I was talking to one of the girls from the Babe's dance studio, last night. The Babe was finishing up her class and Indy was using the potty. This girl is maybe 13 or 14 and her dad is "gym" friends with hubby. I remember her dad telling us that she stuck with dance and tumbling because she wants to participate in cheer-leading at school. It seems it's time for try-outs and she's unsure if she'll do it. Costumes and uniforms are $900 dollars for the year and each year the costumes change, but the fees still apply. What?! Seriously?! Is there that much need to do a costume change for cheer-leading now? I can understand competition dancing but cheer-leading? It made me think of the line from the first Brin.g it On movie:Sparky (the choreographer) = "Cheer leaders are dancers who have gone retarded. What you do is a tiny, pathetic subset of dancing."
Truly this is the case, considering the costs. Yikes! I know it's the Babe's wish to cheer-lead in school too but, damn! She better have a job or something by the time she's ready. The girl I was talking to said that she's going to try and help raise the money. We talked about her dance obligations. She's one of those that dances in everything. She told me her grandfather was fussing at her for being at the studio for five hours on Mondays and three on Wednesdays. Man, now I know where her mother's money is going. It's no wonder her sister stopped dancing altogether.
I should say that this child is a wonderful dancer and really is gifted in that respect. I asked her if it was worth it and she said that she's really going to have to consider what means more to her. I reiterated to her that I thought was was a great dancer (hoping that she will choose dance over cheer-leading, since it may even lead to a career in the future, I'm thinking). Of course, there are professional cheerleaders in the world. I dunno. My opinion is that dance is an art so, why not get paid for promoting the arts?
I'm all for giving kids an opportunity to express themselves and I'm also willing to pay for some of those endeavors. I just think you have to consider all the logistics, too. The economy sucks and budgeting is a necessity. Dance or electricity? Soccer or heat? Little League or groceries?
2 comments:
oh wow. That's a lot of money.
Do you think it's better to give a kid a variety of experiences, or invest heavily in one that they love a lot?
Music Lessons, Karate, swimming are all things that can add up. . .I guess a lot of parents find themselves challenged to get their kids doing things they love that are also free or low cost.
That's a great question and, gratefully, community centers and some city activity areas can give kids a "taste" of different activities for a nominal or no cost. I think it's a good idea to start there then, when the child finds his niche, invest in that activity.
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