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Original poster

Baby Ballet

71 replies

Paddy82 · 20/03/2019 17:02

My daughter goes to Baby Ballet classes and really enjoys it. We were recently asked if we wanted to enrol her in the end of term show for around £20 so we did.
After we paid, we were told we had to buy a ticket each to see her in the show (£12.50 each).
I want to ask the question: Is it legal to charge the parents of a 3 year old to see their child perform? I don't think they can legally send us away without her and at the same time we've paid her her to be there.

OP posts:
wendz86 · 20/03/2019 17:04

I imagine it is legal . No one is forcing you to go. It’s very standard in a lot of dance schools .

MyDcAreMarvel · 20/03/2019 17:07

It’s very normal to pay for any kind of dance show.

LIZS · 20/03/2019 17:07

Yes they can charge as they like. Tbh this is the cheaper bd of the scale, if she continues you will pay for exams, costumes, new shoes, extra preparation classes, make up, music....Is it a public show or just for parents of those at the school. Presumably there are chaperones if you don't want to attend.

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Hollowvictory · 20/03/2019 17:08

Of course it's legal! And optional!

Hollowvictory · 20/03/2019 17:12

However dance is notorious for this, they will nickel and dime you and costumes gor shows can be very expensive. My dd goes to stagecoach where shows and costumes are free unless they have to hire a different venue (once in 7 years) although it is an expensive activity in itself.

Thesnobbymiddleclassone · 20/03/2019 17:13

Of course you have to buy a ticket of you want to watch.

At our dance school those who don't want to buy a ticket can order the dvd of it and wait in the theatre cafe for the show to finish to collect their child.

SparkyBlue · 20/03/2019 17:15

Totally normal to have to buy a ticket to watch her perform.

lottiegarbanzo · 20/03/2019 17:15

Normal. You paid for her costume and other costs. Now you're buying a ticket, surely?

ApolloandDaphne · 20/03/2019 17:16

My DD's dance school used to do 2 performances of the show so parents could take turns to watch/stay with their child. If you were watching you had to pay which is fair.

ChicCroissant · 20/03/2019 17:24

You've paid for her to be there - now you pay for yourselves to be there. You can't seriously think that it's illegal for your child to do a dance show without you?!

Original poster
Paddy82 · 20/03/2019 17:28

Hmm? It's the last of transparency that I object to mostly. They asked us to pay to enter her in the "show" , and then after that told us it's £25 to actually watch her.
It would be different if she was 10. But she's 3. It's quite manipulate.

OP posts:
Fresta · 20/03/2019 17:28

What a silly question. How do you think they will cover the cost of theatre hire?

The £20 is for covering the cost of the show- insurance, chaperone licences, costumes, extra teacher hours, etc. The £12 ticket price is for the theatre costs and will go to them not the dance school.

NerrSnerr · 20/03/2019 17:33

I agree it's expensive but I don't see how it can be illegal. They can charge what they like- it's up to you to buy a ticket or not.

ApolloandDaphne · 20/03/2019 17:34

Why would it make a difference if she was 10? You either pay to watch the show or you don't watch it. It is perfectly standard to pay for costumes etc then pay to watch. Welcome to the world of dance schools!

itsnotso · 20/03/2019 17:43

If you can't accept the cost now, perhaps dancing isn't an option for your daughter. I have two dancing children, and the yearly expense is huge. For each show we have to pay for entry, costume hire (each time) which covers washing costs, then there's the shoes (tap, ballet - both satin and canvas). Honestly the list seems to go on. Last year I spent just short of £2k on their hobby. Thankfully my youngest has just switched to gymnastic...it's free to watch the competitions, shows etc.

Original poster
Paddy82 · 20/03/2019 18:03

Thank you for your responses but I feel that you are all rather missing the point (or represent a dance school).

This isn't Swan Lake. It's Baby Ballet in a church hall. The little girls hop about clumsily as they learn about moving delicately.
My issue is this:

  1. You pay for the classes.
  2. You're then told mid term that there's an end of term show at an extra cost.
  3. After paying for this you're asked for another £25 to stay and watch.
It's not a huge amount of money, but it is manipulate and overpriced for what it is.
OP posts:
Fresta · 20/03/2019 18:05

My dd did Baby Ballet- I don't represent them- I'm not missing the point-it's standard proceedings for dance shows!

Hollowvictory · 20/03/2019 18:07

We know it's not Swan Lake thanks. I think you'll find tickets for that are an awful lot more. The show is optional. Say no, dd won't be in the show. Or say to them they need to make the costs clearer up front so that when you are paying fir them to be in the show they tell you that you need to pay for tickets at the same time.

itsnotso · 20/03/2019 18:07

I'm not a dance School, I'm a mum of two who have both done this since the age of 2, so I can remember baby ballet very well. If you're really disgruntled, I'd pull her all together. You could, of course, ask them to justify the cost. I'm sure this would provide you with a breakdown of staff wages, insurance, costumes, venue costs, utilities etc. They have to cover their overheads, and some sort of profit in order to survive.

You have my upmost sympathy as my eyes have watered when the envelopes have gone out for shows with requests for costume fees, tickets etc, but it's all part of the dance culture.

ApolloandDaphne · 20/03/2019 18:11

No one is missing the point. This is how it is. It doesn't mater what age they are or how they dance. Mine danced from age 3 to 18. It's an expensive business.

InDubiousBattle · 20/03/2019 18:11

You pay, you pay, you pay. It's the nature of children's hobbies it would seem! According to friends with teenagers, dance, cricket and horse riding are the worst. My two are 3 and 5, my eldest does a lego club and is starting swimming soon. We looked knto a dance class for my 3 year old and the little dance leotard thing was £32, so that was the end of that. We'll hang on until they're bugging us about hobbies. 3 year old don't have to do these things, but yes, paying is normal. My friend's 4 year old was in a show where tickets were £25 each, needless to say we fully supported her from afar.

Hollowvictory · 20/03/2019 18:15

How can it be illegal to sell tickets to a dance show? 😂😂😂
Your choices are:
-complain that they weren't clear up front that tickets would be in addition to participating costs
-pay and watch her
-withdraw her from show
-withdraw her from ballet
-switch to a different ballet school
But suggesting they are in some way behaving illegally is rather odd.

Witchend · 20/03/2019 18:30

Illegal to pay to watch a dance show! Grin
I suggest you organise a petition and try and get it discussed in parliament like my ds thought he'd do when he found Amazon didn't include gift vouchers in any 50% off sales. Grin

I'd have thought it was pretty obvious they'd charge you for tickets.

That price seems quite cheap compared with a lot I know. We'd have £25 costume charge, often £10-£15 new shoes, £15 per ticket. I believe (school being less popular than it used to be) they now say each child has to have 2 tickets bought too.

Another local dance school charged £15 per costume. Friend's little girl was in 8 dances. Some of which she couldn't be properly seen because the bigger ones were in front. None of which did she appear on stage for more than 2 minutes. And they didn't get to keep the costumes, at least we did.

Original poster
Paddy82 · 20/03/2019 18:33

Dadsnet would understand

OP posts:
PlatypusPie · 20/03/2019 18:34

The dance school that my DDs attended did a big show once a year ( really good) only 5 years upwards and the 5-8 year olds were never in the second half so could go home early (unless siblings were in the later half anyway...) Contribution to show cost and then tickets purchased - held in good venues.

Parents were welcome to sit in on the last class of term, for all three terms at all ages - normal lesson - but for the 3-4 year olds who weren't in the big show, that last lesson was a bit more special ie some of the big back stock of show costumes was raided to give headdresses etc., My DD had an after school job helping with the Baby Ballet and she wore a full classical ballet tutu on that day - think White Swan -- which the little ones seemed to really love ! A good compromise, I thought.