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1. What is the student-teacher ratio?
There are many benefits to studios that keep their childhood class sizes small so students can receive individualized attention, especially during the formative ages and stages. Younger children learn best in smaller classes that allow for greater variation in activities to accommodate developing attention spans. Look for a studio that limits preschool classes to eight or fewer and classes for children aged 6 to 10 to a maximum of ten students. If the studio has class assistants, make sure the assistants are consistent to each class instead of rotating in and out or changing frequently.
2. How many instructors will your student work with on a regular basis, and how old are the instructors?
Look for a studio that employs instructors who hold at minimum a bachelor’s degree and who have a proven employment history in the arts. Studios that keep their staff small are able to better monitor the development of students because each instructor gets to know their students more closely and accurately over months, even years, of consistent interaction. Studios that report larger staff or who have teenagers still in high school teaching their classes tend to be less in tune with their students’ learning processes due to lower interaction time and less knowledge of childhood development as it applies to arts education. In addition, not every instructor on a studio’s website is always present in the studio on a regular basis. Consistency is key to a positive educational environment.
3. Does the studio participate in competitions?
Participation in competitions requires a significant financial investment in addition to dance classes with costumes, private lessons, choreography, etc, usually to the tune of between $500 and $2500 per year just on competition fees. There is also a significant investment of time that goes into competitive dance. Families are busy, especially if they have two or more children, and competitive dance requires extensive rehearsal time that often culminates in spending an entire weekend at a single event. Not everyone feels this investment of time away from life, family, studying, being a human, is worth the outcome.
When a competitive dancer has aged out of the competition system, they must adjust to the larger dance world. Once in college, students from competition-focused schools often are quite adept at learning choreography, but some students do have gaps in their education when it comes to their own movement history, their perceptions of what choreographic composition is, and dance vocabulary, simply because their developmental time has been spent focused heavily on the competition spectrum. A studio that encourages students to be as well-rounded as possible educationally in how they perceive the dance world can help those students find and create options for their future.
The most overwhelming concern parents must consider when it comes to whether their child should participate in competitive dance is objectification. If a child is wearing something sexy and performing overly mature choreography to age-inappropriate music and people are clapping and cheering for this, what does it do to the brains of children to enable these platitudes of glorification and adulation to which they are too young to really consent? And what on earth does this have to do with learning to dance? Seek out studios that feel that performances, music, costuming, and choreography should always be age-appropriate—it is the most respectful way to present young dancers and empowers them to find confidence in themselves, not in external rewards.
4. Are instructors considerate of students’ individual developmental processes?
Dance is not meant to be punitive or cruel. Dance is not meant to consume thirteen-to-fifteen hours of a young dancer’s week. It is important to seek out a studio that can acknowledge that kids are kids and life is life, and has crafted programs that allow students to receive meaningful technical training without requiring them to give up time that should be spent with family, on schoolwork, and with friends. Does the studio make students dance through pain or illness? Do they have weight requirements, or do they body-shame students for any physical or technical differences they may have? All that accomplishes is creating an atmosphere of negativity that can damage a child’s self-esteem irreparably and result in the child deciding to leave the dance world forever. If a studio does not foster positivity and support for their students, or if it requires a greater time commitment than is feasible and healthy for your child, pass it by.
5. Does the studio offer family rates, and are parents expected to sign a contract for the year?
Family rates are cost-effective in that all classes are discounted once the first class is taken. Additional classes added are proportionally discounted. Some studios may offer an option that allows students to take as many classes as their entire family wants to explore and never exceed a top value per month set by the studio—and no matter how big or how small your family is, make sure you have the choice to pay for one month at a time. Families can have many changes happen throughout the school year. Some children may want to try an activity and then find it is not their cup of tea. Parents should not be required to pay the rest of the year’s tuition if their circumstances change.
6. What is the general educational and social atmosphere of the studio?
Kids today have stress we adults cannot begin to comprehend. We did not grow up being afraid of school shooters or cyberbullying, for example. It is of utmost importance for dance students to have an educational environment that encourages friendships and self-discovery, a place where dance becomes a method of quiet concentration, a calm and peaceful exploration of themselves as human beings, and a refuge from everything they must endure in our busy and overly electronic world.
If you are a parent, please know you have options. There are many paths to becoming a dancer, or simply enjoying dance as an activity. Look for studios that do not encourage competitiveness or bullying by either faculty or fellow students and trust your instincts when it comes to the best interests of your child and family. Never be afraid to ask the questions that matter most.
SkyStone Conservatory of the Arts is a multi-disciplinary arts education center in Webster Groves, MO that offers dance, visual art, and theater classes for children aged 3 and up in a creative and supportive environment. SkyStone is a traditional school of dance with a curriculum that supports all ages of development for all children, including those with disabilities and those on the autism spectrum. We do not participate in competitive dance.
All our classes are available online and are interactive, taught by experienced instructors. Visit us at www.skystonearts.org or call us at 314-800-5999 for more information on our arts education programs, and to learn how SkyStone’s professional faculty can help make your child’s arts experience valuable and memorable.
