I know someone here owns a dance studio, what do you think of this?

[Disney1fan2002]

My kids attend a school for performing arts. It has dance, voice acting and modeling. My boys take acting.

The winter show is just voice, acting and solo dancers. The actors have a scene they do with another actor, and a monologue. This year, the owner's DD is in the younger acting group. She also dances, in the Combo lll class. She is 5yo, I believe.

Most of the 5 and 6 yo's got a tiny little monologue. 2 or 3 lines, and they were off the stage. If you blinked, you missed it. Her DD got a monologue that had her on stage for 2 minutes. She also had a dance solo. ALL of the dance soloist were from the older competition teams. No dancer from any of the younger combo classes has ever had a solo in the winter show.

All of this is just OK, if she wants to showcase her DD, well, it his her studio. What irked me and many parents, was the finale. She had all the kids come out on stage from both sides of the stage,, 3 lines. ALL of the high school kids were in the front, and the little kids were in the back row. Does that make sense? We could not see our kids!!! Each group came out to the front line and bowed, but then went back. So the entire 5 minute finale, we with little kids saw our child for 2 seconds.

EXCEPT...... the owners DD was front and center the entire Finale. She lead the 1st line out, and stayed in the middle of the front line for the entire finale. Even when she lined up with her group and bowed, the tiny kids all went back to the back row, and she took her spot front and center.

This really burned a lot of parents. It was bad enough that our kids were put in the back, but for the owner to put OUR kids in the back, but her DD up front, does that seem right?

Some mothers even said it was something that might make them look to go somewhere else.

We always hear how the coaches kid always makes the ALL Star team, but we pay good money to send our kids to this school. Many of the kids are EXTREMELY talented. I would hate to think, that her DD is going to be handed starring roles just because of who she is.

 

[Darcy03231]

I'd be looking for another dance studio! DD (now 16) has danced since she was 3. While the owner doesn't have children, many of the instructor's do, and they dance at this studio. Their children are not treated any differently than the rest of the kids.

 

[tiggger1]

That would make me mad also. She should have had the little kids in the front and her dd should have been with her class. Not very professional at all? May I ask where in MA your school is?

 

[Daxx]

My nieces dance and at their recital last year I noticed one particular 6-yo child who would pop up in every single upper level dance class routine. I'm talking about the 16 yo girls who are in advanced dance. This little girl, in one scene, acted as a tinkerbell like sprite. In another, she played a mouse while the teen girls danced around her dressed in cat outfits (as if to frighten her). She was in each and every one of those advanced dance routines acting as some type of thing that the other girls would "play off" of. On top of that, she was in every "younger set" dance routine as well. Not to mention about 6 solo dances or paired w/one more child. I asked my SIL about the little girl and SIL said it was the studio owner's daughter and this is what happens every year. She gets a zillion solos but the other dancers who might take more than 3 private classes can only dance one solo. And appears that this little girl is somehow in every advanced class routine. It's like they build a routine around her ... finding a way to put her into the dancing even though she's not an advanced student.

I find that so wrong. The owners child should be treated like every other child who walks into that studio. If the owners daughter takes 6 private classes, then she should only be allowed one solo. There are other talented girls who could appear in the other dances ... but no. They focus on her.

The worst part? The little girl makes these wierd fish-kiss type faces and pouts ala pageant girls like JonBenet Ramsey. I asked why she did that when she danced (b/c it was not cute) and SIL said that she's a pageant girl and brings it to her dancing. Imagine a beautiful ballet with some girl making fish-kiss type faces. So not pretty!!!!

This reminds me, also, of something that's going on in my school that I'm not happy about. The music teacher and the 3rd grade teacher are related (mother/daughter). We are working with grades K-3 on this little song w/movements to present at the next PTA meeting. Well, the music teacher puts the 3rd grade kids in the front row, followed by the Kdg. kids, then the first grade and then the 2nd grade. You can't even see the Kdg. kids. Can you guess why the 3rd graders are in front?! A little nepotism? Thankfully, I wasn't the only teacher to notice!!!! I know that the parents will be mad and will complain to the principal ... that's why I'm not saying anything. This "preferential treatment" to the 3rd grade has happened on more than one occassion and everyone sees it.

 

[kbkids]

We left a dance studio for this very reason. In this case, it was the owner's son, and the excuse was that since there weren't many boys, she needed him to be used throughout the show. Baloney!! None of the other boys were used that often. And to top it off, he was THE WORST behaved kid at the studio and nobody would ever correct him. He was the same age as my daughter, so I knew we'd be "stuck" with him for life if we stayed at that studio. So, we left after two years and went elsewhere. At the new studio, the dance team coach's little girl was truly an amazing little dancer. Even so, she would only be in the dances that were for her age - not every dance in the recital!!

 

[Mickey'sMainMami]

My mom owned her own studio, and I danced there since I was 2. Let me tell you, my mom went out of her way to make sure I wasn't singled out! Don't get me wrong, once or twice through out my life, they needed some prop people (ie. they did a pac-man dance one year, and I had a styrofoam costume that slipped over my head because I was playing one of the ghost, and I had to run back and forth across the stage a couple of times while my brother who chased me was dressed like pac-man. That was really the only time, another time, my brother had to act like a photographer for one dance as the teachers did a dance to Makin' Memories (the song that used to be before Honey I shrunk the audience). That was it, I had to earn my way up the ranks as I grew and advanced in dance, no preferntial treatment here! It is wrong and can definately alienate parents and students.

 

[MELSMICE]

I'm the poster that owns a dance studio!

Anyway, what is happening at your children's studio is completely wrong. I have 3 DD's - two who still dance & if anything, they get the short end of the stick more times than they should.

I am overly conscious about not treating them any differently than the rest of the students at my school. It would be wrong to treat them differently. In fact, I try to separate myself from being their mom when they are in a class I am teaching.

Being the owner's daughter(s) is not all it's cracked up to be at times - at least not for my DD's. I have always told them that while there are a lot of good things about being the owner's daughters sometimes it's not all it's cracked up to be & they have to learn to take the good with the bad.

The owner's children should be treated the same way as any other child at that studio. What your owner is doing is wrong & not only will her studio suffer, but her DD will also as other children & parents will come to resent the child.

 

[EMom]

My friend opened a competitive dance studio that turned out to be wildly successful. Her DD was on the same team as my DD and she NEVER showcased her DD. She stayed out of it. She was not even the Team Mom for that particular team because she didn't want any appearance of favoritism. Her DD did not wind up being on the front row of the dances because she wasn't the best dancer and the owner was fine with that. Her business grew by leaps and bounds, and I think part of it was because of the perception of fairness and lack of favorites on her part.

On the other hand, our choir director at church has a child that is ALWAYS front and center in every production. Good thing the child has a decent voice or our ears would all be bleeding, because something tells me talent or no......this kid would be featured.

 

[Disney1fan2002]

Thanks for all the replies. I was afraid I was going to get flamed for whining! LOL

We paid $18/ticket to see our kids in the show, and for our kids to be put behind the HS kids really aggrivated us, but her DD being front and center BURNED us.

There are a lot of outspoken moms, I am wondering if someone or a few someones will say anything. The kids have their regular acting class tonight, the show was yesterday. The waiting room is going to be buzzing, I am sure!

Melsmice, I think it is great that you run a fair program. Your DD's probably don't think it is fair, LOL, but to the paying customer, you rock!

 

[Jennasis]

My sister danced for 15 years with the same studio/company and the owner never played favorites. I think the mutiny would've been pretty had if she had.

 

[Sleepy]

My son has been dancing for the last 8 years. He has been to both small and world known dance schools. I have found that especially with the small schools, there is much emphasis on everyone being able to see their children, especially the little ones, that they try to make sure they are in the front during the final bow. Everyone should be treated fairly and given equal time on stage unless it is a special dance composed of those "graduating".

I would find another school.

 

[cinmell]

I'd be looking for another dance studio!

Same here.