Arthur Murray Showcase

[precious12]

Hi, you all i just wanted to say i am going to my first AM showcase in Aug. and wanted to know what kind of experience other people have had with showcase at AM, and if these showcase have been up to your standard, and how much you paid for them, overall i just want to know they good and bad about the Showcase.

[Dan C]

Well, I loved my first AM Showcase. In fact, I loved it so much, I applied for a job. I taught part-time for years and I loved it so much, I quit my day-job (software developer with a degree in Computer Science and 9 years of experience) to work full-time at my studio.

Having been on both the student and the instructor side of AM Showcases and Freestyles and Dance-o-ramas, I love them. I sprained my ankle two weeks before our most recent one and it really upset me that I wasn't able to dance my students' routines with them. Our other teachers immediately learned the routines, practiced them with my students, the manager comped a couple of extra lessons, and everyone had a great Showcase.

So there's a lot of good. The only warning I would give you is to remind you that no performance is perfect - most students have a great time and love the event, but there are always some that can't get over some mistake or other they made in their routine(s). A fun routine always has challenging elements to it and mistakes are common...don't let it detract from the joy of dancing.

[NielsenE]

Well I can't speak to AM showcases, since I take lessons at the other franchise, but I've attended the past four at the studio I take lessons, preforming in the latter three. Costs have ranged from $30-50 per person to attend (with performers getting the lower end and pure audience the upper end). (Not counting the lessons to prepare of course)

I've been typically impressed with 90% of the routines. No they aren't perfect and sometimes the routines are not as "inspired" as they could be (or sometimes they are past the students abilities) but you can see how much they are enjoying it and having watched them all work on them for the past months its wonderful to see the improvement.

At least to me, the studio is a kind of family and its hard not to enjoy seeing your "siblings" preform. Now I suspect guests of performers might have a different take, waiting through a large number of shows they aren't particularly interested in just to see their friend(s) do their number.

[LucyDiamond]

I can't speak to any franchise showcase but I been to and participated in many showcases at independent studios. They are very similar to what NE describes from his experiences. I can't think of anything particularily bad about showcases except maybe that they become addictive. :wink:

[precious12]

Thanks you guys, i really can not wait to go, i am seriously counting down, the days! It will be my first showcase, so i just wanted to know what to expect, and i am going to be doing 7 dances, so far, my instructor wants to add 2 or 3 more so i will be dancing the night away so the speak! Anyway hopefully i will not be too nervous because i have never danced a routine with alot of other couples on the floor,i have only danced routines with just me and my partner on the floor, so i will be good experience, but no matter what happens out there i will have alot of fun, fun, fun!!!!!!!!!!!!:D:D:D;)

[LucyDiamond]

That sounds cool precious. Please keep us posted on how things go and get some good pics for us to see, ok?

[misswaltz]

Well, I loved my first AM Showcase. In fact, I loved it so much, I applied for a job. I taught part-time for years and I loved it so much, I quit my day-job (software developer with a degree in Computer Science and 9 years of experience) to work full-time at my studio.

Wow! I'm impressed that you enjoyed dance so much that you applied for a job, got it, then quit your day job. That's amazing! I'm finding that I enjoy the dancing myself and learning more and teaching it would be fun. May I ask you a few questions about your decision to move from student to teacher?

How long were you a student before deciding you wanted to apply for a job?
Why was it about the job that made you stay with it? Had you any previous teaching experience?
And how did the studio react to you applying for a job and going on to teach for so many years?

Thanks!:)