Be Our Guest: Inviting Outside Teachers to Your Studio
August 22, 2017

“I’ve told my students to keep their shoulders down countless times,” says Shannon Crites, owner of Shannon Crites School of Dance in Ardmore, OK. “Then, a guest teacher will come in and say, ‘You should really release those shoulders,’ and they finally do it!” Guest teachers and choreographers offer a fresh perspective to your students’ education, and they’ll expose them to exciting new styles and create winning choreography for competitions. But balancing your budget and timing can be tricky. Here, four experienced studio owners share how they make the most of every guest who walks through their studio doors.

Ardell Stone

Ardell Stone School of Dancing

Roanoke, VA

About three or four times a year, Ardell Stone invites a guest artist to her studio to teach a master class and choreograph a piece for students on the competition team. But one of her main goals is making sure that as many students as possible get to take advantage. She allows noncompeting students to sign up for classes with the master teacher, offering at least one extra class for about $20 per student. Stone often finds potential guest teachers or choreographers by networking at competitions or teacher workshops. She estimates that she spends upwards of $3,500 for a teacher she really likes, which includes plane tickets (often from California), rental cars and hotel fees. She charges each of about 20 performing students an extra $150 to $200 for a master-class-plus-choreography session. “I don’t like my students’ families to spend too much money on one choreographer, especially since all the competition kids are required to take part,” she says. “But we are in a relatively high socioeconomic area. And, though they charge an arm and a leg, it’s well worth every cent.”

Shannon Crites

Shannon Crites School of Dance

Ardmore, OK

“We are in a very small community, and doing the same thing all the time can become mundane,” says Shannon Crites, who brings master class teachers to her studio two to three times per year. “Guest teachers make our students work at a different level. They keep them in check.” To save on costs, Crites often chooses professors from local universities, like University of Oklahoma and Oklahoma City University, who have the added benefit of exposing her students to the importance of higher education.

While teachers on the master-class circuit charge up to $500 an hour for a minimum of four classes, those from universities sometimes consider it a promotional visit for their school, so they’ll charge less. Crites estimates an average of $350 per class. And costs go down dramatically for local teachers, without the price of airfare or hotel rooms. Crites charges students approximately $150, for a weekend of master classes, usually in the fall, when company students aren’t constantly traveling to conventions and competitions.

If she has a university teacher in mind, she’ll contact them directly or call the dance department to ask who they would suggest. College teachers have tight schedules, she says, so it’s best to check in as early as possible. Crites starts planning in the spring of the school year before.

When she called OCU last year, the school suggested sending a professor and a dean to talk to students and their parents about college. The event transformed into a weekend-long workshop. “I was thrilled,” Crites says. “It was a perfect way to promote the importance of education.” She plans to hold a similar workshop this year since she saw dramatic results—out of five senior company members who graduated in 2010, four are now dancing in college, she says. “They understand how important it is to have a degree.”

Rhoda Burns

Burns Dance Studio

Aiken, SC

When guest choreographers come to Burns Dance Studio, students need to be prepared for an entire weekend of intensive training. Usually in September, a guest artist will set three routines on the studio’s performance company.

“This exposes kids to different styles or choreography that’s a little bit more current,” says owner Rhoda Burns. “They look forward to it, but they know that it’s going to be hard work.” And missing these all-important weekends is not an option. “If they’re a company kid, they know that not only do they have to be here, they have to pay for it,” says Burns. “And if they’re not here, they have to pay for it anyway.”

Burns charges students approximately $150 each (in addition to annual tuition) to cover a choreographer’s fee for the weekend, usually about $4,000 for 10 to 15 rehearsal hours. And when enrollment isn’t high enough to break even, each dancer pays a little extra. “Most choreographers we bring in are willing to stay with me at my house, and not be in a hotel,” says Burns. “That’s a big save.”

To add some extra fun to choreography weekends, they end with a pool party. On the following Monday, the company performs the routines that they’ve learned for their parents. And these works will be danced about 8 to 10 times throughout the year in competitions, community shows and during halftime at local high school or college games.

JoJean Retrum

Monona Academy of Dance

Monona, WI

JoJean Retrum, director of Monona Academy of Dance, likes to hire former students as guest teachers, many of whom are currently dancing with nearby Milwaukee Ballet. “Young people can see that getting a job performing is not an unrealistic goal,” she says. When alumni teach, Retrum pays them between $50 and $100 per class, and fees for guest teachers are included in students’ tuition.

Convincing alumni to return is never difficult, says Retrum, “They enjoy helping the studio out.” She stays in touch via Facebook, reaching out often.

She also invites alumni to perform with the school’s nonprofit dance company, paying them between $500 and $1,000 per performance. But Retrum says budget is not a primary concern when hiring guests. “I decide what I want the kids to learn, and I do it,” she says. “I don’t make a lot of money, but I’m rewarded by the feeling I get when I see my current and former students’ work.”

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