Thread: Going rates for Nursing Homes

Hey everybody, I'm a little new to the professional scene and I was pretty curious as to how much you ladies charge for a nursing home event? I live in NY on LI and I was offered two gigs at separate nursing homes. I was curious as to how much you guys charge? It would really help me out!

As an activity director in a nursing home, I have to be mindful of my budget. I generally know what a professional BD charges, but for a nursing home, that may differ. Regarding my budget, sure, I'd love to book a band but, realistically, I can't. I hire a ballroom dance couple every year around New Year's and I end up being unable to book any entertainment for about 3-4 months (so I can "balance" out my budget). When I hire Hawaiian dancers, I specifically ask if some of their students are available when I am negotiating hiring the professional performer. This way, I am able to hire a professional performer who will dance for an X amount of time and the remainder being students of the school for the allotted time.

Of course, different areas charge different rates (performers in general). And also, retirement homes tend to have more $ than most nursing homes. Therefore, you can probably charge a little more there.

i usually just ask the activity director what their budget is and they tell me.

Around here it's usually around $75 for a nursing home (slightly higher for a retirement community)-- But I'd assume it would be quite a bit higher on LI than here in a small town in the midwest.

Of course, that's pretty low -- less than half what I normally charge for a full show (but slightly more than restaurants around here pay). Still, I often do the shows because:

1) They never want my Friday or Saturday nights! I'm usually dancing on a Tuesday afternoon or something, so I 'm not giving up a full-price gig to be there.

2) They tend to be VERY low-maintenance clients.

3) Once you perform there, it becomes an easy gig about once a year or so (Father's Day and Valentine's are popular).

4) It's just a nice thing to do.

I consider it a partial charity donation, in a sense. Therefore I limit how many a year I'll do. I always enjoy it, though!

LeonineLotus,
There is a yahoo board for New York dancers. That might help you with this.
In the DC/Baltimore area there are a variety of budgets for nursing homes. Some are perfect for teachers and their student troupes and pay something smaller. I've heard some in the $125-$175 range for these. Others pay $200-$250- which is within pro range, especially as they are usually day time gigs.
The rates vary from region to region, though. Often the larger metro regions are quite comparable, however, this is sort of a "sub section" of rates, so it would be best to ask locally. :)

here it's 50-100€. it's half and half a freebie as they have no budget.

i'd check with local dancers if i were you!

Hi Victoria,
I am the "house" dancer at a nursing home on Long Island, and I charge $125 for a 40 minute show. This is a severly discounted rate for two reason - first, it is a nursing home and so I always lower my rates somewhat for those types of establishments. Second, I have been dancing there (or scheduling someone to dance there) monthly for about 4 years. So, I consider it a "regular" gig like a restaurant or club, which gets it a discount as well.

If it were a one time event, I would give them a 20-30% discount off of my normal rates. But since it's a regular event, the discount is more like half off.

... and then again, it's a different situation and thus requires a different type of show, IMO. I always do a lec-dem of sorts, including dancing and talking and some participation. It doesn't seem like a lot of money for the amount of effort, but it keeps me sharp regarding my research and music knowledge, my current repertoire, and it's WAY worth it from a community service standpoint.