Dance Instructor Dating a Student

[DL]

Then they are arses and greedy ones at that. And I would not want to work for a studio that all they cared about was money.

They can't afford to ignore money. There is a difference.

 

[CaliChris10]

So under what circumstances do you think advance agreements *should* be honored?



We're talking here about rules that were agreed-upon. In any case, putting aside your position on rule obedience; what's your position on caring about the consequences of your actions for yourself and others?

It would be easier to hear "you only live once" if it came alongside an explicitly-stated position on the degree to which one's (ir)responsibility also matters in life.

I believe there are consequences for every action...I already stated my position on this. I personally would not sign such a contract..but for discussion purposes lets say I did...If I felt serious feelings for someone and they for me I would discuss it with the studio owner and see what could be done to resolve it. If that meant leaving, so be it. But I do believe that many owners are reasonable and would see the value I bring and try to work it out.
And you know situations change..the rule might have been agreed upon but we cannot predict the future. What if you fell head over heels for someone and they for you..would you say oh no I cannot see you because it is against the rules??? I'm sorry I am not that cold...I value love more than money.

 

[CaliChris10]

You all seem to agree with each other so I am going to make dinner for my dance instructor boyfriend who I met at a studio and who I am madly in love with, and leave ya'all to your non- fraternizing I am perfectly happy fraternizing!

 

[DL]

I believe there are consequences for every action...I already stated my position on this. I personally would not sign such a contract..but for discussion purposes lets say I did...If I felt serious feelings for someone and they for me I would discuss it with the studio owner and see what could be done to resolve it. If that meant leaving, so be it. But I do believe that many owners are reasonable and would see the value I bring and try to work it out.

So you're really saying (no?) that when circumstances change renegotiation is reasonable. That seems fair to me; but in such cases it must be acknowledged that the outcome of renegotiation is not guaranteed and neither party to an agreement is *obliged* to modify it. It is also poor form, IMO, to vilify a party to such an agreement who opts *not* to modify it.

And you know situations change..the rule might have been agreed upon but we cannot predict the future. What if you fell head over heels for someone and they for you..would you say oh no I cannot see you because it is against the rules??? I'm sorry I am not that cold...I value love more than money.

Believe it or not, I consider myself a romantic along similar lines. However I firmly believe that "true love" *must* be grounded in "real life". IMO, fantasy romance that disconnects from practical matters is a shallow -- and ultimately unsatisfying -- imitation of the real thing. One is not magically absolved of one's worldly obligations by one's perception of being in love; and love that cannot account for those obligations is unlikely to stand the test of time.

 

[RiseNFall]

You all seem to agree with each other so I am going to make dinner for my dance instructor boyfriend who I met at a studio and who I am madly in love with, and leave ya'all to your non- fraternizing I am perfectly happy fraternizing!

You are missing the major point many of the posters made--several said that they did not like the non-frat rules, but if you sign one you should abide by it or be upfront with your employer if you do not want to. Were you violating a non-frat clause when you two met and started your relationship?

 

[IndyLady]

Customers having to honor the non-compete in some contract that an instructor signs as
employee at the studio??? What's with this? You are confusing customer contract with
instructor contract.

Totally different animals. And, for certainly, customer contracts won't/can't have non-compete
clauses.

No, he is correct. The two contracts I referenced earlier (that I signed as a student) both stipulate that I will honor the non-compete clause. And they spell out what this means in very specific detail (time frames, radius, etc).

 

[sbrnsmith]

You signed a non compete as a student? I've never heard of that

 

[sbrnsmith]

Students at franchises sign contracts. Inside it states that the student will respect the polices of the studio.

Including that the student can't leave and take lessons elsewhere? Like a contract?
My first studio had contracts they made us sign where we had to commit to x number of lessons/ month for a year.... If you left prior to the year being up, had to pay the difference. Major reason for leaving- I did not want to be bound to a contract. Someone took them to court and they won and the contract was found to be not legal, and not upheld by the judge.
Sorry did not mean to sidetrack the thread

 

[CaliChris10]

You are missing the major point many of the posters made--several said that they did not like the non-frat rules, but if you sign one you should abide by it or be upfront with your employer if you do not want to. Were you violating a non-frat clause when you two met and started your relationship?

No we weren't. But I guess I don't have as much as integrity as some of you because I'll tell you nothing could have kept us apart. And I knew it immediately...as did he. Some things just cannot be denied.

 

[fascination]

re:sbrn....if you would note my post above WRT that issue

 

[CaliChris10]

Including that the student can't leave and take lessons elsewhere? Like a contract?
My first studio had contracts they made us sign where we had to commit to x number of lessons/ month for a year.... If you left prior to the year being up, had to pay the difference. Major reason for leaving- I did not want to be bound to a contract. Someone took them to court and they won and the contract was found to be not legal, and not upheld by the judge.
Sorry did not mean to sidetrack the thread

Apart from the pros training for comps the majority of people learn ballroom to be social, right?...so it is pretty silly to have a policy that says you can't be social...its ridiculous.

Can't believe these franchises can rook people into all these contracts...A friend of mine went to Arthur Murray and they wanted to sign him up for thousands of dollars worth of classes..very high pressure, 2 on 1 sales. Kept telling him he needed to buy more lessons if he wanted to get to the next level...sounds like scientology it was a lot of manipulation.

 

[sbrnsmith]

I know non competes are not enforceable by law in medicine anyway. Physicians are often asked to sign non competes- not practice within x number of miles radius and for 1-2 years. In pretty much all cases they have not been upheld by judges.

Again sorry to hijack thread.... Will stop

 

[mindputtee]

I think mostly those non-competes just give them the ability to sue if they steal clients from their previous employer.

 

[CaliChris10]

Non competes for students are a joke also. If an instructor leaves a studio and his students want to follow him/her that should be their choice. What the heck is this anyway nazi ballroom. Why do people sign these contracts?!

 

[Rhythmdancer]

I think mostly those non-competes just give them the ability to sue if they steal clients from their previous employer.

I've seen it happen. Whenever an instructor quits or gets fired, some students refuse to take lessons with any other instructor and request their money back if they have any remaining on a package. If they find out that the instructor is teaching near by they might decide to follow them there effectively taking money from the studio that they used to work at.

In the case of the no frat policy, a lot of studios don't even allow the exchange of personal phone numbers or friending on social media. This is partly because if you have an existing relationship outside of the studio, it is significantly easier to poach students from a former, or even current, employer.

The anti-frat policies deal with more than relationships between students and teachers. As much as I hate the way dance industry in America operates, they make less money then most people realize. Whatever they can do to keep students from leaving their studio because of drama caused by someone crossing the line with students is necessary.