City Dance

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Different poster here. Would you mind elaborating? My dancer is considering it but we still don’t have a placement or schedule this late into summer. I’ve just received an invoice for $1,000 to hold her spot. Really?! I’m also not thrilled with their new Badlands location, however they want to spin it. What is going on?!

I just came on to say this. My daughter auditioned and then radio silence. Next we get an invoice for $1100!! No idea what classes she would take or what level. I tried to look at the invoice amount and match it to the level. But the website says nothing about their levels. I emailed asking what is select, pre conservatory, petite? And days later I’ve heard nothing. Seems really bold of them to just say give me $1000 and we’ll let you know later. Also that is an insane registration fee! Who are these people paying that!

That's really strange. My daughter also auditioned earlier this summer; I got an email two weeks ago with my daughter's placement and class options, and then after I registered her, I got an invoice for the full cost of the classes, but with the option of just paying a deposit of the performance fee, which was a few hundred bucks. It's all been pretty smooth so far.

[Anonymous]

Parent of current CityDance student here. I wish someone had broken this down for me when I started. I was pretty lost at the beginning too. I can’t speak to the audition process but typically placements don’t come out till late August after intensives. It seems strange that the fee was sent before placements. That sounds like an error. Usually placements come first, then you select classes and pay the fee, which is a deposit to reserve your dancer’s place in the year-long program. We set up a payment plan every year for the balance, depending on the number of classes she takes. The distinctions of select, pre, petite, etc. reflect the level and performance opportunities your kid will have.

The fee structure is based on performing and covers extra rehearsals outside of class time, costume rental and alterations, and production costs related to performances. Some schools build these costs into their year-long programs and some charge extra for things like the Nutcracker or make you buy costumes. CityDance charges a fee at the beginning of the year. At the lower levels, this fee reflects the number of classes your kid takes. At the conservatory levels, the fee covers master classes, coaching, more performance opportunities, college recommendations, etc.

Hope this helps.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Parent of current CityDance student here. I wish someone had broken this down for me when I started. I was pretty lost at the beginning too. I can’t speak to the audition process but typically placements don’t come out till late August after intensives. It seems strange that the fee was sent before placements. That sounds like an error. Usually placements come first, then you select classes and pay the fee, which is a deposit to reserve your dancer’s place in the year-long program. We set up a payment plan every year for the balance, depending on the number of classes she takes. The distinctions of select, pre, petite, etc. reflect the level and performance opportunities your kid will have.

The fee structure is based on performing and covers extra rehearsals outside of class time, costume rental and alterations, and production costs related to performances. Some schools build these costs into their year-long programs and some charge extra for things like the Nutcracker or make you buy costumes. CityDance charges a fee at the beginning of the year. At the lower levels, this fee reflects the number of classes your kid takes. At the conservatory levels, the fee covers master classes, coaching, more performance opportunities, college recommendations, etc.

Hope this helps.

So, yes, that does help. But the fact that I am getting it from you, and not the studio is not ok. We're going to look into Maryland Youth Ballet. They have to be run better than this place.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Different poster here. Would you mind elaborating? My dancer is considering it but we still don’t have a placement or schedule this late into summer. I’ve just received an invoice for $1,000 to hold her spot. Really?! I’m also not thrilled with their new Badlands location, however they want to spin it. What is going on?!

I just came on to say this. My daughter auditioned and then radio silence. Next we get an invoice for $1100!! No idea what classes she would take or what level. I tried to look at the invoice amount and match it to the level. But the website says nothing about their levels. I emailed asking what is select, pre conservatory, petite? And days later I’ve heard nothing. Seems really bold of them to just say give me $1000 and we’ll let you know later. Also that is an insane registration fee! Who are these people paying that!

That's really strange. My daughter also auditioned earlier this summer; I got an email two weeks ago with my daughter's placement and class options, and then after I registered her, I got an invoice for the full cost of the classes, but with the option of just paying a deposit of the performance fee, which was a few hundred bucks. It's all been pretty smooth so far.

I'm shocked that it was so little. Is your daughter very young? Is she taking the conservatory classes?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Different poster here. Would you mind elaborating? My dancer is considering it but we still don’t have a placement or schedule this late into summer. I’ve just received an invoice for $1,000 to hold her spot. Really?! I’m also not thrilled with their new Badlands location, however they want to spin it. What is going on?!

I just came on to say this. My daughter auditioned and then radio silence. Next we get an invoice for $1100!! No idea what classes she would take or what level. I tried to look at the invoice amount and match it to the level. But the website says nothing about their levels. I emailed asking what is select, pre conservatory, petite? And days later I’ve heard nothing. Seems really bold of them to just say give me $1000 and we’ll let you know later. Also that is an insane registration fee! Who are these people paying that!

That's really strange. My daughter also auditioned earlier this summer; I got an email two weeks ago with my daughter's placement and class options, and then after I registered her, I got an invoice for the full cost of the classes, but with the option of just paying a deposit of the performance fee, which was a few hundred bucks. It's all been pretty smooth so far.

I'm shocked that it was so little. Is your daughter very young? Is she taking the conservatory classes?

No, select classes. Note though that the invoice was several thousand dollars -- in the fine print I saw that we only had to pay the performance fee before classes start.

[Anonymous]

The performance fee for the conservatory is $1,000! For what, exactly?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The performance fee for the conservatory is $1,000! For what, exactly?

Why don’t you ask for a breakdown? There are lots of costs that go into performances that most people underestimate (rehearsals with paid faculty, studio space rental, costume fittings and rental, lighting design, special equipment, performance venue rental and promotion, facility maintenance and cleaning, etc.). These are all extra expenses on top of class tuition. Kids in the conservatory rehearse between 5-10 hours per week on top of classes. That extra time in the studio and on stage comes at a cost. Who should absorb that?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The performance fee for the conservatory is $1,000! For what, exactly?

Why don’t you ask for a breakdown? There are lots of costs that go into performances that most people underestimate (rehearsals with paid faculty, studio space rental, costume fittings and rental, lighting design, special equipment, performance venue rental and promotion, facility maintenance and cleaning, etc.). These are all extra expenses on top of class tuition. Kids in the conservatory rehearse between 5-10 hours per week on top of classes. That extra time in the studio and on stage comes at a cost. Who should absorb that?

I forgot about choreography commissions, guest artist expenses, professional photographs and/or video, music rights . . . Unless this is your business, you have no idea what it costs to stage a performance. My experience is limited to small performing arts productions, but while the scale is different, many of the costs are the same. And none of them is obvious to the audience or the parent. Sometimes these expenses are paid for through grants, but often they are shared by participants in one way or another. So ask the school if you want a better accounting of where your money goes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The performance fee for the conservatory is $1,000! For what, exactly?

Why don’t you ask for a breakdown? There are lots of costs that go into performances that most people underestimate (rehearsals with paid faculty, studio space rental, costume fittings and rental, lighting design, special equipment, performance venue rental and promotion, facility maintenance and cleaning, etc.). These are all extra expenses on top of class tuition. Kids in the conservatory rehearse between 5-10 hours per week on top of classes. That extra time in the studio and on stage comes at a cost. Who should absorb that?

Sending people an invoice for 1000 without any other explanation is stupid. It just looks like they are out to rob people. THEY should give a breakdown. They should explain the fees (not dcum). I don't even know what group my child is in. I don't know when classes start. I don't know what classes she will take. I don't even know what they are offering. I just know that they want $1000. And there are 3 of us on here saying that. So clearly that is how they do business now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The performance fee for the conservatory is $1,000! For what, exactly?

Why don’t you ask for a breakdown? There are lots of costs that go into performances that most people underestimate (rehearsals with paid faculty, studio space rental, costume fittings and rental, lighting design, special equipment, performance venue rental and promotion, facility maintenance and cleaning, etc.). These are all extra expenses on top of class tuition. Kids in the conservatory rehearse between 5-10 hours per week on top of classes. That extra time in the studio and on stage comes at a cost. Who should absorb that?

Sending people an invoice for 1000 without any other explanation is stupid. It just looks like they are out to rob people. THEY should give a breakdown. They should explain the fees (not dcum). I don't even know what group my child is in. I don't know when classes start. I don't know what classes she will take. I don't even know what they are offering. I just know that they want $1000. And there are 3 of us on here saying that. So clearly that is how they do business now.

So where did you end up? Is your dancer happy? Hope you found a good fit.

[Anonymous]

Found someplace we love. It's not Cd.

[Anonymous]

Would you mind sharing which one? Thank you

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Would you mind sharing which one? Thank you

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How is joy of motion

What joy of motion? They canceled all their classes this Fall. I don't think they're recovering from pandemic and scandal.

[Anonymous]

Is anyone familiar with Kirov in DC? It seems like some TWSB students have moved on there.