Actually The lesson price is not 208.75
per hour.

Lesson's are sold as 1/3 of a unit, consisting of the private lesson a group sesion and a 1 and a half hour practice session. also students on a course of instruction are no limetied to the amount of group sessions they attend during the deration of there package goal and as their are more than 30 to 90 opportunities to attend a group session (level Depending) then the average student pays about $26-30 per visit to the studio if you want to compare AMI to Independent teacher and or Independent studois, the overall package price become nominal if the client uses the system wisely and to thier advantage.

Per visit to the studio! Love it! LOL!

You're comparing apples to oranges. I compared apples to apples.

What you're saying is your privates are comparably priced, however, you charge $26 - $30 per group class, per practice session & per supervised session. Am I correct that they are all 45 minute sessions?

I'll go middle of the road here $28 your price.

A. Group classes:

Here $8/1 hour 20 min = $6/hr. = $4.50/45 minutes

$4.50 vs. $28.00

B. Practice

here $42/year membership = $0.81/week

This gets me access to 6 1/2 hours of practice per week on 3 full sized dance floors. Approximately half is supervised. I'll use 6 hours for comparison.

6 hours = 8 forty-five minute sessions

That's approximately:

$0.10 vs. $28

Now, at $0.10 our floors tend to get crowded:

Wednesday approx. 100 people
Friday approx. 60
Sunday morning: 24
Sunday evening: 60 (beginner's extra 1 hour supervised practice not included in the calculation above)

I was very specific in my comparison:

If you choose to pass on group classes and practices of equal time and quality independently available through the other sources cited above then "essentially" and I stress "essentially" one is paying the equivalent of X amount of dollars for privates for the example cited at the beginning of this thread regardless if they are part of a package.

From a business perspective it makes great sense. From a consummer point of view an opposite case can be made.

Regardless, I think we're at a point of beating a dead horse and there seems to be a total lack of humour in this thread now.

OB movin' on

I'll just add one thing incase there's a quibble about my $0.10 figure.

We have approx. 700+ members

@ $42/year each we have approximately $30,000/ year to spend on renting full-sized gymnasiums for our practices.

Wednesday nights 2 1/2 hrs.
Friday Nights 2 hrs.
Sunday Mornings 2 hrs. "Silver & Above"
Sunday Nights 1 hour "beginners only"
All members can attend Wednesday & Friday Nights regardless of level.

Friday & Sunday nights have 2 teachers each to supervise and act as a resource.

Club dances are $10

Group Classes are $88 for 11 one hour and twenty minute classes.

No contracts.

3 eleven week group class sessions per year.

We teach:

Newcomer I
Newcomer II
Intermediate

All the above 11 weeks each.

Pre-bronze
Bronze
Silver
Gold
Gold Bar

All the above 3 x 11 weeks.

Students are allowed to repeat previous levels for half-price if registered in a higher level at the same time. My wife & I repeated many times. These classes would be:

$44 for 11 one hour twenty minute classes.

All classes are taught by ISTD/CDTA certified instructors (except my wife's Newcomer I class but she is a certified school teacher and we'll be taking the Associate exam in November).

As well the club teaches mini-classes such as West Coast Swing, Night Club 2, etc.

OB

OB

What city are you located in?

I recently left an arthur murray studio because of the cost. I struggled coming to that decision because I too too liked my AM instructor, but before I left for good I started looking into independent studios and I was able to find an instructor whom I also liked a lot! But...this instructor moves at a pace based upon my skills & ability, not based upon my paid balance. I have been able to excel in my lessons. I left AM at the end of bronze II and I have been able to move through the remaining bronze steps and start silver in 1/3 of the time and a fraction of the cost.

I think you need to determine why you stay with the franchise studio and if money is not an issue just pay the $$$$ and enjoy what you are learning. Otherwise take a chance and make a switch.

I have been on all sides of this question. I was a student in the AM system 29 years ago and loved it. I took every group class I could and was very focused on my dancing. Later I went on to teach at both AM and FA as well as opening my own studio. FA was better. Now I teach small groupd classes and private lessons for the love of dancing, I charge enough to make it worth doing, about half of what everyone else charges and I am having a great time.

You buy groups of lessons instead of lesson by lesson for at least two reasons: first the instructor knows how much time they have to work with to accomplish your goals. Second they know you are committed to the dance goal you set.

Find a good teacher and let them have the time and committment from you to make it work for you.

Good dancing.

I don't care what anyone says about AM dancers and all that. I am a HUGE fan of one of the AM dancers in Washington (I'm assuming Danceintacoma is a place and not just a state of mind) He is phenomenal and so wonderfully kind and professional that speaking with him is like talking with a ray of sunshine directly from the heavens above. He just ROCKS! Yeah, I've seen the indy pros and many of them are extremely impressive, but they are doing the steps. The ones who have soul, the ones who connect to their higher energy, they are the ones who grab me by the soul and beg me to run out there on the floor and fly with them. The guy in Washington does this when I watch him. I've watched him for years and am always amazed by him. Regardless of what AM "tactics" or what other's opinions are, I have personally witnessed magic from AM pros and will never bash AM because of that. I have spent boatloads of money with AM (and on my dancing in general) and I do not regret spendingn any of it - not one penny.

Dance, the same thing happened to me in NJ at AM! I practiced a lot and have a dance background, so I got through the Bronze I fairly quickly, with many lessons left. The instructors were terrific, but the owner wouldn't let them teach Bronze II, without me buying another "package." In my instructor's defense, he focused on technique and I was still learning, but as a business person, I disagreed with the practice.

Eventually I terminated my contract for the remaining lessons, but the "cancellation fee" was exhorbitant. I've been thinking of taking the AM in NJ to small claims court.

When I talked with the owner he was a bit clueless. At this particular studio they use phrases like "if you cannot afford it," to motivate people to sign on to prove they can afford it! The owner told me after I finish Bronze II he would give me a job teaching, and I could use the money to pay off the lessons. I had no time, talent, or interest in teaching!

What an idiot! I wanted challenging lessons and could afford it. Since I liked the instructors, I may have stayed there for years. What I didn't like was being bullied into committing to ridiculous lesson packages, so I took my business elsewhere.

I would absolutely switch studios. What they are doing is legal, and unfortunately common in some places. Any franchise studio will charge more because they have to cover franchise fees. Basically you are paying for the name.

I'm sure there are other studios in your area with experienced and talented teachers. Most studios host an open to the public dance or will give you a free lesson to try them out.

Also If and when you do decide to switch, I would write a polite letter to the studio owner and send a copy to the President of Arthur Murray, explaing what made you feel uncomfortable and why you left. These business practices will stay in tact, because franchise owners believe they "really work" and don't want to believe that they are driving people out the door.