everyone needs to start somewhere.
yes some studios are very unethical and that is what it is. If you feel you are being taken, trust your instincts. I suggest looking for an area ballroom dance club. You will meet people who take lessons from different studios and thier input and suggestions can be very helpful

I've been going to AM for almost three years and I am ashamed to tell my friends how much money I've spent. But I think I have finally had enough. Recently I've been pressured to purchase 8,000 dollars worth of lessons. What bothers me is that I only take one lesson a week and I still have 4 months worth of lessons pre-paid and they are trying to squeeze money out of me already. It is all about money

I am so out of there

Twinkle. . . I hope that you have quit that AM, as your post indicated. I to am ashamed to tell friends how much I spent at AM. And they pushed and pushed to get more and more lessons on the books. When I quit I had 60 lessons on the books and they were pushing me for more purchases. I had to meet with the studio owner before getting my refund and pretend that I needed the money for a family emergency. I would have rather told her the truth, that I was finally pushed too far and came to despise her and her studio.
So I truly hope that you followed through and quit. It was phychologically so very hard to quit, with the attachment they worked so hard to breed in my to my teacher.
I imagine that there are some AMs out there that are honorable, but yours is not! Telltale sign, you had 4 months of lessons and they were pushing more on you!

Really Three Years, either you must be really stupid to stick around a place you really enjoyed for three years, I mean wow, you must really hate being happy. Or you are just bitter for some reason. (Personal self doubt maybe?)

"Really Three Years, either you must be really stupid to stick around a place you really enjoyed for three years, I mean wow, you must really hate being happy. Or you are just bitter for some reason. (Personal self doubt maybe?)"

Perhaps you missed the part where the poster said that they had been encouraged to spend unreasonable amounts of money.

Just being happy doing something is not sufficient reason to keep doing it, if it's not affordable, or a not a good value for the money compared to other ways of dancing.

Most of these chains really do push relationship and they use it to manipulate you so you will pay. That is the ultimate in bad business practice. If in my practice I used relationship in this way I would be stripped of my license...called on the carpet for being unethical and I would deserve the punishment.

Don't reward these people for manipulating you!! Love the ballroom but don't fall for the games.

WHile I'm at it...yes there are expensive components to this as there are to any other obsession but there are plenty of methods you can employ in reputable firms to learn to dance without breaking the bank. You can go all pro/am and that costs a ton. You can also go to group lessons and really gain a lot of valuable understanding at a bargain price without the manipulation.

Throw in the fact that you also begin to create community with other dancers and expand your possibilities...including possibly finding a friend or dance partner. I actually really like the practice I'm getting in my group classes (I am supplementing pro/am). It gives me some real drill and I have a real barometer by which to judge my progress. Not just what my instructor says.

I dance because it sets my soul free. I don't dance because I'm lonely, or competitive or any other reason. I dance because I love it, and I refuse to allow other's greed or my own vanity to supercede that which has become a basic need. I need it like I need air or food.

I won't limit myself to the arms of one person. No!!! All dancers aren't equal but its amazing to learn your own strengths and weaknesses in the arms of another. I wasn't learning that when I danced with just an instructor. I was also keeping myself from dancing with all kinds of people. I have to tell you its great to be in one of those classes and to feel the difference in the men's leads as they get stronger and understand more, and as you learn too!! It's wow you feel excited for the people who suddenly make a leap....

Okay I'm going on and on....

Bottom Line....There are a lot of sharks in the world of ballroom...the ones that are doing the best job of luring you are probably the ones that are most likely to really think you are prey. It doesn't mean you can't live symbiotically for awhile....but eventually sharks do get hungry...

No, it6s not NY, it6s Arthur Murray! The one in Thousand Oaks, CA is a total rip off!! I don6t know how the people that work there sleep at night!

Thank you to whoever started this discussion. I've been taking lessons at Fred Astaire for the past 8 months and am on the brink of completing my social foundation level. With the economy in the tanks, I'm looking for a cheaper place to take my lessons from, as well as a place that isn6t so pushy about spending money! Apparently, Arthur Murray isn't the place for that either. I emailed my local franchise and the owners wouldn't even give me a straight answer about how much a private lesson costs, and this forum just reinforced the fact that I shouldn6t go there. I love my teacher at Fred Astaire, and fortunately he's honest with me that he hates teaching for a franchise and can't wait to open his own studio, but with the owners constantly watching him, he can't deviate from the program to teach me anything new either, despite the fact that I'm only 19 and could take on a new step every lesson. It's really disheartening how dance has become a business instead of a passion. I've been taking all kinds of dance since I was a kid and I dance because I love it, but in the past 8 months I've spent close to $6000 on dancing lessons, money I could've saved for something else.

A man has just started dancing at our independent studio who was previously at AM. He wants to switch because the AM studio is putting alot of pressure on him to buy $3000.00 package. The man told me that is has not yet learn to lead, his instructor at AM "always starts him off". He also told me that he starts every dance with a box step until he is lead into the right basic step. At first, he thought he was too good a dancer for our beginner class but after one lesson he realized he has learned nothing at AM.

Erika, i would love you to come to our hall in London England, where we do not rip people off , we charge 30 per hour for a single person or 40 per couple. to cover hall hire etc, for that you get a full hour of dance recently all our students who took a medal test got commended ,highly commended, or honours, hope to see you sometime maybe best of luck to you,