Franchise Deception or Truth?

hi, my friend decided to join a franchise studio [edited by moderator] and she has never danced before. She lacks the experience and at age 17 has decided to follow a "dream" of being a "professional dancer" and instructor for the franchise. Not that i think the idea is bad bc she could become an actress or go into musicals but she doesnt want to do that. I asked her once if she would take an offer from a movie director for $500,000 to do a movie and she said no.
Not only did she choose a franchise, but chose the first studio that she came in contact with. Upon her entry to the studio they filled her head with the idea that she was going to be the best, but as her friend i cast doubts to their claims. She spouts out comments to me like a machine and it seems as tho the things they told her serve as propaganda for the franchise and encourage further involvement and participation.
She signed up for one of their programs and forked over several thousand dollars for future lessons. She has never attended any dance program or studio, she is one of those popular hs girls, she weighs under 100lbs and her weight is decreasing below 80 lbs now. Her instructor told her that after the contests she would have the remainder of the week to party. I was aghast by this idea bc dont you, after a competition, practice more?
From what friends and family are telling her is that she has a snowball's chance in hell of making it. She is beginning to "burn her bridges" and go on this quest full time and shut all doors to her chance at becoming a radiologist or doctor, which she used to always want to be. She has also began to push friends away that have helped her defeat her depression, anorexia, and suicidal tendencies.
What i want to know is whether or not they are deceiving her. Also if her first choice was the best choice at achieving her dreams... or hell, does she even have a chance at being the best or will it be fruitless

Hi dannyboy and let me say welcome. Hope you find the help you need here at DF.

There are a lot of opinions here about franchises, so you are sure to get some interesting replies. Let me say from my point of view though, if they have told her that she can be the best from day 1, sounds like a ploy to drag her in. And it looks like it worked.

If she has had previous problems with addiction and depression, her reaction sounds quite normal for someone who has a tendency towards the extreme. Have you ever been able to convince her that she is going overboard or does she generally find out for herself and turn to you only after she has that realisation?

Not having seen her dance, she may very well have a natural ability that could lead her to be the best, I don't know. Franchises are a business usually more about making money than independant studios. You have to realise what they say is designed to get you in and keep you paying them. Once you realise this and not allow emotion to make your decisions, franchises can be a very good way to go, but you have to be aware.

The sad thing is that you may not be able to do much for her as she has already signed up and will probably be difficult to get out of the contract. Just be there as a friend if she needs it.

Hello dannyboy85, and welcome. 8) Yes, there is a really long older thread on franchise experiences that's always worth a read. Disclaimer: there are quite a few really good franchise affiliated studios out there. Not all franchise studios are the same.

About your post in particular, I find a few red flags.

1. If your friend is training to become a teacher, I find it strange that her franchise has charged her so much for lessons. Most franchise studios that I know of train their teachers gratis. The teachers don't get paid during that time, but they don't pay for lessons, either, unless they're doing something over and above the usual, such as training with a very high level coach.

2. If your friend is a paying student, $15,000 is the cheapest gold program I've ever heard of, unless she's focusing on just a few dances. It sounds like you may need to talk to her further, to get all the facts about her situation. From my experience with franchise studios, something's not adding up, here. Her bill should be much more than $15,0000. I suspect you may have only part of the story.

3. Your friend has an eating disorder, and perhaps other problems as well. That has nothing to do with her dance studio or teacher, and they can't be held responsible for that. They shouldn't exploit her, no, but they're not psychological counselors. If your friend needs emotional help, she should be encouraged to get it by the people who love her. But that really has nothing to do with dancing. Sorry to say that. It might be comforting to place the blame with the dance studio, but I'd have to know a lot more, before I was willing to do that.


Best of luck with your friend, dannyboy85. My prayers are with you both.

Hi Dannyboy85. Welcome to DF. Thank you for sharing about your friend's experience and I hope you will share some of your own experiences.

I am sorry to hear about your friend. It sounds to me as if she truly signed up for a high level programme, and based on what you have said, she will be able to teach at the end of it. You did not say how long the course lasts for. Therefore, whilst several thousand dollars is a lot of money, if it is over a one year or two year period or even more, then, whilst it is a lot of money up front, when spread out like that, it may not be? I don't have any knowledge on this particular program therefore I can't say "Yes" or "No" regarding the cost of the program.

In connection with the instructor telling her she would have the remainder of the week to party, hmm, it is down to the teacher and pupil. For instance, when you were at school (if you are no longer at school), did you continue studying a particular subject, that week, after sitting an exam in it? Or did you take a break?

Stating the obviously, dancing is a very physical activity and preparing for a competition takes a toll both physically, emotionally and mentally. This is not even taking into account the number of hours of practice/lessons in the runup to the competition. Therefore, "having the week off to party" may not be such a bad thing.

Without knowing the people involved, it is hard to say whether they are deceiving her or not. Same for whether she has a chance at being the best or whether it will be fruitless. I have often heard that to be the best at ANYTHING, it is something like 20% talent and 80% perspiration. It just might be that your friend has that 80% perspiration going on for her and therefore will succeed at all costs.

As her friend, I would suggest that you be there for her. It sounds to me as if she may have other things going on in her life and maybe try and steer her towards counselling? Her health and mental state is very important and she also has to look after this, in addition to keeping up with all of the practice/studying she may have to do.

My thoughts are with you and your friend.

Pacion

Yup, Pacion, more facts are needed before we can give any valid advice about the cost of the program. Just for reference, while I was at a franchise studio which was charging about the going rate for ballroom dance lessons in the US, I paid $40,000, give or take, to get through bronze and half of silver, learning all the smooth and rhythm dances -- about 400 lessons, at about $90 each (45 minute lessons) plus extra studio events.

A lot depends on the "program" as sold -- how many dances, how many lessons, over what period of time, and in what country, and probably other stuff I'm forgetting. $15,000 may be a fair price, but I would need more info to draw that conclusion.

Hope I'm not too off base here, but I'd be just as concerned about her health if she is 17 and dropping below 80 lbs.

Depends on how small a person is. I know some really small people. They are naturally small, and so weigh under 100 pounds.

You're right, Sagitta. Weighing a relatively small amount isn't necessarily a cause for concern. Just a couple points, though. The average American woman in 5 feet, four inches tall. And the recommended healthy weight for that height ( I'm 5'4" and the last time I checked -- Weight Watchers documentation copyright 2002) is between 117 and 140 pounds for a woman under 40 years old. So I think it's a safe bet that 80-pound healthy adult females are few and far between, unless they're unusually short. Also, to start at 100 pounds and end up at 80 means a loss of 20% of her body weight. That's a cause for concern, unless a person is obese, which she wasn't, not at 100 pounds. The assessment that she has anorexia might be right, but health care professionals probably should be involved.

Oh yeah, and I think we're losing sight of one of the main questions in the original post. Is it reasonable to expect to start dance training at age seventeen and become "among the best?" Answer: it could happen. There's an older thread around here somewhere which asks about the best age to start dancing, which gives several example of people who started ballroom dance in their late teens to mid-twenties, who are currently among the best. It can be done.

I'll see if I can find that thread and post the link here.

pygmalion said:

2. If your friend is a paying student, $15,000 is the cheapest gold program I've ever heard of, unless she's focusing on just a few dances. It sounds like you may need to talk to her further, to get all the facts about her situation. From my experience with franchise studios, something's not adding up, here. Her bill should be much more than $15,0000. I suspect you may have only part of the story.

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$15000 :shock: What could be worth $15000?

I have a feeling you're affiliated with an independent studio, aren't you, kitty? I'll have to find that older thread on what dance lessons cost. If I remember correctly, the posts said that franchise studios are charging $80 - $150 per lesson. At $80each, $15000 doesn't buy many lessons. Also, most franchise studios require that you pay up front, sign a contract, and buy lessons in groups of 25, 50 100 or more. Do the math. $15000 isn't all that much.

Okay. Here's one thread. There are others, but this will do for a start.

http://www.dance-forums.com/viewtopic.php?t=669

At the franchise studio I was affiliated with, there was a general variety level, about 30 - 50 lessons, then bronze, silver, and gold were each divided into four levels (i.e. bronze I, bronze II, bronze III, bronze IV) Each of those four subdivisions was roughly 50 lessons. More if you wanted to learn "extra" dances, such as peabody or lindy hop. These were 45 minute lesson that ran about $80 to $100 each, depending on whether you bought them in bulk.

Okay, so do the math. Three levels, bronze, silver, and gold. Four sublevels each, plus general variety at the beginning. 13 levels times 50 lessons each. 650 lessons at an average of $90 each. How much does that make a "gold program" cost? Oh, about as much as a fully loaded Lexus! :lol: 15 grand is a drop in the bucket.

pygmalion said:

Three levels, bronze, silver, and gold. Four sublevels each, plus general variety at the beginning. 13 levels times 50 lessons each. 650 lessons at an average of $90 each. How much does that make a "gold program" cost? Oh, about as much as a fully loaded Lexus! :lol: 15 grand is a drop in the bucket.

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ok, i am going to go off topic for this.........
How good a gold dancer are you after this set of 650 lessons ?

On further thought, let me not open the can of worms ....

pygmalion said:

I have a feeling you're affiliated with an independent studio, aren't you, kitty? I'll have to find that older thread on what dance lessons cost. If I remember correctly, the posts said that franchise studios are charging $80 - $150 per lesson. At $80each, $15000 doesn't buy many lessons. Also, most franchise studios require that you pay up front, sign a contract, and buy lessons in groups of 25, 50 100 or more. Do the math. $15000 isn't all that much.

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Yes, I'm from a university dance team, and our teacher has her own independent studio.

All franchise studios where I asked charge between $80 and $100 per 45 minute lesson. When you sign up for a package the price per lesson drops down to about $75 per lesson. Most independent teachers charge students $65 (they usually charge "grown ups" more).

My surprise was that you'd need so many lessons. $15000 is about 150 lessons. That is like a lesson every other day for a year! or two lessons a week for 2 years. That is a lot of lessons! If after all this you are mid-silver, I'd be questioning their teaching methods. I heard from some friends that studied at franchise studios that their american style bronse syllabus has like 30 steps for each dance. Maybe that is the problem. Anyway, do you think they keep people from advancing on purpose?

Getting to mid silver usually doesn't cost a college student 150 lessons, however, I heard at non-collegiate comps levels are higher and collegiate silver probably wouldn't be considered silver at an adult comp.

Also, it might be that you need so many lessons if you compete pro/am, because thats the only time you can practice with your partner.

Still, this was a shock :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock:

Open away! I didn't say a GOOD gold program. I said a gold progam. Why do you think I'm not there anymore? When, after 350 lessons., I got my silver III certificate, and realized that I COULDN'T DANCE, I'd had enough. Can you say social promotions? Aaargh! I knew the step patterns, yes. But, gosh darnit!, I couldn't dance. :x

I was just illustrating the fact that dancing at a franchise studio can be a very, very expensive thing. :wink: :lol: