Caroline Springs · Deer Park · Taylors Hill · Ravenhall
How to choose
a dance school.
There are a dozen studios within twenty minutes of Ravenhall and most of their websites say the same six things. So here is the guide we would want if we were the ones deciding — eight questions worth asking, and our own answers to every one of them.
Take it to whichever studios you are looking at. It works just as well on the other ones.
- 01
Can you try a class before you pay for a term?
What to look for
A studio confident in its teaching will let you sit in or take a class for nothing. If the first conversation is about a term invoice, that tells you something.
At Dance Effects
Your first class is free, every style, every age, all year — not just in January. If we put your child in the wrong room we will move them, no charge.
Book a free class - 02
Who actually teaches the class — and will they still be there next year?
What to look for
Ask specifically. Some studios rotate casual teachers term to term. A teacher who has known your child for three years spots things a new one cannot.
At Dance Effects
Our teaching team is consistent year to year, and several of them came up through DFX as students — they started here at three, in this building.
About the team - 03
How many children are in the class?
What to look for
There is no magic number, but there is a number at which a teacher stops knowing each child. Ask what it is, and ask what happens when a class fills.
Our honest answer
This varies by style and age band and we would rather quote you the real figure for the class you are asking about than a flattering average. Ring us and ask.
Ask us - 04
What actually happens at concert time?
What to look for
Ask who performs, how many shows there are, what the costume costs and whether tickets are included. This is the biggest annual cost at most studios and the one least often discussed up front.
Our honest answer
Concert week is two dress rehearsals and four shows in a real theatre — a cast that size needs four nights. Costume and ticket costs are a fair question and we will give you the current figures.
The DFX year - 05
Where do you sit for forty-five minutes?
What to look for
You will spend more hours in this building than your child will. A cold corridor with three plastic chairs is a real cost, especially with a toddler in tow.
At Dance Effects
A parents cafe, a waiting lounge, and a homework room with desks so a Tuesday class does not cost your other child their schoolwork.
Look around - 06
Is there somewhere to go if they get serious — and pressure if they don't?
What to look for
The best answer is that both are genuinely fine. Watch for studios where the recreational classes are visibly an afterthought, and for ones with no pathway at all.
At Dance Effects
Most of our students dance once a week for the love of it and always will. Examinations and competition teams are there for those who want them, and neither is expected of anyone.
See the pathways - 07
What do you have to buy, and when?
What to look for
Ask for the uniform list before you enrol, not after. And ask where you are expected to buy it — being sent across town for a specific shade of pink is a recurring tax on your Saturdays.
At Dance Effects
There is a dance shop in the building, and you need nothing at all for a first class beyond comfortable clothes and hair tied back.
The DFX Dance Shop - 08
What is the fee, and what is extra?
What to look for
Term fee, enrolment fee, costume, tickets, exam entry, competition fees. Ask which of those apply to a first-year recreational student, because the honest answer is usually far shorter than the list.
Our honest answer
We would rather talk you through the real numbers for the classes you are actually considering than publish a table that does not fit your family.
Get the numbers
Take this with you
What to ask
at the trial
Eight questions, thirty seconds each. Any studio worth enrolling at will answer all of them without hesitating.
- Who will be teaching this class next term?
- How many children are in it?
- What happens if my child wants to change styles halfway through the year?
- Is everyone in the concert, or is it selected?
- What will I have to buy, and by when?
- What does concert week cost me all up?
- Can I watch a class, or is there somewhere to wait?
- What happens if we miss a few weeks?
We have been doing this in Melbourne’s West since 2002. Students who started at three are teaching here now, and parents who once sat in our waiting room are dropping off their own kids. That is the only review that has ever meant anything to us.