Aibu - raging at cost of kids dance show

[Fisharefriendsnotfood]

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

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????

YANBU to raise the cost, I'm certain lots of parents are fuming in private.

Yes hobbies cost, but ~doubling the cost of dancing, which is what £150 would be here, is utterly unreasonable.

Also a show is total black mail, if you say no it's tears all round. Ballet kit can be shopped around for and acquired second hand. If DD2 wants a £35 gym leotard rather than a plain on from the sports shop she knows it comes off her birthday budget.

I think it depends how you look at it. We have a show coming up & dds have practically lived at dancing after school! They love all the buzz of rehearsals so I see it as entertainment budget too! I have n't priced up the final figures for costumes but given that dd 1 is in 11 dances iand dd2 almost that many it will be a considerable cost ( though some of this costume hire has been paid for as we hire the costume for the length of time they're in that number!) As i've said we're lucky we don't pay for the extra rehearsal time.

There are dance schools that don't go all out though, so i'm sure the OP can find somewhere that doesn't do as big a show, or a show at all.

Dd has a show every year. There's acting, singing,ballet,tap,solos,team and each seperate age group /class learn a few routines. DD does street, tap, ballet and this year will do solos. She goes to a show class every week which costs three kid. There is a rehearsal the Friday before 5-9pm. Dd has to be there for the show on the Saturday at 5pm, the show finishes at 11ish. Little children are all put in the first half so they can go early. We all pay a fiver towards costumes which are generally t shirts .DVDs are a tenner. It sounds like you' re paying an awful lot of money but then like any parent you have to put up with disappointed children if you dont go ahead. Maybe do this and then shop around for another dance group.