$100 for One-Hour Workshop

[theAnnelis]

Not to call anyone out, but I'll toss this out here because I still can't believe it.

I know they're a franchise, but DWM workshop prices are crazy...they had Emmanuel and Liana teach one a couple years ago - I forgot how long, 45 minutes or an hour and a half.

Three hundred bucks.

And don't get me started on the prices for workshops with Maks, Tony, or Val. I remember when an hour and a half long workshop with Val AND Dasha was 50 bucks. Then they placed 3rd at Blackpool and it went up to 75. Then he got on DWTS and a 45-minute workshop with just him was now 125.

It was PAINFUL to witness that progression.

$100 is expensive even for a private lesson.

Uh oh.

OK, is this everywhere? I live in New York City and know independent instructors who charge 100 for 45/an hour. I thought that was par for the course. Um...do I need to rethink things?

 

[GJB]

I paid $90 or $100 for a 45 minute lesson in NYC about 7 years ago.

 

[sbrnsmith]

Not to call anyone out, but I'll toss this out here because I still can't believe it.

I know they're a franchise, but DWM workshop prices are crazy...they had Emmanuel and Liana teach one a couple years ago - I forgot how long, 45 minutes or an hour and a half.

Three hundred bucks.

And don't get me started on the prices for workshops with Maks, Tony, or Val. I remember when an hour and a half long workshop with Val AND Dasha was 50 bucks. Then they placed 3rd at Blackpool and it went up to 75. Then he got on DWTS and a 45-minute workshop with just him was now 125.

It was PAINFUL to witness that progression.


Uh oh.

OK, is this everywhere? I live in New York City and know independent instructors who charge 100 for 45/an hour. I thought that was par for the course. Um...do I need to rethink things?

They charge that much because they can- and there are people willing to pay.

 

[RiseNFall]

OK, is this everywhere? I live in New York City and know independent instructors who charge 100 for 45/an hour. I thought that was par for the course. Um...do I need to rethink things?

I think it's typical as well. I'm in CT, not in NYC, but about the same prices.

 

[MaggieMoves]

$100 for 45 minutes is about par for the course in the NYC area for a private instructor, suburbs or in Manhattan... the prices are awfully similar. It may be 85 here vs. 110 there... but they're all similar numbers especially in bulk pricing.

Back to groups/workshops though:
@theAnnelis 300 bucks?! For 1.5 hours? The pricing doesn't surprise me though with that studio. Oddly enough this is the studio I did the Riccardo and Yulia workshop with and I was charged about the same for what was essentially a 5-5.5 hour workshop maybe 3 years now. Looking back I think it was mostly for their instructors though as there were only a handful of students there to begin with... I still don't think they're as bad as a franchise, but they're certainly flirting with some of their tactics.

 

[s2k]

I took a coaching with a world 10-dance champion - who is now an adjudicator - a long, long time ago. It was my first outside coaching. $175 for 50 minutes. I'm sure $75 or $50 of that went to the studio that hosted him. But that 50 minutes was a terrible investment. He held a cup of coffee the whole time. I have been far more selective in the years since.

Am I willing to pay $100 a lesson? YES - and I currently do. But my coach has a resume that, IMHO, grants her that. Thank goodness I only have to pay for half our lessons otherwise I realize I'd see her half as often!

What I can't believe people pay for is $75 or $100 an hour for someone who is only three months ahead of them in a bronze program who was hired through an ad on Craigslist. I realize it now, how lucky I was to have the first instructor I did (competition seasoned, certified, etc) but if I'd walked in the door and said, "I'd like to dance," I would have been paired with a Craigslister #disasteraverted.

 

[FancyFeet]

OK, is this everywhere? I live in New York City and know independent instructors who charge 100 for 45/an hour. I thought that was par for the course. Um...do I need to rethink things?

No. In my experience, for NY or other major cities, $100 for 45 mins with a decent-good pro is within the norms. You'll see higher for world-class coaching, and lower for less experienced independents.

(Those of us that have landed in the rare world of a smaller city with access to decent pros pay a little less )

 

[stash]

I was about to say $100 an hour is right around the ballpark for what I pay for a private, a group class not so much.

 

[Dancing Irishman]

No. In my experience, for NY or other major cities, $100 for 45 mins with a decent-good pro is within the norms. You'll see higher for world-class coaching, and lower for less experienced independents.

(Those of us that have landed in the rare world of a smaller city with access to decent pros pay a little less )

Or just a less-expensive city where pros pay less in taxes and rent than NYC. God bless Texas!

 

[Dancing Irishman]

But back on topic, the going rate for a comparable coach's workshops in my city (Dallas) is ~$60/hour, and that's with one coach, not two. I could see the argument for Donnie charging $100 for the hour from being in a higher-cost city and teaching with a partner (though Gaynor would probably be more of a value add than Heidi). I would maybe pay it, my partner almost certainly wouldn't, so in the end I probably wouldn't go but I can see it as reasonable-ish.

Other thought: when I have a workshop with a prolific judge, I actually like less info presented, which may seem counterintuitive at first. But to me, knowing what are the 3-5 most important things to someone who defines what the competitive institution cares about might be the most valuable use of $50-100 for a lesson. After a master class with a comparable coach, my partner and I have 3-4 ideas we're using for the entirety of our paso to add quality, and that's all the info we've needed to take it from our weakest dance to arguably our strongest after just a couple hours of practice. It helped that I already had / have some of the ballroom fundamentals needed to do the closed work, but just focusing on the highest impact 3-4 things was massively helpful in cleaning up our quality.

 

[theAnnelis]

Oh, thank GOD. Thanks for telling me 100/lesson is standard for a private in NYC. I was seriously about to reevaluate e-va-ry-thang.

300 bucks?! For 1.5 hours? The pricing doesn't surprise me though with that studio. Oddly enough this is the studio I did the Riccardo and Yulia workshop with and I was charged about the same for what was essentially a 5-5.5 hour workshop maybe 3 years now. Looking back I think it was mostly for their instructors though as there were only a handful of students there to begin with... I still don't think they're as bad as a franchise, but they're certainly flirting with some of their tactics.

The crazy part is that not long after the $300 Emmanuel/Liana workshop, they were having Stefano di Filippo teach a 1.5 hour class there and were only charging 60 bucks! For the world professional Latin bronze medalist! Then when I called to book, it got canceled in Soho (it was to be in Soho and LI) because they didn't have enough people sign up.

I think they may need to sort out their priorities...I couldn't believe that.

And imagine my surprise when I found out a lesson with Eugene Katsevman was only $125!!! I thought he would charge at least 300...

 

[MaggieMoves]

Oh, thank GOD. Thanks for telling me 100/lesson is standard for a private in NYC. I was seriously about to reevaluate e-va-ry-thang.



The crazy part is that not long after the $300 Emmanuel/Liana workshop, they were having Stefano di Filippo teach a 1.5 hour class there and were only charging 60 bucks! For the world professional Latin bronze medalist! Then when I called to book, it got canceled in Soho (it was to be in Soho and LI) because they didn't have enough people sign up.

I think they may need to sort out their priorities...I couldn't believe that.

And imagine my surprise when I found out a lesson with Eugene Katsevman was only $125!!! I thought he would charge at least 300...

Emmanuel frequents the AM franchises as a traveling coach, which may be why his lessons and workshop prices are sky high... Who really knows though?