5 Things Every Parent Should Know Before Choosing A Dance School

Print This Page

If most dance studios seem to have a nice facility and friendly instructors, then aren’t they all pretty much the same? Does it really matter where you decide to enroll your child? Yes. Here are 5 questions that every parent should have answered before placing their child in any dance program.

1. What type of floor is in the studio?

When choosing a dance program for your child consider the flooring. Concrete floors are the worst for a dancer’s body. They have no “give” increasing fatigue and injury such as sore legs, back pain and shin splints. Our studio uses a state of the art, floating, sprung sub floor system. Instead of the dancer's joints and bones receiving the impact of the activity, thousands of compression foam blocks in the sub floor absorb the impact of the dancer's movements.

In addition, we use a marley surface flooring. This type of floor covering is accepted worldwide as the best surface layer for recreational to professional dance. Very few studios use professional sprung flooring systems and marley floors due to the expense involved. The combination of these two components reduces the risk of injuries and allows the students to dance longer with less fatigue.

2. Is there a dress code?

You may not be aware of this, but a dress code is a very important part of your child’s dance training. The dancer’s attire sets the tone and mood of the class putting the students in the right frame of mind to begin learning. Self-discipline and the art of dance go hand in hand.

There are very specific reasons why the traditional pink tights, a black leotard and hair in a bun are required for dance class. Light pink tights enable the teacher to see the musculature of the legs; the black leotard allows the teacher to ensure the proper usage of the torso. Requiring hair to be up and off the face in a bun exposes the head, neck and upper spine so the teacher can also monitor their use. Keeping hair out of the face also eliminates distractions.

A dress code also helps your child learn faster. The teacher can make better corrections if all students look the same. What will catch the instructor’s eye are the errors in placement, technique and alignment… not the girl in the florescent orange leotard. The result is a better class with more individualized corrections and students that progress more quickly.

 3. How many students are accepted in each class?

When choosing a dance school, be sure to ask how many students are taken in each class. The higher number of students, the less individualized attention your child receives. At Danscapes, we limit our class sizes to 10 students in our classes under age 6 and to 12 students in our 7 and older beginning level classes. The result is more specific corrections, and dancers that progress faster.

4. When is the performance piece started?

Most dance studios put on a performance at the end of the season. In addition to developing self confidence, stage experience is an integral part of your child’s dance training. However, preparing for the year end show should not be the focus of the entire year’s lessons. Proper technique should be the main focus of the class. You want your child to learn something more than a routine that will be performed only once in the spring performance. Dancers should walk away from the dance class experience with some working tools, knowing real dance terminology, with a reasonable degree of real skill. Learning the correct way to execute any dance step is the only way for dancers to perform it safely and without injury. At Danscapes we begin the performance pieces half way into the season, well after establishing a strong technical base for the class.

5. What are the extra’s needed for the performance?

Dance studios generally order costumes from costume companies, and those costumes are made to fit a range of sizes and body types. If ordered properly, most fit pretty well. However, depending upon the style of costume, straps need to be sewn, pants need to be shortened and trims need to be attached to the costume. If you don’t sew or are too busy to do it yourself, it is the parent’s responsibility to find a seamstress to make the costumes performance ready. We believe that springtime is busy enough for parents, so we provide a professional seamstress to alter your costumes at no cost to you. We also provide a free pair of tights with each costume so you don’t have to make an extra trip to the dance store to pick up the tights for the show. In addition, each family receives a free CD with your dancer’s performance music on it to make practicing easier and a free DVD of the performance so you can keep on enjoying the performance for years to come.

At Danscapes, we believe every aspect of the dance experience should be a positive one, for students and parents alike. Our goal is to make that experience, from the first class through the performance, as stress free as possible.