforehand just to prepare for the event.

There are alternatives. Look at more local competitions, such as Sandy Fortuna’s Philly Festival, and consider not staying in the hotel. It’s admittedly less convenient, but there are still changing rooms at most competitions, and the savings are quite considerable. If you’re used to only dancing pro-am, perhaps you should find an amateur partner. Not only will you save money on pro-am entry fees, you’ll be able to split the cost of lessons beforehand. If you are intent on doing pro-am, talk to your studio about paying a flat fee rather than per dance: the studio still needs to pay to send their pro who must be housed and fed as well as paid, but if you’re purchasing a number of private lessons than they’re already incentivized to keep you doing pro-am.

Trade Services

Don’t be afraid to discuss alternative methods of payment with your studio. Many studios need constant maintenance that isn’t always in the budget and if you have any experience in home repair, plumbing, wiring, or other jobs, you may be able to exchange them for additional lessons. Likewise, I know at least one person with graphics art skills who has designed fliers for study advertising in return for lessons and admission to dances. You could volunteer to help decorate the studio for parties or run the admissions desk as well. Perhaps you can set up a new sound system for the studio.

Many instructors will trade personal services for lessons. A sports or physical therapist could offer to trade training for training, while a skilled make up artist or hair stylist has a skill most pros pay dearly for at competitions. If you can sew, you might be able to make costumes for performances or competitions in exchange for lessons. Whatever your abilities, ask how they can benefit the studio or teacher, then ask how they can benefit you in return.

Get Extras

Search for every extra you can get. Many social dances will include free lessons before the social part of the evening; while these lessons should never be considered a substitute for studio training, as they focus predominantly on patterns and very little on technique, they can help a budget dancer eek out extra value.

Don’t be afraid to discuss your financial situation with your instructor or the manager of your studio. Most professional dancers have had to deal with financial troubles and are predisposed to be sympathetic, especially if you’ve been a longterm student. By explaining your situation and being clear about what your budget is for dancing they can help create a modified program to suit your situation. Remember: you are a valuable member of your studio and any manager worth his or her salt will try to keep you there.

Above all, don’t get discouraged. Everyone, from a university freshman on financial aid trying to earn a spot on his collegiate team, to the successful CEO who rewards herself for growing her company with a large pro-am entry at a competition, wishes they had more money to throw at dance. In the end, however, dance isn’t about how many lessons you’ve had or who your coach is. It’s about how you feel, so enjoy your extra group classes, go to your studio’s party, and have some fun!

Tags: Goals, Lessons, Money

This entry was posted on June 6, 2009 at 8:51 PM and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.