How to Find a Dance Studio for Kids

Is your child interested in ballet, jazz or tap? If they are, you're probably thinking about finding a dance studio so they can start to take lessons. However, there are many studios out there and some are better than others. There are also diffferent ways to teach dance, so spend some time finding exactly the right studio for your little dancer.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Talk to other parents who might have children in dance classes to get some recommendations for studios to try out. They can probably give you important information about the dance classes that you might not be able to figure out on your own from a visit to the studio.

2. Look up the schedules and hours for all the studios you decide are worth taking a look at, and plan out a schedule to go and see them while classes are in session.

3. While you're actually visiting the studio take a look at the class size. The smaller the class, the better. The sign of a good studio is that the instructors want to have small enough classes that they can spend some time during class working individually with students. This isn't always the case, but studios with large classes are generally just trying to pack in as many kids as they can to make money and are less worried about the quality of instruction.

4. Ask detailed questions about the head instructor's experience and training and then ask about any other teachers that might be teaching your child. Observe them actually teaching and interacting with their students. Is everyone, regardless of size, age, color and skill being treated equally? Do they take questions well, and do they have patience with students who aren't getting the concepts they're trying to teach? Talk to some parents that you might not know who are picking up their children and get their comments and opinions.

5. Ask about the price range. Good instruction and a good studio should have a balance between paying for their quality and their experience and not being insanely expensive.

6. Go into one of the dance rooms and examine it when a class isn't in session. Is the equipment in good shape? Does it seem like they just bought the cheapest stuff possible or that they put some thought and money into their classrooms? In the same vein as this, what kind of floor does the dance classroom have? Good studios will have a professional floor that is cushioned to absorb the shock of jumping and standing on your toes. Don't let your child to attend a dance class on a concrete floor.

7. Make sure their equipment/clothing policies aren't ridiculous. For basic classes, most studios generally only want a basic black or pink leotard, with white or pink stockings and appropriate shoes for the dance style. Anyone requiring anything more than that for children or beginning students might just be a little too hard core for your family, or the studio owners are just wanting to make some extra money (especially if you must buy the supplies through them). Do remember, however, that later on in more advanced classes, such as a ballet pointe class, your child will need special shoes that might be a little costly. But that's down the road, and shouldn't be required up front or for the very basic classes.

8. Make sure to bring your child with you to see the studio, the classes and the instructor, even if you're not doing a trial lesson. They need to feel relatively comfortable there and like the instructor. After your child has been taking lessons for a bit, try asking them what they've learned. If they start telling you about specific positions or dance moves, then it means that they're being taught more than a recital dance and actually learning dance. This isn't definitive, but it can be a good way to figure out what's going on in the class when you're not there to see it.

9. Ask questions about how the classes are structured and whether or not there is a performance attached to the class. The end of the year recital or performance (if there is one) should be a showcase, icing on the cake, not the focal point of the class or the studio. The students will enjoy the costumes and the excitement and you'll enjoy seeing your little one on stage. Just make sure for a good studio that dance and building up a solid foundation of dance basics is the most important goal, not putting on a stellar show.

10. Make sure their equipment/clothing policies aren't ridiculous. For basic classes, most studios generally only want a basic black or pink leotard, with white or pink stockings, and basic ballet shoes for ballet, basic tap shoes for tap, etc. Anyone requiring anything more than that for children or beginning students might just be a little too hardcore for your family, or just wanting to make some extra money (especially if you can buy the supplies through them). Do remember, however, that later on in more advanced classes, such as Pointe class, your child will need special shoes that might be a little costly. But that's down the road, and shouldn't be required up front or for the very basic classes.

Tips & Warnings

• Always check to see if a studio wants you to sign a contract. This generally (but not always) means that the studio is more interested in money than in teaching your child. It's probably not the best idea to sign one of these, either, because what if your child doesn't like the classes, you don't like the teachers, or even that you end up having to move? You'll still be required to pay for all the classes you don't end up using and forcing your child to keep going to fulfill a contract isn't going to improve their feelings on the matter.
• Ask if you can watch a class first. This is a good idea to get the feel of the material covered, the number of children in the class, and the teacher's style. A studio that won't allow you to do look at the classes before you pay or sign a contract is probably one you don't want to be at.
• See if it's possible for your child to try a lesson or two for free to see if they will like it. Two lessons is probably important if the class does two different activities on the different class days, such if the class was Tuesday/Thursday and they do ballet on Tuesday and jazz on Thursday.)
• Ask ahead of time if there is any end of the year or end of the class expenses, or just expenses in general other than the basic classes and the leotard/shoes. If the studio does a huge end of the year recital, then that's often going to mean more time for practices and more money for costumes. It's best to know of this ahead of time so you're prepared, because the outfits often are ordered from a company and can be a decent chunk of money.
• Talk to the instructor of the specific class you're considering enrolling your child in outside of just watching him/her teach. Ask about their background, their goals,and anything else that's important to you.
• Make sure to check out some of the websites below; they might help you in finding the right dance studio for your child!
• In personal experience, there are some dance studios who don't even teach your children the basics of dance, they only teach them the routines for the end of the year recital. This just means that all they want is to charge you for classes and then charge you lots of money for the hyped up performance, without actually teaching your child something as basic as the five positions in ballet. These classes might be fun for your child, but if you're wanting them to actually learn dance, then it's probably not a good idea. You can usually spot this fairly quickly if you observe a few classes or talk to the other parents.

Resources

• What to consider when looking for a dance school
• Dance Studio.org