How expensive are dance classes really?

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I have signed my DD up to start dance classes on Saturday mornings in September because she loves dancing. The classes were £90 for the term which is about 12 weeks which I thought was quite steep for a 3 year old (?) I have now been told she has to go for a uniform fitting in august and I MUST purchase uniform for her and if she isn't in uniform she won't be allowed to dance. Have no idea how much uniform will be (forgot to ask). Is this just going to turn into she needs more and more money for various things? I'm a single mum so money is tight and I don't want her to go and love it for me to have to stop them because I can't afford all the extras.

So if your child does dance how much does it really cost you all things considered?

Thanks.

I'd estimate

£90 classes per term
£100 basic kit/£200 full kit

Then an extra £100 or so per term for special outfits for performances
Then you'll need petrol money, or travel costs to performances, £10-£20 a go. They'll probably just be a Xmas performance or 2 next term, but in the summer it can be nearly every weekend with Fetes and things

I'd reckon a grand a year.

It is expensive - leotards not so much (do see if you can find someone locally selling the right one, there will be lots about for her age / size as so many kids try classes and give up quickly) but you do need properly fitted ballet shoes, and those aren’t cheap (leather or canvas isn’t so bad, satin is sometimes required and more expensive). Apart from that, at her age she should just need pink ballet socks (ebay is cheapest) and hairbands, pins and bun net (ebay again) in a colour that matches her hair.

Its when they do shows it gets really expensive - do check before agreeing to any shows!

Mine doesn't dance now but that's what it would have cost and it's a serious consideration for me in whether the younger ones ever will

I pay around £130 a term for ballet and modern for 8 year old and £60 a term for ballet for 4 year old.

Uniform - i have only had to buy 2 sets so far for eldest and youngest got her hand me downs. Shoes are the more expensive thing as they seem to grow out of them quicker. Also eldest now has 3 different types of shoes as does character dance as part of ballet.

Their school do a show every 2 years so that is around £25 a costume and £10 a ticket to watch . DVD after is around £20.

Exams can range from £25 up , get more expensive as they go up the grades.

DS7 does it through school. It’s £75 per term. Not much extra cost except we bought some fancy dress for the end of year show, that was about £10. He dances in school tracksuit so no costs there.
It’s not ballet- more a mixture of modern genres- and he loves it.

Gosh that’s expensive

My dd does 3 classes, ballet, tap and acrobatics arts.

I think it works out to be about £100 for all 3 a term

She needs a certain uniform for each class and that comes to around £60 for all

It is very expensive! I pay £250ish a term for 1 child who does 3 classes.... ballet, tap & acro, plus uniform, plus shows, plus exams! Its a money pit! It also takes up loads of time!! But it has given her so much confidence and is her only hobby thank goodness! I have had to explain to her that she has to ask for money towards it from grandparents for birthday & christmas instead of toys which she does so i guess she must love it!

Yes the exams are expensive....

It was something like £60 for one exam which included extra tuition

Dd is 6

Sorry, OP, I didn’t answer your question.

Setting aside the cost of classes and Associates (as you’ve paid for the classes already), I’d estimate:

• we walk to classes, but you’d need to estimate petrol / bus fares. And for shows / exams there will probably be extra classes, so you pay for those and for getting to those.
• leotard etc (I’d say £5 for secondhand leotard, another £15 for shoes each time her feet grow, then hair kit £3)
• if you do shows, we paid £20 per ticket, plus about £30 for costumes at one dance school, nothing at another

We're in London so i guess thats why ours is so expensive 🙄 either that or we're being swindled!

I've just checked the price at the school where my children used to dance. It's £60 a term for ballet lessons. They needed uniform, but it was pretty basic and cheap and the school did a roaring trade in 2nd hand stuff because the children grow out of it so quickly. I generally used to buy new as leotards etc would be used by both children, and then sell on.

It got more than expensive as they got older as they needed character skirts and shoes too, but you won't need those at 3.

My daughter's classes are £4.50 each or £4.00 each if she does 2 or more. I pay £32 per month for eight hour long classes. No specific uniform required just has to be a leotard and tights of a certain colour. Shows are once a year and tickets are usually about £7.00, costume is £20 which we get to keep so nice and cheap.

Fortunately she hasn't been asked to take part in competitions as there is absolutely no way I could afford it. Accomodation, travel, different outfits etc.

Wow, I’ve been let off lightly at £2.50 per 45 minute class!!
Mind you, tenner for a production T shirt (including mine as a helper), tenner for costume, tenner per person for tickets to the show and another tenner for the DVD.
So with the extras, not a cheap hobby.

I would advise asking parents of older dancers what the multiple class discounts are like at the current school and ithers in the area.
Most expensive isnt always the best school. My daughter is quite a bit older than yours and we have recently moved from an expensive school to a school that offers an unlimited class plan.
We pay £80 per month and she does 12 classes a week. She can go as much as she likes without financial worry from me.
I wish I had the knowledge to forward plan when she started at 3 because the classes soon start to stack if they are passionate

Also I would advise to start saving for pointe shoes now 😂😂😂

It depends on the school so if this one isn't right for you it is worth looking around at what else is available in the area.

DD is 7yo and goes to dance lessons and a performing arts club.

Dance is £5 per lesson for a tap/ballet combined class (£3.50 for the actual lesson and £1.50 into her savings account, they have one for each child). Uniform is a leotard and dance leggings with a dance cardigan over the top plus ballet shoes and tap shoes. Leotards are £10-£12, dance leggings are £4-£5 on eBay, cardigan was £12. Shoes vary depending on size and brand, hers were around £10 for her ballet shoes and £15 for her tap shoes but her school has a box of secondhand dance shoes and when they outgrow their current shoes, you can swap them for the next size from the shoe box (provided they're in usable condition). It's like leave a pair, take a pair. Shows can be expensive depending on how many numbers they're in. DD has five or six dances this year (can't remember exactly!) which has come to around £95 for the costumes then there are exams once a year which are around £35. Her weekly savings pay for her exam fees and around half the cost of her show costumes so I don't have to pull all of that money out in one go (which is why the school runs a savings scheme).

Her performing arts school is paid monthly and is £35 a month for a two hour class each week but that includes all costumes and uniforms, all I have to supply are dance shoes (tap, ballet, jazz) and hair things (grips, nets, hairspray).

When she gets older if she wants to continue then I'll have to pay for additional classes for certain skills such as pointe class and stretch class and at both schools the seniors do more danced than anyone which will mean extra costumes too.

All classes are not as expensive as these op. My granddaughter's dance class is about £5 per week. They have kept the uniform simple. A leotard for stage type dancing with a long skirt added for ballroom/character dancing. She has character dancing shoes and ballroom. They do exams but not as expensive as ballet. She loves it,l there is no pressure to be the best and it has increased her confidence enormously. She is a quiet, not exactly shy girl and we have been surprised by how much she enjoys performing.

My daughter does ballet, tap, modern, jazz and acro. We pay termly, and the bill can range from £400-£600 depending on whether she's taking an exam - exam classes are extra and they usually go up to 2 classes per discipline in the term before an exam. We get discounts for multiple classes once they start doing 4 or more per dancer

The kit I don't find too bad. She's 10 now and has been dancing since she was 3. In that time she's had 3 ballet leotards - the change colour as you go up the grades - and 2 modern/tap leotards and tights. Tap shoes I buy on eBay as I know which make and style work for her, so I just buy the 2nd hand half a size bigger each time. Ballet shoes are about £10 - £12. Pointe shoes obviously much more, but she's not at that stage yet.

The big costs here are festivals (dance competitions) and costumes for performances. Festivals all have entry fees, and you need a costume suitable for each dance. And then private lessons to learn the dance. Lots of schools don't do competitive work, though, and it's almost always by invitation only, so most kids don't do them.

We do a big show every 3 years. My daughter had 8 costumes for the last one, varying from £30 - £60. They are fabulous costumes, though, and will be re-used for festivals.

Dance isn't cheap, especially if your child has talent and progresses quickly.

These are great responses thank you very much! So it sounds like I'll need £30 for uniform including shoes and then shows and stuff are extra but not necessary. Thank you everyone who took the time to reply, I feel much better about it now!

Classes aren’t too bad. But if they start competing, which dance schools generally push for, then the costs ramp up, considerably so.

I’m in north wales so things aren’t as expensive.

Pre-school ballet:
£50 per term
£60 uniform
£15 for the outfit for their show

Our dance school is £55 per term for the pre-school classes but the first class is free to see if they like it. They just wear normal clothes and bare feet for the trial session then they need a leotard, skirt, socks and ballet shoes.

Once they hit 5 it goes up to £96 per term for the first class. If they add tap or modern those classes are slightly cheaper.

We do no competitions and the show is every 2 years, so although it's quite expensive, it isn't very often! Exams when they are little are probably once a year, so not too much of an extra expense.

DD now costs the best part of £500 per term as she does 9 classes a week and as PP said, start saving for pointe shoes (and vocational exams)!!