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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Aibu - raging at cost of kids dance show

53 replies

Fisharefriendsnotfood · 09/10/2013 20:59

Right. I'm in shock and need others to give me perspective on this. Dd is yr1 and ds preschool. They both do a street dance class on a Saturday morning for 45 mins and love it.

All good so far. There was a meeting tonight to let parents know information about the end of year show that the dance school put on. Probably should mention they also do ballet, jazz, disco etc etc.

Anyway, they hire a local theatre on a Sunday in July. The kids need to be dropped off at 9 am and picked up after last performance at about 10pm. They have school the next day. We have to pay £100 per child for costumes, £50 each for extra rehearsals ( 4 Sundays in May and June) and then pay for a ticket to watch Shock

I'm absolutely stunned at the money they are expecting us to fork out! And at the expectation on kids that young to be all day without parents backstage waiting for their bit in the show...

Is this seriously the norm? I'm really really strongly thinking of not letting them take part. Aibu????

OP posts:
NK493efc93X1277dd3d6d4 · 09/10/2013 21:24

It does sound like a lot of money at that age, presumably it is for a few costumes. It can be an expensive hobby once they are older but at this age I would expect them to wear their usual leotard with perhaps a mask or a skirt to convey the theme. Perhaps you could ask what it is they need & then try and make them yourself.
The extra lessons thing happens all the time, before festivals & exams. The amount will depend on the number of children involved as the cost gets split between them but again that sounds a lot for ones so young who generally practice in their normal sessions.

talkingnonsense · 09/10/2013 21:26

That sounds insane! And 10pm on a school night? Mad!

Ziggyzoom · 09/10/2013 21:38

DD's do something similar. There is no charge for extra rehearsal time. You provide your own costumes which are simple and cheap to put together. They rehearse from Lunchtime on Saturday for the evening performance then arrive just before the Sunday matinee. Tickets cost about £5 IIRC.

YANBU, that set up sounds bonkers!

AngelsLieToKeepControl · 09/10/2013 21:40

My dd does street dance. her show is in April, I pay £25 for the costume and a trophy and certificate after, there are 4 shows they do over the weekend and the rehearsals are during their normal dance class. She gets dropped off an hour before each show and picked up directly after, on the Saturday when there are 2 shows she gets dropped at 11, picked up at half 2, dropped off again at 6 and picked up at half 9. They don't keep them there for that long a day.

She has another show in London in April, I think all in all I will pay about £100 for that, that's for 2 extra hours rehearsal per week for a couple of months, the costume and transport there and back.

Your dance school seems pretty extortionate to me.

cardibach · 09/10/2013 21:40

How many people could suddenly find an extra £300? THat's outrageous. If it is the norm, that is even more outrageous! It can't possibly cost that much.

CaterpillarCara · 09/10/2013 21:41

There will be costs for added sessions, costumes and theatre hire. But the amount you are being asked to pay sounds extortionate.

My DD was in a show in July and the costumes were fantastic. We paid £15 each plus £20 for three tickets to the show. I thought that was fair. She was there from 2 pm - 9 pm. I volunteered backstage as I didn't want her alone when tired. It was also a Saturday!

CaterpillarCara · 09/10/2013 21:42

£20 total for three tickets, not £20 each!

FloraDance · 09/10/2013 21:45

Ours is a cost of £10-20 per number that you sign up for, which covers all extra rehearsals and costumes. There is an option for those 6 and under to only do the matinees.

fuckwittery · 09/10/2013 21:50

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

dancemom · 09/10/2013 21:54

You are to pay £100 for just a street dance costume? Your lo don't do the ballet or jazz or anything else?

Original poster
Fisharefriendsnotfood · 09/10/2013 22:23

£50 street dance costume and £25 each for opening act and finale

OP posts:
pigletmania · 09/10/2013 22:28

I would be unhappy with it being all day for children so young, ludicrous. The cost. Way over te top for a bit of fun, it's not a full on dance competition. I pull te dcs participate in that!

pigletmania · 09/10/2013 22:30

13 hours for 5/6 year olds and 3/4 year olds without parents is just too much and not on!

alemci · 09/10/2013 22:35

seems very expensive. I think I paid around £32 for 2 costumes for 2 dd doing jazx dance

RaspberryLemonPavlova · 09/10/2013 23:10

DD did ballet, and we were never charged for costumes, or anything extra for the shows, just our tickets. School also does tap/modern. They only do a show every 2 years.
They just did one performance, which I think finished about 8.00. Little ones came to rehearsal first thing, and left at lunch time.

Letitsnow9 · 09/10/2013 23:32

Many years ago when I was in dance shows, the little ones performed quite early on and then didn't stay for the finalie like the older ones did. I would enquire as your 2 children are only in 1/2 dances unlike those who do lots of different styles if they could give you a rough time they will be rehursing your child's bit

Scarifying · 10/10/2013 01:06

YABU, If you consider letting your kids do this. Grin

YANBU for thinking that is a crazy amount of money.

MellowandFruitfulSnazzy · 10/10/2013 01:11

How much?? Ask them if it's spun from gold thread or what? Seriously ask them exactly what the costume is so you can see whether it's going to be something obtainable at a lower cost.

NoComet · 10/10/2013 01:12

Yikes
DDs ballet teacher doesn't charge for costumes or extra rehearsals. Tickets are about £8 and DVDs and photos are sold after. Also there might be a coffee morning or a toy or plant sake before to raid money, but nothing like £150!

Groovee · 10/10/2013 07:57

Shock how much? My dd used to do ballet and flamenco. The only extra rehearsal was on the morning of the first show. We paid about £6 per adult and £4 per child. The photo's were never more than £20. Hire of costumes was around £4 to pay for them being cleaned afterwards. DVD was about £15.

There's a small tuck shop and the 2 schools come together and the show is about 3 hours but they always put the under 5's first so they can leave early.

cashmiriana · 10/10/2013 08:12

Far too much. But I know the local ballet school is like that.

My DDs' dance school (freestyle, Latin, R&R, street) do shows in a very sensible way. Show class is extra to exam classes. You pay for show class each week over about 6 months (£2.50 per week). The fees from show class pay for the costumes, the hire of the hall etc. Costumes then belong to the dance school and not the individual children, so there is a bank of stock items e.g. different coloured leotards, leggings, R&R skirts and neckerchiefs etc. It works really well and the teachers will lend costume items for exams, local displays etc. The tickets are £5 - £8 each and the whole show is staged at a very small local professional theatre with quality music but limited backdrops and staging, so the focus is on the dancing.

My girls love doing them but their teachers limit it to every 2 - 3 years as it is such a huge job and the commitment needed is vast.

Original poster
Fisharefriendsnotfood · 10/10/2013 08:46

It's madness isn't it? I think I'm going to phone Tom speak with the owner. Imagine the pressure this is putting some families under? I think it's a disgrace

OP posts:
JGBMum · 10/10/2013 09:13

DDs dance school does a show every 2 years. She will dance in about 6 numbers, all costumes are loaned from the school, free of charge.
All extra classes and rehearsals are free.
The school hires the civic hall for a week, has dress rehearsals on the Sunday and Monday -little ones do one dance near the start - they are then picked up by parents.
On show nights, they are on early on, then can go home, or join parents to watch the second half of the show.
Tickets cost about £8. DVD and professional photos available if you want them.

Mind you, the school is very good about keeping costs low all year round, so for example, they only need to wear the official dance leotards and satin shoes for exams. You hire these from the school for £3. During classes the girls still look very smart in black leotards, leather ballet shoes, tights, hair in bun etc.

BakeOLiteGirl · 10/10/2013 09:14

It sounds kind of normal to how I remember dance school shows put on in a professional theatre. It's really part and parcel of being in it. The late nights aren't really a big deal for a week.

StarvingBookworm · 10/10/2013 09:29

We paid total of around £30 for DD's recent show, for costume etc. our tickets were £9 each (mid range - was in big theatre). Her group were in one dance, they are all 3-5yo. On the day of the show they were allowed to arrive last (12pm), had a chaperone per group of 4-5 children, we could collect them after their dance and take them home until evening show. The little ones were all sent home t 7.30pm (started at 7) after the second show. I wouldn't have allowed DD to do the evening if she'd had to stay. She has been exhausted all week since.