Dancing in NY

[G809]

Hey all,

I am graduating from college soon and am choosing between jobs in Boston and New York (I currently go to school in Boston). While I realize that choosing jobs based on the availability and quality of dance instruction would probably be a bad idea, I still want to consider it :-). I currently pay about ~$75 per lesson here. What are the prices for similar quality instructors in NY? Do they allow you to practice at their studios for free? If not, what is the studio fee? After being on a college team, would I try to join one there or sort of be on my own? It seems that there are definitely lots of really top instructors, but I might not be able to afford them, so I'm trying to gauge my options. Also, if you could name your favorite studios in Manhattan, I would love to check them out online. Thanks!!

[Sagitta]

hmmm...have you tried searching on df as we have talked quite a bit about various studios and such, lately...

[Ithink]

You should probably mention your preferred dance style as well, to get an idea of studios that would cater to it...

[mamboqueen]

Hey all,

I am graduating from college soon and am choosing between jobs in Boston and New York (I currently go to school in Boston). While I realize that choosing jobs based on the availability and quality of dance instruction would probably be a bad idea, I still want to consider it :-). I currently pay about ~$75 per lesson here. What are the prices for similar quality instructors in NY? Do they allow you to practice at their studios for free? If not, what is the studio fee? After being on a college team, would I try to join one there or sort of be on my own? It seems that there are definitely lots of really top instructors, but I might not be able to afford them, so I'm trying to gauge my options. Also, if you could name your favorite studios in Manhattan, I would love to check them out online. Thanks!!


Why not consider NJ? It's a hotbed of good dancers (not taking anything away from NY'ers, but you don't have many of the headaches that go along with NY studios, like smaller studios, parking, etc). What style(s) of dancing do you do?

If you're intent on NY, I'd look up Dance New York, Ballroom on 5th, and Dance Studio 101 to start with. From what I hear, Bo5 is a hotbed for standard dancing.

Good luck!

[GJB]

Re: NJ, the rent will be lower than NYC and you can always commute in to NYC.

Independent instructors in NY/NJ seem to be charging $80-$90 (including floor fee) for a fourty five minute lesson. If you go to a studio and buy a package you might save about $10 per lesson or maybe a little more depending on how many lessons you buy. However, some of these are highly ranked competitors and some of them are experienced at coaching competitive dancers. I'd rather pay a little more for a better instructor even if I had to take fewer lessons. Of course, I'm not suggesting that just because someone is highly ranked or charges more that they necessarily teach better. I think some of the really high ranked competitors may actually have less teaching experience because they make a good part of their living doing shows rather than teaching. However, I'm sure you will have no trouble finding an excellent instructor in the area. And, I would agree that the studios that have been suggested are worth checking out.

I think the studios that primarily make income by renting floor space charge for practice time.

There are a pretty good number of comps in Tri-state area so that's a plus. There are also several other dance communities in the area: Hustle, Salsa, WCS, Argentine Tango.

I haven't been going out much, so I'm not sure how good the social dancing is in the area for Ballroom/Latin. I get the impression there are a lot of people taking lessons, relatively speaking, but not so much social dancing. You might want to check into that yourself and hopefully others who are more knowledgable of social dancing in the area can chime in?

[alemana]

in addition to the studios named, Dance Times Square for latin/rhythm.

[G809]

I compete both standard and latin and will live in Manhattan if I take the NY job.

Thanks for all the suggestions!

[alemana]

if you come to the city and want a tour guide to any of the new york studios, please PM me. i'd be happy to take you round.

if you will be making enough money to live in manhattan (an option i would only personally consider if i won the lottery) you will surely be able to afford privates here. sounds like you're already paying in the right range (superpowered coaches may charge more than that but for your typical midlevel coach, the price you quoted was right.)

[star_gazer]

Seriously... where in the area would one live in he/she didn't have a great job, didn't have a lot of money, didn't have a car and wanted to take lessons from the super high-dollar coaches? And didn't want to live in a horrible scary run-down area. (someone's got to be snickering)

[alemana]

plenty of places to live that aren't in manhattan, that are easy commutes, that don't require cars, that are cheaper.

a very small slice of new yorkers actually live in manhattan. the rest of us live in brooklyn/queens/bronx/staten island/new jersey and some hearty souls in connecticut. i myself, a brooklynite, have a faster trip to the city (30 min door-to-door to midtown) than some of my friends who live on the upper east and upper west sides. commuting is a part of life in new york - it's no biggie.

i mean if you chose to live in manhattan, that's fine, but in terms of my own social, professional and dance-friend circles, manhattanites are the exception, rather than the rule. it's just too expensive and the living conditions are dreadful.

[star_gazer]

plenty of places to live that aren't in manhattan, that are easy commutes, that don't require cars, that are cheaper.

a very small slice of new yorkers actually live in manhattan. the rest of us live in brooklyn/queens/bronx/staten island/new jersey and some hearty souls in connecticut. i myself, a brooklynite, have a faster trip to the city (30 min door-to-door to midtown) than some of my friends who live on the upper east and upper west sides. commuting is a part of life in new york - it's no biggie.

i mean if you chose to live in manhattan, that's fine, but in terms of my own social, professional and dance-friend circles, manhattanites are the exception, rather than the rule. it's just too expensive and the living conditions are dreadful.I haven't lived or danced in the NY area in decades! I keep hearing that Brooklyn is the place to look.

[standardgirl]

picking jobs based on dance related possibilities, you are not the only one. ;) I kind of did the same thing. For a while, all I wanted to look for is a job in NY, but finally, I ended up taking an offer in a fairly small city in the midwest. Why? becuase it pays better and then if you consider the cost of living, etc. It is afterall, easier for me to have a better job in the midwest and I can still afford to fly to NY once a month or so for high level coaching. As for regular dance lessons, there are US semifinalists that teach locally, so it should work out.

What you really should consider is how different the job offers are between Boston and NY. Boston is only driving distance away from NY, and if you have a better job opportunity in Boston, I would take that. Being in Boston should still allow you to come to NY for coaching once a week or once every other week easily assuming you have a car.

Back to your question about dancing in NY, I did spend some time in NY. Ballroom of Fifth is the place to be for standard. Gary and Diana's studio in NJ is also very good for both standard and latin, and then there is the studio in brooklyn for latin as well (don't remember what is called).

[alemana]

driving boston-new york and back weekly? *makes strangling motions*

you'd have to be a serious masochist.

[standardgirl]

driving boston-new york and back weekly? *makes strangling motions*

you'd have to be a serious masochist.

I guess.......;)
we dancers are crazy anyways.

[alemana]

it's just that it would consume your whole weekend, leaving you precious little time to practice.

[star_gazer]

picking jobs based on dance related possibilities, you are not the only one. ;) I kind of did the same thing. For a while, all I wanted to look for is a job in NY, but finally, I ended up taking an offer in a fairly small city in the midwest. Why? becuase it pays better and then if you consider the cost of living, etc. It is afterall, easier for me to have a better job in the midwest and I can still afford to fly to NY once a month or so for high level coaching. I agree. But in the case I'm thinking of... if they're going to have low-paying jobs regardless of where they live, it seems like it might be more practical to be closer to the NYC coaches and there seem to be more high-level competitions in that area.

[alemana]

interesting, yeah. access to teaching is one thing, but access to comps is another. it's very easy to go to a lot of comps by train from new york - if i wanted, i could go on daytrips nearly every month (new jersey, connecticut, philly, baltimore, boston and DC comps all being within striking distance.)

[GJB]

I haven't lived or danced in the NY area in decades! I keep hearing that Brooklyn is the place to look.

I think Brooklyn is loaded with youth dancers. NYC and northern NJ is probably better for the rest of us.

[star_gazer]

I think Brooklyn is loaded with youth dancers. NYC and northern NJ is probably better for the rest of us.Actually, I'm staying put where I am. I like my job and my knees are shot. My dancing days seem over. My kids need to figure out how to do this on their own...

[DancingJools]

driving boston-new york and back weekly? *makes strangling motions*

you'd have to be a serious masochist.
Yes. There are those of us who make the trip regularly, at least once a week. Just for dancing.
Ooooooy.

[pygmalion]

By car? :shock:

[DancingJools]

Yeah.

[Chris Stratton]

Just as a point of reference, I think you can get an apartment on the N or R trains in Astoria (Queens) for about the same, maybe even less, than you'd pay for something a similar walking distance to the red line in a Boston suburb. It might be smaller, but if you're planning to spend most of your time at the studio anyway...