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Extra-curricular activities

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Original poster

Is £16 per person to attend a ballet school end of the year show too expensive?

57 replies

user1494283706 · 14/11/2017 16:17

How much would you be prepared to pay per person to see your four years old dance at her ballet end of the year show?
My daughter's ballet school is charging £16 per ticket for a 1 hour 15 minutes show where each age group/grade will dance 15 minutes each.

OP posts:
katymac · 15/11/2017 10:54

@dodobookends me too & at dress rehearsal looking at a group of girls & thinking "they are not going to stay up during that dance" and grabbing the elastic!

dodobookends · 15/11/2017 10:28

The costumes are still being made Sounds about right Wink
I've been there - sitting in the dressing room in the interval of the first performance - sewing bits on costumes due to be worn in the second half Grin Nothing like a bit of pressure for making you stab yourself in the thumb...

Original poster
user1494283706 · 15/11/2017 01:31

Update: I have now been informed it is a misunderstanding. The ballet ballet dancers will be wearing something along their usual ballet outfits! The costumes are still being made. It's confusing as the fitting was meant to be last Saturday and the show is this weekend. Nevermind, it seems it's a miscommunication. We'll see at the event. 😊 I am not here to cause trouble. 😇

OP posts:
Original poster
user1494283706 · 15/11/2017 01:25

@BackforGood 'It wold seem to me they are emotionally blackmailing the parents of newbies and LOs who would be upset if parents weren't there, to subsidise the cost of hiring a posh theatre for the older ones.' This cross my mind too. 😉

OP posts:
BackforGood · 15/11/2017 00:16

At 4, I can't help thinking a short 'performance' in the local Church hall / Community Hall / School Hall / wherever they normally rehearse would be fine. It wold seem to me they are emotionally blackmailing the parents of newbies and LOs who would be upset if parents weren't there, to subsidise the cost of hiring a posh theatre for the older ones.
Like Newt - you'd have to pay me the £16 to get me to attend.

millifiori · 14/11/2017 23:49

Wow. Over half term we went to the Opera in Covent Garden and to a west end show. opera cost £20 a ticket and West End £15 a ticket, so yes, that seems steep!

Original poster
user1494283706 · 14/11/2017 23:46

So, me gorgeous ladies. I will update you how it went after all. Smile
We never know it could be the best show ever Flowers and then I am the one who would have to borrow my head in the sand Blush
It would be interesting to see how my DD does on the stage. It may be a wake-up call for her to realise whether she still wants to do ballet dancing.
Or it may be a disaster, and then, I can bring my DD to the new school chin up knowing I have made the right move. Grin
Good night and god bless.

OP posts:
Original poster
user1494283706 · 14/11/2017 23:39

@ChameNangerRanger Maybe you do know which school I am on about. 😉 I obviously won't disclose which one it is. That is not my aim. They are good ballet teachers. It's a big thing to organise such a big show. I believe there have been miscommunications, misunderstanding and over sighting. We all learn by making mistakes. Wink And sometimes the hard way! Grin
I am still enrolling my daughter in another school though. Wink

OP posts:
KittiKat · 14/11/2017 23:15

User I would have done the same as you to be honest. Your DD may only be 4 but she will be upset that she does not have a lovely tutu like the others. Sad.

Minimusiciansmama The trouble is, the dance teacher can set this fee and there is no recourse really other than not going. My DD danced for years and years and even though I was part of the back stage crew, I still had to pay all the fees and ticket prices.

ChameNangerRanger I have a sneaky suspicion as to which ballet school that might be!! I too used to think "how much?!!" but I still paid it just so I could watch it time and time again.

Minimusiciansmama · 14/11/2017 23:06

kittikat I agree at all the expenses and that dance is an expensive hobby... we pay £70 per child for the shows, pay for extra rehearsals and decent class fees every week of the academic year. I therefore why I would object to a large ticket fee in addition.

Original poster
user1494283706 · 14/11/2017 22:17

I was informed just a few minutes ago that my daughter would not wear an outfit for the event but her usual class outfit (ballet shoes, tights and leotard)!
I am not happy and so will many parents!

Afterall, we paid this term fee two months in advance for our kids to rehearse for the show. Furthermore, we are paying £16 per person for the rental of the other dancers' outfits, and our children would be subpart!

I believe it is cruel to have put the baby ballet dancers through the rehearsals like the other dancers and not being rewarded with a unique outfit like all the dancers!

I am removing my daughter from the school, and I haven't wasted time. I found another and better one for January.

OP posts:
ChameNangerRanger · 14/11/2017 21:46

Ours is less for tickets (can't remember exactly but it wasn't shocking) but there is a separate payment per child for taking part to cover the costs of putting it on, costumes etc. that seems a fairer way of doing it. My girls have loved being part of it.
However, £20!!! For the official DVD for ours I do think is ridiculous considering how cheap they are to copy. That guy must have made a fortune with 150 plus kids involved.

Drinaballerina · 14/11/2017 20:50

£3.50 for ours in the local community centre. Plus rehearsals and costumes. Wish they would get people in to do hair - a dance mom I am Not!

katymac · 14/11/2017 20:46

Yes I reckon the venue will be the killer!! Prob half the cost

Sent you a message User Wink

dodobookends · 14/11/2017 20:33

That sounds like you are paying for the venue, OP. Somewhere like that is going to cost a packet to hire out.

Original poster
user1494283706 · 14/11/2017 20:21

@katymac Oops! I meant my wee one wants to be a ballet teacher! Grin

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Original poster
user1494283706 · 14/11/2017 20:20

@katymac My wee one wants to be a ballet dancer! Grin

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MiaowTheCat · 14/11/2017 19:58

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

newtlover · 14/11/2017 19:49

by the time they had scraped her hair back and plastered her with make up DD2 was unrecognisable anyway!

newtlover · 14/11/2017 19:48

my god, you'd have to pay me that much to attend
a fiver max
I get that it's fun for the kids but I have been to several and they are tedious

katymac · 14/11/2017 19:45

& chances are you will be doing it for many, many years!

Last one I went to, was a week a go Friday & DD is 20 next Tuesday

Original poster
user1494283706 · 14/11/2017 19:44

@KittiKat I totally agree, as it could also be a total disaster since the kid's never entered nor rehearsed in the theatre before and never seen nor tried on the outfit before the big day. Hmm But I will keep you posted. Wink

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KittiKat · 14/11/2017 19:33

To be honest, when you see your daughter on the stage, you will probably well up and think it was worth every penny! Flowers Smile

Original poster
user1494283706 · 14/11/2017 19:25

Thank you for your thoughtful and detailed insight! Smile
We haven't a clue what the production, choreography or costumes will be like. Everything has been kept secret from us, including the children. The rehearsals took place during the entire term ballet sessions (Sept-Oct- November).
The show is being held at one of the oldest and most prestigious drama schools in the United Kingdom: the RADA.
We are very excited. We are just wondering if for a small school it may be extravagant. Wink

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DrWhooves · 14/11/2017 19:05

My DD's is £12 each ticket, its in a proper theatre. I pay £10 on top of that for costume hire and do hair and make up myself. I'm really looking forward to seeing her perform though, parents are not allowed to spectate at lessons.

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