Sharing a private lesson

billman

billman

Active Member
Has anyone heard of 2 couples sharing the cost of a 1 hour private lesson? (I guess it would be semi-private lol)
 
I think I would consider doing that, except instead of everyone being there for the whole time, I would want half an hour for each couple
 
I charge them the base fee for a private lesson, then tack on extra (depends on where I'm at) to compensate for the extra people. It's their responsibility to divide the cost between them, and I'll divide my time between them.
 
Hedwaite said:
I charge them the base fee for a private lesson, then tack on extra (depends on where I'm at) to compensate for the extra people. It's their responsibility to divide the cost between them, and I'll divide my time between them.
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Simply curious; why do you charge more for extra people, it is still the same amount of time for you. I had my wife join me for a couple private lessons (at the instructors suggestion) and he charged an additional 50%. I paid it and didn't say a thing but have always wondered about this. He spent exactly the same amount of time teaching, I spent a lot of time standing around and he made 50% more. I am really not complaining because it is his business and he can charge what he wants (he did) and my money and I can spend it where I want (I went elsewhere) just curious about the thought process.
 
Because with two (or four, or six) extra people, it's no longer a private lesson between one person or one partnership and the teacher with that whole time-frame (an hour and change) to work in. A normal group class is either walk-in or sign-up friendly to anyone. The time is spent introducing material, covering the basics of it, allowing them to practice it while adding some general pointers/pointing out common issues, and moving on with nominal individual assistance (we have more time in some of our classes, so we do walk around and offer help when needed during the practice-with-music time). If it's specifically a "private" or "semi-private" lesson, then it's my responsibility to make sure the focus gets distributed as evenly as I can manage given the time-frame and the number of people involved. Group classes don't have the same kind of 'personal assistance' level, especially when there are anywhere from twenty to sixty people involved. Also, I added "depending where I'm at" because of my time and expense involved depending on where I travel and pay a fee to teach.

Your experience wasn't a good one, but it was a too-typical one: He invited your wife to your lesson with the specific intent to charge you more for her time, and then tried to hook her interest so that he'd get more money. If he spent all his time teaching her, she could feel like she's accomplishing something and be more motivated to return. You were already there, so you were, to his mind (and incorrectly assuming) that you were a safe bet to stay. Did your wife stick around with this instructor, or is she still taking lessons with another?
 
Yes, I have most definitely heard of that... I split a few lessons with another student and the instructor would teach both of us during the hour and we split the cost.

I could see this as being fun for people who just want to learn dance on a social level... but in all honesty, it would take a very talented and experienced instructor with very cooperative and quick learner couples/students to get much out of the lesson...in my opinion
 
Hedwaite said:
Because with two (or four, or six) extra people, it's no longer a private lesson between one person or one partnership and the teacher with that whole time-frame (an hour and change) to work in. A normal group class is either walk-in or sign-up friendly to anyone. The time is spent introducing material, covering the basics of it, allowing them to practice it while adding some general pointers/pointing out common issues, and moving on with nominal individual assistance (we have more time in some of our classes, so we do walk around and offer help when needed during the practice-with-music time). If it's specifically a "private" or "semi-private" lesson, then it's my responsibility to make sure the focus gets distributed as evenly as I can manage given the time-frame and the number of people involved. Group classes don't have the same kind of 'personal assistance' level, especially when there are anywhere from twenty to sixty people involved. Also, I added "depending where I'm at" because of my time and expense involved depending on where I travel and pay a fee to teach.

Your experience wasn't a good one, but it was a too-typical one: He invited your wife to your lesson with the specific intent to charge you more for her time, and then tried to hook her interest so that he'd get more money. If he spent all his time teaching her, she could feel like she's accomplishing something and be more motivated to return. You were already there, so you were, to his mind (and incorrectly assuming) that you were a safe bet to stay. Did your wife stick around with this instructor, or is she still taking lessons with another?
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Neither of us stayed. I had 3 lessons paid for, so we did two together and that covered the value of the 3 lessons. The whole thing rubbed me the wrong way, he didn't tell me he was charging more until the two lessons were over and he said, "well, that covers what you had paid for, would you like to purchase another package now or next time you come in." I said next time and never returned. Really just didn't have the heart to be confrontational and I have no doubt he knows why we didn't return. Out of those 3 hours paid for, I got about 35 minutes, my wife got about 60 and the last 25 minutes spent dancing together. If we would have gone in separately, she could have gotten her hour and I could have gotten two.
 
flightco said:
Neither of us stayed. I had 3 lessons paid for, so we did two together and that covered the value of the 3 lessons. The whole thing rubbed me the wrong way, he didn't tell me he was charging more until the two lessons were over and he said, "well, that covers what you had paid for, would you like to purchase another package now or next time you come in." I said next time and never returned. Really just didn't have the heart to be confrontational and I have no doubt he knows why we didn't return. Out of those 3 hours paid for, I got about 35 minutes, my wife got about 60 and the last 25 minutes spent dancing together. If we would have gone in separately, she could have gotten her hour and I could have gotten two.
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It's not a "semi private" if it was just two people, i.e. a partnership. It's VERY unusual to charge more for a partnership vs. one person, at least IME. A semi-private usually refers to ~2 couples.

You were right not to go back... yeah, an instructor can change what they want, there's nothing wrong with it, but that's definitely overcharging, and unscrupulous if he didn't tell you beforehand. Plus - and yes, this is speculation - it tells me he probably isn't used to teaching couples, which makes me question his skill level.
 
Yes, I agree. I've participated as a student in a semi private format before and the pro's fee was the same...split amongst the students. If the pro is going to add on costs then you might as well take a private lesson.
 
dbk said:
It's not a "semi private" if it was just two people, i.e. a partnership. It's VERY unusual to charge more for a partnership vs. one person, at least IME. A semi-private usually refers to ~2 couples.

You were right not to go back... yeah, an instructor can change what they want, there's nothing wrong with it, but that's definitely overcharging, and unscrupulous if he didn't tell you beforehand. Plus - and yes, this is speculation - it tells me he probably isn't used to teaching couples, which makes me question his skill level.
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exactly...because, if he/she doesn't even have to dance with you because you have a partner, that is likely LESS work....and I would be suspicious also that the person was actually discouraging couples because they prefer a competitive single...now, I do know some pro's who distinguish between a lesson fee and a coaching fee....and that could look like a greater charge to some than others but I can see valid reasons for that
 
RiseNFall said:
Not a fair assumption--the chain studio that I dance at would not do that. This could, of course, have happened at a chain, but in my experience the assumption is unwarranted.
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Second that. The chain studios I've been to (only briefly and only early in my dance journey) were all generally upfront with their business practices, the main knock was lack of high quality coaching relative to their picking as I moved up (which may be local to my area, as I'm sure some chain somewhere has really top notch teachers).
 
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