To not want to pay to be in a dance show

[MildredHubble12]

My DD is almost 4 and attends a weekly ballet class that she enjoys.

There is a show planned for December and we have had a letter to say if she wants to be in it we have to pay £50 in addition to the usual class fees.

This is to pay for a costume and 2 tickets apparently but seems like a lot to me as she will only be in once dance.

Is this usual in dance classes these days or AIBU to think it's a lot of money to perform one dance?

I'm also concerned that if I book the classes from September but say no to the show that the whole term will be working towards a show she won't be performing in.

So wondering if maybe we change classes to another group, or is this standard dance class prices?

I'll attach a copy of the letter.

This is the letter

What?! You have to pay that much to watch them basically birl on a stage?! That's as much as I did at that age!

I've not seen that before. I wouldn't pay it for a 4yo, and I wouldn't want her rehearsing all term for a show she won't perform in. I'd change classes and explain why.

My DD did ballet classes years ago and we had similar. No advice but it drive me nuts.

It'll be for theatre hire / costumes.

This is normal- the ballet school will have to hire the venue and costumes, plus insurance etc.

We were surprised to have to pay similar for DD (only weeks after she started ballet!), but she had a wonderful experience being on a proper stage for the first time, and we really enjoyed watching her.

Tell me this isn't Bury St Edmunds

It is fairly normal to be charged for shows and costumes although £50 is quite steep for one costume and two tickets to see one dance I think.

In the run up to shows lessons are usually taken up with some rehearsal but not all the time so you should be able to say no to the show and still get a decent lesson.

Completely normal for dance schools. They do look really cute on stage though! And they all seem to love doing it. My 3 who are pretty shy and retiring in everyday life have all done really well and it has given them confidence.

This is normal. Its a complete money spinner

This is reasonable. At four I was paying about £100 for costumes and tickets at about £15 each on top of this.
Wait until the exam fees and exam uniform start to emerge.
It's an expensive hobby OP.
They start off skipping and rocking the doll, and end up costing thousands, and pointe shoes, you need a second mortgage.
Mine gave up at 8 to concentrate on music, but it had cost a few k over the years.

Sounds about right. For DD's show, there were a couple of extra lessons, a couple of weekend rehearsals in the venue, the costumes.

I don't think they make a fortune from shows. Depending on the location hiring the theatre costs a fortune and costumes aren't cheap.

And kids do seem to love it. Performing on stage helps with confidence even if they're not going to be the next Darcy Bussell / Nureyev.

Seems normal and pretty reasonable to me!

Ah ok, at least it seems normal, even though it's a lot of money.

Just not sure if she'll actually do the show as she can sometimes be shy so it'd be annoying if I paid and then she bottled it! 🤔

Normal I'm afraid.

I went to dance school from about age 5 and we took part in competitions and shows throughout the region. Obviously I didn't think much at the time about the cost and time my poor parents spent on lessons, competition entry fees, shoes, costumes, etc but it must've been a nightmare!

Most hobbies will start to cost money but agree £50 is a bit steep. I would expect to pay £10 a ticket but not much beyond that.

Letter does say this is offered not required and I'm sure DD would still enjoy classes learning a dance without the show.

Sounds about right - I'm pretty sure it's not a money spinner: costumes, venue hire, printing programmes etc all cost.

Never mind the extra hours that the teacher and her TAs will put in getting the children ready.

Yep. Expensive hobby.

Have a look for a more casual dance school (one my DD attended did shows every three years).

She’s since moved and, dear god, it’s eye wateringly pricey.

Fairly normal I’m afraid

Perfectly normal. I queried it when my dd was 4 too but having decent costumes and a professional approach meant that the shows were really enjoyable.

It's normal, that kind of dancing is fairly elitist I'd say, people who aren't well off can't do it. I don't know many people who would have 50 quid spare for something like that, especially after paying the usual fees. One of my friends makes her daughters costumes usually but also knows someone who will make them cheaper than what the dance school charges, would this be an option?

Just not sure if she'll actually do the show as she can sometimes be shy so it'd be annoying if I paid and then she bottled it!

She's unlikely to bottle it. In my experience, the teaching staff are really good at getting them to participate. I've helped out at the shows for years (dd is now 17) and have seen a lot of coaxing 😁

I thought of offering to make the costume myself, yes. So I'll discuss it with the teacher in the morning.

She starts school in September too so we are thinking of possibly leaving it for a term as she might be really tired from school? That way we could start again in January maybe (if there's space in the class) and she may have settled into school by then.

Did people find their children very tired during the first term of Reception or could they carry on with clubs etc?

Dd danced from 3 to 14. I have a wardrobe stuffed with costumes. Some years it was nearly £100 for costumes plus entire weekends given over to rehearsals, not to mention the nights spent backstage doing the costume changes.

She has a horse now.

Ha ha ha.