SCHOLARSHIP BUT NO LOYALTY

Dear Rhee,

My mother opened her studio in 1977. In 2002, she gave a scholarship to a student whose father had passed away. This student has been at the studio for about eight years now. In March of 2003 my mother died. When fall registration came, and she has dropped jazz, lyrical, and tap at my studio. I don’t have a problem with her taking classes at another studio, but I feel that if she can pay to take classes there then she should pay to take classes at my studio. What should I do?

—Thanks, Evan

Dear Evan,

I remember your school from competitions; nice to hear from you again. As for this circumstance, if the student is taking outside classes and can afford to do that, then she should be able to pay for her lessons with you. Sometimes when we give a scholarship the recipient doesn’t value the lessons as much as they would if they had paid tuition. This student apparently takes the classes you give her for granted and has not developed loyalty to your school. You, perhaps out of loyalty to your own mother’s agreement, have helped your student develop her passion for dance at no charge. It is time for you to speak up about this and reach a mutual agreement. You may also want to look at this as an opportunity to take a hard look at your scholarship policies and give scholarships only when absolutely necessary and with no open-ended renewals. —Rhee

AGE APPROPRIATE CLASSES

Hi Rhee,

First I would like to say that I recently discovered your website [www.rheegold.com] and I think it is great!  I have been struggling to find an appropriate dance program for my dancers (ages five through seven).  Currently the five-year-olds (even the competition students) take one hour per week of ballet and tap, and some students also take pom pon, acro, and hip hop.  The six and seven-year-olds take one and one-half hours of ballet, jazz, and tap, and again, some take extra classes also. There are no separate recreation/intensive programs at our studio. 

For that age, what classes and at what length do you think is needed?  Do you think the competition students should take more ballet/technique classes? 

—Thank you, Rhonda

Hi Rhonda,

I’ve been thinking about your question for a few days.  It threw me off a bit because of the competition part of your question.  I’m not sure if five-, six-, or seven-year-old dancers should be focused on competing. I kind of believe that competition puts an unnecessary pressure on those young minds because at that age they should be experiencing the joy or fun of dance and developing a love for it. If the adults in their lives instill a passion for just the art, and leave awards out of it during the crucial developmental stages of the youngsters’ training, it would eventually allow them to compete for the right reasons. Now, does that mean what I think is always right?  No, it’s just an opinion.  And I do see a lot of five-, six-, and seven-year-olds competing.

As to the class length issue.  The main thing here is that not all five- to seven-year-old children have the same attention span, drive, discipline, or maturity.

Maybe you need to offer two types of opportunities for this age range.

1. A recreational program that continues with the ballet and tap that could be one hour or one and one-half hour depending on age and ability.  That group of dancers sticks to simply taking a class for the joy of it and may be in the year-end recital or concert. Many parents of this age child are looking for a once-a-week dance class and a performance at the end of the year. They have no idea about competition and sometimes it turns them off as too complicated or involved.

 2.  For those who want to compete, the program is a bit more intense. A second ballet class might not be a bad idea.  I might not put all their classes on the same day: it’s not easy to maintain enthusiasm (at that age) for more than one and one-half hours. Avoid early  burnout. Children this age want dance to be fun and to explore lots of opportunities.  If dance is pressure, they may not last as long in dance as the child who just comes for recreation and pleasure.—Rhee