It is breaking my heart how many bellydance teachers are giving away all the free classes right now. As kind as it is, it is also doing real damage, which is going to take a lot of work to come back from. Years to come back from. I know that stings and is controversial and is gong to make people angry to hear me say, but....it’s also true.
Yes, I know, I know...it is from a heart-centered desire to reach out, and connect people. And people do need that connection. And people are hurting now, and many people are out of work and need access to ways to move and connect without onerous financial barriers. I always say money should never ever be a barrier to dance. I put my money where my mouth is and give scholarships, do work trade, and a employ a myriad of other methods in my professional teaching to make sure my dancers have access to classes regardless of their financial position. We can talk about how to do that WITHOUT giving away all your classes for free.
In the meantime, there are teachers who have fought for years to be taken seriously enough, to get paid rates they deserve for hard work. If you are a serious teacher, you know what hard work it is, and what your time is worth, and it isn’t $0/hr. These teachers are trying to scrape two pennies together right now, and how likely is that when they are still asking $10 a class when others are giving classes away for free?
Never mind studio owners (yes, like me) who had our income disappear overnight. What took a decade of planning and dreaming to build into a dance studio could end in a few short months. Because instead of getting $15 per student in a studio per week, we will likely have a tough time getting $15 per student per month on an online platform in the meantime when any day of the week they can take a half dozen online classes for free.
These professional teachers and beautifully appointed studios will be gone. We won’t be able to return to them when this is over. And we won’t be able to rebuild them for years after this with the damage we will have done to the economy of our dance. We have now told our students our price. Our value was $15/hour or more. Now it’s $0. How long will it take to to help them see us as more valuable again?
Yes, I know, I know...it is from a heart-centered desire to reach out, and connect people. And people do need that connection. And people are hurting now, and many people are out of work and need access to ways to move and connect without onerous financial barriers. I always say money should never ever be a barrier to dance. I put my money where my mouth is and give scholarships, do work trade, and a employ a myriad of other methods in my professional teaching to make sure my dancers have access to classes regardless of their financial position. We can talk about how to do that WITHOUT giving away all your classes for free.
In the meantime, there are teachers who have fought for years to be taken seriously enough, to get paid rates they deserve for hard work. If you are a serious teacher, you know what hard work it is, and what your time is worth, and it isn’t $0/hr. These teachers are trying to scrape two pennies together right now, and how likely is that when they are still asking $10 a class when others are giving classes away for free?
Never mind studio owners (yes, like me) who had our income disappear overnight. What took a decade of planning and dreaming to build into a dance studio could end in a few short months. Because instead of getting $15 per student in a studio per week, we will likely have a tough time getting $15 per student per month on an online platform in the meantime when any day of the week they can take a half dozen online classes for free.
These professional teachers and beautifully appointed studios will be gone. We won’t be able to return to them when this is over. And we won’t be able to rebuild them for years after this with the damage we will have done to the economy of our dance. We have now told our students our price. Our value was $15/hour or more. Now it’s $0. How long will it take to to help them see us as more valuable again?
