Thread: How to price Teaching Gig?

Nisaa, both your examples would get my private event rate and contract. I recently did two very similar types of events to your first example (one was part of a 'love your body week' event at a local art school, the other a midday perk for workers at a business in town). Both my gigs, and both your examples, are standard, one-time events for fun. No one there likely thinks they will "be" belly dancers after our hour is over. (I often get people coming to my group classes after events like this, which is cool, but they totally get the difference between class and an event!)

Here is an example that looks different to me...
I talked to a woman over the summer who was looking to put together an ongoing set of lessons for her and a group of friends. She wanted to set up something every two to three weeks, and she was a fitness instructor/trainer and had a (gorgeous!) home studio to use. They were a group of women who wanted ongoing *dance* lessons. I quoted my private lesson rate to her (which does indeed change depending on the number of people involved). They did not want a taster class, or an entertainer, or a one-time lark. They wanted dance classes.

My $.02!

Originally Posted by nisaasaintlouis

Yes, I think we might be comparing apples and oranges...though I wonder whether I need to refine my rate scale/definitions. This is a useful discussion!

I guess what I want to know is where to draw the line in defining something as a plain old group private lesson vs. a party lesson.

Compare these:
-a local small business owner is offering her staff the opportunity to try out different wellness programs. She would like to book a one-time lesson during business hours for her staff.

-a local ladies' club is having their monthly social. They would like to book a one-time lesson for that monthly social. No performance, just a lesson. But it would be to "spice up" the evening.

These do seem like different things to me and I would feel the need to price them differently...

Just thinking out loud...

Originally Posted by nasila

This is exactly my gig, and all the women are 60+ years young. ..g.:

So I am expected to tell jokes?? I don't know any funnies that aren't dirty!! .w.:

I'd probably do this at the same rate as my hen's party rate or thereabouts. I usually include a gift of a hip scarf for parties, so I'd probably take out the cost of that.

I always like to price these gigs at a flat rate, because of the problems mentioned about fluctuating numbers. The organiser can deal with that, not me!

Why would these gigs be priced so high? Lauren's point about being paid like an entertainer is a good one. Plus, you can set your prices based on what the market will bear (that's what I do). For corporate or party gigs, this is usually much higher than class fees.

This has been an extremely useful discussion! This is really making me re-think things. I think I'm going add an extra step in my scale...
-one-time "pure" lesson: 60/100
-one-time "party" lesson: 135/175
-one-time lesson + performance: 185/225
I think I am going to also start tacking on an extra fee for groups larger than 10. My private lesson rate flows into the one-time lesson rate. Normally I charge $30/hr for individual privates (sadly that is in line with my area, which ranges from about 20 to 35), and $20 per person per hr for small group privates (max 3 students). That's where that number is coming from.

I still believe that some classes are education, not entertainment, though I see and respect everybody's points on this. I also still feel the need to scale for group size because the small groups I've dealt with (4 friends looking for a taster class) are different to me than, say, a small business looking to provide a one-time wellness class for 10 employees.

Nasila...I'm sorry! I didn't mean to turn this into a "help Nisaa revise her rates" thread!

Originally Posted by nisaasaintlouis

I still believe that some classes are education, not entertainment, though I see and respect everybody's points on this.

Another thing I consider is that the parties are usually in the evening at private gig times- prime time rates. They are usually booking me at a time when I'd also likely be performing at a party. Thus I charge the local "minimum" for a party- which is $200. My personal party rate is $275, so the lesson is still less than a show from me.
When they get a show plus a lesson they get a break on the lesson.
Ongoing education is very different from one time education in my opinion.

Originally Posted by SamiraShuruk

Another thing I consider is that the parties are usually in the evening at private gig times- prime time rates. They are usually booking me at a time when I'd also likely be performing at a party. Thus I charge the local "minimum" for a party- which is $200. My personal party rate is $275, so the lesson is still less than a show from me.
When they get a show plus a lesson they get a break on the lesson.
Ongoing education is very different from one time education in my opinion.

This is an excellent point!

Originally Posted by nisaasaintlouis

Nasila...I'm sorry! I didn't mean to turn this into a "help Nisaa revise her rates" thread!

No problem! I intended it to be a discussion about such gigs and appropriate rates. This is the first time I've had such a gig and I wasn't sure if the pricing given to me was standard or not-so-much.

This particular gig is at 2pm, and the belly dancer is a surprise for all but the party hostess, but if you're giving up other private party work I can see how time of day and/or day of the week would be grounds for an increase in price.

Originally Posted by nasila

So I am expected to tell jokes?? I don't know any funnies that aren't dirty!! .w.:

They're expecting to have fun. When they're anticipating it, they're saying to each other (and anyone else) 'we're going to learn some BELLYDANCE moves next week' *nudge nudge wink wink* and the response is probably "oooOOOoooh!"

So they're expecting some lightly racy comments as they shake their groove things. Not jokes exactly, but they want to hoot and holler and have fun. You can tease them a little (step away from the pole, Ethel, and close your legs) and let them rib each other.

flat rate $150.00 for 1 hour or $175.00 for a show and class total of 1 hour

Just for fun, here's what a party planning company in the Midwest charges for children's "Princess Parties":

https://www.glass-slipper-entertainment.com/FAQ_s.php

omg, Shira to the rescue! Belly Dancing Jokes

My personal fav:

Q: Why did the belly dancer cross the road?

A: She heard there were costumes on the other side.

*snort!*

I charge a flat rate of 275.00 for a 10 minute performance followed by a 45 minute lesson. It doesn't matter how many people attend. I figure if a 10 minute belly gram is 175.00, then they are getting the lesson for 100.00. Seems like a good deal to me. :o)

I'm resurrecting this thread because I thought about my rate structure for this kind of gig YET AGAIN and I wanted to get other midwest dancers' thoughts. I was trying to scale my rates for group size, but I'm giving up on this because it is making my rate structure too complicated, and I am envisioning all the drama and hassle that will ensue when the number of attendees changes at the last minute.

What I've landed on instead is to quote in-studio vs. on-location rates. Here is what I have, and I am just wondering if other STL area dancers could pipe up and tell me whether this seems in line with local rates:

• One-time group classes (in studio): $125 per hour
• One-time group classes (on location): $150 per hour
• One-time group classes with performance (in studio): $200
• One-time group classes with performance (on location): $225

This structure is much less unwieldy for me (it's bad if *I* can't keep my own fee structure straight) and makes sense now that my studio is up and running.

Anyhoo, STL/midwest-area folk, input is appreciated.

Nisaa

I charge $185 with the performance, and I'll negotiate for a 'no performance' version down to about $125. I don't usually do a full hour, though - and of course prices are generally lower on my side of the river. So your rate sounds about right for St. Louis to me.

I agree about not doing it per-person. When I used to do birthday party issues, the only party entertainers who charged by the person were the ones who had actual per-person costs (like they gave out expensive goody bags or leave-behinds). An entertainer usually just charges for their time and offers Basic or Deluxe packages.

Thanks Lauren!