WHAT? YOU WANT MORE? REALLY?

Ok, it’s been way too long since I visited my blog and wrote something.  Could it be that things are going great, and I have nothing to rant about.  Or perhaps I’ve just been too busy to write anything.

As you probably don’t know, I am well past the age of retirement.  So, yes, I’ve been busy.  Let see.  Took my younger children to Disneyland.  Got caught up on all my shows on my Apple+ account.  I’ve learns about ten new songs on my bass guitar.  I’ve finished Zelda Breath of the Wild--finally.  Oh, I did take a morning to organize our yearend recital order and program.  AND ITS ONLY NOVEMBER.  More importantly I’ve avoided--for another year--digging out my studio office. 

Oh yeah, one more thing, I quit watching all news feeds.  I’ve grown tired of listening to people complain about the ever-increasing cost of groceries, fuel, and housing.  Politicians pointing fingers and blaming each other.  People blaming politicians.   But, if you look at the outrageous profits’ banks and large corporations are earning, THEY’RE THE CULPRITS.  If it cost more to produce and ship items, and the business passes that cost onto customers (even though the cost of an item increases) wouldn't the profit margins would be about the same.  Wouldn’t it?? I may be very naïve, but the evidence points to big business racking in large profits while claiming inflationary costs are the problem. They say “Oh! No, it’s not us”. As they sit on their ever-expanding wallets. 

As a side note, I wrote this way before “Mr. Orange” introduced global tariffs, which are contributing to our current inflationary trends. Here’s my naïve impression. A company decides to produce a product.  They buy materials to make the item and pay a sales tax on the materials.  They in turn sell the product to a wholesaler who pays a sales tax.  The wholesaler then delivers the product to a retailer who then pays a sales tax.  If the retailer is “out of country” then they might have to pay an ADDITIONAL tariff tax for the product.  The retailer then sells it to the consumer who, in almost every state and province, pays a sales tax.  Who gets, collects and keeps the tax AT EVERY LEVEL.  The governments.  Now, I’m not going to rant here about how much governments collect and improperly spend tax dollars.  Maybe another time.  Just realize I’m suitable annoyed at the rising cost of everything!!! 

Now back to my thoughts at hand.

So, what brings me back to my blog now!  It’s Entry Fees, GST, Back Stage Pass Fees, Final Performance Admission, and and and Registration Fees at competitions.  What. . . more fees.  Wow!  It’s becoming increasingly more expensive to do competitions.  Even if you don’t travel to different centres to compete.  Yes!  I’m going to complain about the stacking on of fees for a quick weekend experience with dance.

Ok.  I understand entry fees.  The competition organizations need to pay adjudicators, theatre rentals, travel costs, hotel accommodations, staff wages and meals, awards and make a profit. GST is not an avoidable cost. But I’m a little “iffy” on admissions especially the final performance or “dance off”.  I’m irritated with backstage pass fees.  But absolutely annoyed with registration fees. 

Backstage pass fee!!!  Oh, what the f***!  Of course, the choreographer and a few students are going to be backstage during every studio performance.  I know organizations want to control the amount of people backstage.  But normally parents would more likely go out to the audience to watch rather than watch from the wings. But we often need a few people backstage during quick-change moments.  To charge a fee for these important studio people is just sad.  Even if it just $5 or $10 for the weekend, it is just rude and inappropriate.  It is a fee I will cover and won’t even let parents/staff know I had to pay it.

Dance Off? Most organizations are now not only charging an admission fee to watch dances during the weekend, but they are also charging an additional fee for parents and choreographers to watch an end of the weekend “Dance Off”.  The concept of a “Dance Off” seems just stupid to me.  The supposed best of the weekend will “redance” their routines and adjudicator will then pick the best of the best.  WE’VE SEEN THESE DANCES ALREADY.  Competitions normally take extra care to try to keep dancers competing with the same dancer’s levels and age.  Except during the “Dance Off”.   So, an outstanding beginner routine is then pitted against an advance routine for the honor of being the best of the best. In nearly every case the highest scoring advanced routine wins the dance off.   I don’t mind having a closing performance of routines that were enjoyed or did well.  But if it was just an evening of great numbers, most studios won’t stay for it.  They’d rather go home than stay just to watch the same routines again.  So, competitions run it like another competition to keep the studios involved.  Competition companies then charge another admission to see these repeated performances.  I fail to see why they should charge to see these routines again.  The organization isn’t paying more to have this performance.  Their fee for the weekend would be the same whether they had a finale performance or not.  So, why charge.  Oh Yeah! because they can grab an additional $20 or $25 from parents.

Which brings me to charging parents to watch any dance during the weekend.  Parents pay hundreds or even thousands of dollars to enter their child in competitions.  Pay hundreds of dollars for costuming. Perhaps hundred of dollars for hotels and meal.  Then they must pay to see the dances performed which I’m sure they have seen hundreds of times already.  Like registration fees, which I’ll address in a bit, this cost is no different whether you have one or 500 watching and should be calculated as part of the entry fees. 

Registration Fee? What the hell are they.  As best I can figure. There are some costs in setting up an involved studio.  I’m not sure what those costs are, but I’m told there are some costs.   One competition blames the additional fee on providing payment to photographers to cover the cost of pirating photos. Really?  That should be the photographer’s responsibility and adjust their prices to account for pirating photos and videos.

Registration Fees brings me to a complain I’ve had for over 40 years.  I’m in a business where registration fees are the norm.  Students every year pay the studio a fee to register.   That fee is over and above the actual fee for taking a class.  I can see a deposit or prepay to try and guarantee a place in a class.  But a fee on top of a class fee!!!  This, to me, penalizes loyal students who return year after year.  “Hey!  It’s going to cost you an extra 20 or 30 dollars to come back and take our classes”.  What a f***in’ awful way to grab an additional fee from parents.  I have never charged a registration fee to come and take classes with me.  If it cost me X amount to run the class.  Then I charge X amount. 

If, for some reason, it costs $15 or $20 to start a students’ registration process.  Add a dollar or two to the monthly cost of taking a class.  Dance fees should cover the studios costs of rent, instructors, maintenance, supplies and some profit.  Why not include the cost of registration, too?  But if it doesn’t cost you anything to register a student then DON’T CHARGE A F***IN’ REGISTRATION FEE!!!

To take my students to competitions this year, on top of paying thousands of dollars for entry fees and hundreds in GST, they now include a registration fee. A REGISRATION FEE!!!  Yes, we pay to put my students’ dances in competition, but now we also must pay a per dancer registration fee.   And it not a small amount.  For my little school it’s almost a thousand dollars.  A THOUSAND DOLLARS. Oh yeah, and there’s GST on top of that!!!

I understand it costs more to rent a theatre or ballroom now.  It cost more to hire good staff and adjudicators.  It cost more to travel.  It cost more to eat and stay in a hotel. So, if it cost more to set up a studio at your competition.  Then adjust your entry fees to include that cost.  Then I can blame inflation for the reason my competition costs have increased.  Rather that what appears to me to be a quick and easy grab for more cash.  It’s, also, annoying when a competitions fees look less than other competitions but turn out to be more because of F**IN’ REGISTRATION FEES. AUUUUGGGHH!