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5 Things Every Parent Should Know Before Choosing a Dance Studio

If most dance studios seem to have qualified, friendly teachers, experience teaching children and a big show at the end of the year, aren't they all pretty much the same? Does it really matter at which place you decide to enroll? Yes. Here are 5 things that every parent should consider before deciding on a dance studio for their child.

1- Teaching Staff:
Be sure the school you choose employs qualified teachers. Teachers who are not trained properly produce poor quality dancers who learn bad habits and are prone to injury. Most Studios are not large enough to offer a full faculty. Usually the teacher and student assistants teach all of the classes, answer the phone, handle registration, and all secretarial work. Our school offers a full faculty and full administrative staff. We have nine skilled adult teachers who all specialize in their field of expertise(Our tap teacher doesn't teach the pointe class.) This is very important in the quality and safety of the class. We have a very low injury rate because of specialized teaching. All of our teachers are required to update their skills annually. They are always training and taking class themselves, which enables them to always be on the cutting edge of dance education.

2 - A Well rounded Program:
Dancers must be well rounded. If a school only offers children's classes, then there is nowhere to grow. If they only offer ballet, then the dancer is not able to work in any other style and once he/she dances outside of their school they feel frustrated and unprepared. Our school has a graded program, preschool through pre-professional. Children are placed according to age and then graduate through all levels of our program. We also offer a large recreation program for students who only wish to take one class a week for fun and fitness. These dancers don't go through our graded program. They dance for fun! For more serious dancers, we have a junior (7-11) and senior (12-20) dance company which allows dancers to perform at several venues both in state and out of state. The Academy offers ballet, pointe, variations, jazz, contemporary/modern dance and tap. We produce well rounded dancers who are confident in their training.

3 - Is it Fun?:
What good is the best training in the world if your child doesn't have fun. Dance should build confidence and self-esteem. Be sure the program you choose addresses children as individuals first, taking into account their various needs and personalities.

4 - Performance Opportunities:
We feel it is important to produce a full professional show at the end of the year. Not all children get to attend professional theatre or dance performances, so they're not exposed to proper theatre etiquette. We want to show them how it's done. This is more expensive than a typical recital but is well worth it. We use full sets, backdrops and professional lighting designers. Our dancers understand stage directions and proper etiquette to be used backstage as dancers, and in the house as an audience member.

5 - Facility:
Last of all, our facility is the best. We have a 9,000 square foot school. We have four studios. A company studio for advanced dancers with their own lounge and kitchen. A separate studio designed specifically for children with its own waiting area equipped with legos and toys for siblings. All year long all of our studios have one way glass viewing windows so that classes can be audited without disturbing the dancers. Our floors are wood with special marley coverings, which are accepted worldwide as the best surface layer for professional and recreational dancers. A marley floor allows dancers to slide, with a degree of "controlled slip", but is not slippery so there is less risk of slips and falls. Marley floors also provide an extra layer of cushion to help with preventing shin splints. Very few studios use professional marley floors because of the expense involved. We feel it is an important investment.

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