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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:

gamerchick · 21/03/2019 10:20

I hear you OP. The people laughing and pointing are missing the point you're making I think because they already know the cost.

It's the fact they gave you the cost in bits, adding another one on after you had paid so you felt you had no choice at that moment that would piss me off royally. Giving the total cost upfront is honest but a big chunk of price might put loads of people off so no show couldn't happen.

At least you know now and learned that first lesson everybody else has.

Otherpeoplesteens · 21/03/2019 11:00

I'm reading this with interest and I'm right on OP's side. I'm a Dad too, if that helps.

My DD (17 months) has done two of her three Baby Ballet taster sessions and we're about to sign her up for a full term. It has never once been intimated that the end of term show is at extra cost, or that we would have to pay on top of that to sit and watch it. I'm quite appalled at the drip-feed of pricing info that OP has described.

What has been made clear is that we are not allowed to take photographs or shoot videos with the exception of the shows. I had thought that this might be a safeguarding issue which I can (just about) understand; now I'm thinking it's a ruse to part me with the thick end of £50 just so I can take a few pics to share with the grandparents she sees once a year.

burgundyjumper · 21/03/2019 15:08

@Otherpeoplesteens Yes it is a safeguarding issue.

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about this subject:

Families

Otherpeoplesteens · 21/03/2019 16:18

burgundy it's not a very convincing safeguarding issue if the protocol is abandoned come show-time!

Pinkbells · 21/03/2019 16:40

I think they could have given you a more long term idea of how it all works when you signed up rather than just lump these extra costs on, bit by bit. When you say baby ballet, is she over 2 and a half? If it is an established dance school that uses the hall with older children as well then I can kind of see how it might turn into full blown theatre performances but again I do think they could have given you at least a couple of terms' forecast for you to decide for yourself.

SurgeHopper · 21/03/2019 16:56

Next time just bend over, op

oh4forkssake · 21/03/2019 17:00

My daughters love their dance school. And so do I. We get to do "watching classes" at the end of most terms which means we get to go and see how they've progressed for free.

However, once every couple of years they have a show. You pay to be a part of it, pay for costumes and pay for tickets. When DD2 was in the pre-school ballet we paid for her costumes and this year, when the current pre-schoolers came on stage in the same costumes, for which their parents had also presumably paid, DH did look at me with a raised eyebrow. It would honestly be cheaper to bring the two of them to the Royal Opera House to see a decent ballet (admittedly in the nose bleed seats).

But I remember being in my dance shows, and they love it. so....

Wittow · 21/03/2019 17:10

If you think it's manipulative then sack it off and don't go.

YABVU. It's not like it's a stealth charge, they tell you up front. Stop your whingeing. Bloody 1st world problems.

ShaggyRug · 21/03/2019 17:27

If this is how you feel now, stop the dance lessons as it only gets worse and of course it’s legal.

You pay for classes, costumes, rehearsals, photos and tickets. If you don’t want to pay for them remind yourself that it’s optional and she doesn’t have to dance.

Paying for these is completely normal with dance as a hobby.

As with all things in life that are optional. Pay if you want to be part of it. Don’t pay if you don’t want to be part of it. It’s very simple.

donajimena · 21/03/2019 17:35

My friend has 3 in dance classes. I shit you not the Christmas show ended up costing her 700 quid. Costumes came to 200 each then the tickets were 25 a pop. The costumes included different coloured shoes for certain routines. We have found the costumes on eBay for a fraction of the price but you have to buy through the school. You wouldn't know what they were beforehand anyway. It is a rip off sadly but as has been pointed out its not compulsory to attend or even partake in the show.

burgundyjumper · 21/03/2019 18:17

@Otherpeoplesteens They don't abandon the protocol. Everyone will have given permission for their dc to be in the show (either written or implicit in allowing their dc to take part) and will have agreed to them being photographed and/or filmed for a video.

Some may not be able to give that permission, especially for those children in foster care, for instance, or maybe for cultural or religious reasons.

Bluetrews25 · 21/03/2019 18:28

Jesus wept.
Massive rip off.
When I was young we would prance around in front of the telly for our parents like baby hippos 3 year olds do. Marketing and sales, eh, you gotta love 'em. Did they charge a booking fee for actually buying your ticket? that'll be next!

Aquilla · 21/03/2019 19:34

Annoying but normal. However, I can't believe you're paying that for a church hall! Ours is £9 but in a large theatre. And no costume costs for the little ones. Are you down south by any chance, OP?

Nicpem1982 · 21/03/2019 19:41

Thats really nornal dd dis her first show at 18 months and we werent charged to enrol but we were charged for costumes, had a list of extras to buy, make up, pre show photo shoots, then tickets for both nights, dvd, live shots, programmes etc and i chaperoned back stage

SlipperOrchid · 21/03/2019 19:41

Welcome to the world of ACTIVITIES :) :)

My children do ballet and other dance classes and what you have described is very typical.
Being in a show is usually optional. You chose to accept the invitation.
Buying tickets is standard. But you do not have to buy tickets and watch her. She can benefit from being in the show - gain confidence etc and you do not need to be there. Presumably you do not sit in hall while she has her lessons?

You may need to reconsider if dancing lessons are for her you

ShaggyRug · 21/03/2019 19:55

Also please remember that a dance school is a business and they are there to pay staff wages and make a profit too. They are not doing it out of the goodness of their hearts.

Shows bring in much needed revenue too and lots of overheads are involved such as insurance, licensing fees, ticket production, programme costs, general production fees and venue hire to name a few.

burgundyjumper · 21/03/2019 21:02

I have yet to meet a well-off dance teacher. And I've met a lot of them in my time. It is not a profession that pays well.

Fresta · 21/03/2019 21:50

I know the woman who started Babyballet and my dd went to the original classes at Babyballet HQ. She's certainly not poor- but the dance teachers are not hugely paid and those running the franchises will not be making that much money.

NoNoNoOohmaybe · 21/03/2019 21:58

Yup totally ridiculous. Mine did one term of baby ballet and I didn't put them in the show (they were 3 and spent most of the class wandering about) but thought it was a lot of money to watch shit dance. I mean I can see Mathew bourne in the cheap seats for not much more!

They do swimming and climbing now, neither are cheap but the pricing is transparent and at least i don't have to pay to watch

dancinfeet · 22/03/2019 07:46

The babyballet franchise is all about their brand and merchandise and their mascot thing, it's a bit twee and commercial, but also very appealing to small children for that very reason.
A poster mentioned that shows and costumes are 'free' at Stagecoach - no they are not!!!! My local Stagecoach charges double to what I do for their lesson hourly rate, so you are essentially paying for the extra stuff all year round. If your child joins them them leaves before they do a performance, you have essentially paid for costumes that they are never going to wear.

Both Stagecoach and Babyballet (PQA and so on) are franchises - each individual branch is only as good as the person running it, but they all trade off the umbrella name. My advice would be to find a good independent dance school with a caring teacher who is passionate about his/her job.
Burgundyjumper is right when she says she has never met a well off dance teacher! Most of us do it for the love of the job (yes there are a few that are in it for the money - you can usually find 25+ kids crammed into each of their classes and they work 3 days a week rather than splitting the groups down and working 6 days a week but with manageable class sizes).

HexagonalBattenburg · 22/03/2019 07:58

Kids hobbies only get worse for grabbing absolutely every chance to charge parents - and dance can be one of the absolute worst for it. Before mine switched dance schools we were getting charged for rosette exams (basically stand there, smile and twirl once and get a rosette for showing up and yanking your leotard out of your arse), show costumes, show rehearsals, show participation fees, show tickets, DVDs, the facility to put a note to your child in the show programme (programme charged extra) and the 9 million different shoes and leotard combinations required and changed at the whim of the school owner.

Now they do a dance class in a church hall taught by the most wonderful lady (who has taken the time to go away and research and adapt her teaching to support one of my children's dyspraxia) who does it for the sheer love of passing on what she knows and loves about dance. No regulation costumes or leotards, a huge bag of old tap and ballet shoes to rake through if your child grows out of theirs to save you buying new ones and actually, the quality of teaching is way way better! She also voluntarily does things like teaching dance to dementia patients in the local community and the like - she's seriously amazing.

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