Company Rehearsal Fees To Be or Not To Be?...
...that is the question. After speaking to quite a few teachers and studio owners this past year, I have come to realize that there are many schools of thought on this issue. Regardless of "if ... how ... and what" is charged, I've concluded it is a perplexing situation for most to deal with. It becomes a very personal situation for studio owners and it is they who must decide how to actually deal with this subject. It involves overhead and an outlay of funds from their pocket ...no one else. Therefore the final decision, in all fairness, should come from them.
I know as a studio owner I am always looking to limit expenditures in as many places as possible for all students, especially for company members. I am confident that we all feel the same way. But fact is fact. If costs are involved to have company rehearsals, apparently the disbursement has to be covered by those involved. The answer seems quite obvious and even a bit simplistic...the difficult query is "how to go about it"?
After weighing policies and explanations from many owners, I have come to the conclusion that there is no real conclusion on just how to go about this. I think it becomes a matter of "if the shoe fits ... wear it". There is no universal solution to all problems. You have to take bits and pieces from here and there and tailor them to fit your own unique situation. Each and every studio is a distinct entity to itself. What works for one will not necessarily work for the other. But through sharing, experience and trial and error you will find something that works for you.
One interesting approach came from a teacher who simply does not charge for company rehearsals. She feels that because the dancers and parents are receiving something for "free" they have no reason to probe or complain. She feels this eliminates questions and challenges, especially from the parents, thus leaving her in complete control of the situation. The dancers must meet requirements in ability and attendance, but have no financial obligations for rehearsals. She is the studio owner, choreographer and instructor and receives no compensation for her time. The only expenses to meet are those for operational overhead. If this pattern seems to match your company design, then perhaps this "no charge" policy will work for you.
Another take on the situation is to incorporate company rehearsals into the company members' weekly class schedule. The rehearsal sessions become additional class hours when calculating the student's monthly tuition. There are no additional days to be scheduled and no additional fees to be concerned with. This system seems good, but I wonder how many days of the week these dancers are required to come to the studio for their classes and rehearsals?
A policy that involves some calculations, forethought and planning is as follows: Refer to the past years records to figure out the average amount of hours that each level in your company needs to rehearse each new routine. Now consider the choreographer, style, difficulty, number and ages of dancers, and amount of time to learn, stage and clean each new routine in order to come up with an average projection of rehearsal hours needed. The usual rehearsal hours needed range from 28 to 40 hours with an average of 34 hours per routine as the focus for calculations of fees. A flat fee of $140.00 per dance is charged for the first 2 routines; a discounted fee of $130.00 is charged for each of the next 2 routines; and $120.00 each for the next 2 routines. If one dancer had 5 competition routines her annual rehearsal fee would be $670.00 for that season. The majority of the time we come into focus and hit the predicted amount of hours right on the nose. Other times we do exceed the highest amount of hours, but no additional compensation is charged out to the parents, the studio absorbs the costs. A 10% Family Discount is applied to the second sibling fees. Rehearsal Fees only apply to Groups, Lines and Productions, not Solos, Duos or Trios. Totals for each company member are pro-rated and applied each month to their monthly tuition fee. The set schedule for rehearsals is Friday afternoon to mid evening for the younger levels and Saturday morning to late afternoon for the older levels. Although it takes some time to set up a formula, you do have set flat rates and days that your parents can relate to and deal with each month. If you're in the know...go with the flow!
A more relaxed method of collecting fees is to have each dancer walk into their rehearsal with a $10.00 bill in hand The teacher in charge is responsible to collect this money and also to prevent those dancers from coming in who do not have the funds to pay to participate. Rehearsals are set for Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays and dancers are advised from a bulletin board posting their days and times for the week to come. If you think this is a good fit...try it on for size!
Certainly there are pros and cons for all the methods described and used above. I will visit the Pros first and then become the devil's advocate with the questions and Cons.
The good of the "no fee" fee is the feeling of relief that you do not have to deal with inquiring parents all the time. Although just how long that will or did last, I am not sure. I question the no charge because then I feel that the students give you nothing back in return, and even sometimes get to the point of taking advantage of the teacher 's time and talent. The more you give the more they expect. I think everything should have a price...just be fair and considerate when you set it. I also am not sure if this would work if you have to meet salaries for additional choreographers other than yourself. The money would have to come from somewhere to meet those fees.
The rehearsal sessions being set all year to coincide with class schedules sounds really good and quite easy to control and conquer the attendance issue. If the dancer comes to class she certainly should and would be in rehearsal the same day. I question the number of days and the amount of hours each day the dancers would be expected to participate. And also how does the schedule work when you have other teachers who worked with the students? Are they available to come at the times of the classes or do the dancers have to come at other times to work around those teachers personal schedules?
The preplanned and pro-rated fee for all rehearsal times takes work to format but comes across as being a possibility. The set days and fees seem to be appealing to parents and lets the dancers know well in advance their available free time on the weekend. Do the students in routines that do not get the actual average of 34 hours of rehearsal time feel they are being slighted or cheated of time?
In an overview the "pay as you go" method seems easy and even a sure thing. But I think it would take a lot of time for the teacher who should be running the rehearsal to do all the bookkeeping and cash receipts. And then what happens if many, or worse yet, the majority fail to bring the money with them? What kind of a rehearsal would that be?...very unproductive I would think. But perhaps you do have the type of reliable parents and students who can handle this type of a policy. If you do then ... give it a go!
The last rehearsal fee I want to chat about is one we use quite successfully which involves Solo performers. We charge what we call an "open rehearsal fee" of $10.00 per dancer per competition. We set aside 3 to 5 hours one or two days prior to a competition for all our Soloists to come in to the studio and do their routines. We have at least 2 teachers in attendance to run the routines and correct the dancers as they perform. The students sign in when they get there....do a personal warm up and then go into the rotation to run their dances. They get to run it one time and then on to another dancer. Everyone gets a chance to run their solos, maximum of three routines, at least 3 times during this open rehearsal time. In addition to having corrections from the teachers, the dancers thrive on the hints, thoughts and encouragements for a better performance from their friends as well! It's great to see this camaraderie at its best!
Have YOU come across a format that works for you? Can you take bits and pieces from each of the policies above and come up with your own brand new rehearsal fee policy? I sure hope so... and if you do...please share it with all of us! That is how we as a group of professionals grow and create...we share our ideas with others! Drop me a note at danceun@aol.com and it will be shared through our Readers Forum this Spring! Until next time ...Thanx for chatting!