Cost of Private Lessons

[linggg]

Was wondering what the market price is for private one on one lessons (don't have a partner) in the UK for Latin dancing. I plan on going full out (practice 3 times a week) to attain at least a silver medal (medal tests) by say May 2004. I have little dancing experience but am quite a fast learner..and am very very very very interested in Latin DanceSport.

[pygmalion]

Hi linggg.

I'm from the US, so I don't know the going rate over there.

My comment is on your medal test. I'm taking a medal exam this week,
and, although I'm working on the silver syllabus, I am required to take the lower-level bronze exam first.

It might be a good idea to check with the administering organization for your exams to see what they require, so you won't be disappointed.

[linggg]

Thanks for the quick reply, pygmalion, I'm not sure about the medal tests but will check it out when I'm back in the UK. They'll probably make me go for a Bronze first, though someone told me that you could actually do a Bronze and Silver test at the same time.

[SDsalsaguy]

I'm not sure about classes for medals, but when I was over in England before Blackpool the going rate at the "elite" studios in south London was £40 per 45-minute lesson. Might be different elsewhere but, hopefully, will give you a ballpark...

[MissAlyssa]

I'm not sure on the conversion but here lessons are anywhere from 70-90 dollars per 45min.

[pygmalion]

Just out of curiosity, MissAlyssa, does that fee include group classes and parties?

Around here, lessons at an independent studio with no extras included run about $60-$70 per hour.

The franchise studios charge about $100 - $120 per hour (45 minute lessons -- I just did the math), but include unlimited participation in classes and parties. A great value, if you go to classes and parties. And, the prices are discounted from $120 down to about $100 an hour if you buy large numbers of lessons at a time.


By the way, group classes run anywhere from $8 - $10 each.

[Vince A]

Just got back from competitions in San Jose, and am catching up on threads . . .

Added up our (wife and I) $$$ for dance lessons only during the month of August . . . $1,260 . . . privates only! It was worth it considering the results of this past weekend!

Do it! You'll never regret what you learn if you love to dance!

[DanceMentor]

Here in Atlanta, privates usually cost $65-75/hour. However there are plenty of teachers who charge less (like me). The chain studios do charge more but you do get groups and parties.

If you want to be really good, you HAVE to take private lessons. If you are more just a swing or salsa dancer, you really need to get involved with a dance team as well as go to some of the conventions.

[MissAlyssa]

Just out of curiosity, MissAlyssa, does that fee include group classes and parties?

Around here, lessons at an independent studio with no extras included run about $60-$70 per hour.

The franchise studios charge about $100 - $120 per hour (45 minute lessons -- I just did the math), but include unlimited participation in classes and parties. A great value, if you go to classes and parties. And, the prices are discounted from $120 down to about $100 an hour if you buy large numbers of lessons at a time.


By the way, group classes run anywhere from $8 - $10 each.

private lessons can be converted into group classes. we don't hold private parties, we have the kind of parties where we take our students out to dance clubs/bars/restaurants for appetizers and 3 hours of dancing. those are extra.

[linggg]

Just like to say thanks to all for the input! Really appreciate it. At least now I know roughly how much money to put aside for lessons.

Oh and if wanted to learn one (latin american) dance at a time, which one do you suggest i start with first? Someone told me that I should learn the Rumba first (since its steps are almost the same as the chacha and jive) and that it's a slow dance so its easier to get the techniques right first before advancing to a faster dance such as the chacha/jive. Is that true?

[DanceMentor]

Yes, Rumba is slower, so you have more time to think about what you are doing. It's true. You'll especially encounter the same patterns in chacha. I think it's good to learn a little bit about all the dances. I think you'll learn faster in the long run. At least learn how to do the basic steps.

[sambagirl]

Speaking as a 2nd year Latin student now doing Open Gold routines, I agree you could start with Rumba -- but don't expect it to be "easier." Stepwise, it may seem easier, but technique wise it's very demanding. People spend lots and lots of money perfecting their rumba walks....

I also think that once you've gained a little experience and confidence you should start learning all five dances. If you are going for competition you want to be strong in all the dances you do.

Best of luck and have fun!

[pygmalion]

Wow, Sambagirl,

You've made so much progress in such a short time. Open gold. Wow. That is awesome! I mean, really awesome. :D

I agree with what you've said. Rumba walks, done properly, are hard. But rumba is as good a place as any to start. It's slow and controlled, so you have time to think about what you're doing.

The first studio I went to had something they called the "interrelated teaching system." You learned a bunch of stuff in rumba, and before you knew it, were doing similar steps in other dances. Cha cha especially.

I personally have taken the breadth, then depth approach. Learned a little about every dance I could, so I never have to sit down at a dance. Now I'm working on depth in a few dances. This works for me, but I guess it's really personal preference which way you want to approach it.

For example, a lot of the salsa dancers on this forum and elsewhere do salsa pretty much exclusively, because that's their passion. Nothing wrong with that, as long as you know what you goals are, and have a coach who can guide you there.

[MissAlyssa]

learning your rumba technique will DEFINETLY help your cha cha and other latin dances. it will help you get your motion down and you can practice your leg movements etc.

[Spitfire]

I'm not sure on the conversion but here lessons are anywhere from 70-90 dollars per 45min.

Multiply by .60 to convert dollars to pounds. This is the current conversion rate.

The going rate here in Tucson averages 65 dollars.

[youngsta]

For example, a lot of the salsa dancers on this forum and elsewhere do salsa pretty much exclusively, because that's their passion. Nothing wrong with that, as long as you know what you goals are, and have a coach who can guide you there.
That's very good advice! Decide on your goals before dropping the $$$. I am first and foremost a salsa dancer, but my cha cha and bachata are very good. I also know basics in WCS, ECS, Rumba, and Foxtrot.

[SDsalsaguy]

I am first and foremost a salsa dancer, but my cha cha and bachata are very good. I also know basics in WCS, ECS, Rumba, and Foxtrot.
:? :?:

Just curious, but where'd the foxtrot come from...it seems a bit out of place, no?

[pygmalion]

Oh and if wanted to learn one (latin american) dance at a time, which one do you suggest i start with first? Someone told me that I should learn the Rumba first (since its steps are almost the same as the chacha and jive) and that it's a slow dance so its easier to get the techniques right first before advancing to a faster dance such as the chacha/jive. Is that true?

Hey linggg,

Are you still out there? Any luck finding an instructor and choosing dances?


Jenn

[pygmalion]

Anybody else have input on how much they're spendig for private lessons? Japan? Australia? How are things out there? Anyone?

[DanceMentor]

I had this same discussion on a forum in Singapore, Dance RP Merleon (http://forums.rpmerleon.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=110). You should take a look over there. It would be interesting if some of us posted over there as well.

[MadamSamba]

Private lessons in Aus are between $45 and $55 for an hour-long lesson. Group lessons can be anything between $7 and $15 for an hour, but naturally it varies depending on your studio and what class it is.

DanceMentor, it's interesting that you brought up Singapore. I was there recently and (naturally) tried to book in for lessons, but it was outrageous...I called up first to try to book lessons as I was only there for four days. I wanted just one private lesson, but was told that on top of paying about $100 for a lesson, I had to book a minimum of three. I balked and had to go without, but it seemed pretty much the norm there...I only spoke to three or four studios, but they all had the same attitude. Another odd thing I found was that at one of the bars I went to I had to buy a drink (outrageously priced, of course, I think it was $15 or some such for a cocktail) to gain admission.

Now dancing crowds aren't noted for their drinking prowess, but I would have preferred to have paid $x for admission, but was told I couldn't and had to buy a drink. It was awful because I don't often drink and had to buy it anyway. I gave it away, but still... I thought that things were done quite strangely in Singapore. Of course, it was my only experience so please, guys, correct me if I'm wrong...

[Sagitta]

I am first and foremost a salsa dancer, but my cha cha and bachata are very good. I also know basics in WCS, ECS, Rumba, and Foxtrot.
:? :?:

Just curious, but where'd the foxtrot come from...it seems a bit out of place, no?

The slow quick quick of American rhumba and foxtrot . Seems similar to me no? Now if we have international rhumba and slow slow quick quick of foxtrot there does not seem to be as much in common....

[DancingMommy]

Anybody else have input on how much they're spendig for private lessons? Japan? Australia? How are things out there? Anyone?

$70 an hour for a full hour - no BSing or anything. But you know who our coach is, heheheheh 8)

[Kaltas]

As I read this thread I think it's gonna be very hard to dance overseas if I will come for visit :) ...
In our club (Czech Republic) group lessons are included in a monthly fee - $10 - practise 2 hours every day and group lessons with a very high-class teacher 2 times a week (1 lesson = 60 minutes)...
Cost of individual lessons depends of course on the teacher. I usually take lessons from two teachers - one is latin A class dancer (that means that he has a highest class for dancing in Czech Republic, but not international class yet) and he wants $4/couple for a 60 minutes lesson. The second teacher I train with is latin M class (international class) dancer, he has quite good results in IDSF competitons. He wants $10/couple for 60 minutes lesson. The very high class teachers - like Jan Voborský - see my thread abotu videos from Prague Open 2004 in Ballroom dance category wants $13/couple for 45 minutes. And the best teachers here in Czech Republic (for example IDSF adjudicators can take up to $20/couple for a 45 minutes lesson. I've never heard about a teacher that would want more than that - but, for sure, it's possible...

[pygmalion]

Wow! That's amazing. It seems that people in the US and a few Asian countries are paying a lot. :?

[Chris Stratton]

The slow quick quick of American rhumba and foxtrot . Seems similar to me no? Now if we have international rhumba and slow slow quick quick of foxtrot there does not seem to be as much in common....

The direction of causality may be opposite, but SSQQ foxtrot does have the same timing as single-time swing... And can be danced to the same music (though there's a slight difference of accents in the groove of foxtrot and swing music)

[Kaltas]

Wow! That's amazing. It seems that people in the US and a few Asian countries are paying a lot. :?

Well I don't think so. You must consider the difference between salaries :) ...

[pygmalion]

True. It would be interesting to see the relative prices normalized as a percentage of median income.

(Sounds like a research project. SD? :roll: :wink: )

[Kaltas]

OK :) the $13 lesson I wrote about up here is like 2% of average monthly salary (let's say high school teacher's salary).

[pygmalion]

Wow! I didn't expect you to actually answer that. Cool.

I believe we agreed that people who study at independent studios are paying $60 - $70 an hour (just remembering. I didn't re-read the whole thread.) People at franchise studios are paying $100 an hour or sometimes more.

The median individual income in the US is between $27,000 and $28,0000 a year (I looked it up on the US government web site because of a wedding cost thread last week. LOL) But the average teacher makes about $50,000 a year. So let's use the teacher's salary as a base, since that's what you're using.

$50000 is just over $4000 a month, minus about 30% in taxes. So roughly $3000 a month. I cannot believe this, but 2% of that is $60, unless my arithmetic (and powers of estimation LOL) are way off. So it looks like people at independent studios in the US pay approximately what you pay. Boy, am I glad I asked that question. Cool! :)

[Kaltas]

Wow! That's really interesting!!! I didn't expect it to be exactly 2% :shock: ... Great comparsion :) . Maybe the guys from other countries could do this too (using high school teachers salary) so we would have a great overview about prices in the whole world.

[123N]

Price of a private lesson in Hong Kong goes from US$ 15 with Mailand Chinese teachers to US$150 with ex-world champ or a Blackpool adjudicator. The high end falls somewhat near 2% of the school teacher salary here, which is around US$60-70K per year. The low end is very attractive if you can find a decent teacher with updated knowledge. Otherwise, you will be dancing stragne figures and a style only the local Chinese would appreciate.

The great thing about HK is that there are lots lots of top Blackpool competitors or ex-top competitors come by given lessons. You can even hire one of them to go tea dance with you, as long as you are willing to pay dearly.

[DanceMentor]

Welcome to the Dance Forums 123N!
Thanks for adding this insight about private lessons in China. It sounds like this might be a great place to plan a dance vacation! :D

[SDsalsaguy]

Welcome to the Dance Forums 123N, and thanks for the information! :D

[Ack, DM beat me to it! :lol: ]

[pygmalion]

This is turning into a very interesting thread. 8) Thanks for the info, 123N.

[Larinda McRaven]

Welcome 123N. We are looking forward to hearing more about dancing in China.

[123N]

Thank you, DanceMentor, SDSalsaguy, pygmalion and LM. Ballroom dancing is growing in China as more and more people are participating in the sport. Hong Kong, which is a tiny area at Southern China with about six million people, has fewer ballroom dancers. However, there are three different ballroom dance associations and about one competition held here every month througout the year. The cost is usually US$15 for small comps and around $40-50 for large ones. Trophies are much nicer than the ones one gets from comps in the States :P

May be people from other countries can write up something on their respective dance clubs or local dance scenes.

[Kaltas]

Thank you, DanceMentor, SDSalsaguy, pygmalion and LM. Ballroom dancing is growing in China as more and more people are participating in the sport. Hong Kong, which is a tiny area at Southern China with about six million people, has fewer ballroom dancers. However, there are three different ballroom dance associations and about one competition held here every month througout the year. The cost is usually US$15 for small comps and around $40-50 for large ones. Trophies are much nicer than the ones one gets from comps in the States :P

May be people from other countries can write up something on their respective dance clubs or local dance scenes.

This is interesting, you have only one competition every month? You mean in Hong Kong?

[123N]

Kaltas,

Yes, I was describing the average number of comps in Hong Kong. There are quit a few comps in China, afterall there are 6 million people in HK and 1.3 or 1.4 billion people in China. I heard over in China a couple had to dance 8 rounds before reaching the final. You've really got to be in pretty good shape to pull that one off. In Hong Kong, there are usually only two rounds, for any categories.

[Kaltas]

Hmm that sounds very crazy :) ... 8 rounds... Thanks for info :) .

[Laura]

A friend of mine just danced in a competition in China last weekend. I can't recall what city it was in...I think it was Shanghai, but it might have been Huangzhou. Anyway, they danced in the highest amateur level (there are two professional levels above them), and there were only two rounds in Standard. But she and her partner got second! It was their first competition together. My friend told me that the two pro levels were shown on television.

[123N]

There was a comp in the city Tianjin (northern China) recently. If you are talking about LF and company, that's comp they'd competed.

[newbie]

For argentine tango:
Pablo Veron 200 US dollars for 45 minutes
Carlos Gavito 150 US dollars for one hour

...which explains why, in the movie "The tango lesson", Sally Potter takes only one lesson with Pablo Veron.

[LilSammie89]

just in case anyone was still wondering about private lessons in the uk (i only briefly read the whole topic) my dance school charges around £17 an hour and classes are £3.75 although those are incredibly tedious. though bare in mind it depends on the area, eg, top london places are bound to charge more. =) [new here btw, just started dancing a little while ago]

[Sagitta]

just in case anyone was still wondering about private lessons in the uk (i only briefly read the whole topic) my dance school charges around £17 an hour and classes are £3.75 although those are incredibly tedious. though bare in mind it depends on the area, eg, top london places are bound to charge more. =) [new here btw, just started dancing a little while ago]

Thanks. And welcome to df. :D

[pygmalion]

Hi LilSammie89. Welcome. :D

[lil glam gal]

for a latin lesson with matthew cutler i pay around £50 and hour

[Virtuoso]

I dunno my teacher charges $9 for 1 hour private lessons... and then the workshop costs $3 for 2 hours

[tangotime]

I dunno my teacher charges $9 for 1 hour private lessons... and then the workshop costs $3 for 2 hours


What planet is he teaching on ?? ( want to avoid it ! ) Where can one rent space for less than $ 9 ??

Or is this the " you get what you pay for " syndrome .

[fascination]

my first thought was (considering new poster); is this BALLROOM and in the US?

[Virtuoso]

What planet is he teaching on ?? ( want to avoid it ! ) Where can one rent space for less than $ 9 ??

Or is this the " you get what you pay for " syndrome .
Hehe made me smile :)
I live in Malta which is a small island, so practically one teacher has quite a lot of students compared to other countries (I think...like 16 people). He's a very good teacher along with his partner who also teaches.
And it's latin american and ballroom

[reb]

Welcome to Dance Forums Virtuoso!

Good to have Malta represented here.

Just to clarify - those prices are for individual private lessons (vs group lessons?!)

[reb]

What planet is he teaching on ?? ( want to avoid it ! ) Where can one rent space for less than $ 9 ??

Teach from home . . . ?

[Virtuoso]

Welcome to Dance Forums Virtuoso!

Good to have Malta represented here.

Just to clarify - those prices are for individual private lessons (vs group lessons?!)

Yes they are private lessons which is $9 for each partner(Me and her lol)
Workshops are group lessons which are around $3.
It is possible for a teacher to teach from home but not in this case.
My teacher pays the rent for a hall which actually forms part of..
..an asylum....:rolleyes: although it is a separate building so the crazies aren't quite close. I suppose thats why it's pretty cheap.

[reb]

not so crazy an idea :rolleyes:

When our high school gym was having some work done on it, we would load up in a school bus and drive to a local 'facility' where we used their gym - right out of images I've seen in movies . . . heavily protected, barbed wire, fences . . .

[fascination]

not so crazy an idea :rolleyes:

When our high school gym was having some work done on it, we would load up in a school bus and drive to a local 'facility' where we used their gym - right out of images I've seen in movies . . . heavily protected, barbed wire, fences . . .
lol...not so certain pro and I should be dancing anywhere near either....hehehe

[etp777]

Suspect at times that pro and I might belong in an asylum. :)

[meow]

Private lessons here are currently around $60 per hour. Just thought I'd throw that in.

[chachachacat]

"They" say that artists are eccentric. I certainly am! ;)

[tangotime]

So then its really $ 18 an hr .